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Capterra Categories API — Software Category Taxonomy

This source returns Capterra's software category list as data: name, alias and canonical URL for each one, optionally filtered by a name substring.

Example response
{
  "session_id": "11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111",
  "kind": "capterra_categories",
  "max_items": 3,
  "query": "crm",
  "human": "# Capterra categories\n\n- **Max items:** 3\n- **Query filter:** crm\n- **Records returned:** 3\n- **Response size:** 593.1 KB",
  "machine": {
    "total_items": 3,
    "items": [
      {
        "name": "CRM",
        "alias": "customer-relationship-management-software",
        "url": "https://www.capterra.com/customer-relationship-management-software/"
      },
      {
        "name": "Construction CRM",
        "alias": "construction-crm-software",
        "url": "https://www.capterra.com/construction-crm-software/"
      }
    ],
    "response_bytes": 607312
  },
  "total_points": 5
}
You send
An optional name filter
You get back
Category name, alias and canonical URL
Coverage
Capterra's published software category taxonomy.
Price
5 pts — $5 per 1,000
Flat 5 points per successful call, regardless of how many categories come back. A call that fails is not billed.
Comparison

Ways to get this data

Three approaches teams use today, and where each one runs into trouble.

ApproachWhat it takesCostTrade-off
Browsing Capterra's directory by handClick through the category menu and note down aliasesFree, and tedious to keep currentCapterra doesn't publish the taxonomy as a clean list anywhere
Hardcoding a category listCopy it once and hope it doesn't changeFree until it goes staleCategories get added, renamed and merged without notice
NeuralVergeOne request, optionally filtered by nameFlat $5 per 1,000 calls, misses not billedOne call per lookup regardless of list size, so it's a reference call, not a scraping loop
Response

What you get back

Every field in the response shown above.

FieldTypeDescription
total_itemsnumberHow many categories came back.
itemsarrayThe matching categories.
items[].namestringCategory name.
items[].aliasstringCategory alias — the identifier Capterra category products expects.
items[].urlstringCanonical category URL.
response_bytesnumberSize of the raw page data collected to build this result.
Integration

How to run it

The same lookup works from the app, the API, or as a tool an agent can call mid-task.

Both query and max_items are optional — omit query to list the full taxonomy (up to max_items, default 50, max 1,500). Billed as one flat 5-point call no matter how many categories come back.

curl -X POST https://api.neuralverge.ai/functions/v1/run-capterra-categories \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "query": "crm", "max_items": 50 }'
Use cases

What teams use it for

Where this field shows up in an actual workflow.

Resolving a category alias

Look up the exact alias Capterra category products needs for a category name you already know.

Building a category picker

Populate a dropdown or filter in your own tool from the real taxonomy.

Auditing category coverage

See the full list of categories Capterra maintains before deciding which ones to track.

Keeping aliases current

Re-run the filtered lookup when Capterra renames or splits a category, instead of hardcoding one.

Coverage & limits

Coverage, freshness and limits

What this source covers, how fresh it is, and where it stops.

Coverage

Capterra's published software category taxonomy.

Freshness

Read at request time.

Handling

This source returns publicly visible category information, stamped with the query it was read from and a session id you can trace.

What it will not do
  • —Category boundaries are Capterra's own editorial choice, not a neutral industry standard.
  • —Categories are occasionally renamed, merged or split, which can change an alias you'd stored.
  • —A name filter matches on substring, so a loose term can return categories you didn't expect.
FAQ

Questions, answered

It's the category taxonomy — a small, bounded, quasi-static reference list, not an open-ended search — so it's billed as one flat 5-point call per lookup instead of per returned record.

Related

Related sources

Try capterra categories on your own data

One request format across every source in the catalog.

Get started