Instagram Reels Search - Reel Finder by Keyword or Hashtag

Instagram Reels search by keyword or hashtag, returning the reels Instagram ranks for it, as rows: caption, plays, likes, comments, shares, duration, thumbnail and video links, the creator, the song or sound, the location and the publish time, one row per reel.

A keyword and the same words as a hashtag are two different searches and come back with different reels. The limit to know about before you plan around it: you get the ranked feed Instagram serves for a term, in its order, and a run tops out at 100 reels. Each reel the likes, comments and date filters leave out is billed. On the free Apify plan a run returns one page, up to 12 reels.

Input	Up to 20 keywords and 20 hashtags
Output	One row per reel: caption, plays, likes, comments, shares, duration, thumbnail and video links, creator, song or sound, location, publish time
Ceiling	100 reels per run
Account needed	None
Price	$0.40 per 1,000 reels on the free plan, down to $0.385 on Business. The free plan's $5 a month covers about 12,500

Using an AI agent?
Actor	dami_studio/instagram-reels-search-scraper
Set one field	searchQueries, labelled "Keyword searches" in the Console
Cap the bill	maxTotalChargeUsd on the run, for example 0.10: it never charges past that
MCP, one link	https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,dami_studio/instagram-reels-search-scraper
How often	Daily, to catch new reels for your words

🔍 What Instagram Reels Search does

Each term is searched on Instagram's Reels search: a keyword as you wrote it, a hashtag as #tag. So home workout returns what Instagram ranks for that phrase, not whatever sits in a tag that loosely matches it.

Only reels come back, deduplicated by id across the run, so a reel two of your terms found arrives once. sourceQuery and sourceHashtag on every row say which term found it.

📋 What data you get from each Instagram reel

What you get	Field
Media id, shortcode and reel link	id, shortcode, reelUrl
Caption, and the hashtags and handles in it	caption, hashtags, mentions
Plays, likes, comments and shares	playCount, likeCount, commentCount, shareCount
Plays split between Instagram and Facebook	igPlayCount, fbPlayCount
Length and video size	durationSeconds, videoWidth, videoHeight
Cover image and video file	thumbnailUrl, videoUrl
The creator	authorUsername, authorFullName, authorId, authorIsVerified, authorIsPrivate
The song or sound	audioTitle, audioArtist, audioId, isOriginalAudio, audioUrl
Location tag	locationName, locationId
Paid partnership and sponsors	isPaidPartnership, sponsors
Tagged accounts and co-authors	taggedUsers, coauthors
Comments turned off	commentsDisabled
Instagram's own subtitles, as text	transcript
Publish time	timestamp
Which of your terms found it	sourceQuery, sourceHashtag

▶️ How to scrape Instagram Reels by keyword

1. Open Instagram Reels Search and click Try for free.
2. Type your phrases into Keyword searches, one per line. Add tags under Hashtags if you want both.
3. Set Maximum Reels. Start at 30 while you look at the output shape.
4. Click Start.
5. Download the dataset as JSON, CSV or Excel, or pull it from the Apify API.

Run it with the input empty and you get one labelled sample row, which is not charged, so you can look at the shape first.

💰 How much does it cost to scrape Instagram Reels?

$0.40 per 1,000 reels. That is the free plan's price; paid plans pay a little less: $0.395 on Starter, $0.39 on Scale and $0.385 on Business. On the free plan, the $5 Apify gives you each month covers about 12,500 reels. On the free plan a run stops after one page and says so in a free row; a paid plan gets the full run.

You pay per reel delivered. A reel that two of your terms both found is billed once. The sample row, every diagnostic row, and a term that returns nothing cost you nothing. Without filters, maxReels caps both the rows and the spend.

The filters are the exception. The search can't filter by likes, comments or date, so each reel is checked after it arrives, and every reel a filter leaves out is billed as "Reel checked and left out", at the same price as a delivered reel. Your maximum cost per run still holds. Transcripts and audio links cost nothing extra.

📥 What you give it

{
  "searchQueries": ["travel", "home workout"],
  "hashtags": ["homeworkout"],
  "maxReels": 30,
  "maxReelsPerTerm": 10
}

Field	Default	What it is
searchQueries	none	Up to 20 keywords, each searched as written.
hashtags	none	Up to 20 hashtags, each searched as #tag on the same surface.
maxReels	30	Reels for the whole run, 1 to 100. Without filters, this is also your spend cap.
maxReelsPerTerm	none	Optional, 10 to 100; the lowest value is 10. Each term stops at this many reels, so later terms get searched. Empty lets the first terms fill the run.
minLikes, minComments	none	Optional. Only reels with at least this many likes or comments. Each reel left out is billed as a reel checked and left out.
newerThan	none	Optional. A day (2026-10-01, counted in UTC) or a window (7 days, 2 weeks). Older reels, and reels with no publish time, are left out and billed as checked.
maxRunSeconds	120	Wall-clock ceiling for the run, 20 to 180 seconds.
requestTimeoutSeconds	15	How long one search request is allowed to take, 5 to 30 seconds.
maxAttempts	8	How many times a request can be retried, 1 to 12.
sessionCookies	none	Optional, and normally not needed. Your own Instagram cookie, so the run uses your own account.
proxyConfiguration	none	Leave it alone unless you have your own servers to use.

Keep every term short and non-empty: a blank term, or one over 100 characters, is skipped with a free BAD_INPUT row and the rest are searched. A filter value that can't be read, such as last week for a date, stops the run before it searches, with a free BAD_INPUT row.

📤 What you get back

A real row from a run on the keyword travel. The caption, the transcript and the links are cut short so the block stays readable:

{
  "ok": true,
  "recordType": "instagram_reel",
  "id": "3986247637637563552",
  "shortcode": "DdR_xs8IISg",
  "reelUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdR_xs8IISg/",
  "caption": "Wish that I could stay forever this youn...",
  "hashtags": ["travel", "traveltheworld", "explore", "travelgram", "worldtraveler"],
  "mentions": [],
  "likeCount": 35107,
  "commentCount": 85,
  "playCount": 363238,
  "igPlayCount": 363238,
  "fbPlayCount": null,
  "shareCount": 4392,
  "durationSeconds": 12.189000129699707,
  "videoWidth": 1080,
  "videoHeight": 1920,
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://scontent-xxc1-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/811236201_1809...",
  "videoUrl": "https://scontent-xxc1-1.cdninstagram.com/o1/v/t16/f2/m84/AQNuOGMYqaeCx...",
  "authorId": 50350871833,
  "authorUsername": "travelgazette",
  "authorFullName": "TravelGazette ✿",
  "authorIsVerified": false,
  "authorIsPrivate": false,
  "audioTitle": "Wake Me Up",
  "audioArtist": "Avicii",
  "audioId": "1910166583068970",
  "isOriginalAudio": false,
  "audioUrl": "https://scontent-xxc1-1.cdninstagram.com/o1/v/t2/f2/m69/AQO_ljuUapRcqN...",
  "timestamp": "2026-09-16T12:55:50.000Z",
  "locationName": null,
  "locationId": null,
  "isPaidPartnership": false,
  "sponsors": [],
  "taggedUsers": [],
  "coauthors": [],
  "commentsDisabled": null,
  "transcript": "Hope I get the chance to travel the world...",
  "sourceQuery": "travel",
  "sourceHashtag": null
}

Field	How to read it
shortcode	The key to join runs on. reelUrl is the canonical link.
playCount, likeCount, commentCount, shareCount	The counters as Instagram reports them at read time.
durationSeconds	Reel length, unrounded.
thumbnailUrl, videoUrl	Direct links to the cover image and the video file. Signed and time limited.
audioTitle, audioArtist	The song and artist for licensed music. For a creator's own sound, its name and the account that made it.
isOriginalAudio, audioUrl	true for a creator's own sound, false for licensed music. audioUrl is the link Instagram serves for the sound, signed and short-lived.
playCount, igPlayCount, fbPlayCount	playCount is the total. The other two split it between Instagram and Facebook, null when not reported.
isPaidPartnership, sponsors	isPaidPartnership is Instagram's own flag. sponsors lists the brand accounts Instagram names on a paid partnership reel. It stays [] on every other reel, and on a paid one that names no brand.
taggedUsers	Tagged accounts. [] when the reel has none. null when the reel has tags that the search answer doesn't name. In our checks it never named one, so expect null on a tagged reel.
commentsDisabled	true or false when Instagram says, null when it doesn't. The search answer almost never does, so expect null.
transcript	The text of Instagram's own subtitles for the reel. null when Instagram publishes none, or the file couldn't be read in time.
sourceQuery	Your term as searched: the keyword, or #tag for a hashtag.
sourceHashtag	The tag for a hashtag search, and null for a keyword.

🧾 Reading the output

Three kinds of row can land in your dataset.

Row	How to spot it	Billed
A real reel	ok: true and recordType: "instagram_reel"	yes
The sample row	_sample: true	no
A diagnostic	ok: false and an errorCode	no

A reel a filter leaves out never reaches the dataset. Filter on ok == true and drop the _sample row if you have one, and you have your reels.

Code	What it means
NO_RESULTS	That term came back with nothing. It may be new, misspelled or too narrow. With a filter set, it can also mean none of its reels passed; reelsCheckedOut says how many were checked.
PARTIAL	The run delivered fewer reels than you asked for: it stopped early, or your searches ran out of new reels. What arrived is complete and correct, and reelsDelivered says how many. searchesNotRead lists any term it never reached.
CONFIGURATION_ERROR	Something in the input stopped the run before it searched.
BAD_INPUT	A filter or limit value couldn't be read. Nothing was searched.
OPTION_NOT_LIVE	The filters weren't available on that run, so nothing was searched. Run it again.
FREE_PLAN_LIMIT	You are on the free Apify plan, so the run read only part of your input. searchesNotRead lists what it skipped. A paid plan gets the full run.
PROVIDER_ERROR	That search could not be answered this time. Re-running usually clears it.
PROXY_GROUP_ADJUSTED	The run adjusted a setting you supplied and carried on.
TIME_LIMIT	The run got close to its time limit and stopped on its own. The reels delivered before that are complete and charged, and searchesNotRead lists the terms it never reached. Give the run more time, or ask for fewer reels, to get the rest.
UNEXPECTED_ERROR	The run stopped early on an unexpected error. The results before this row are kept.

A diagnostic row is never billed and never fails the run, TIME_LIMIT included: that run still ends as succeeded, with an amber status message. A term whose reels an earlier term already delivered gets no row at all.

💡 What people use it for

• Asking what actually ranks for a phrase this week, then putting it on a weekly schedule to see the churn, with the rows sent to Slack, Make, Zapier or n8n.
• Finding creators working a topic. Every row carries the creator, so a keyword search doubles as a shortlist.
• Comparing a keyword against its hashtag, since the two return different sets and the gap is often the interesting part.

From a phrase to the scripts behind the top reels, in three steps:

1. Run this on your phrase.
2. Sort on playCount and copy the reelUrl of the top ten.
3. Watch them and note what the top reels open with.

🚧 What it does not do

• No sorting. A strict likes, comments or date filter bills many checked reels for each kept one. No minimum play count, no country.
• 100 reels per run, and twenty keywords plus twenty hashtags. Without maxReelsPerTerm the first terms can fill the run.
• Fewer reels than you asked for is normal on some terms. Duplicates and non-reels are dropped, and once a page brings nothing new the run stops that term and a free PARTIAL row says how many arrived. You pay only for what arrives.
• A hashtag search is ranked, not a strict filter. Most rows carry the tag, not every one.
• A transcript only where Instagram publishes subtitles. Nothing is transcribed from the sound.
• The audio is never downloaded. audioUrl is only a link.
• No comment text. The caption and the counters only.
• Media links expire. They are signed, short-lived links.
• It is not an official Instagram tool. Dami's Studio is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Instagram or Meta, or by any other company named on this page.

🧭 Which Instagram scraper do you need?

If you want	Use
Reels ranked for a keyword or a tag	This one
Posts and reels under a hashtag	Instagram Hashtag Scraper
Every reel on one profile's reels tab	Instagram Reel Scraper
One post or reel you already have the link for	Instagram Post Scraper
A profile plus the posts on its grid	Instagram Scraper
TikTok videos for a keyword	TikTok Scraper
YouTube Shorts for a keyword	YouTube Shorts Scraper

❓ Questions people ask

Do I need an Instagram account to search reels?

No, you don't need one. The cookie field is optional and exists so you can run on your own account.

Is maxReels per term or per run?

Per run: 30 across three terms is 30 reels in total, not 90. Set maxReelsPerTerm to 10 as well and each term gets its share.

Why don't the results match the app?

A ranked feed moves, so two runs an hour apart will not match exactly, and neither will the app. Counts are a snapshot at read time.

Can I call it from code or connect it to an AI assistant?

The API tab has code for Python, JavaScript and the CLI. MCP clients like Claude and ChatGPT use https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,dami_studio/instagram-reels-search-scraper; coding assistants can load our skill file. All three bill your Apify account at the same price.

# pip install apify-client
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("dami_studio/instagram-reels-search-scraper").call(
    run_input={
        "searchQueries": ["travel"],
        "maxReels": 20,
    },
    max_total_charge_usd=0.10,  # the most this run may spend
)
for row in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    if row.get("ok") is False:  # free note rows, not results
        continue
    print(row.get("playCount"), row.get("reelUrl"))

Is scraping Instagram legal?

This reads public reels only, never private accounts or messages. Results can still contain personal data, which GDPR and similar laws cover, so have a reason for collecting it. Apify's write-up on the legality of web scraping is a good starting point, and we are not lawyers.

🆘 If something breaks

Open the Issues tab on the actor page. Include the search terms you used and the run ID, and the log is enough for us to see what happened.