# Why an export has fewer comments than the post shows

https://aicommentexporter.com/why-comment-count-doesnt-match/

The number under a post counts things nobody outside the account can read: deleted and removed comments, comments the platform hides or filters, and on some platforms replies too. Every platform hands out less than its count; in our tests TikTok gave 97% of its count, X 76%, and Reddit 76 of 108. You're only charged for the rows you get.

## Measured, per platform

| Platform | What the count includes | What we got | Test |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube | Comments and replies | Every comment and reply the official API returns | Nov 13, 2026: 1,915 of 1,915 |
| TikTok | Comments and replies, including ones TikTok no longer shows | About 9 in 10 top-level comments, plus replies | Nov 14, 2026: 3,449 comments + 974 replies of 4,565 (97%) |
| Instagram | Comments and replies | Repeated comments dropped (up to 9 of 15 per page) | Nov 14, 2026 |
| X | Replies, including ones X ranks low or hides | The replies X shows to people who aren't the author | Nov 14, 2026: 327 of 429 (76%) |
| Reddit | Comments, including removed and deleted ones | Readable comments only | Nov 14, 2026: 76 of 108 |

## What it means for you

- Price: the platform's count sets the points held before an export starts; points for rows that didn't come back are returned when it ends.
- Giveaways: entries are the comments that could be read. The result page lists them, so entrants can check they were included.
- Research: report the platform's count, the rows you got and the date.

## Questions

**Is any tool able to get every comment?** No tool without the account owner's login can read deleted, hidden or filtered comments. Tools that promise "all comments" still hand out what the platform shows.

**Why does TikTok stop early in the app?** TikTok often says there are no more comments long before the end. We keep reading past that and drop the repeats it sends.

Updated 2026-11-14.

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AI Comment Exporter (https://aicommentexporter.com/). Prices: https://aicommentexporter.com/pricing/. Every page: https://aicommentexporter.com/llms.txt. Not affiliated with YouTube, Google, TikTok, Instagram, Meta, X or Reddit.