Y Combinator: scrapers and the official API, compared

YC company directory: startups, batches, status, team size, founders and open jobs.

Short answer

For most Y Combinator jobs, start with Y Combinator Startup Directory with Founders & Jobs: it covers 5 of 6 core fields (name, batch, status, stage and 1 more) at $0.99 per 1,000 results on Apify's Free plan. The top published score for Y Combinator goes to Y Combinator Scraper by clearpath (93 of 100), a Store tool from another publisher, listed for reference.

From published Store listings, output schemas and the official documentation. Checked 2026-10-24. How the ranking works.

Y Combinator Startup Directory with Founders & Jobs: inputs, code and cost Open in Apify Store

1 catalogue Actor 8 other Store tools Official API: No open API Lowest rate $0.10 per 1K

Route map

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

1 Y Combinator Startup Directory with Founders & Jobs 9 output fields, pay per event 5 of 6 core fields
$0.99 / 1K
+ 7 other Store tools, combined Reference only 5 of 6 core fields
from $0.10 / 1K
API No documented YC directory API No open API fields not compared

Stops are fields. A ring means the field is in that route's published output schema; no ring means the line passes without it. Bold labels are the core fields for this website, the rest are fields that differ between routes. A white capsule means every data line stops there. The red line is the official API; its field coverage is not compared. A crossed red line means there is no open official API.

Catalogue Actors for Y Combinator

Y Combinator Startup Directory with Founders & Jobs

Search Y Combinator's company directory by batch, industry, status, or keyword, and get each company's profile, founders, and open job postings.…

5/6 core fields 9 output fields $0.99 per 1K Open in Apify Store

Field matrix: who returns what

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

Which tools return each core Y Combinator field, from published output schemas
Tool	name	batch	status	stage	team	url	Fields
Y Combinator Startup Directory with Founders & Jobs	●	●	●	●	–	●	5/6
Y Combinator ScraperReference only, by clearpath	●	●	●	●	–	●	5/6
YCombinator Companies ScraperReference only, by haketa	●	●	●	●	–	●	5/6
Y Combinator ScraperReference only, by scrapesage	●	●	●	●	–	●	5/6
Y Combinator Jobs ScraperReference only, by artemlazarevm	●	●	●	●	–	●	5/6
Y Combinator Jobs ScraperReference only, by parsebird	●	●	–	–	–	●	3/6
Y Combinator Jobs Scraper: Startup Jobs + Only New JobsReference only, by nomad-agent	●	–	–	–	–	●	2/6
Y Combinator ScraperReference only, by michael.g	●	●	●	●	–	●	5/6
Tools returning it	8	7	6	6	0	8

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 Y Combinator Actor by field.

Output keys for each core Y Combinator field in the top catalogue Actors
Core field	Y Combinator Startup Directory…
name	name
batch	batch
status	status
stage	stage
team	–
url	url

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.

Catalogue Actors for Y Combinator, ranked by the published method
		Sample fields
82	Y Combinator Startup Directory with Founders & Jobs Catalogue Actor, pay per event	name, batch, stage	9	$0.99	19 runs, too few to rate	Oct 2026

Other Store tools, for reference

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

Other Store tools for Y Combinator, for reference
		Sample fields
93	Y Combinator Scraper Reference only, by clearpath	name, batch, stage	39	$3.50	100% of 44 runs	Nov 2026
92	YCombinator Companies Scraper Reference only, by haketa	name, batch, stage	12	$2.50	100% of 65 runs	Nov 2026
92	Y Combinator Scraper Reference only, by scrapesage	name, batchName, stage	22	$4.00	100% of 244 runs	Nov 2026
88	Y Combinator Jobs Scraper Reference only, by artemlazarevm	company.name, company.ycBatch, company.status	23	$30	100% of 32 runs	Sep 2026
84	Y Combinator Jobs Scraper Reference only, by parsebird	title, ycBatch, url	14	$1.99	99% of 417 runs	Oct 2026
78	Y Combinator Jobs Scraper: Startup Jobs + Only New Jobs Reference only, by nomad-agent	title, url, schemaVersion	17	$0.10	92% of 1,040 runs	Nov 2026
75	Y Combinator Scraper Reference only, by michael.g	company_name, batch, stage	28	$150	100% of 145 runs	Nov 2026
73	Y Combinator Scraper with Founders & Emails Reference only, by fatihtahta	No published schema	–	$2.00	97% of 121 runs	Aug 2026

Official API route

No documented YC directory API

Y Combinator publishes its company directory as web pages and does not document a public API for it. An undocumented JSON endpoint (api.ycombinator.com/v0.1/companies) answered on 2026-11-11, but no documentation or terms for it are published.

Price. No public self-serve API or price is published.

Limits. Limits are not published.

Official documentation

Terms and personal data

YC's Terms of Use prohibit data mining, robots and scraping, and circumventing IP blocks. This is general information, not legal advice.

Read Y Combinator's terms. Keep to public data, do not bypass logins or access controls, and check whether personal data is involved before you collect it. The can-I-scrape checklist walks through it.

How to start

Open Y Combinator Startup Directory with Founders & Jobs and start from its default input; its Actor page has the full example input and code.
Set the Y Combinator search, profile, listing or URL you need and a result limit; the required input is mode.
Run it and export the dataset as JSON, CSV or Excel, or call it from the Apify API.

Call Y Combinator Startup Directory with Founders & Jobs from code

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

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>")
run_input = {
    "mode": "search",
    "batch": "S24",
    "industry": "any",
    "region": "any",
    "status": "any",
    "tags": [],
    "isHiring": False,
    "topCompany": False,
    "nonprofit": False,
    "highlightBlackFounders": False,
    "highlightWomenFounders": False,
    "highlightHispanicFounders": False,
    "sortBy": "default",
    "companyUrls": [],
    "scrapeFounders": True,
    "scrapeOpenJobs": False,
    "includeJobDescriptions": False,
    "includeLaunches": False,
    "includeLaunchBodies": False,
    "includeNews": False,
    "includeFounderProfiles": False,
    "maxItems": 3
}

run = client.actor("dataspryva/y-combinator-startup-directory-with-founders").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)

pip install apify-client

JavaScript

import { ApifyClient } from "apify-client";

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: "<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>" });
const input = {
    "mode": "search",
    "batch": "S24",
    "industry": "any",
    "region": "any",
    "status": "any",
    "tags": [],
    "isHiring": false,
    "topCompany": false,
    "nonprofit": false,
    "highlightBlackFounders": false,
    "highlightWomenFounders": false,
    "highlightHispanicFounders": false,
    "sortBy": "default",
    "companyUrls": [],
    "scrapeFounders": true,
    "scrapeOpenJobs": false,
    "includeJobDescriptions": false,
    "includeLaunches": false,
    "includeLaunchBodies": false,
    "includeNews": false,
    "includeFounderProfiles": false,
    "maxItems": 3
};

const run = await client.actor("dataspryva/y-combinator-startup-directory-with-founders").call(input);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

npm install apify-client

cURL

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/dataspryva~y-combinator-startup-directory-with-founders/run-sync-get-dataset-items"   -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN"   -H "Content-Type: application/json"   -d '{"mode":"search","batch":"S24","industry":"any","region":"any","status":"any","tags":[],"isHiring":false,"topCompany":false,"nonprofit":false,"highlightBlackFounders":false,"highlightWomenFounders":false,"highlightHispanicFounders":false,"sortBy":"default","companyUrls":[],"scrapeFounders":true,"scrapeOpenJobs":false,"includeJobDescriptions":false,"includeLaunches":false,"includeLaunchBodies":false,"includeNews":false,"includeFounderProfiles":false,"maxItems":3}'

Waits for the run and returns the dataset items (runs over 300 seconds return HTTP 408; start an async run instead).

MCP (AI agents)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=dataspryva/y-combinator-startup-directory-with-founders",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Adds this Actor as a tool in an MCP client that takes a remote server URL (Cursor, VS Code, Claude Code) through Apify's hosted MCP server. OAuth sign-in also works without the header. Clients that only start local servers can wrap the URL with npx mcp-remote.

Questions people ask

What is the cheapest catalogue Actor for Y Combinator data?

Y Combinator Startup Directory with Founders & Jobs lists $0.99 per 1,000 results (pay per event), with 9 fields in its published output schema. Start events and platform usage are billed separately. Checked 2026-10-24.

Which Y Combinator scraper returns the most core fields?

Y Combinator Startup Directory with Founders & Jobs covers 5 of the 6 core Y Combinator fields this page tracks (name, batch, status, stage, team, url), based on its published output schema.

Does Y Combinator have an official API?

No open API: Y Combinator publishes its company directory as web pages and does not document a public API for it. An undocumented JSON endpoint (api.ycombinator.com/v0.1/companies) answered on 2026-11-11, but no documentation or terms for it are published. No public self-serve API or price is published.

Is it legal to scrape Y Combinator?

It depends on what you collect and how. YC's Terms of Use prohibit data mining, robots and scraping, and circumventing IP blocks. Read Y Combinator's terms (https://www.ycombinator.com/legal) before you collect, and check whether personal data is involved. This is general information, not legal advice.

More on Y Combinator

Topic groupJobs and hiring data: every website compared
ToolWhich Y Combinator route fits your job?
ToolY Combinator cost by Apify plan, rows and runs

Crunchbase1 Actor
Wellfound1 Actor
Product Hunt1 Actor
Hacker News1 Actor

Sources

Data checked 2026-10-24

Cite this page

Scraper Finder. "How to get Y Combinator data." https://scraperfinder.com/sites/y-combinator/ (data checked 2026-10-24).

Highest-scoring catalogue Actor

Y Combinator Startup Directory with Founders & Jobs: 5 of 6 core fields, $0.99 per 1,000 results, score 82. The highest score overall is 93 (Y Combinator Scraper, a Store tool from another publisher); both are in the table above.

Open in Apify Store