Craigslist Scraper: Export Listings, Prices and Locations
Craigslist is the largest classifieds site in the US and is also used in Canada and many other countries. Every city and region has its own site, such as newyork.craigslist.org or sfbay.craigslist.org, with sections for items for sale, cars and trucks, housing, jobs, services and gigs. For many local markets it is still the best public source of asking prices and supply.
We collect public Craigslist listings by city, category or search URL and deliver structured data in Excel, CSV, JSON or XML, as a one-time export or as a daily feed that marks new, changed and removed ads.
Before You Scrape Craigslist: Legal Notes
Craigslist is stricter about scraping than most sites, and we want to be upfront about it:
- Craigslist's terms of use prohibit automated collection of its content, and Craigslist has taken scrapers to court in the past, for example in Craigslist v. 3Taps.
- Craigslist does not offer a public API for reading listings; its bulk posting interface is only for posting ads.
- Contact details are hidden behind anonymized relay emails and are personal data. We never collect seller emails or phone numbers.
Because of this we take Craigslist projects only for legitimate research uses, such as aggregated price and market analysis, at low request rates and on public listing data only, and we recommend checking your use case with a lawyer. We will not build tools for republishing Craigslist ads or for contacting sellers in bulk.
Craigslist Data We Extract
| Data group | Fields |
|---|---|
| Listing | Post ID, title, URL, city site, category, posting and update dates, description |
| Price | Asking price, price changes between runs |
| Location | City, neighborhood or area as written by the seller, map coordinates when the ad has a map |
| Attributes | The structured fields Craigslist shows for each category (see below) |
| Seller type | Owner or dealer, where Craigslist separates them |
| Media | Image URLs and number of images |
Category-specific attributes
- Cars and trucks: make, model, year, odometer, condition, fuel, transmission, drive, title status, VIN when the seller publishes it, by owner or by dealer.
- Housing: rent or price, bedrooms, bathrooms, square feet, housing type, laundry, parking, pets, availability date.
- For sale: condition, make or manufacturer, model, size and other attributes the seller fills in.
- Jobs and gigs: compensation, employment type and job category; public business information only.
How Teams Use Craigslist Data
- Used car market analysis: asking prices by make, model, year and mileage, and how quickly cars disappear from the market.
- Rental market research: rents by city and neighborhood, unit size and listing volume over time.
- Resale price research: second-hand prices for electronics, furniture, tools and equipment.
- Academic and policy research on local housing and labor markets.
How a Craigslist Project Works
- Scope: send us the city sites, categories and search URLs with your filters (price range, distance, year and so on).
- Fields: we agree the common and category-specific fields and the file format.
- Sample: you receive a sample file to check before the full run.
- Delivery: a one-time dataset or a daily feed with new, changed and removed ads.
What to Know About Scraping Craigslist
Many separate sites. National coverage means collecting hundreds of city sites, and nearby cities often show the same ads. We remove duplicates by post ID, title, price and images so your counts are not inflated.
Listings expire. Ads are removed or expire after a short time, so a daily snapshot is needed to measure time on market and price changes.
Blocking. Craigslist blocks fast automated traffic, so collection is slow and spread over time. Plan large national projects in days, not hours.
Example of a Craigslist Car Listing Record
| Field | Example value |
|---|---|
| post_id | 7700000000 |
| site / category | sfbay / cars+trucks by owner |
| title | 2018 Toyota Camry SE, clean title |
| price | 17500 |
| location | oakland east |
| year / make / model | 2018 / toyota / camry |
| odometer / condition | 68000 / excellent |
| title_status / transmission | clean / automatic |
| posted / scraped | 2026-11-03 / 2026-11-06 |
The values are an illustration of the format, not real listing data.
Related Scrapers
- Kijiji scraper - Canadian classifieds
- OLX scraper - classifieds in Europe and Asia
- Marktplaats scraper - Dutch classifieds
- Trade Me scraper - New Zealand marketplace
- All supported websites
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is scraping Craigslist legal?
Craigslist's terms prohibit automated collection and Craigslist has sued scrapers before. Collecting public listing data for aggregated research is a different risk level than republishing ads or harvesting contacts, but you should check your use case with a lawyer. We only take research projects on public data at low request rates.
Does Craigslist have an API for listings?
No public API for reading listings. Craigslist offers a bulk posting interface only for posting ads.
Can you collect seller emails or phone numbers from Craigslist?
No. Contact details are personal data and are hidden behind anonymized relay emails. We collect public listing information only.
Can you scrape Craigslist in all US cities?
Yes, every city site can be included. National projects are collected slowly over several days, and duplicate ads posted in nearby cities are removed.
Can you track Craigslist car or rental prices over time?
Yes. With a daily schedule we keep a history of prices and mark new, changed and removed ads, which shows price drops and time on market.
Request a Craigslist Data Estimate
Describe your research: city sites, categories, search URLs, fields and how often you need updates. We will review the use case and send a proposal.