If TikTok has turned down your Research API application, you can still get the public data most projects need. Scavio's TikTok API returns a video's views, likes, saves, shares and comment count from /api/v1/tiktok/video, up to 50 comments a call with likes and reply counts from /video/comments, the replies under any comment, and the spoken transcript, with an API key issued at signup and no application. Each call is 1 credit, about $0.002 on the Growth plan billed yearly.
The question has been asked for years. On r/CompSocial, a UK student researcher asked whether anyone had managed to get the official TikTok API after being "rejected for random repeated reasons". The thread has 38 comments; the replies still visible are mostly from others who were rejected too, and one says they bought data from a third-party analytics site instead. It still ranks first on Google for "tiktok research api" and fourth for "tiktok api".
Who TikTok's Research API is for
Before you look elsewhere, check whether you qualify, because for eligible academic work the Research API is the official source. On October 27, 2026, TikTok's Research API page listed:
- Academic institutions in the US, EEA, UK, Canada or Switzerland.
- EU not-for-profit or independent research bodies, in a beta with select researchers.
- Brazilian academic or not-for-profit organizations studying online youth safety.
Research must be non-commercial and independent of commercial interests, and the FAQ says creators, advertisers and commercial users are not eligible and that a developer account alone does not grant access: each project is approved separately. Once approved, the default quota is 1,000 requests a day (up to 100,000 records), video queries need a date window of at most 30 days, and view counts can lag by up to 10 days. The TikTok pages we checked do not say why an application is rejected, so we cannot tell you why yours failed.
If you are outside those groups, your project is commercial, or you need data before a review comes back, the public data is still there.
Step 1: Map the Research API fields to Scavio
The Research API's video query and comments endpoints return fields with near equivalents in Scavio's responses:
| Research API field | Scavio field | Scavio endpoint |
|---|---|---|
view_count | statistics.play_count | /api/v1/tiktok/video, hashtag, search, user posts |
like_count | statistics.digg_count | same |
comment_count, share_count | statistics.comment_count, statistics.share_count | same |
favorites_count | statistics.collect_count | same |
voice_to_text | segments[] and text | /api/v1/tiktok/video/transcript |
comment text, like_count, reply_count | text, digg_count, reply_comment_total | /api/v1/tiktok/video/comments |
comment parent_comment_id | comment_id you pass for replies | /api/v1/tiktok/video/comments/replies |
Step 2: Collect the videos
Find videos the way you would sample them: by hashtag, keyword or creator. For a hashtag, resolve its id and page its videos:
curl -s https://api.scavio.dev/api/v1/tiktok/hashtag/videos \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SCAVIO_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"hashtag_id": "1622962893630470"}'That is #BookTok, which reported 88,078,371 videos on October 27, 2026. Three pages returned 57 distinct videos with full statistics. The median video drew 0.71 comments per 1,000 views, against 7.1 saves and 6.0 shares, so if your research measures engagement, the saves and shares fields matter as much as comments. The chart is in the best TikTok video and comment APIs.
Step 3: Collect the comments and replies
curl -s https://api.scavio.dev/api/v1/tiktok/video/comments \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SCAVIO_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"video_id": "7456818947573222689", "count": 50}'A BookTok explainer with 4,445 comments returned 50 a page with cid, text, likes, reply_comment_total, timestamp and language. Its top comment reported 11 replies, and /video/comments/replies with that comment's id returned the 10 still visible. Page with cursor until has_more is 0 and deduplicate on cid; the step-by-step guide shows the full responses.
Step 4: Add the transcript
/api/v1/tiktok/video/transcript returned that 110-second video as 38 timestamped segments and a 340-word text block, flagged as the creator's own captions rather than auto-generated. That covers what the Research API calls voice_to_text, for videos that carry captions.
What this does not replace
- Querying all of TikTok by date and region. The Research API queries public videos in 30-day windows with filters such as region, keyword and hashtag. Scavio reads TikTok's own feeds (a hashtag, a keyword search, a creator's videos), which are ranked rather than complete, so build your sample from those and document it.
- Institutional cover. The Research API comes with TikTok's research terms. With any other source, check your ethics board's requirements, TikTok's terms and the privacy law that applies to the commenters in your data.
- Private content. Only public videos and comments are returned.
On cost, a study that pulls 500 videos and 20,000 comments needs about 500 video calls and 400 comment pages: 900 credits, under $2 on the Growth plan billed yearly, or inside the $30 Project plan's 7,000 monthly credits. Try the TikTok API free, 50 credits, no card, or try the endpoints in the playground.
Reference: TikTok API overview · comments docs · transcript docs · how to get TikTok video and comment data
Frequently asked questions
Who is eligible for TikTok's Research API?
On October 27, 2026, TikTok's Research API page listed academic institutions in the US, EEA, UK, Canada and Switzerland, EU not-for-profit and independent research bodies in a beta, and Brazilian academic or not-for-profit organizations studying youth safety. Research must be non-commercial and independent of commercial interests, and creators, advertisers and commercial users are not eligible.
What are the TikTok Research API's limits?
TikTok's FAQ sets a default of 1,000 requests a day, up to 100,000 records a day across the APIs, resetting at midnight UTC, and says it cannot grant exceptions. Video queries need a start and end date no more than 30 days apart, comments come back up to 100 per request, and statistics such as view counts can take up to 10 days to update.
Can I use TikTok data for a commercial product?
Not through the Research API, which is for non-commercial research only. Commercial apps use the Display API for their own users' accounts, or a third-party API such as Scavio's TikTok API for public videos, comments and transcripts. Check TikTok's terms and the privacy rules that apply to you before you store personal data.
Is there a TikTok API that does not need approval?
Yes. Scavio's TikTok API issues a key at signup with no developer application, and returns public video statistics, comments, replies, transcripts, hashtag and search feeds for 1 credit a call. New accounts get 50 free credits without a card.