# How to shortlist Xiaohongshu PGY creators by rate and reads

> Search PGY (蒲公英), Xiaohongshu's creator marketplace, by topic with follower, note-type and rate filters, then pull full profiles for a shortlist: steps, fields, code and cost.

Canonical page: https://okdata.online/guides/xiaohongshu-pgy-creator-rates/

Two endpoints: Xiaohongshu PGY creator search to filter creators by topic, followers and note type, sorted by rate, reads or engagement, then Xiaohongshu PGY creator detail for each one you shortlist. The worked example below is 6 calls and costs $0.24; a failed call is not charged.

Updated 2026-11-12

The job: a skincare brand has a budget for ten sponsored notes and wants creators who fit the topic, sit in a follower band it can afford, and actually get read. PGY (蒲公英) is Xiaohongshu's official marketplace where brands book creators, and every creator page there shows a rate for an image note and a video note, plus median reads and engagements of everyday notes. You search PGY by topic with filters, work out what a note costs per thousand reads, and pull the full profile of the five you would pitch. You end with one table you can paste into a brief.

No PGY brand account is needed for this. You read what PGY shows advertisers, through your API key. Booking still happens in PGY.

## Step by step

### Step 1: search PGY with filters

Call [Xiaohongshu PGY creator search](https://okdata.online/apis/xiaohongshu/pgy/creators/search/) with `query`. The parameters that shape the list:

- `search_by`: `notes` (the default) matches your words against what creators' notes are about; `name` matches nicknames.
- `followers_min` and `followers_max`: the follower band.
- `type`: `all` (the default), `image` or `video`, for creators who mostly post image notes or mostly video notes.
- `sort`: `relevance` (the default), `most_followers`, `most_engagements`, `most_reads`, `lowest_rate` or `highest_rate`.

One call returns up to 20 creators for $0.04. Each has `id` (24 hex characters, the same as the Xiaohongshu user ID), `name`, `username` (the Xiaohongshu number), `location`, `gender`, `followers`, `categories`, `median_views` (median reads of everyday notes) and `median_engagements`. `rates` lists what the creator charges in yuan: `image_note` (图文笔记) and `video_note` (视频笔记), each with `price` and `currency: "CNY"`.

```bash
curl -G "https://api.okdata.online/v1/xiaohongshu/pgy/creators/search" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $OKDATA_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode 'query=敏感肌' \
  --data-urlencode 'followers_min=10000' \
  --data-urlencode 'followers_max=100000' \
  --data-urlencode 'type=video' \
  --data-urlencode 'sort=lowest_rate'
```

`median_views` deserves attention. Xiaohongshu hides view counts on public notes, so the median reads PGY shows advertisers are the nearest thing to a reach figure. `engagement_rate` is always null here: PGY does not publish one, and `meta.unavailable` says so. Divide `median_engagements` by `median_views` if you want your own.

For more creators, send `page.next_cursor` back as `cursor`. PGY lets a search be read only to its first 5,000 results, so narrow the filters rather than paging forever.

### Step 2: pull the full profile

[Xiaohongshu PGY creator detail](https://okdata.online/apis/xiaohongshu/pgy/creators/get/) takes the creator `id` and returns their current PGY profile for $0.04. It carries the same core fields as search, refreshed, and for each rate whether the creator is open for that kind of order (`available`). With `view=full`, `ext` adds PGY's own figures where it shows them: total likes and saves (`ext.likes_and_saves`), feature tags (`ext.feature_tags`), PGY's estimated CPM for a video note (`ext.cpm_video`), sponsored notes in the last 30 days (`ext.sponsored_notes_30d`) and how often the creator answers an invitation within 48 hours (`ext.invite_reply_48h_pct`).

```bash
curl -G "https://api.okdata.online/v1/xiaohongshu/pgy/creators/get" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $OKDATA_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode 'id=5e8b2c41000000000100a7d3' \
  --data-urlencode 'view=full'
```

Because the PGY ID is the Xiaohongshu user ID, you can also call detail straight away with an `author.id` from [note search](https://okdata.online/apis/xiaohongshu/notes/search/), when a creator you found by their notes might be on PGY.

### Step 3: rank and export in Python

The script searches once, scores each creator by video note price per 1,000 median reads, takes the five best, fetches their profiles and writes a CSV.

```python
import csv
import os
import requests

API = "https://api.okdata.online"
HEADERS = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['OKDATA_API_KEY']}"}
SHORTLIST = 5  # profiles to fetch; each is one call


def get(path, **params):
    body = requests.get(API + path, headers=HEADERS, params=params, timeout=60).json()
    if body["code"] != "ok":
        raise RuntimeError(f"{body['code']}: {body['message']} (charged: {body['charged']})")
    return body["data"]


def rate(creator, kind):
    return next((r for r in creator["rates"] or [] if r["type"] == kind), None)


def per_1k_reads(creator):
    video = rate(creator, "video_note")
    reads = creator["median_views"]
    return video["price"] / reads * 1000 if video and video["price"] and reads else float("inf")


found = get("/v1/xiaohongshu/pgy/creators/search", query="敏感肌", followers_min=10000,
            followers_max=100000, type="video", sort="lowest_rate")["items"]
shortlist = sorted(found, key=per_1k_reads)[:SHORTLIST]

with open("pgy_shortlist.csv", "w", newline="", encoding="utf-8-sig") as f:
    out = csv.writer(f)
    out.writerow(["name", "pgy_id", "followers", "median_reads", "median_engagements",
                  "image_note_cny", "image_open", "video_note_cny", "video_open", "cny_per_1k_reads"])
    for c in shortlist:
        p = get("/v1/xiaohongshu/pgy/creators/get", id=c["id"])["item"]
        image, video = rate(p, "image_note") or {}, rate(p, "video_note") or {}
        score = per_1k_reads(p)
        out.writerow([p["name"], p["id"], p["followers"], p["median_views"], p["median_engagements"],
                      image.get("price"), image.get("available"), video.get("price"), video.get("available"),
                      round(score, 1) if score != float("inf") else ""])
```

Thirty profiles instead of five would cost $1.20 for the detail calls.

## Good to know

- **List price, not deal price.** PGY shows what the creator lists. Platform fees and negotiated discounts are settled in PGY when you place the order.
- **Closed orders.** `available: false` means the creator lists that kind of note but is not taking it now. Check it before you pitch.
- **Only creators on PGY.** Someone who has not joined PGY has no profile; detail returns `not_found`, which is free.
- **What stays in PGY.** The audience profile and the creator's past sponsored notes are not in these fields. Look at them in the PGY console before signing.
- **Retries without paying twice.** Send an `Idempotency-Key` header with each call. The same request with the same key within 24 hours returns the stored answer with `meta.replayed: true` and no new charge.
- **Refresh before you book.** Rates and medians move with every campaign; fetch the profile again on the day you send the brief.

For what PGY offers developers officially and how this compares, see [the PGY creator data API answer](https://okdata.online/answers/xiaohongshu-pgy-creator-data-api/). For creator discovery across platforms, see [creator discovery](https://okdata.online/solutions/creator-discovery/).

## What the example costs

One PGY search for 敏感肌 (sensitive skin) creators with 10k to 100k followers who mostly post video notes, cheapest first, then the full profile of 5 of them

| Endpoint | Calls | Price | Subtotal |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Xiaohongshu PGY creator search](https://okdata.online/apis/xiaohongshu/pgy/creators/search/) | 1 | $0.04 | $0.04 |
| [Xiaohongshu PGY creator detail](https://okdata.online/apis/xiaohongshu/pgy/creators/get/) | 5 | $0.04 | $0.20 |
| Total | 6 |  | $0.24 |

Prices in force when this page was built. A failed call costs nothing.

## In your AI (MCP)

Connect the MCP server once, then say what you want. The agent finds these endpoints, reads their prices and calls them on your balance.

Say: Search Xiaohongshu PGY for 敏感肌 (sensitive skin) creators with 10k to 100k followers who mostly post video notes, cheapest first. Work out the video note price per 1,000 median reads, keep the 5 best value, get their full PGY profiles and give me one table.

```json
{
  "endpoint": "xiaohongshu.pgy.creators.search",
  "params": {
    "query": "户外"
  },
  "idempotency_key": "<a new UUID>"
}
```

MCP: `https://api.okdata.online/mcp`

## Endpoints in this guide

- [Xiaohongshu PGY creator search](https://okdata.online/apis/xiaohongshu/pgy/creators/search/) `xiaohongshu.pgy.creators.search`: $0.04 per call · about 20 creators per page
- [Xiaohongshu PGY creator detail](https://okdata.online/apis/xiaohongshu/pgy/creators/get/) `xiaohongshu.pgy.creators.get`: $0.04 per call

## More about Xiaohongshu (RedNote)

- [Xiaohongshu (RedNote) API](https://okdata.online/apis/xiaohongshu/)
- [Xiaohongshu API in Python: notes, profiles and comments (2026)](https://okdata.online/guides/xiaohongshu-api-python/)
- [How to export Xiaohongshu comments for a keyword](https://okdata.online/guides/xiaohongshu-note-comments/)
- [How to search Xiaohongshu notes and export them to CSV](https://okdata.online/guides/xiaohongshu-search-export-notes/)
- [Can an AI agent shortlist Xiaohongshu or Douyin creators for a campaign?](https://okdata.online/answers/ai-agent-creator-shortlist/)
- [How are Xiaohongshu PGY (蒲公英) creator prices for image notes and video notes reported?](https://okdata.online/answers/pgy-creator-price-image-video/)
- [How do I find Xiaohongshu KOLs in a niche and get their follower counts?](https://okdata.online/answers/xiaohongshu-find-kol-creators/)
- [Is there an API for Xiaohongshu PGY (Pugongying) creator data and rates?](https://okdata.online/answers/xiaohongshu-pgy-creator-data-api/)
- [Douyin Xingtu or Xiaohongshu PGY: which creator data do I need?](https://okdata.online/answers/xingtu-vs-pgy-creator-data/)
- [How do I shortlist creators by follower range and price on Douyin and Xiaohongshu?](https://okdata.online/answers/creator-shortlist-followers-price/)
- [Scraping it yourself vs a per-call data API: cost, upkeep and risk](https://okdata.online/compare/scraping-vs-data-api/)
- [How to choose a social media data API (2026)](https://okdata.online/compare/social-media-data-apis/)
- [MCP servers for social media data: self-hosted vs hosted](https://okdata.online/compare/social-media-data-mcp-servers/)
- [Xiaohongshu data APIs: official, third-party or open-source (2026)](https://okdata.online/compare/xiaohongshu-data-apis/)