# Chronometrica vs Clockworks for a TikTok Campaign Metrics Sheet

Neither paid ongoing option meets a strict zero-budget requirement. With a usable budget, choose Chronometrica for a supplied TikTok video list when flat metric rows and clear metric-quality labels are your main need. Choose Clockworks when the same job needs wider discovery or media collection. These choices follow the checked [Chronometrica contract](https://apify.com/chronometrica/tiktok-metrics-scraper) and [Clockworks contract](https://apify.com/clockworks/tiktok-scraper).

The useful result is a sheet that connects each public count to a video and an observation time. It must also show which videos have the metrics needed for your calculation. A missing count must remain different from a measured zero.

This comparison starts with an existing list of campaign video links. It helps you choose the collection program and prepare the resulting sheet. It does not measure private retention, unique reach or sales attribution.

An Actor is a hosted data collection program. Both products in this comparison are Apify Actors. Their public contracts were checked on October 20, 2026. No matched collection run supports a claim that one has a better extraction rate or lower total cost.

## Check the budget before choosing an Actor

The [public question behind this comparison](https://www.reddit.com/r/webscraping/comments/1ag8c2a/is_there_a_zero_budget_way_to_scrape_20_tiktok/) asks for a zero-budget way to collect metrics from 20 TikTok links. The writer describes outsourced creator work and manual entry of public engagement counts into a spreadsheet.

That budget condition must come before the product choice. A paid ongoing process cannot satisfy a strict requirement to spend nothing. Available account credits might affect a small collection, but you must check the current account terms separately. Do not treat possible credits as a promise of free ongoing collection.

Separate two decisions:

1. Decide whether you have a usable budget or separately checked credits.
2. If you do, choose the Actor that fits the work.

If the first answer is no, stop before starting a paid collection. This article does not establish a free automated alternative.

If the first answer is yes, define the result you need. For this reader, that result is a sheet for known video links. A broad collection system is useful only if its extra collection modes serve the same job. The number of available features alone does not decide which Actor fits.

## Choose by the work the sheet must support

Chronometrica documents flat public video metrics. A flat row keeps the video’s metric fields together, which makes them easier to map into sheet columns. Its documented fields include views, likes, comments, shares, saves and reposts when exposed. It also includes `postMetricStatus` and `profileMetricStatus`. Missing public metrics remain missing instead of receiving an invented zero. These are the checked reasons to choose it for this sheet. [Chronometrica contract](https://apify.com/chronometrica/tiktok-metrics-scraper)

Clockworks also documents public views, likes, comments, shares and saves, with author information. Those common counters are not exclusive to Chronometrica. [Clockworks contract](https://apify.com/clockworks/tiktok-scraper)

| Main requirement | Choice | Reason |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Strict zero budget | Neither paid ongoing option | The budget condition is not met. |
| Known links and explicit metric-quality labels | Chronometrica | Its documented quality fields fit this need. |
| Wider discovery or media in the same job | Clockworks | Its collection scope fits the larger job. |

The Chronometrica recommendation rests on its explicit quality contract. It does not rest on an assumed competitor failure. This evidence does not show that the rival cannot produce a useful sheet or handle missing values.

The practical question is simple: can you explain every number you use, and every missing number you exclude? Choose the workflow that makes that explanation clear for your required result.

## Fix the video list and required metrics first

Start with the campaign links you already have. Keep a fixed copy of that list before collection. It gives you a clear reference when you check which supplied videos appear in the result.

Do not begin with profile discovery if the task is to check delivered videos. A creator profile and a supplied campaign list answer different questions. The profile may contain posts outside the list. Your sheet must remain tied to the videos you intended to measure.

Next, write down the public metrics that the decision requires. Required metrics control which rows you can use in a calculation. Optional metrics can add context, but their absence should not silently remove a row from an unrelated calculation.

For a share-to-view ratio, both shares and views are required. Likes are not part of that formula. A video with no available like count could still qualify if its shares and views are available and valid for the calculation.

Prepare a small set of sheet columns:

- Supplied video link and returned post identity.
- Observation time from `scrapedAt`.
- Required public metric values.
- Returned metric-status fields.
- A clear statement of whether the row qualifies for each calculation.

These are proposed sheet columns, not a promise that the Actor returns your finished reporting layout. Keep the returned source fields available so another reader can check how you built the sheet.

If you later change the required metrics, check eligibility again. A row can qualify for one ratio and fail another. There is no single complete-row label that works for every possible decision.

## Check one direct link before expanding the list

Chronometrica’s checked public input schema includes `startUrls`. Use a direct video link to check the result before adding the full campaign list. The following example shows the current documented input shape. It is not a verified campaign result or evidence that the linked video is currently available. [Chronometrica input schema](https://apify.com/chronometrica/tiktok-metrics-scraper/input-schema)

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.tiktok.com/@mrbeast/video/7654638524729216287"
  ]
}
```

Check one direct link before expanding the list

Replace that URL with one relevant public video from your own list. The checked [TikTok Video Performance Tracker Task](https://apify.com/chronometrica/tiktok-metrics-scraper/examples/tiktok-video-performance-tracker) provides a saved starting point. A Task is a saved input preset. Its existence does not establish the current availability of any example video.

Inspect the result before you expand collection:

1. Connect the returned record to the supplied link and post identity.
2. Keep `scrapedAt` beside the counters.
3. Find the required metric fields.
4. Read the returned metric-status fields.
5. Check how missing values appear when you transfer the result into your sheet.

This check tests the fit between the documented result and your reporting need. A successful record does not prove that every video in the full list will expose the same metrics. Public metric availability can differ by video and source observation. [Chronometrica contract](https://apify.com/chronometrica/tiktok-metrics-scraper)

Once the fields fit, expand to the fixed list. Then compare the supplied links with the returned post identities. A row count alone is not enough to establish that the sheet contains the intended videos.

## Keep missing values separate from zero

A zero is a value. A missing value means that the required count is not available in the observation. These states lead to different calculations and different conclusions.

Do not replace a missing count with zero to make a formula run. That change creates a measurement that the source did not provide. It can also make an incomplete video look like a weak performer.

Chronometrica documents `postMetricStatus` and `profileMetricStatus` as part of its quality contract. Read them with the actual metric fields. Do not invent status values or assume that a general status explains every individual missing count. Use the documented meaning of the returned value. [Chronometrica contract](https://apify.com/chronometrica/tiktok-metrics-scraper)

Your sheet can use a separate review column with plain labels such as “eligible” and “missing required metric.” Those are your reporting labels. Keep them distinct from the Actor’s API field names and values.

Also preserve the original metric cell. A displayed note such as “unavailable” can help a reader, but it must not become a numeric zero in a formula.

A present zero denominator needs separate handling. Division by zero is undefined. A record with zero views therefore cannot produce a share-to-view ratio, even though its view count is present. Record that reason separately from a missing view count.

This distinction keeps the sheet useful. A reviewer can see whether a ratio is absent because the source lacked a metric, because the denominator was zero, or because the row met another stated exclusion rule.

## Use an eligible set for each ratio

An eligible set is the group of records that meet the rules for a calculation. Define those rules before you compare videos.

For a public share-to-view ratio, the basic formula is:

`public shares / public views × 100`

The calculation needs an available share count and an available view count greater than zero. Report how many supplied videos meet those requirements. Also report how many do not, with the reason for each exclusion.

The following example is fictional. It is not a live campaign, customer result or benchmark. The fictional sheet requires both public views and shares:

- Video A has 10,000 views and 100 shares.
- Video B has 20,000 views and 80 shares.
- Video C has 40 shares and no available view count.

Videos A and B qualify. Video C does not qualify because its denominator is missing.

The eligible share of the supplied list is:

`2 / 3 × 100 = 66.67%`

For Video A, the public share-to-view ratio is:

`100 / 10,000 × 100 = 1.00%`

For Video B, it is:

`80 / 20,000 × 100 = 0.40%`

For Video C, the ratio is unknown. Keep its 40 shares in the sheet, but do not divide by an invented view count. Do not describe it as a zero-share performer.

Within the eligible pair, Video A has the higher share-to-view ratio. Video B has more views. Those statements answer different questions. State which measure controls your comparison before you choose a result.

The example also shows why coverage matters. A report that displays only the two ratios hides the incomplete third video. A report that states “two of three videos qualify” lets the reader assess the limit.

These ratios use public counter events. They do not measure unique people, private retention or purchases. A higher ratio alone does not establish a stronger sales result.

## Make the sheet easy to review

A useful sheet lets another person trace a summary back to the supplied video and its observed counts. It should not require that person to guess which records you removed.

Keep a short method note beside the summary. State the required metrics, the ratio formula, the eligibility rule and the number of excluded records. Use the same rule for every row in that calculation.

Keep the observation time visible. A count belongs to an observation of a video. If you collect the list again, preserve enough information to distinguish the earlier counts from the later counts. Do not silently present observations from different times as one shared measurement point.

Before you use the sheet, complete these checks:

1. Match the supplied list to the returned post identities.
2. Check that required metric values survived the transfer into the sheet.
3. Confirm that missing values remain separate from zero.
4. Check each ratio’s eligible set and exclusion reasons.
5. Recalculate the summary from that eligible set.
6. Confirm that the conclusion stays within what public counters can show.

These checks concern your result and calculations. They do not establish a general accuracy or reliability ranking between the Actors.

If your next need is a dated record of views for delivered creator work, the [TikTok paid UGC view receipt guide](/en/articles/tiktok-paid-ugc-view-receipt/) covers that separate task. This comparison selects the collector and the metric rules for a known link list. Contract terms and payment decisions need their own review.

## Change the choice when the collection job changes

Choose Clockworks when the same assignment also requires hashtag discovery, search or media collection. Its wider inputs and modes may fit that combined job better. Check the current [Clockworks contract](https://apify.com/clockworks/tiktok-scraper) and [input schema](https://apify.com/clockworks/tiktok-scraper/input-schema) against the exact task.

That switch condition matters when you do not yet have the full video list. Finding relevant videos and measuring supplied videos are separate needs, even when one project contains both.

Keep the measurement rules after you change collection scope. A discovered video still needs source identity, observation time and the required metrics before it can enter a ratio. Wider collection does not remove the need to explain missing values.

For the known-list job, Chronometrica’s documented quality fields are a clear reason to choose it. The evidence supports that fit. It does not support a claim of universal superiority.

## Start with one relevant public video

If you have a usable budget or separately checked credits, start with one relevant public input in the [Chronometrica TikTok Metrics Scraper](https://apify.com/chronometrica/tiktok-metrics-scraper). Check the required result fields, post identity, `scrapedAt` and metric-status fields before expanding the list.

Use that result to confirm that your sheet can preserve missing values and apply the stated eligibility rule. Then collect the full supplied list and report both the usable records and the exclusions. If you cannot spend or use separately checked credits, neither paid ongoing option meets your zero-budget condition.

## Sources

- [Chronometrica TikTok Metrics Scraper](https://apify.com/chronometrica/tiktok-metrics-scraper)
- [Chronometrica input schema](https://apify.com/chronometrica/tiktok-metrics-scraper/input-schema)
- [TikTok Video Performance Tracker Task](https://apify.com/chronometrica/tiktok-metrics-scraper/examples/tiktok-video-performance-tracker)
- [Clockworks TikTok Scraper](https://apify.com/clockworks/tiktok-scraper)
- [Clockworks input schema](https://apify.com/clockworks/tiktok-scraper/input-schema)
- [Public question about collecting metrics from 20 TikTok links](https://www.reddit.com/r/webscraping/comments/1ag8c2a/is_there_a_zero_budget_way_to_scrape_20_tiktok/)