Apify actor · Google Trends data
Google Trends API: interest over time, regions, related queries and Trending Now
Live$3 per 1,000 search termsNo start feeGoogle Trends API is an Apify actor that returns Google Trends data as JSON, CSV or Excel: interest over time, interest by region, top and rising related queries, related topics when Google returns them, and Trending Now by country. Compare up to 5 keywords on one 0-100 scale for any country, time range, category and search type (web, news, images, YouTube, Shopping). It costs $3 per 1,000 search terms and $1 per 1,000 trending searches, with no start fee; terms that fail or have no data are free.
- Platform
- Apify (cloud). Console, API, schedules, Make/Zapier/n8n, or AI assistants via MCP
- Data
- Interest over time, interest by region (country, state, metro, city), related queries (top and rising, with Breakout flags), related topics, Trending Now
- Options
- Up to 5 terms per comparison, any geo, time range from past hour to 2004-present or custom dates, category, search type (web, news, images, YouTube, Shopping)
- Output
- One row per search term (nested JSON) or one row per data point (long format for Excel and BI tools), same price
- Summary fields
averageInterest,peakDate,latestInterest, so an LLM or spreadsheet needs no post-processing- Price
- $0.003 per search term with data; $0.001 per Trending Now row; no start fee
- Store listing
- apify.com/tidewell/google-trends-api
Who it is for
- SEO and content teams finding rising queries and checking seasonality before planning content.
- Brand and competitor tracking: compare your brand with four competitors every week, per country.
- Product and market research: demand by region, and across YouTube, Shopping and web search.
- Newsrooms and social teams pulling Trending Now for several countries every morning, with the news links behind each trend.
- AI agents and data science: compact JSON for LLMs, and long-run time series as forecasting features.
What it does
- Follows the same request flow as the Trends website, paces its requests, and backs off and retries when Google rate-limits.
- Real comparisons:
chatgpt, gemini, claudeon one line come back on one shared scale, one row per term, plus each term's share per region. - Many countries in one run: set
geotoUS, GB, DE. - Every comparison's status is logged in
RUN_SUMMARY; failures are free. - Trending Now comes from Google's official RSS feed, about 10 items per country with traffic and news.
Quick start
Compare three AI assistants in the US over 12 months:
{
"searchTerms": ["chatgpt, gemini, claude"],
"geo": "US",
"timeframe": "today 12-m"
}Trending Now for five countries (no search terms needed):
{
"trendingGeos": ["US", "GB", "DE", "IN", "JP"]
}Example output row (trimmed):
{
"type": "searchTerm",
"searchTerm": "chatgpt",
"comparedWith": ["gemini", "claude"],
"geo": "US",
"timeframe": "today 12-m",
"hasData": true,
"averageInterest": 74.0,
"peakInterest": 100,
"peakDate": "2025-11-02",
"latestInterest": 76,
"latestDate": "2026-11-01",
"interestOverTime": [
{"date": "2025-11-02", "value": 100, "isPartial": false}
],
"interestByRegion": [{"geoCode": "US-CA", "geoName": "California", "value": 100}],
"relatedQueriesRising": [
{"rank": 1, "query": "chatgpt codex", "value": 1300, "formattedValue": "+1,300%", "isBreakout": false}
],
"exploreUrl": "https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=chatgpt,gemini,claude&date=today%2012-m&geo=US",
"scrapedAt": "2026-11-08T03:05:04Z"
}Synchronous HTTP call:
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/tidewell~google-trends-api/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<APIFY_TOKEN>" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"searchTerms": ["rust, golang"], "geo": "GB", "timeframe": "today 5-y"}'Use it from Claude or ChatGPT (Apify MCP server)
Apify runs a hosted MCP server at https://mcp.apify.com. Add it to your AI assistant with this actor selected, and the assistant can run the actor and read the results for you. You need an Apify account (the free plan works); runs are billed to it at the prices on this page.
Server URL with only this actor loaded:
https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=tidewell/google-trends-apiClaude (claude.ai and Claude Desktop)
- Open Settings → Connectors.
- Choose Add custom connector, name it
Apifyand paste the URL above. (Apify is also in the connector directory; the custom URL loads only this actor.) - Connect, sign in to Apify and approve access.
Claude Code
claude mcp add apify "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=tidewell/google-trends-api" -t httpClaude Code opens the Apify sign-in page the first time it uses the server.
ChatGPT
Following Apify's current instructions: add a custom MCP server named Apify, enter the URL above and choose OAuth. In the ChatGPT desktop app this is Settings → MCP servers → Add server → Streamable HTTP. Business, Enterprise and Edu workspaces may need an admin to add it.
Cursor, VS Code and other MCP clients
{
"mcpServers": {
"apify": {
"url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=tidewell/google-trends-api"
}
}
}Clients that cannot sign in with OAuth can send your Apify API token (Apify Console → Settings → API & Integrations) instead:
{
"mcpServers": {
"apify": {
"url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=tidewell/google-trends-api",
"headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer <APIFY_TOKEN>" }
}
}
}Example prompts
- Use tidewell/google-trends-api to compare 'chatgpt, gemini, claude' in the US over the last 12 months and tell me which is rising fastest.
- What is trending on Google today in the UK and Germany?
- Show the top rising queries for 'air fryer' in the UK over the past 3 months.
The actor appears to the assistant as the tool tidewell--google-trends-api. Setup steps checked against Apify's MCP documentation and the apify-mcp-server README on 8 November 2026; we also confirmed the tool loads with that URL.
Pricing
| Event | Price | When |
|---|---|---|
| Search term result | $0.003 | Once per search term that returned data. A 3-term comparison costs $0.009, whatever the output format or number of sections |
| Trending search | $0.001 | Once per Trending Now row. A country usually returns 10 rows, so $0.01 per country |
No start fee. Failed comparisons and terms with no data cost nothing. Examples: 100 single keywords for one country, $0.30; 20 comparisons of 5 brands in 3 countries (300 terms), $0.90; Trending Now for 10 countries every day for a month, about $3.
How it compares
| Actor | Users (30 days) | Price per result | Start fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| tidewell/google-trends-api (this) | New | $0.003 per search term; $0.001 per trending search | None | Charged per term, never per data point; failed terms free |
| apify / google-trends-scraper | 3,270 (3.7★, 32) | $0.006 (Gold $0.003) | $0.00005 | The category leader. Its public 30-day run stats showed 15,999 succeeded, 4,575 timed out, 6,188 aborted, 363 failed |
| data_xplorer / google-trends-fast-scraper | 911 (4.9★, 4) | $0.002 (Gold $0.0005) | $0.025 | Cheaper than us above about 25 terms per run |
| agenscrape / google-trends-scraper | 371 | $0.025 | $0.025 | |
| khadinakbar / google-trends-scraper | 307 | $0.005 | $0.00005 | |
| scrapesage / google-trends-scraper | 81 | $0.004/keyword, $0.005/comparison, $0.0015/trending search | None | |
| unitbytes / google-trends-scraper | 47 (4.9★, 5) | $0.00045 (unit unclear) | $0.00005 | Cheapest per row |
Aborted runs in Apify's figures may include runs users stopped themselves, so treat them as a signal, not a failure rate. Where others fit better: for very large single runs (above about 25 terms) data_xplorer is cheaper per term; for the lowest per-row price, unitbytes. Longer write-up: Apify Google Trends scraper alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an official Google Trends API?
Google has no generally available public Trends API; an official Trends API has been in limited alpha since 2025. This actor requests the same public data the Trends website shows.
Is scraping Google Trends allowed?
Google Trends data is public, aggregated and anonymised, and the actor collects no personal data. Google's Terms of Service restrict automated access to its services, though, so using it may conflict with those terms. You are responsible for your use. This is not legal advice.
Why are related topics sometimes empty?
Google often returns an empty related-topics list to automated requests, even when the Trends page shows topics in a browser. The actor then returns empty lists rather than guessing. Related queries are not affected.
Will the numbers match trends.google.com?
Usually, for the same terms, geo, time range, category and search type. Google samples its data, so values can move by a few points between requests. Each row has an exploreUrl that opens the same view on Google Trends.
Is this a pytrends alternative?
Yes. It returns the same kinds of data (interest over time, by region, related queries, trending searches) as a maintained hosted service with retries, proxies and a per-term price, so you do not have to manage rate limits yourself.
What happens when Google rate-limits?
The actor waits and retries with exponential backoff on a fresh proxy IP. A comparison that still fails is reported in RUN_SUMMARY and not charged.
How much does it cost?
$0.003 per search term that returned data and $0.001 per Trending Now row. 100 single keywords for one country cost $0.30; Trending Now for 10 countries every day for a month costs about $3.
Last updated 8 November 2026. Questions or corrections: [email protected].