RSS feed vs iTunes Search API

A public RSS feed and the iTunes Search API answer different questions. RSS is the show’s own catalog once you already have a feed URL. Search is Apple directory discovery when you have a topic, not a feed. Apple Podcasts Scraper uses the official iTunes Search API for that discovery lane. Official Apple/iTunes endpoints. No proxy is required. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple.

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RSS, iTunes Search, feed extractors, and Google News

Use this page when the job is choosing a source: a known feed versus Apple keyword search. Use RSS & Atom Feed Extractor when you already have publisher feed URLs and need item lists. Use Google News Scraper when the job is query-based news headlines, not podcast catalog search.

Public RSS / Atom feed iTunes Search (Apple Podcasts Scraper) RSS & Atom Feed Extractor Google News Scraper
You have A show’s feed URL A topic, not a feed Publisher feed URLs in feedUrls News search queries
Intent That show’s published catalog Find matching shows in Apple Podcasts Parse known feeds into URL lists Discover article URLs by query
Apple collection IDs No Yes — collectionId on search rows No No
Chart rank No Not on search rows; use chartRequests or Chart Scraper No No

When an RSS feed alone is enough

If you already have a public feed URL, RSS is the direct source for that show’s published catalog:

Use RSS to watch cadence and new episodes on shows you already track. A feed does not search Apple’s directory. It does not return Apple collection IDs for other shows. It does not include chart rank. The Actor’s published input does not expose a full-catalog dump; for a known show’s complete history, read that show’s public RSS feed. When you have many publisher feeds to turn into URL lists, see RSS & Atom Feed Extractor.

When the iTunes Search API is the right source

Keyword search is the lowest-friction way to find public shows in Apple Podcasts. Set searchTerm. At least one of searchTerm, chartRequests, or lookupIds is required. country is the ISO storefront for the search (default us). limit is the maximum number of podcasts returned (1–200; default 50). Keep the first run small.

{
  "searchTerm": "founder podcast",
  "country": "us",
  "limit": 10,
  "includeEpisodes": false
}

Search results are source-linked dataset items. Sample rowType is podcast_search_result. Documented fields include collectionId, showName, publisher, country, sourceUrl, and fetchedAt. rank is null on search rows; rank belongs to chart requests. This Actor does not document genre filters, review text, or pagination beyond limit.

Storefront matters: the same query can differ across us, gb, jp, and other markets. Search and lookup use a single default country per run. See Apple Podcasts search discovery.

What each source does not do

A practical split

You have Start with
A feed URL, and you need that show’s published episodes RSS (or RSS & Atom Feed Extractor for many feeds)
A topic, and you need matching shows in Apple Podcasts iTunes Search (searchTerm)
Search hits you want to keep, and you need Apple IDs / storefront URLs The search dataset, then a watchlist refresh on lookupIds
News queries, and you need article URLs Google News Scraper

This is a source choice, not a ranking of tools. RSS remains the right read for a known feed. Search is the right read when the catalog, not the feed, is the question. A broader split that also covers charts and watchlists is in RSS vs Apple Podcasts Scraper.

Run an iTunes Search query on Apify

When is a public RSS feed enough?

If you already have a public feed URL, RSS is the direct source for that show’s published catalog: episode titles, descriptions, publish dates, audio enclosures, and publisher-declared metadata. A feed does not search Apple’s directory, return collection IDs for other shows, or include chart rank.

When should I use the iTunes Search API instead of RSS?

Use keyword search when you have a topic, not a feed URL. Apple Podcasts Scraper sets searchTerm against the official iTunes Search API. At least one of searchTerm, chartRequests, or lookupIds is required. country is the ISO storefront (default us). limit is 1–200 (default 50).

Does Apple Podcasts Scraper parse RSS feeds?

No. The published input does not expose a full-catalog dump. Optional includeEpisodes is a short look at what a resolved show is publishing; that path is slower and is not a full feed archive. For a known show’s complete history, read that show’s public RSS feed. See the episode metadata export workflow.

How is this different from RSS & Atom Feed Extractor?

RSS & Atom Feed Extractor parses public RSS or Atom XML you already have (feedUrls) into item URL lists. It is a feed discovery layer for publishers you trust, not Apple directory search. iTunes Search finds shows in Apple Podcasts when you do not have feed URLs yet. Google News Scraper is a different query-based news discovery surface, not a podcast catalog.

What does an iTunes Search row contain?

Search results are source-linked dataset items. Sample rowType is podcast_search_result. Documented fields include collectionId, showName, publisher, country, sourceUrl, and fetchedAt. rank is null on search rows; rank belongs to chart requests. See dataset fields.

How to run search

  1. Open Apple Podcasts Scraper, then the Actor on the Apify Store.
  2. Enter a searchTerm and a country. Prefill examples use a small limit (for example 3 or 10).
  3. Leave includeEpisodes false until the show list is useful.
  4. Review the default dataset. Use delivery: "webhook" and webhookUrl after the payload shape is approved (Slack, Discord, Zapier, or any HTTP endpoint). Use dryRun to test without dataset writes or webhooks.

How is Apple Podcasts Scraper priced?

Billing is pay-per-event: Actor start plus one result event per default-dataset item. The published Store price is $0.005 per Actor start and $10.00 per 1,000 dataset results ($0.01 per row).

From $10 per 1,000 results

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Related pages

Public Apple and RSS endpoints only. No account session. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple.