Instagram Scraper – Posts, Reels, Comments, Profiles, Hashtags & Places

Scrape public Instagram data without an Instagram account, login or API key. Paste profile, post, reel, hashtag or place URLs and get clean rows: posts and reels with likes, comments and plays, the comments under a post, profile details with followers and bio, hashtag size with related keywords, and places with coordinates. You pay only for the rows you get.

What does Instagram Scraper do?

It opens each Instagram URL the way a logged-out visitor's browser does, through residential addresses, and reads the data Instagram puts in the page. One URL gives one kind of result, chosen with What to get:

You paste	Posts	Reels	Comments	Details
Profile instagram.com/natgeo/	12 latest posts	12 latest reels with plays	–	Profile row + 12 latest posts
Post or reel instagram.com/p/…, /reel/…	The full post	The full reel	~15 comments shown	The full post
Hashtag instagram.com/explore/tags/crossfit/ or #crossfit	Top 12 reels	Top 12 reels	–	Posts count + related keywords
Place instagram.com/explore/locations/7538318/	~15 recent posts	Recent reels	–	Name, category, coordinates, address, phone, posts count

Usernames work too: natgeo or @natgeo. Story links are reduced to their profile. Paste links the way you have them: mobile links, instagr.am links, links with ?igsh=… tracking, <brackets> or a final full stop, and whole lists on one line (natgeo, nasa, #crossfit) are all cleaned up for you. The same profile given three ways is read (and billed) once.

What data can I get?

• Posts and reels: shortcode, URL, type (Image, Video, Sidecar), caption, hashtags, mentions, likes, comments count, video plays and views, publication date, image and video URLs, size, carousel children, tagged users, co-authors, location, music, author.
• Comments: text, author (username, id, picture, verified), likes, replies count, date, comment link.
• Profiles: username, full name, bio, website links, followers, following, posts count, verified, private, profile picture, latest posts.
• Hashtags: posts count and related keywords people search with it.
• Places: name, category, latitude, longitude, address, zip, phone, price range, posts count, linked business account, latest posts.

How to use it in 3 steps

1. Paste profile, post, reel, hashtag or place URLs (or usernames, or #tags) in Instagram URLs.
2. Pick what you want in What to get — Posts, Reels, Comments or Details — and how many per URL.
3. Click Start, then open the Overview table or download JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML.

The form works as it is: the prefilled run returns the 12 latest posts of National Geographic in about half a minute, for about three cents. Optional: Only posts newer than (7 days, 2026-09-01) and Maximum results for the whole run.

Input example

{
  "directUrls": ["https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/", "#crossfit", "https://www.instagram.com/p/DLNsnpUTdVS/"],
  "resultsType": "posts",
  "resultsLimit": 12,
  "onlyPostsNewerThan": "30 days"
}

Turn on Open each profile post for full details to add likes, comments count, date, location, tagged users and the latest comments to the posts of a profile (one extra page per post).

Output example

A post:

{
  "resultType": "post",
  "inputUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DLNsnpUTdVS/",
  "id": "3660778310592222546",
  "type": "Image",
  "productType": "feed",
  "shortCode": "DLNsnpUTdVS",
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DLNsnpUTdVS/",
  "caption": "Your phone isn't rotting your brain—but cell death and fungi might. 🧠 …",
  "likesCount": 72507,
  "commentsCount": 218,
  "timestamp": "2025-06-22T19:00:10.000Z",
  "displayUrl": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/…jpg",
  "ownerUsername": "natgeo",
  "ownerFullName": "National Geographic",
  "firstComment": "…",
  "latestComments": [{ "text": "…", "ownerUsername": "…", "likesCount": 3, "timestamp": "…" }]
}

A profile (Details):

{
  "resultType": "profile",
  "username": "natgeo",
  "fullName": "National Geographic",
  "followersCount": 268000000,
  "followsCount": 195,
  "postsCount": 32000,
  "verified": true,
  "private": false,
  "externalUrl": "https://…",
  "latestPosts": [{ "shortCode": "…", "type": "Video", "caption": "…" }]
}

In the Console, the Overview table shows every row whatever its type; the Posts and reels, Comments, Profiles, Places and Hashtags tables show the columns that matter for each.

Every run also writes RUN_SUMMARY (results by type, stop reason, failures, pages loaded, amount charged) and FAILED_INPUTS (each URL that gave nothing, with the reason) to the run's storage:

[
  { "input": "https://www.instagram.com/share/reel/BAxyz/", "type": "input",
    "reason": "Share links (instagram.com/share/…) only redirect: open it once in a browser and paste the address it leads to (…/p/…, …/reel/… or the profile).",
    "failedAt": "2026-10-09T16:55:12.000Z" }
]

How much does it cost?

Pay per result: one row = one post, reel, comment, profile, hashtag or place. URLs that give nothing are listed in FAILED_INPUTS and never billed. Images, videos and Instagram's scripts are never downloaded, which keeps runs fast and cheap.

Apify plan	Price per 1,000 results
Free	$2.50
Starter	$2.00
Scale	$1.63
Business	$1.25

Example: 10 profiles × 12 posts = 120 results ≈ $0.30 on the Free plan. Set Maximum results for the whole run or a maximum cost per run, and the run stops cleanly at that limit.

What it can and cannot do

It can: read any public profile, post, reel, hashtag or place without an account; return profile details with followers, bio and links; give likes, comments, plays, music, tagged users and location for posts and reels; list the comments Instagram shows on a post; filter by date; stop exactly at your limit or budget.

It cannot go beyond what Instagram shows a logged-out visitor. This Actor never logs in, so it returns what a visitor sees:

• up to 12 posts or 12 reels per profile;
• about 15 comments per post (the ones Instagram shows first);
• the top 12 reels per hashtag;
• about 15 recent posts per place;
• no keyword search (Instagram refuses it to logged-out visitors): paste URLs instead;
• private profiles return their details but no posts;
• share links (instagram.com/share/…), audio pages and story contents are not read.

Likes and dates of a profile's posts are not on the profile page: turn on Open each profile post for full details to get them.

Use it via API

Python (pip install apify-client):

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("badr_xba/instagram-scraper").call(run_input={
    "directUrls": ["https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/", "#crossfit"],
    "resultsType": "posts",
    "resultsLimit": 12,
})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item["resultType"], item.get("url"), item.get("likesCount"))

JavaScript (npm install apify-client):

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' });
const run = await client.actor('badr_xba/instagram-scraper').call({
    directUrls: ['https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/', '#crossfit'],
    resultsType: 'posts',
    resultsLimit: 12,
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

cURL (runs the Actor and returns the rows in one call):

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/badr_xba~instagram-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"directUrls": ["https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/"], "resultsType": "posts", "resultsLimit": 12}'

Integrations

Results are plain JSON rows, ready for your tools:

• Make, Zapier and n8n: use the Apify app or node, pick badr_xba/instagram-scraper, and send each new row to Google Sheets, Airtable, Slack, a CRM or a database.
• AI agents (MCP): add https://mcp.apify.com/?actors=badr_xba/instagram-scraper to Claude, Cursor or any MCP client and ask in plain words ("latest posts of @natgeo").
• Schedules and webhooks: run it daily on the same profiles to build a history, and get notified when a run ends.

FAQ

Do I need an Instagram account? No. The Actor reads public pages as a logged-out visitor. It never asks for your password or cookies.

Why do counts differ a little from what I see in the app? Instagram shows logged-out visitors slightly different numbers than signed-in users, and counts keep moving after the run. Compare with the page opened in a private window at the run's time.

Why is likesCount -1? The author hid the like count on that post.

Can I get more than 12 posts per profile? Not as a logged-out visitor. Add the profile's reels tab (…/reels/) for 12 more items, or run the Actor on a schedule to collect new posts as they appear.

Which proxy should I use? Keep the default residential group. Instagram blocks datacenter addresses.

Is it legal to scrape Instagram? The Actor only reads data that Instagram shows publicly, without logging in. Some of it can be personal data under laws such as the GDPR: collect it only for a legitimate purpose and handle it accordingly.

Troubleshooting

What you see	What to do
A URL is in FAILED_INPUTS with type input	It is not a profile, post, reel, hashtag or place address. Share links must be opened once in a browser: paste the address they lead to.
Type notFound	The post was deleted, the profile does not exist, or Instagram keeps that page (often a very big hashtag) for signed-in users. Check it in a private browser window.
Type private	The profile is private: use Details to get its public figures.
Type blocked	Instagram refused every address tried. Keep the RESIDENTIAL proxy group and run again; it is rare and never billed.
likesCount and timestamp are empty for a profile's posts	Turn on Open each profile post for full details.
Fewer rows than Results per URL	Instagram shows logged-out visitors 12 posts per profile and about 15 comments per post.
The run stopped early	Maximum results for the whole run or your maximum cost per run was reached: see stopReason in RUN_SUMMARY.

Something does not work? Open an issue on the Issues tab with the run ID and the URL. Issues are answered quickly.