# Instagram Reels Scraper (`calm_builder/instagram-reels-scraper`) Actor

Scrape Instagram Reels from any public profile or reel link. Exact plays, likes and comments, caption, hashtags, mentions, date, duration, music, video and audio links. No login or cookies needed. Fast, reliable and low cost, with a date filter and pinned-reel skip.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/calm\_builder/instagram-reels-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Coder](https://apify.com/calm_builder) (community)
- **Stats:** 13 total users, 12 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.60 / 1,000 reels

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Instagram Reels Scraper

Scrape **Instagram Reels** from **any public profile or reel link** into clean JSON, CSV or Excel. Every reel comes with **exact plays, likes and comment count**, caption, hashtags, mentions, publish date, duration, **music / original audio**, cover image and **direct video and audio links**. No Instagram account, no login and no cookies needed.

Use it for **creator and influencer analytics**, **competitor monitoring**, **trend research**, **content ideas** and **short-form video reporting**.

### What you get

#### Every reel

- **Engagement:** exact play count, likes, comments (when the creator has not hidden them)
- **Content:** caption, hashtags, mentions, tagged users, co-authors (collabs), paid-partnership flag and sponsors
- **Media:** cover image, video link, audio link, duration, width and height
- **Music:** the song or original audio the reel uses
- **Context:** publish date, pinned flag, reel link and short code, creator username, full name and id

Reels come newest first. Pinned reels are marked, so you can keep them or skip them.

### Input

| Field | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Profiles or reel links** | Usernames (`natgeo`, `@natgeo`), profile links, or single reel links (`instagram.com/reel/...`) |
| **Reels per profile** | How many reels to collect from each profile, newest first |
| **Published after** | Only reels newer than a date (`2026-09-01`) or a period (`7 days`, `3 months`) |
| **Skip pinned reels** | Leave out the reels pinned to the top of a Reels tab |

#### Example input

```json
{
    "username": ["natgeo", "https://www.instagram.com/nasa/", "https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbA_2A4uL5K/"],
    "resultsLimit": 50,
    "onlyPostsNewerThan": "3 months",
    "skipPinnedPosts": true
}
```

#### Example output

```json
{
    "inputUrl": "natgeo",
    "id": "3945434062310129226",
    "type": "Video",
    "shortCode": "DbA_2A4uL5K",
    "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DbA_2A4uL5K/",
    "caption": "On the clock.",
    "hashtags": [],
    "mentions": [],
    "videoPlayCount": 46586457,
    "likesCount": 4224447,
    "commentsCount": 18731,
    "videoDuration": 14.6,
    "timestamp": "2026-07-20T13:04:58.000Z",
    "isPinned": false,
    "ownerUsername": "robertdowneyjr",
    "ownerFullName": "Robert Downey Jr. Official",
    "displayUrl": "https://...jpg",
    "videoUrl": "https://...mp4",
    "audioUrl": "https://...mp4",
    "musicInfo": { "song_name": "Original audio", "artist_name": "robertdowneyjr" }
}
```

***

### Pricing

You pay only for reels you receive - never for profiles that turned out to be private or missing, retries or filters.

| Result | Price per 1,000 |
| --- | --- |
| Reel (full details) | **$1.30** |

Prices are for the Apify Free plan; paid Apify plans get lower prices automatically. **The date filter and pinned-reel filter are free.** You can set a maximum cost per run in the run options - the Actor stops cleanly when it is reached.

### Free plan

On Apify's free plan a run uses up to 3 profiles or reel links and up to 10 reels each. Every feature works, so you can try it before upgrading.

### Good to know

- **Public profiles only.** Private accounts are skipped and not charged.
- **Hidden like counts:** some creators hide likes; those reels still come with plays and comments.
- **Mistyped or removed accounts** are listed at the end of the run log.
- Want photo and carousel posts too, or comments, hashtags and places? Use our **Instagram Post Scraper**, **Instagram Comments Scraper** or the all-in-one **Instagram Scraper**.

### FAQ

**Do I need an Instagram account or cookies?** No. Everything is public data, collected without logging in.

**Can I get all reels of a creator?** Yes - set "Reels per profile" high enough. Add "Published after" to get only recent ones.

**Do reel links get play counts too?** Yes - the reel is looked up on its creator's Reels tab. For very old reels (beyond the creator's newest 200) the play count can be empty; likes, comments and everything else are always filled.

**How fresh is the data?** Every run reads Instagram live, so counts are as of the moment the reel was collected.

# Actor input Schema

## `username` (type: `array`):

One per row: an Instagram username (natgeo or @natgeo), a profile link, or a single reel link (instagram.com/reel/...). For a profile, its Reels tab is collected.

## `resultsLimit` (type: `integer`):

Newest first. Reel links you paste are always collected.

## `onlyPostsNewerThan` (type: `string`):

Only reels published after this date (2026-09-01) or within a period (7 days, 3 months).

## `skipPinnedPosts` (type: `boolean`):

Leave out the reels a creator pinned to the top of their Reels tab. Pinned reels are usually older, so they are also exempt from the date filter when kept.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "username": [
    "natgeo",
    "https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbA_2A4uL5K/"
  ],
  "resultsLimit": 25,
  "skipPinnedPosts": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `reels` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "username": [
        "natgeo",
        "https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbA_2A4uL5K/"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("calm_builder/instagram-reels-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "username": [
        "natgeo",
        "https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbA_2A4uL5K/",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("calm_builder/instagram-reels-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "username": [
    "natgeo",
    "https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbA_2A4uL5K/"
  ]
}' |
apify call calm_builder/instagram-reels-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,calm_builder/instagram-reels-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/SAmxbX4gnwh8dT8hF/builds/CxXR1roQUKl3Vekbc/openapi.json