YouTube Trends API

License: MIT API v1 MCP compatible Free tier

YouTube trend data as clean JSON: search interest time series for any keyword, growth rates, and the live trending videos feed from one REST endpoint. No Google Cloud project, no quota math.

One endpoint. One API key. One normalized 0-100 trend score you can compare against 14 other platforms.

Docs: https://trendsapi.ai/#quickstart · llms.txt: https://trendsapi.ai/llms.txt · Free API key (100 req/mo): https://trendsapi.ai/#get-key

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What a call looks like

curl -X POST https://api.trendsapi.ai/api \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"mode": "get_growth", "source": "youtube", "keyword": "mrbeast", "percent_growth": ["3M", "12M"]}'

{
  "keyword": "mrbeast",
  "source": "youtube",
  "growth": { "3M": 41.8, "12M": 212.4 },
  "timestamp": "2026-08-03T12:00:00Z"
}

Quickstart (60 seconds)

1. Get a free API key at https://trendsapi.ai/#get-key - 100 requests/month, no credit card.

2. Make your first call:

curl -X POST https://api.trendsapi.ai/api \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"mode": "get_time_series", "source": "youtube", "keyword": "mrbeast"}'

Python:

import requests

res = requests.post(
    "https://api.trendsapi.ai/api",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={"mode": "get_growth", "source": "youtube", "keyword": "mrbeast",
          "percent_growth": ["3M", "12M"]},
)
print(res.json())

Node.js:

const res = await fetch("https://api.trendsapi.ai/api", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    Authorization: "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({ mode: "get_growth", source: "youtube", keyword: "mrbeast",
                          percent_growth: ["3M", "12M"] }),
});
console.log(await res.json());

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The three modes

Mode	What it returns	Needs a keyword?
get_time_series	Historical search volume as a normalized 0-100 series	yes
get_growth	Growth % over 3M / 6M / 12M / 5Y windows	yes
get_top_trends	Live trending feeds (21 of them)	no

Why teams switch

	YouTube Data API	Trends API
Setup	Google Cloud project + OAuth	one API key
Search interest metric	not exposed	normalized 0-100 series
Trending videos feed	separate endpoint	included, one call
Quota management	yes, units per call	flat: 1 request = 1 call
Free tier	10k units/day	100 requests/month

Use cases

• Video ideation: validate a topic's search interest before scripting
• Channel strategy: track your niche's rising keywords week over week
• Competitor research: compare search demand for competing channels or formats
• Sponsorship: show brands category growth with hard numbers

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Use it from your AI assistant (MCP)

The same API key powers the Trends API MCP server, so Claude, Cursor, VS Code, ChatGPT and any MCP-compatible client can query this data in natural language.

+ Add to Cursor (one click)

Cursor / Windsurf / Cline (~/.cursor/mcp.json or equivalent):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "trendsapi": {
      "url": "https://api.trendsapi.ai/mcp",
      "transport": "http",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

VS Code / GitHub Copilot (.vscode/mcp.json):

{
  "servers": {
    "trendsapi": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.trendsapi.ai/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "trendsapi": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://api.trendsapi.ai/mcp", "--header", "Authorization:${AUTH_HEADER}"],
      "env": { "AUTH_HEADER": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

Claude.ai (browser): Settings -> Connectors -> Add custom connector -> https://api.trendsapi.ai/mcp

Then ask things like:

How did "creatine gummies" grow on TikTok vs Google over the last 12 months?
What is trending on YouTube right now?

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Every source on the same key

Source	source value	What it measures
Google Search	google search	Search volume
Google Images	google images	Image search volume
Google News	google news	News search volume
Google Shopping	google shopping	Shopping search volume
YouTube	youtube	Search volume
TikTok	tiktok	Hashtag volume
Reddit	reddit	Subreddit subscribers
Amazon	amazon	Product search volume
Wikipedia	wikipedia	Page views
News volume	news volume	Article mention volume
News sentiment	news sentiment	Positive / negative score
App downloads	app downloads	Android downloads (AppBrain)
App rankings	app rankings	Android chart position
npm	npm	Weekly package downloads
Steam	steam	Concurrent players (monthly)

Live feeds (get_top_trends, no keyword needed)

Feed	type value
Google Trends	Google Trends
Google News Top News	Google News Top News
TikTok Trending Hashtags	TikTok Trending Hashtags
TikTok Trending Searches	TikTok Trending Searches
TikTok Shop Hot Products	TikTok Shop Hot Products
YouTube Trending	YouTube Trending
X (Twitter) Trending	X (Twitter) Trending
Reddit Hot Posts	Reddit Hot Posts
Reddit World News	Reddit World News
Wikipedia Trending	Wikipedia Trending
Amazon Best Sellers Top Rated	Amazon Best Sellers Top Rated
Amazon Best Sellers by Category	Amazon Best Sellers by Category
App Store Top Free	App Store Top Free
App Store Top Paid	App Store Top Paid
Google Play	Google Play
Top Websites	Top Websites
Spotify Top Podcasts	Spotify Top Podcasts
Steam Most Played	Steam Most Played
GitHub Trending Repos	GitHub Trending Repos
IMDb MOVIEmeter	IMDb MOVIEmeter
Open Library Trending Books	Open Library Trending Books

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FAQ

What YouTube data does Trends API provide?

Keyword search volume over time (normalized 0-100), growth over 3M/6M/12M/5Y windows, and the live YouTube Trending feed of top videos right now.

How is this different from the YouTube Data API?

The YouTube Data API returns video and channel metadata but no search-interest metric. Trends API gives you the demand side: how often people search for a topic, plus a normalized score you can compare against TikTok, Google and 13 other sources.

Do I need a Google Cloud project?

No. One Trends API key, one POST endpoint, no OAuth and no quota-unit accounting.

How fresh is the data?

The trending feed updates continuously through the day. Keyword series are pulled on demand at request time; every response carries its own timestamp.

Can I track a topic across YouTube and TikTok together?

Yes. Make one get_growth call per source with the same keyword and compare the percentages directly - both are on the same normalized scale.

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Links

• Docs & quickstart: https://trendsapi.ai/#quickstart
• llms.txt (machine-readable API reference): https://trendsapi.ai/llms.txt
• Pricing (free tier: 100 requests/month): https://trendsapi.ai/#pricing
• Get an API key: https://trendsapi.ai/#get-key

License

MIT - see LICENSE. Data is served by Trends API; usage of the API itself is subject to the plan limits on your key.