Coursera: scrapers and the official API, compared

Route map

Each line is one way to get Coursera data; each stop is a field you probably need. Green lines are catalogue Actors, ranked by the published formula.

Field matrix: who returns what

Every tool with a published output schema, against the 6 fields most Coursera jobs need. A dot means the field name appears in the schema; rows can still leave it empty.

Field dictionary: the exact keys

The same core field has a different key in each Actor's output. Map these before you merge datasets; a dash means the published schema has no matching key. Need a field that is not listed here, such as email? Search every Coursera Actor by field.

Download this comparison: CSV · JSON (every tool with a published schema, matching keys per core field, price and score).

All 9 tools, scored

Catalogue Actors link to their detail pages; the score (0 to 100) is the published formula, identical for every tool. Other Store tools follow in their own table, for reference. Price is the published primary-result rate per 1,000 (the Free-plan rate where the price is tiered; higher Apify plans pay less); start events and platform usage are excluded.

Other Store tools, for reference

Scored with the same published formula and listed for comparison only; this site does not link or recommend them.

What to check before you choose

Learning catalog planners can organize Coursera courses and specializations by partner, difficulty and learner interest. These records help build program shortlists and compare offerings without mixing catalog metadata with learner activity.

Catalog extraction suits research into publicly listed learning programs where collection is authorized. Coursera for Business APIs serve an organization's own programs and learner data, while the legacy public catalog endpoint has an unresolved documentation gap.

Checklist

• Use recordType to distinguish courses from specializations in Coursera Course & Specialization Catalog Scraper before combining ratings or learner counts.
• Check how partnerName, difficultyLevel, avgRating and learnerCount are populated; their published descriptions leave normalization and missing-value rules unexplained.
• Match the API route to your access: customer integrations use the developer portal and contract-based credentials, while the legacy catalog endpoint lacks its former documentation site.

Where the data is incomplete

Coursera Course & Specialization Catalog Scraper lists catalog names, partners, difficulty, ratings, learner counts and course links. Its published schema omits instructor details, syllabus content, transcripts, pricing and individual learner progress.

The legacy public Catalog API endpoint answered at the latest check, but its former documentation site no longer resolves. Confirm its current behavior before depending on it, and use the customer API documentation for integrations involving your organization's programs and learners.

Official API route

Free, open-source and no-code routes

• Free monthly credit. Apify's Free plan includes $5 of usage a month (Apify pricing, checked 2026-11-11). At the Free-plan rate of Coursera Course & Specialization Catalog Scraper ($0.99 per 1,000 results) that covers at most about 5,050 results a month, less start events and platform usage.
• No code. Every catalogue Actor runs from a form in Apify Console, and the results download as CSV, Excel or JSON (Apify datasets). The scored tool table links each one.
• Open source. Popular public GitHub repositories named after Coursera that scrape, download or export its data (plain names; not run or endorsed here):
  • coursera-dl/coursera-dl: 9,672 stars, last push May 11, 2024, LGPL-3.0 licence, Python.
  From the GitHub search API, read Nov 12, 2026; none of them was pushed in the last two years. Search GitHub for more. Open-source scrapers run on your own machine and IP address, and you update them when Coursera changes its pages.

How to scrape Coursera

1. Open Coursera Course & Specialization Catalog Scraper and review the Store listing for its accepted catalog selection inputs.
2. After obtaining the required collection permission, configure a narrow catalog request using the documented controls and start the collection.
3. Inspect recordType, partnerName, difficultyLevel and courseUrl, then export the records that fit your learning catalog.

Call Coursera Course & Specialization Catalog Scraper from code

The example input uses the Actor's published defaults; set your own Coursera query before you run it. You need an Apify API token.

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>")
run_input = {
    "mode": "search",
    "query": "machine learning",
    "startUrls": [],
    "slugs": [],
    "productIds": [],
    "productTypes": [
        "COURSE"
    ],
    "difficulties": [],
    "durations": [],
    "costs": [],
    "topics": [],
    "languages": [],
    "subtitleLanguages": [],
    "handsOnLearningTypes": [],
    "tools": [],
    "partners": [],
    "skills": [],
    "freeOnly": False,
    "sortBy": "BEST_MATCH",
    "maxItems": 3,
    "includeDetails": False
}

run = client.actor("nimbryxo-studio/coursera-course-and-specialization-catalog-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)
if run is None:
    raise RuntimeError("The Actor run was not found.")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

import { ApifyClient } from "apify-client";

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: "<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>" });
const input = {
    "mode": "search",
    "query": "machine learning",
    "startUrls": [],
    "slugs": [],
    "productIds": [],
    "productTypes": [
        "COURSE"
    ],
    "difficulties": [],
    "durations": [],
    "costs": [],
    "topics": [],
    "languages": [],
    "subtitleLanguages": [],
    "handsOnLearningTypes": [],
    "tools": [],
    "partners": [],
    "skills": [],
    "freeOnly": false,
    "sortBy": "BEST_MATCH",
    "maxItems": 3,
    "includeDetails": false
};

const run = await client.actor("nimbryxo-studio/coursera-course-and-specialization-catalog-scraper").call(input);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/nimbryxo-studio~coursera-course-and-specialization-catalog-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items"   -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN"   -H "Content-Type: application/json"   -d '{"mode":"search","query":"machine learning","startUrls":[],"slugs":[],"productIds":[],"productTypes":["COURSE"],"difficulties":[],"durations":[],"costs":[],"topics":[],"languages":[],"subtitleLanguages":[],"handsOnLearningTypes":[],"tools":[],"partners":[],"skills":[],"freeOnly":false,"sortBy":"BEST_MATCH","maxItems":3,"includeDetails":false}'

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=nimbryxo-studio/coursera-course-and-specialization-catalog-scraper",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Questions people ask

More on Coursera

• Retired toolUdemy API retired: what still works for Udemy data
• Topic groupNews, research and reference data: every website compared
• ToolWhich Coursera route fits your job?
• ToolCoursera cost by Apify plan, rows and runs

Related websites

• Udemy1 Actor
• Skool1 Actor
• YouTube18 Actors

Sources

• Coursera Course & Specialization Catalog Scraper on Apify Store
• Coursera Developer Portal (Coursera for Business APIs) documentation
• Official source, checked 2026-11-11
• Coursera terms