alternativeto.net APIalternativeto.net ↗
Access AlternativeTo data via API: search apps, fetch alternatives, filter by platform and license, and browse categories across thousands of software tools.
curl -X GET 'https://api.parse.bot/scraper/aa86e0de-4fa6-4bb5-b463-590678d77f76/search_apps?query=video-editor' \ -H 'X-API-Key: $PARSE_API_KEY'
Search for apps and software by name or keyword. Returns a list of matching apps with basic details.
| Param | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| queryrequired | string | The search query string (e.g. 'video-editor', 'note-taking'). |
{
"type": "object",
"fields": {
"apps": "array of objects with id, name, slug, url, description, likes, tags",
"query": "string, the search query that was used"
},
"sample": {
"data": {
"apps": [
{
"id": "bce66dd5-a93d-471f-b7d7-c0abf88698d9",
"url": "https://alternativeto.net/software/write-on-video/",
"name": "Write-on Video",
"slug": "write-on-video",
"tags": [],
"likes": 129,
"description": "Enjoy the fun of video editing with Write-on Video Ultimate."
}
],
"query": "video editing"
},
"status": "success"
}
}About the alternativeto.net API
The AlternativeTo API covers 6 endpoints for querying the AlternativeTo software directory — from searching apps by keyword to retrieving paginated alternatives lists with platform and license filters. The get_app_details endpoint alone returns 9 distinct fields including platforms, licenseCost, reviewCount, and alternatives count. Whether you're building a software recommendation engine or auditing tool stacks, this API surfaces structured data from one of the web's largest crowdsourced software directories.
What the API Returns
The API exposes six endpoints covering search, detail lookup, alternatives discovery, category browsing, and taxonomy data. search_apps accepts a query string and returns an array of matching apps, each with id, name, slug, url, description, likes, and tags. get_app_details takes an app_slug (e.g. vlc, adobe-photoshop) and returns a richer object that adds tagLine, platforms (an array of objects with platformType, name, and urlName), licenseCost, reviewCount, and the count of known alternatives.
Alternatives and Browsing
get_app_alternatives is the core discovery endpoint: given an app_slug, it returns a paginated list of alternative apps. You can narrow results with the platform param (e.g. windows, linux, android, online) and the license param (e.g. opensource, free, commercial). browse_apps works the same way but scopes to a category slug — or returns all apps when category is omitted. Both endpoints include a page param for stepping through results.
Taxonomy Endpoints
get_categories returns the full list of category objects, each with a name and slug suitable for feeding directly into browse_apps. get_platforms returns all available platforms with their text display name, urlName slug, and a count of apps on that platform — useful for building filter UIs or understanding which platforms have meaningful coverage before issuing filtered queries.
- Build a software recommendation widget that maps a known app slug to a filtered list of open-source alternatives using
get_app_alternativeswithlicense=opensource. - Audit a company's tool stack by resolving each tool name through
search_appsand comparinglicenseCostandplatformsfields fromget_app_details. - Generate a categorized software directory by iterating
get_categoriesslugs throughbrowse_appswith platform filters. - Track popularity trends by periodically fetching
likesandreviewCountfor a set of app slugs viaget_app_details. - Populate a platform-specific app list (e.g. Linux-only tools) by querying
browse_appswithplatform=linuxand stepping through pages. - Feed a developer tooling comparison site with structured
tags,description, andalternativescount for a curated set of slugs.
| Tier | Price | Credits/month | Rate limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | 100 | 5 req/min |
| Hobby | $30/mo | 1,000 | 20 req/min |
| Developer | $100/mo | 5,000 | 250 req/min |
One credit = one API call regardless of which marketplace API you call. Exceeding the rate limit returns a 429 response. Authenticate with the X-API-Key header.
Does AlternativeTo have an official developer API?+
What filters does `get_app_alternatives` support?+
get_app_alternatives accepts three optional filter params alongside the required app_slug: platform (e.g. windows, android, linux, online), license (e.g. opensource, free, commercial), and page for pagination. Filters can be combined — for example, requesting free Linux alternatives to a given app in a single call.Does the API expose user reviews or review text for apps?+
get_app_details returns a reviewCount integer but individual review text and ratings are not included in any endpoint response. You can fork this API on Parse and revise it to add a review-fetching endpoint.How does pagination work across the browsing and alternatives endpoints?+
browse_apps and get_app_alternatives both accept a page integer param and return the current page value in the response. There is no total_pages or total_results field returned, so iteration must continue until the apps or alternatives array is empty or shorter than a full page.Can I retrieve version history or release dates for a specific app?+
get_app_details endpoint covers fields like platforms, licenseCost, likes, and reviewCount, but version history, changelog data, and release dates are not exposed. You can fork this API on Parse and revise it to add that endpoint if the source exposes that data.