# ForumData API (forumdataapi.com)

> Real-Time Community & Reddit Posts, Nested Comment Trees, Subforum Feeds & Brand Mention Monitoring JSON API (No Official Reddit OAuth Rate Limits). Unified Credit System ($1 = 10,000 Credits): $0.10 per 1,000 posts, $0.10 per 1,000 comments, $0.20 per 1,000 entity lookups.
> Full Machine-Readable Reference for LLMs: https://forumdataapi.com/llms-full.txt
> AI Agent Skill Manifest (Claude Code / OpenClaw / Cursor): https://forumdataapi.com/SKILL.md
> Official MCP Registry Manifest (com.forumdataapi/mcp-server): https://forumdataapi.com/server.json
> Claude Web & ChatGPT 1-Click OAuth 2.1 Remote MCP Endpoint: https://mcp.forumdataapi.com/v1/mcp
> Remote Streamable HTTP MCP Endpoint (API Key / Registry Probes): https://api.forumdataapi.com/mcp
> OpenAPI 3.0 Spec: https://forumdataapi.com/openapi.json (and https://api.forumdataapi.com/openapi.json)

## Pricing & Credit System

- Unified Credit Rate: $1 = 10,000 Credits (1 Credit = $0.0001), minimum 2 Credits ($0.0002) per non-empty call (0 Credits on empty search or failed calls)
- Subreddit posts, global keyword search, popular feed, user posts: 1 Credit / post ($0.10 per 1,000 posts, up to 100 posts per call)
- Post nested comment tree & user comments: 1 Credit / comment ($0.10 per 1,000 comments, up to 200 comments per call)
- Single subreddit info, post detail, user profile lookup: 2 Credits / request ($0.20 per 1,000 lookups)
- Free Trial: 12,000 Credits ($1.20) free instantly on sign-up (no credit card required, 60 RPM / 5 RPS) + $2.00 (+20,000 Credits) Developer Sandbox Streak bonus
- Starter: $19/mo or $25 PAYG -> 250,000 Credits (+25% bonus, 120 RPM)
- Pro: $69/mo or $89 PAYG -> 1,200,000 Credits (+40% bonus, 300 RPM)
- Business: $199/mo or $249 PAYG -> 5,000,000 Credits (+65% bonus, 600 RPM)
- Refunds: payments from the last 14 days, up to the unused balance

## AI Agent & Free Browser Tools

- Complete Single-File LLM Reference: [llms-full.txt](https://forumdataapi.com/llms-full.txt)
- OpenAPI 3.0 JSON Specification: [openapi.json](https://forumdataapi.com/openapi.json)
- Free Online Reddit JSON Inspector & CSV/Markdown Exporters: [Developer Tools](https://forumdataapi.com/tools)
- MCP Server for Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Cursor & Windsurf: Streamable HTTP `https://api.forumdataapi.com/mcp` (`com.forumdataapi/mcp-server`, [MCP Guide](https://forumdataapi.com/mcp), [server.json](https://forumdataapi.com/server.json))

## Engineering Guides (/guides)

- [All Engineering Guides](https://forumdataapi.com/guides)
- [Reddit API Pricing (2026): Official $0.24/1K Calls vs PRAW 403s vs $0.10/1K Pay-As-You-Go](https://forumdataapi.com/guides/reddit-api-pricing): 2026 Reddit API pricing breakdown: Official $0.24/1,000 calls & OAuth review vs PRAW AWS 403s vs ForumData API ($0.10/1K items, 12,000 free credits).
- [How to Use a Reddit API Without OAuth, App Review, or 100 QPM Limits](https://forumdataapi.com/guides/reddit-api-without-oauth): Fetch live Reddit posts, keyword search, and 200-comment trees without OAuth client_id, app approval, or 403 IP blocks. $0.10/1K items with runnable code.
- [Fixing PRAW 403 Blocked / Forbidden Errors on AWS, GCP, Hetzner & Vercel](https://forumdataapi.com/guides/praw-403-blocked-on-aws): Why prawcore.exceptions.ResponseException: received 403 HTTP response happens on AWS EC2/Lambda & Hetzner IPs, and how to fix it in 5 lines of Python.
- [Unofficial Reddit API vs Official Reddit Data API: Complete 2026 Developer Guide](https://forumdataapi.com/guides/unofficial-reddit-api): Compare the Official Reddit Data API and PRAW against ForumData API. Fetch subreddit feeds, nested comment trees, and brand mentions without OAuth limits.
- [How to Build Real-Time Reddit Brand Mention & Keyword Alerts in Python](https://forumdataapi.com/guides/reddit-brand-mention-monitoring-api): Poll global Reddit keyword mentions with /v1/posts/search and incremental ?since= timestamps. Zero credits charged on empty polls.
- [Scraping Nested Reddit Comment Trees for LLM & RAG Pipelines](https://forumdataapi.com/guides/reddit-comment-tree-scraper-api): Extract up to 200 nested Reddit comments per request with depth, parent_id, score, and author metadata at $0.10 per 1,000 comments.
- [Building a Real-Time Reddit RAG & LLM Grounding Pipeline in Python](https://forumdataapi.com/guides/reddit-rag-llm-pipeline-python): Ingest live Reddit threads and nested comment trees into OpenAI, Claude, or pgvector RAG pipelines using ForumData API at $0.10 per 1K items.
- [Automated B2B SaaS Lead Discovery on Reddit with Zero-Cost Empty Polls](https://forumdataapi.com/guides/reddit-b2b-lead-generation-automation): Monitor high-intent buying signals across r/SaaS, r/devops, and r/startups every 5 minutes using ?since= incremental polling and Slack webhooks.

## Competitor Comparisons (/compare)

- [All Provider Comparisons](https://forumdataapi.com/compare)
- [ForumData API vs Official Reddit Data API](https://forumdataapi.com/compare/official-api): Compare ForumData API against the Official Reddit Data API: $0.10/1K posts & comments, zero OAuth app review, 600 RPM burst, and LLM/RAG commercial readiness.
- [ForumData API vs PRAW (Python Reddit API Wrapper)](https://forumdataapi.com/compare/praw): Why production Python teams replace PRAW with ForumData API: no OAuth credentials, no 403 datacenter IP blocks, and instant 200-comment tree extraction.
- [ForumData API vs Apify Reddit Scrapers](https://forumdataapi.com/compare/apify-scrapers): Compare ForumData API ($0.10/1K posts, <250ms synchronous REST) against Apify Reddit Actor runs ($1.50+/1K items, 30–60s cold starts).
- [ForumData API vs Pushshift Reddit API](https://forumdataapi.com/compare/pushshift): Public Pushshift is locked to approved Reddit moderators. Migrate Pushshift submission & comment queries to ForumData API at $0.10/1K items in 5 minutes.
- [ForumData API vs Snoowrap (Node.js OAuth)](https://forumdataapi.com/compare/snoowrap): Replace unmaintained Snoowrap OAuth refresh tokens and 429 bottlenecks in Node.js, Next.js, and Cloudflare Workers with ForumData API.

## Core Pages

- [Reddit API Pillar](https://forumdataapi.com/reddit-api): $0.10/1K Reddit JSON API without OAuth limits
- [Reddit Scraper API](https://forumdataapi.com/reddit-scraper): ~180ms synchronous post & 200-comment tree scraper
- [Migrate from Apify Scrapers](https://forumdataapi.com/from-apify): 1:1 Actor input JSON -> synchronous REST parameter mapping, Python/Node drop-in code & 40%–60% lower cost
- [Subreddit JSON Feed Viewer](https://forumdataapi.com/tools/subreddit-json-feed-viewer): no-login live subreddit JSON feed & engagement rate analyzer
- [Official $0.24/1K Cost Calculator](https://forumdataapi.com/tools/reddit-api-cost-calculator): interactive Reddit API pricing calculator
- [Reddit Thread to LLM Markdown](https://forumdataapi.com/tools/reddit-thread-to-markdown): live thread & comment tree converter
- [System Status & 7-Day Latency](https://forumdataapi.com/status): real-time p50/p95 latency & uptime across all 9 /v1/* endpoints
- [Documentation](https://forumdataapi.com/docs): quickstart, authentication, credit billing, rate limits, pagination
- [Pricing](https://forumdataapi.com/pricing): 4-tier plans, per-endpoint rate card, interactive calculator
- [MCP Server](https://forumdataapi.com/mcp): Model Context Protocol setup for Claude & Cursor
- [Developer Affiliate Program](https://forumdataapi.com/affiliate): 25% recurring commission for 12 months
- [Terms of Service](https://forumdataapi.com/terms)
- [Privacy Policy](https://forumdataapi.com/privacy)
- [Refund Policy](https://forumdataapi.com/refunds)

## Endpoints

### System

- [Gateway Health & Mirror Telemetry](https://forumdataapi.com/docs/health): `GET /v1/health` (0 Credits (Free))

### Other

- [Fetch Subreddit Posts Feed (hot / new / top / rising)](https://forumdataapi.com/docs/subreddit-posts): `GET /v1/subreddit/posts` (2 Credits)
- [Fetch Subreddit Metadata, Subscribers & Community Rules](https://forumdataapi.com/docs/subreddit-info): `GET /v1/subreddit/info` (2 Credits)
- [Search Reddit Posts & Brand Mentions Globally or Within a Subreddit](https://forumdataapi.com/docs/posts-search): `GET /v1/posts/search` (2 Credits)
- [Fetch Single Reddit Post Detail by ID or URL](https://forumdataapi.com/docs/posts-detail): `GET /v1/posts/detail` (2 Credits)
- [Fetch Post Comment Tree & Replies](https://forumdataapi.com/docs/posts-comments): `GET /v1/posts/comments` (2 Credits)
- [Fetch Trending & Popular Reddit Posts (r/popular)](https://forumdataapi.com/docs/posts-popular): `GET /v1/posts/popular` (2 Credits)
- [Fetch Reddit User Profile & Karma Breakdown](https://forumdataapi.com/docs/users-profile): `GET /v1/users/profile` (2 Credits)
- [Fetch Public Posts Submitted by a Reddit User](https://forumdataapi.com/docs/users-posts): `GET /v1/users/posts` (2 Credits)
- [Fetch Public Comments Authored by a Reddit User](https://forumdataapi.com/docs/users-comments): `GET /v1/users/comments` (2 Credits)

## FAQ

### How does the Unified Credit System work?

$1 equals 10,000 Credits (1 Credit = $0.0001). Every endpoint deducts credits based on the records returned, with a minimum floor of 2 Credits ($0.0002) per non-empty call: 1 Credit per post ($0.10 / 1,000 posts), 1 Credit per comment ($0.10 / 1,000 comments), and 2 Credits ($0.20 / 1,000 calls) for single subreddit metadata, post detail, or user profile lookups.

### Do I need a Reddit OAuth client ID, app approval, or residential proxies?

No. Unlike the Official Reddit Data API—which requires commercial OAuth review, strict 100 QPM per-token caps, and $0.24 per 1,000 API calls—ForumData API handles all upstream proxy rotation, session management, and multi-provider failover at the gateway layer. You simply make standard HTTPS GET requests with your x-api-key: rd_live_... header.

### How does /v1/posts/comments return nested Reddit comment trees?

GET /v1/posts/comments returns up to 200 comments per call with explicit depth (0 for top-level comments, 1+ for nested replies), parent_id (t3_... for root comments or t1_... for replies), author, score, is_submitter, and created_utc. You can reconstruct the full hierarchical thread in 5 lines of Python or feed the flattened array directly into an LLM / RAG vector index.

### Am I charged when a request fails, returns 404, or returns 0 results?

Never. We strictly enforce Charge-Before-Return & Zero-Charge on Error/Empty: only HTTP 200 responses with non-empty data deduct credits. Upstream errors, non-existent subreddits/posts (HTTP 404), rate-limited requests (HTTP 429), and empty search results cost 0 Credits.

### Should I choose a Monthly Plan or Pay-As-You-Go (One-Time Top-Up)?

Both credit your account with the exact same bonus credit packages (Starter 250,000 Credits, Pro 1,200,000 Credits, Business 5,000,000 Credits). Pay-As-You-Go top-ups have no recurring billing and your purchased credit balance never expires. Monthly subscriptions save up to 24% more for continuous subreddit and brand monitoring workloads.

### What are the concurrency, pagination, and RPM rate limits?

Free Trial accounts include 12,000 Credits at 60 RPM with full access to all 9 endpoints and deep cursor pagination. Paid accounts lift concurrency and scale from 120 RPM (Starter) and 600 RPM (Pro) up to 600 RPM (Business).

### What payment methods are accepted?

You can top up or subscribe instantly with 0%-fee Cryptocurrency via NOWPayments (USDT or USDC on Solana, Tron, Polygon, Arbitrum, BNB Smart Chain, and Ethereum, plus BTC, ETH, and SOL) with an automatic +5% bonus credit reward.

### Can I use ForumData API inside Claude Desktop, Cursor, or LangChain?

Yes. Configure our MCP Server in Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf using your rd_live_... API key to give AI agents real-time subreddit feed inspection, keyword brand mention search, and comment tree sentiment analysis tools.

### How does ForumData API compare to PRAW and the Official Reddit API?

PRAW requires an approved Reddit OAuth application, enforces strict rate limits per OAuth token, and blocks commercial AI/LLM scraping under Reddit's Data API terms. ForumData API provides a drop-in REST JSON gateway with up to 600 RPM, L1 Redis caching, and a local PostgreSQL 16 mirror at $0.10 per 1,000 posts or comments.

### Is ForumData API affiliated with Reddit, Inc.?

No. ForumData API is an independent developer infrastructure provider for publicly available web data and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Reddit, Inc.

### How much does it cost to fetch 100,000 Reddit posts or comments?

At 1 Credit per post or comment ($0.10 / 1,000 items, up to 100 posts or 200 comments per call), 100,000 items cost $10.00 base PAYG (or $5.75 effective on the Pro plan and $3.98 effective on the Business plan) — up to 80% lower than legacy scraping platforms.

### What is your refund policy?

Payments made within the last 14 days can be refunded up to the unused purchased balance on your account. Promotional signup credits have no cash value.