The YouTube Data V3 API is completely "free". You have a default quota limit (quite limited even for small projects) and you can see here how it is consumed based on how you make use of the API.

Answer from E-Berry on Stack Overflow
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Google
developers.google.com › youtube › data api › quota calculator
Quota Calculator | YouTube Data API | Google for Developers
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-12-04 UTC."],[],["API requests have quota costs, with a minimum of one point per request, even if invalid. Retrieving multiple result pages from methods like `search.list` costs quota for each page. Live Streaming API methods, part of the YouTube Data API, also incur costs.
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Google
developers.google.com › youtube › data api › youtube data api overview
YouTube Data API Overview | Google for Developers
The YouTube Data API uses a quota to ensure that developers use the service as intended and do not create applications that unfairly reduce service quality or limit access for others. All API requests, including invalid requests, incur at least a one-point quota cost.
People also ask

What is the YouTube Data API pricing?
The YouTube Data API v3 is free but uses quotas. For example, a search request costs 100 units, while retrieving video details costs 1 unit.
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getphyllo.com
getphyllo.com › post › is-the-youtube-api-free-costs-limits-iv
Is the YouTube API Free? Costs, Limits, and What You Actually Get
Do I need to pay for a YouTube API key?
No, API keys are free to generate through the Google Cloud Console.
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getphyllo.com
getphyllo.com › post › is-the-youtube-api-free-costs-limits-iv
Is the YouTube API Free? Costs, Limits, and What You Actually Get
What is the cost of using the YouTube API?
The YouTube API is free but operates on a quota system. Each request consumes units, with a daily limit of 10,000 units by default.
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getphyllo.com
getphyllo.com › post › is-the-youtube-api-free-costs-limits-iv
Is the YouTube API Free? Costs, Limits, and What You Actually Get
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Phyllo
getphyllo.com › post › is-the-youtube-api-free-costs-limits-iv
Is the YouTube API Free? Costs, Limits, and What You Actually Get
September 7, 2025 - Each request consumes units, with a daily limit of 10,000 units by default. Yes, it is free for all developers, provided they stay within quota limits. No, API keys are free to generate through Google Cloud Console.
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ProxiesAPI
proxiesapi.com › articles › accessing-youtube-apis-pricing-quotas-and-keys
Accessing YouTube APIs: Pricing, Quotas and Keys | ProxiesAPI
The YouTube API allows free access for non-commercial use, but there are daily request quotas. To increase quotas, register and get an API key. Paid plans are available for larger user bases. Be aware of potential changes and restrictions.
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RapidAPI
rapidapi.com › ytdlfree › api › youtube-v31 › pricing
Youtube v3
Without any api key use YT api v3 functionalities through our api. Just follow the YT api v3 docs and send same parameters to our service, get same response. For custom plan, please contact us. For quick chat: https://t.me/api_chat_support
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ThePlusAddons
theplusaddons.com › home › blog › elementor › how to get youtube api key [step-by-step]
How to Get YouTube API Key in 2025 [Step-by-Step]
July 15, 2025 - Learn how to get YouTube API key step-by-step. Follow this simple guide to set it up integrate YouTube features and more.
Find elsewhere
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Phyllo
getphyllo.com › post › youtube-api-limits-how-to-calculate-api-usage-cost-and-fix-exceeded-api-quota
Youtube API limits : How to calculate API usage cost and fix exceeded API quota | Phyllo
July 26, 2025 - Once the YouTube API quota exceeded message is encountered, quick action is required to prevent service interruption. This section expounds on rectifying this issue, following the steps to create a YouTube API key and managing the quota.
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Elfsight
elfsight.com › blog › how-to-get-youtube-api-key-tutorial
How to Get YouTube API Key: Revealing Secrets in 3 Minutes
March 15, 2024 - Getting YouTube API is free, you are not required to have any specific skills to do it. Fill in all the fields as in the screenshot below. Finally, click What credentials do I need? ... Woohoo! You’ve got your API key.
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HubSpot
blog.hubspot.com › website › how-to-get-youtube-api-key
How to get a YouTube API key [tutorial + examples]
September 23, 2025 - Learn how the YouTube API works, how to get your API key, and how to showcase the right video content on your website without ever hitting “record.”
Top answer
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In addition to the answer by DaImTo I can add that if you don't need all of the YouTube API functionality (e.g. you only need to get video titles and thumbnails or something like that) then you don't need to be worried about the API restrictions at all, and you don't even need to use an API key.

I add this because a lot of people only need to get some basic data and get confused by all of the crazy API limits restrictions that keep changing all the time to make things worse, when you can get the same data without using the YouTube API directly.

You can get oEmbed data from YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/oembed?url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

Or you can access it via Noembed:

https://noembed.com/embed?url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

which (unlike YouTube) also supports JSONP:

https://noembed.com/embed?callback=example&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

so that you can use it on the client-side with no need for server-side proxies.

See also those answers for more info:

  • Youtube Video title with API v3 without API key?
  • Get Youtube information via JSON for single video (not feed) in Javascript
  • Response for JSONp request to youtube oembed call giving "invalid label" error
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The YouTube Data API uses a quota to ensure that developers use the service as intended and do not create applications that unfairly reduce service quality or limit access for others. All API requests, including invalid requests, incur at least a one-point quota cost.

The cost they are referring to is the cost against your quota.

  • 1,000,000 read operations that each retrieve two resource parts.
  • 50,000 write operations and 450,000 additional read operations that each retrieve two resource parts.
  • 2000 video uploads, 7000 write operations, and 200,000 read operations that each retrieve three resource parts.

There are a limited number of requests you are allowed to make against the API each day. This is free for you to use it does not cost you any money to use this. Some of the Google APIs may allow you to extend this quota but will charge you for the extension but this depends upon the API.

Info from the Youtube API Quota documentation

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Rank Math
rankmath.com › knowledge base › schema › how to get a youtube api key
How to Get a YouTube API Key » Rank Math
June 26, 2025 - Note: YouTube’s Data API is free but has a daily quota. You can fetch data of up to 100 videos per day, which should be sufficient for most users. In this tutorial, we will walk you through the steps to get an API key for yourself and use ...
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Google Groups
groups.google.com › g › google-api-objectivec-client › c › -xhvHwtI25o
YouTube API v3 - API request quotas, costs, pricing, rates
The docs for the apis and/or the developer console for enabling apis would be where you are more likely to find information about quotas and costs. ... Either email addresses are anonymous for this group or you need the view member email addresses permission to view the original message ... Thanks for the response. Google provides an excellent Youtube quota calculator.
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Phyllo
getphyllo.com › post › how-to-get-youtube-api-key
How to Get YouTube API Key: A Detailed Guide for Developers | Phyllo
July 26, 2025 - Understand the possibilities of YouTube APIs and learn how to get the API keys in our exclusive blog post.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/googlecloud › has anyone increased their youtube data v3 api quota before? what's the highest quota you have been granted?
r/googlecloud on Reddit: Has anyone increased their YouTube Data V3 API quota before? What's the highest quota you have been granted?
March 26, 2024 -

I've currently got 100k quota (received an increase). But I can't really scale it at the moment because costs are high for quota (e.g posting a comment is 50 unitsx20 comments day = 100 users). I'd like to know if anyone has received any quota beyond this, thanks!

https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/determine_quota_cost

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Latenode
latenode.com › home › blog about no-code integrations with latenode - the ultimate no-code automation platform › undefined › api integration best practices in integration & api management - explore no-code automation with latenode › what is youtube api and how to get a youtube api key: tutorial and examples
What is Youtube API and How to Get a YouTube API Key: Tutorial ...
Key Takeaways: The YouTube API enables developers to integrate YouTube functionality into their applications, offering access to video details, channel information, and analytics through two main types: Data API and Analytics API. To use the API, developers need to obtain a free API key from the Google Developers Console, which allows access within certain quota limits.
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GitHub
github.com › ThioJoe › YT-Spammer-Purge › wiki › Understanding-YouTube-API-Quota-Limits
Understanding YouTube API Quota Limits
Actually on that form, it does say, "If you are looking for support or quota increments for Reporting and Content ID APIs, please contact your YouTube Partner Manager". So I assume it would be a similar story for needing an API quota increase for moderation on your own channel. The quota limit of 10,000 is for each project you create (which is what you did when you followed the "obtaining an API key" tutorial)
Author   ThioJoe