Spot YouTube niches with real opportunity, without leaving the feed
Niche Scan complements the passive layer of TubeKRadar with active analysis of YouTube's feed. Auto-scrolls the feed, runs server-side scoring with YouTube Data API v3 and flags results in real time with 🔥 hot, 🚀 exploding and ⚠️ saturated badges. Google sign-in required.
What "exploding niche" means
A niche is exploding when there are recent videos with abnormal growth compared to their context: small channels generating more views than their size would justify, or channels publishing consistently with a repeatable format that's working.
AutoKuak Suite measures explosion with a score that combines four real factors:
- Views per day since publication.
- Views ratio vs the median of similar videos in the current feed.
- Channel size: large channels (over 500,000 subscribers) are penalized to favor discovery of accessible niches.
- Format frequency and consistency: 3+ recent videos with a repeatable format is the strongest signal of an active niche.
Without that combination, a one-off viral video isn't a niche opportunity — it's luck. The difference matters when you're about to invest time creating content. If you want to go deeper, the blog has a detailed analysis of when a YouTube niche is saturated and how to detect it in time.
TubeKRadar: real-time signals on every video
Before talking about Niche Scan, it helps to frame the passive layer correctly. With TubeKRadar on, every YouTube video card shows an overlay with key data:
Views/day
How many views the video is generating per day since publication.
Days published
How long the video has been on YouTube.
Detected niche
Category and subcategory of the content (15 categories, 60+ subniches).
Estimated CPM
Typical CPM of the niche to gauge monetization potential.
This data shows up on the thumbnail without you doing anything. Just turn TubeKRadar on and open YouTube. It's fully free, available to every AutoKuak Suite user — even without an account. No account
Niche Scan: active feed analysis with opportunity flagging
Niche Scan goes one step beyond TubeKRadar. Instead of showing data passively, it analyzes the entire active feed, sends the videos to the backend for server-side scoring and flags the videos that represent a real opportunity, ordering results by priority.
How it works
Clicking the "Scan Niches" button that Niche Scan adds to YouTube's masthead makes AutoKuak Suite auto-scroll the configured number of times (1 to 50 scrolls, presets at 5/10/25/50, default 10), collect up to 50 visible videos, send them to the backend at POST /api/niches/scan, and receive the server-side scoring per niche (competition, monetization, format, overall). It flags them directly on the cards with colored badges:
Hot niche
Recent video with abnormal growth. More than 10,000 views per day or a 2x ratio over the average of similar videos.
EXPLODING niche
Small channel with 3+ recent videos using a repeatable format and strong performance. The strongest signal: it means the format is validated and the niche is active.
Saturated
Niche with 20+ distinct channels competing on the same topic in the sample. Caution flag — don't enter late.
Results panel
When the scan finishes, a panel appears with opportunities ordered by priority. Every opportunity includes:
- 🎬 The detected video or channel
- 📊 The signals that justify the classification (views/day, ratio, channel size, publishing frequency)
- 🏷️ Niche and subniche
The panel works as a session opportunities tray: you can keep scrolling or repeat the scan on another feed (specific search, channel recommendations, another region).
Real quotas (anonymous · Free · Pro)
Niche Scan has an authoritative server-side daily quota. The rules the backend applies are the same you see in the extension itself.
Anonymous
0/day · LOCKED
Niche Scan is locked without a session. The popup toggle shows "Sign in to use" and the backend directly rejects any scan attempt without a session. The passive TubeKRadar layer does work without an account.
Free · with Google
2scans/day
Sign-in via Google OAuth 2.0. Enough to audit 2 specific searches per day at no cost. The quota resets at 00:00 UTC the next day.
Pro
100scans/day
Built for creators and agencies validating niches multiple times a day. Monthly $9.99 · Quarterly $26.99 · Yearly $89.88 USD ($7.49/mo equivalent). Payment via Stripe. Cancel from the Customer Portal.
What's the difference between TubeKRadar and Niche Scan?
Both tools work on the same domain (YouTube) but answer different questions. This table sums it up.
| Tool | Mode | What it answers | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| TubeKRadar | Passive | "What's the data behind this video or channel I'm looking at?" | Free (no limit) |
| Niche Scan | Active (on demand) | "Of the videos in front of me right now, which are real opportunities?" | Free 2/day (login) · Pro 100/day · anonymous locked |
In practice they combine: TubeKRadar to audit specific channels and individual videos (without spending quota), and Niche Scan when you want to validate or discover opportunities in a specific feed (search, channel page, recommendations).
Frequently asked questions
What people ask us before turning Niche Scan on.
Does Niche Scan work on any YouTube feed?
Yes. It works on the home page, on any search (what's in the search bar when you scan), on a channel page (video list) and on any YouTube section with thumbnails. It doesn't work on individual video pages (because there's no feed to scan there).
Why is Niche Scan locked in anonymous mode?
Scoring is server-side and consumes YouTube Data API v3 quota on the Kuaklabs backend. To prevent abuse and protect the shared quota, we require a Google account from the first run. The passive TubeKRadar layer (thumbnail overlays) does work without an account.
What happens if I spend the 2 daily scans of the Free plan?
The "Scan Niches" button stays visible but the backend returns quota exceeded and the panel shows a notice. The quota resets at 00:00 UTC the next day. If you need more, Pro Monthly ($9.99/mo) raises the cap to 100 scans/day.
How many videos does Niche Scan analyze per scan?
Up to 50 videos per scan (defined by the scrolls slider 1-50, default 10 = ~30-50 videos). More scrolls means more videos in the sample but longer processing time. In practice, 10 scrolls usually catch the evident opportunities in an active feed.
Does Niche Scan see my YouTube data or history?
No. Niche Scan only reads the videos visible on the public page you have open (same as any human looking at it). It doesn't access your YouTube account, history or Studio. The backend scoring uses only public metadata (title, channel, views, date).
Does Niche Scan work on YouTube Shorts?
Partially. Shorts appear flagged with a 🎞️ Short chip but aren't included in the main scoring (a Short's outlier score compares differently than a long video's). If you want specific Shorts analysis, open individual videos and check the TubeKRadar panel.
Does Niche Scan replace tools like vidIQ or TubeBuddy?
For profitable niche detection and opportunity flagging, yes. Where Niche Scan falls short by comparison is keyword research (it isn't a keyword tool) and SEO optimization of your own channel. For those two, vidIQ or TubeBuddy remain useful complements.