Best Web Scrapers
In a hurry?
The best Pinterest scraper in 2023, as found in our independent testing, is Phantombuster!
We can think of a number of reasons why you might not just want to spend a lot of time on Pinterest, but you might want to be able to glean and important information from it using a Pinterest scraper.
The thing about this social media network is that it can help you discover information and ideas that are quite popular among other people who use the Internet especially when it comes to visual imagery.
Pinterest is a leader and this niche, and this is supported by the fact that it has more than 400 million active users right now.
Just like every other popular social media network out there, Pinterest also has a huge amount of data that you’re going to be able to use, whether you are trying to get ahead of your rivals, or you are a brand, and you are trying to extract important market data.
If content on Pinterest interests you, and you want to be able to collect it, then this is the right article for you.
In this article, we’re going to talk about how you can scrape data from Pinterest, what this actually means in the first place, and how you can develop a Pinterest scraper.
We also going to talk about the best Pinterest scrapers in the market.
The thing about Pinterest is that it doesn’t offer an API, so that you can’t easily collect data from the platform.
This is why you have to either develop a Pinterest scraper yourself, or you have to use one of the ones that we discuss below.
One thing that you need to be aware of is that scraping on Pinterest might sound easy, but because Pinterest has an antispam system, it is actually more challenging than you might think.
Best Pinterest Scrapers 2023
Here’s a quick look at the best Pinterest scrapers:
- Phantombuster – 🏆 Winner!
- ScraperAPI
- Bright Data
- Apify
- Octoparse
- ParseHub
- Webscraper.io
1. Phantombuster
Phantombuster is one of those Pinterest scrapers that can help you get all of the necessary information that you need, so you won’t have to go anywhere else in order to do your market research, or compete with rivals on Pinterest.
They say that they’re going to automatically connect to the website on your behalf, and they also going to make sure that everything about your connection and your scraping is authentic as possible, because they say that they are one of the most efficient and safest ways to scrape Pinterest information.
You can either get their extension for Firefox, or you can get it for Chrome and once you have specified one of the Pinterest profile URLs that you’re wanting to scrape, they’re going to export all of this data into an easy-to-read Google spreadsheet.
You can even set their actions on repeat, if you want to be able to scrape more than one Pinterest profile.
2. ScraperAPI
ScraperAPI is another Pinterest web scraper that is super reliable, and can be used to scrape Pinterest, if you’re somebody who doesn’t know a lot about coding.
They offer a visual scraping tool for their clients, so that you can make the most a point and click interface, so that you can work out the data that you are wanting to scrape, as opposed to just randomly scraping data, and hoping for the best.
This tool also has support when it comes to scraping images as well as other kinds of visuals that you are going to come across on Pinterest.
One feature that we really like about these guys is that it has support for automatic data, which means that you don’t have to do anything manually on your end.
They have a really good output support format for data, when compared to other Pinterest scrapers in the industry.
Their pricing begins at $49.99 a month, and as far as free trials go, they have a starter plan that is free, but this of course comes with limitations.
You can either use these guys in the cloud, or you can download them onto your desktop.
3. Bright Data
Bright Data is a super reliable scraper, that has been around for a hot minute, and has everything you need in order to be able to successfully scrape Pinterest, for all the relevant information.
You can either get started with them straight away, or you can request a demo, so that you can learn how they work, and get to know them really well before you dive into working with them.
This Pinterest web scraper offers a lot of advantages, including data sets, where you can make the most of large scale, pre collected data sets, so that you can get immediate snapshots of complete websites, that they are regularly updating.
This is going to save you a huge amount of time, and at the end of the day, it’s also going to save you a huge amount of money.
They also offer a data collector feature, where you can automate and streamline your data collection, and the best part is that you need zero experience when it comes to coding.
One thing that we talk about a little bit more in depth below is the advantages of using a proxy with a Pinterest web scraper, and this proxy scraper is ahead of most in the industry when it comes to this.
They also have a separate list of proxy features, so that you can combine the two, and get everything that you want to done under one roof, without having to go anywhere else.
This and other features make them easily one of the best Pinterest scrapers in the industry.
4. Apify
Apify is ideal when it comes to being a Pinterest scraper, if you want to be able to scrape Pinterest information from pins, to posts, users, shares, and more.
They can help you easily automatically gather data from Pinterest, and they can export all of this information into a database, based on how you’re wanting to view your information.
They have a lot of ready-made tools that you can make the most of and you can also make the most of a custom solution as well, which means that you can talk to them exactly about what you’re wanting to get out of your Pinterest data, and they can customize their features for you.
Their web chat log is going to pop up as soon as you visit their website, which means that you can talk to them either in the beginning about what your needs are, or you can talk to them further down the track, if you are having any issues with their services.
5. Octoparse
Octoparse is a Pinterest web scraper that can help you scrape visual content, and images from Pinterest. Not only can they help you scrape visual content, but they can help you scrape other content as well, including textual content.
What makes this scraper super powerful is the fact that it has been developed for the modern web, which means that it is going to come with anti-block techniques, so that you can get around Pinterest restrictions, and obtain the content that you’re trying to get your hands on, without any issues.
They have proved themselves to be one of the best in the industry when it being able to scrape data from Pinterest, and the good news is that it isn’t just limited to Pinterest, which means that you can use this scraper in order to scrape information from other websites as well.
It also doesn’t require you to have any prior coding experience.
Their pricing begins at $75 a month, and they also have a free trial that you can make the most of, which is going to last for two weeks.
This does come with the limitations, but we think that it is more than enough for you to get a good idea of what they are offering, and what you can gain from using them.
You can either make the most of their Pinterest scraper through the cloud, or you can download it onto your desktop.
6. ParseHub
ParseHub is a generalized Pinterest web scraper that can help you scrape data from not only Pinterest, but any website that you’re wanting to scrape data from.
This tool has been developed for the modern web, which means that you are going to be able to scrape the majority of websites out there.
You’re also going to be able to scrap the content of an entire board, which is incredibly helpful, especially if you are trying to obtain a lot of data from Pinterest in a small amount of time.
One thing that we really like about this Pinterest scraper is that it offers a free trial, so you can use this if you don’t have a budget when it comes to scraping.
It also lets you access its cloud-based platform, and also includes a number of other advanced features, including file retention, for successful storage.
These guys are free with a paid plan, and their free trial is free as well, but their advanced features come at an additional cost.
You can make the most of their features either through the cloud, or on desktop.
7. Webscraper.io
The next Pinterest web scraper on our list can help you scrape Pinterest really easily, and it comes with a Firefox extension, as well as a Chrome extension, so that you can scrape Pinterest data straight from your browser without having to use a native tool.
As far as their extensions go, these are free for you to use, and you can use them to scrape any website that you need to, because they have the capability to scrape information from all kinds of different pages.
One thing that you are going to like about a service like this is that it is pretty easy to use, and offers a point and click interface, so that you can scrape any information that you want from a specific page.
Because it is a browser extension, you don’t have to download anything to make the most of these guys.
Key Takeaways
- There are two different ways to scrape Pinterest data, you can either do so through a third party, or you can develop your own Pinterest scraper. In this article, we detail the coding that you need in order to be able to come up with your own Pinterest scraper.
- Scraping information from Pinterest isn’t illegal, but Pinterest doesn’t necessarily like its users during this. This is why you need to use an advanced Pinterest scraper, so that you can get around Pinterest’s anti-spam restrictions.
- We have a number of reliable and reputable Pinterest web scrapers that you can take advantage of, which are much better than going for random Pinterest scrapers you Google, because there are tons out there that aren’t actually going to help you in the way that they claim to.
What Is Pinterest Web Scraping?
Again, just like any other major social media site out there, you are generally going to want to use a Pinterest scraper in order to scrape data from the website, and you can either scrape visual data, or textual data.
Web scraping is one of the quickest ways to collect data from websites, especially those that don’t offer an official API.
Because Pinterest isn’t offering an API, you don’t have any choice but to use a Pinterest scraper.
However, you need to be aware of the fact that Pinterest tends to frown upon people who use web scrapers, especially if they are automating the process.
However, while it doesn’t support scraping in the strictest sense of the word, this doesn’t mean that the practice is illegal, as long as the data that you are scraping is publicly available.
The main issue is going to lie in what you are using to scrape data from Pinterest, because a large amount of the visual data that you’ll find on Pinterest has been copyrighted.
Another challenge that you will come face to face with is the roadblocks that Pinterest is going to put in place as you attempt to scrape data.
As we’ve already talked about briefly, Pinterest has an anti-spam system, that is going to discourage scraping, and might even block you if it thinks that you are attempting to scrape content.
Pinterest is going to track your activity on the website using your IP address, which is why you are going to need to make the most of a proxy.
A proxy is going to be able to hide your IP address, so that you can successfully scrape information from Pinterest, without being blocked, or restricted.
How to Scrape Pinterest With Python and Selenium
If you aren’t somebody who knows a lot about coding, then you need to go back to the list above, where you are going to find our top picks for the best Pinterest scraping tools in the industry.
However for this section, we’re going to be talking about how if you are an advanced coder, or even if you know a little bit about coding, you can make the most of these skills to develop your very own Pinterest web scraper.
If you have made a decision to scrape Pinterest, then the most important thing you need to do is to see whether you can access the data, with JavaScript being off.
This is going to determine the framework or libraries that you are going to use.
As far as Python goes, if you need to scrape a website that is dependent on JavaScript like Pinterest, you are going to need to use Selenium, instead of BeautifulSoup.
Selenium is going to be able to automate your browser, so that you can use this to open the Python page, and then you’re going to be able to access the data that you are trying to collect.
Selenium offers compatibility with Firefox, Chrome, and more.
Below, we have included the coding necessary for you to create a successful scraper for Pinterest using Selenium.
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.common.exceptionsimport StaleElementReferenceException
from selenium.webdriver.common.keysimport Keys
import time, random, socket, unicodedata
import string, copy, os
import pandas as pd
import requests
try:
from urlparseimport urlparse
except ImportError:
from six.moves.urllib.parseimport urlparse
defdownload(myinput, mydir="./"):
if isinstance(myinput, str) or isinstance(myinput, bytes):
# http://automatetheboringstuff.com/chapter11/
res = requests.get(myinput)
res.raise_for_status()
# https://stackoverflow.com/questions/18727347/how-to-extract-a-filename-from-a-url-append-a-word-to-it
outfile = mydir + "/" + os.path.basename(urlparse(myinput).path)
playFile = open(outfile, 'wb')
for chunk in res.iter_content(100000):
playFile.write(chunk)
playFile.close()
elifisinstance(myinput, list):
for i in myinput:
download(i, mydir)
else:
pass
defphantom_noimages():
from fake_useragentimport UserAgent
from selenium.webdriver.common.desired_capabilitiesimport DesiredCapabilities
ua = UserAgent()
# ua.update()
# https://stackoverflow.com/questions/29916054/change-user-agent-for-selenium-driver
caps = DesiredCapabilities.PHANTOMJS
caps["phantomjs.page.settings.userAgent"] = ua.random
return webdriver.PhantomJS(service_args=["--load-images=no"], desired_capabilities=caps)
defranddelay(a, b):
time.sleep(random.uniform(a, b))
defu_to_s(uni):
return unicodedata.normalize('NFKD', uni).encode('ascii', 'ignore')
class Pinterest_Helper(object):
def__init__(self, login, pw, browser=None):
if browser is None:
# http://tarunlalwani.com/post/selenium-disable-image-loading-different-browsers/
profile = webdriver.FirefoxProfile()
profile.set_preference("permissions.default.image", 2)
self.browser = webdriver.Firefox(firefox_profile=profile)
else:
self.browser = browser
self.browser.get("https://www.pinterest.com")
emailElem = self.browser.find_element_by_name('id')
emailElem.send_keys(login)
passwordElem = self.browser.find_element_by_name('password')
passwordElem.send_keys(pw)
passwordElem.send_keys(Keys.RETURN)
randdelay(2, 4)
defgetURLs(self, urlcsv, threshold=500):
tmp = self.read(urlcsv)
results = []
for t in tmp:
tmp3 = self.runme(t, threshold)
results = list(set(results + tmp3))
random.shuffle(results)
return results
defwrite(self, myfile, mylist):
tmp = pd.DataFrame(mylist)
tmp.to_csv(myfile, index=False, header=False)
defread(self, myfile):
tmp = pd.read_csv(myfile, header=None).values.tolist()
tmp2 = []
for i in range(0, len(tmp)):
tmp2.append(tmp[i][0])
return tmp2
defrunme(self, url, threshold=500, persistence=120, debug=False):
final_results = []
previmages = []
tries = 0
try:
self.browser.get(url)
while threshold >0:
try:
results = []
images = self.browser.find_elements_by_tag_name("img")
if images == previmages:
tries += 1
else:
tries = 0
if tries > persistence:
if debug == True:
print("Exitting: persistence exceeded")
return final_results
for i in images:
src = i.get_attribute("src")
if src:
if src.find("/236x/") != -1:
src = src.replace("/236x/", "/736x/")
results.append(u_to_s(src))
previmages = copy.copy(images)
final_results = list(set(final_results + results))
dummy = self.browser.find_element_by_tag_name('a')
dummy.send_keys(Keys.PAGE_DOWN)
randdelay(1, 2)
threshold -= 1
except (StaleElementReferenceException):
if debug == True:
print("StaleElementReferenceException")
threshold -= 1
except (socket.error, socket.timeout):
if debug == True:
print("Socket Error")
except KeyboardInterrupt:
return final_results
if debug == True:
print("Exitting at end")
return final_results
defrunme_alt(self, url, threshold=500, tol=10, minwait=1, maxwait=2, debug=False):
final_results = []
heights = []
dwait = 0
try:
self.browser.get(url)
while threshold >0:
try:
results = []
images = self.browser.find_elements_by_tag_name("img")
cur_height = self.browser.execute_script("return document.documentElement.scrollTop")
page_height = self.browser.execute_script("return document.body.scrollHeight")
heights.append(int(page_height))
if debug == True:
print("Current Height: " + str(cur_height))
print("Page Height: " + str(page_height))
if len(heights) >tol:
if heights[-tol:] == [heights[-1]] * tol:
if debug == True:
print("No more elements")
return final_results
else:
if debug == True:
print("Min element: {}".format(str(min(heights[-tol:]))))
print("Max element: {}".format(str(max(heights[-tol:]))))
for i in images:
src = i.get_attribute("src")
if src:
if src.find("/236x/") != -1:
src = src.replace("/236x/", "/736x/")
results.append(u_to_s(src))
final_results = list(set(final_results + results))
self.browser.execute_script("window.scrollTo(0, document.body.scrollHeight);")
randdelay(minwait, maxwait)
threshold -= 1
except (StaleElementReferenceException):
if debug == True:
print("StaleElementReferenceException")
threshold -= 1
except (socket.error, socket.timeout):
if debug == True:
print("Socket Error. Waiting {} seconds.".format(str(dwait)))
time.sleep(dwait)
dwait += 1
# except (socket.error, socket.timeout):
# if debug == True:
# print("Socket Error")
except KeyboardInterrupt:
return final_results
if debug == True:
print("Exitting at end")
return final_results
defscrape_old(self, url):
results = []
self.browser.get(url)
images = self.browser.find_elements_by_tag_name("img")
for i in images:
src = i.get_attribute("src")
if src:
if string.find(src, "/236x/") != -1:
src = string.replace(src, "/236x/", "/736x/")
results.append(u_to_s(src))
return results
defclose(self):
self.browser.close()FAQs
What Is a Pinterest Scraper?
A Pinterest scraper is a piece of software that you are going to either develop on your own, or you are going to use through a third party, where you can extract information that is publicly available from Pinterest.
This is how they’re going to help you improve your presence on Pinterest yourself, or it is going to help your market research if you are a brand, and Pinterest is one of your main target markets.
Is Using a Pinterest Scraper Illegal?
The good news is that as long as you are using a Pinterest crawler to scrape data that is already publicly available, it isn’t illegal to use one.
The thing about Pinterest is that it doesn’t really like when people automate the extraction of data, so they aren’t going to like it when you do this but trust us when we say that it still isn’t illegal.
Can I Develop My Own Scraper for Pinterest?
As you can see from our discussion above, you’ve got every opportunity to develop your own Pinterest web scraper, if you’re somebody who has learned a little bit about coding over the last few years, and you want to be able to scrape Pinterest with your own one.
There are a number of different protocols that you can use, and we have even included preset coding above, to make your life a little bit easier.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, there are a number of reasons why you might want to be able to scrape data from Pinterest.
From being able to extract data that is going to help with your next marketing strategy, or you just want to be able to see what your competition is up to, so that you can give yourself a really good chance of success, there are tons of reasons that we can think of why we might want to be able to extract information from Pinterest.
The good news is that there are a number of ways to do this from developing your own Pinterest scraper to making the most of one of the Pinterest web scrapers that we have talked about on the list above.
Make sure that you stick to the ones that we’ve talked about in this article, because there are tons out there that are going to promise you a good experience, but in all reality, they are probably just going to try and take advantage of you.
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Written by Jason Wise
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