Instagram Profile Scraper - Followers, Posts & Emails

Instagram Profile Scraper extracts public profile data from Instagram: exact follower, following and post counts, bio, website and bio links, emails and phone numbers found in the bio, category, verified, private and business flags, engagement rate, the 12 latest posts and up to 50 related profiles. Paste usernames, @handles, profile URLs or numeric user IDs and get one row per profile. No login, no cookies, no browser, from $1.60 per 1,000 profiles.

{
  "username": "nasa",
  "fullName": "NASA",
  "followersCount": 104266795,
  "followsCount": 90,
  "postsCount": 4955,
  "isVerified": true,
  "accountType": "business",
  "category": "Government organization",
  "externalUrl": "https://www.nasa.gov/",
  "engagementRate": 0.074,
  "avgLikes": 76644,
  "postsPerWeek": 20.91,
  "latestPostAt": "2026-10-07T18:19:38.000Z"
}

Measured on Apify (2026-10-08): 113 creator profiles in 37 seconds, 134 brand profiles in 70 seconds, every one returned.

What does Instagram Profile Scraper do?

It reads the same public profile data Instagram shows a visitor who is not logged in, for as many profiles as you list, and returns it as clean rows you can download as JSON, CSV or Excel. It adds what Instagram does not show directly: engagement rate, average likes, comments and video views, posting frequency, and the email addresses and phone numbers written in the bio.

• Every input form. Usernames (natgeo), @handles, profile URLs with any tracking parameters (instagram.com/natgeo?igsh=...), /reels/ and story links, and numeric user IDs. Duplicates are scraped and charged once.
• Exact counts. Followers, following and posts as exact numbers, not "104M".
• Leads and contacts. Emails and international phone numbers from the bio and link titles, WhatsApp numbers from wa.me links, the website and all bio links (the real URLs, not Instagram's redirects), and the category.
• Influencer metrics. Engagement rate, average likes, comments and video views over the latest posts, posts per week and the date of the latest post, so inactive or inflated accounts stand out.
• Latest posts and similar accounts. The 12 latest posts with caption, likes, comments, views, date, hashtags, mentions and media URLs, plus up to 50 accounts Instagram suggests next to the profile.
• Only pay for results. Usernames that do not exist and profiles that cannot be read return an error row and are never charged.
• Built for automation. Run it on a schedule, call it from the API, or connect it to Make, Zapier, n8n, Google Sheets or an AI agent through Apify's MCP server.

Why it is fast and cheap

There is no browser and no login. The Actor asks Instagram's own app endpoints for each profile in one request of about 35 KB, the same data the Instagram app loads. Requests start from free addresses, and the Actor switches to fresh residential IPs on its own when Instagram rate-limits them, so you never set up a proxy and a large list does not stall. Ten profiles are scraped at a time.

What data can you extract from Instagram?

Field	Example	What it is
username, fullName, id	nasa, NASA, 528817151	Handle, display name and the permanent user ID
followersCount, followsCount, postsCount	104266795, 90, 4955	Exact counts
biography	Making the seemingly impossible, possible.	The bio text
externalUrl, externalUrls	https://www.nasa.gov/	Main link and all bio links with their titles
emails, phones	["hello@brand.com"]	Found in the bio, link titles and WhatsApp links
isVerified, isPrivate	true, false	Blue badge, private account
accountType, category	business, Government organization	Business, creator or personal, and the category shown on the profile
engagementRate	0.074	(Average likes + comments) / followers x 100
avgLikes, avgComments, avgVideoViews	76644, 342, 380036	Averages over the latest posts
postsPerWeek, latestPostAt	20.91, 2026-10-07T18:19:38Z	Posting frequency and activity
highlightReelCount, igtvVideoCount, hasClips	6, 171, true	Story highlights, long videos, Reels
latestPosts	12 posts	Caption, likes, comments, views, date, type, media URLs, hashtags, mentions, collaborators
relatedProfiles	50 accounts	Similar accounts: username, name, verified, private, picture
profilePicUrl, profilePicUrlHD	URL	Profile picture
dataLevel	full	partial for the accounts described under Tips and limits

The dataset has four views: Overview, Contacts and leads, Engagement, and Latest posts (one row per post).

How to scrape Instagram profiles

1. Click Try for free and paste your usernames, @handles, profile URLs or user IDs into Instagram profiles, one per line.
2. Keep Include the 12 latest posts and Include related profiles on for the full picture, or turn them off for smaller rows.
3. Click Start. A typical list of a few hundred profiles finishes in two to three minutes.
4. Open the Output tab, or download the results as JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML.

How much does it cost to scrape Instagram?

You pay per profile returned, and the price drops on higher Apify plans:

Apify plan	Per 1,000 profiles
Free	$2.50
Starter	$2.00
Scale	$1.80
Business	$1.60

• 500 influencer profiles on the Starter plan cost $1.00.
• 10,000 brand profiles on the Scale plan cost $18.00.
• A run also costs $0.00005 to start. Profiles that fail or do not exist cost nothing.
• The Free plan's $5 monthly credit covers about 2,000 profiles.

Input

{
    "targets": ["nasa", "@humansofny", "https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/", "787132"],
    "includeLatestPosts": true,
    "includeRelatedProfiles": true
}

Field	Default	Notes
Instagram profiles	nasa, humansofny (example)	Usernames, @handles, profile URLs or numeric user IDs, one per line
Profile URLs (for chaining Actors)	empty	The same in the URL-list shape other Actors output
Max profiles	10,000	Total for the run: your cost cap
Include the 12 latest posts	on	Free; off makes rows smaller
Include related profiles	on	Free; off makes rows smaller
Concurrency, timeout, retries	10, 30 s, 2	Tuned already; IP addresses are managed for you

Output

Each profile is one row in the dataset (shortened here; the full row has every field in the table above):

{
  "recordType": "profile",
  "input": "nasa",
  "id": "528817151",
  "username": "nasa",
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/nasa/",
  "fullName": "NASA",
  "biography": "Making the seemingly impossible, possible. ✨",
  "followersCount": 104266795,
  "followsCount": 90,
  "postsCount": 4955,
  "isVerified": true,
  "isPrivate": false,
  "accountType": "business",
  "category": "Government organization",
  "businessCategoryName": "Government Agencies",
  "emails": [],
  "phones": [],
  "externalUrl": "https://www.nasa.gov/",
  "externalUrls": [
    { "title": "NASA.gov Homepage", "url": "https://www.nasa.gov", "linkType": "external" }
  ],
  "latestPostAt": "2026-10-07T18:19:38.000Z",
  "avgLikes": 76644,
  "avgComments": 342,
  "avgVideoViews": 380036,
  "engagementRate": 0.074,
  "postsPerWeek": 20.91,
  "highlightReelCount": 6,
  "igtvVideoCount": 171,
  "hasThreadsProfile": true,
  "fbid": "17841401474538262",
  "latestPosts": [
    {
      "shortCode": "DeMIwYYPAMt",
      "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DeMIwYYPAMt/",
      "type": "Video",
      "productType": "clips",
      "caption": "They say when one door closes, another one opens…",
      "likesCount": 50914,
      "commentsCount": 395,
      "videoViewCount": 442792,
      "timestamp": "2026-10-07T10:26:36.000Z",
      "ownerUsername": "astro_anil",
      "coauthors": ["iss", "soph_astro", "nasa", "astro_jessica"]
    }
  ],
  "relatedProfiles": [
    { "id": "36407544", "username": "sciencechannel", "fullName": "Science Channel", "isVerified": true, "isPrivate": false }
  ],
  "dataLevel": "full",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-08T08:04:20.843Z"
}

A profile that cannot be read becomes a row with "recordType": "error" and an errorCode instead of failing the whole run:

errorCode	Meaning
NOT_FOUND	No such username or ID, or the account is deactivated, banned or restricted
BLOCKED / RATE_LIMITED	Instagram refused every address for this profile; run it again later
PARSE_FAILED	Instagram answered in an unexpected shape; please report it

Error rows are never charged.

Tips and limits

• Business accounts are sometimes partial. Instagram's profile API currently refuses about two in three brand accounts (an Instagram-side bug in its business-category lookup). The Actor then rebuilds the profile from Instagram's public pages and marks it "dataLevel": "partial": counts, bio, links, the latest posts and engagement are there, while the category, story highlights, long-video count and related profiles are empty. Creator and personal accounts are almost always complete.
• Contact buttons stay hidden. Instagram does not show the address behind a business's Email, Call or Directions button to logged-out visitors, so emails and phones come from the bio, link titles and WhatsApp links only.
• Private accounts return their public header (name, bio, counts, links) but no posts, because Instagram hides them.
• "About this account" (join date, country, former usernames) needs a logged-in session, so it is not included.
• Media URLs expire after a few days; download pictures and videos you want to keep.
• For more than 12 posts per profile, use a dedicated posts scraper.
• Hit your spending limit? The run stops cleanly at your maximum cost per run and keeps everything it collected. Raise the limit in the run options to get more.

FAQ

Is it legal to scrape Instagram?

This Actor collects only data that Instagram shows publicly, without logging in. Results can still contain personal data, which laws such as the GDPR protect. Scrape personal data only for a legitimate purpose, and ask a lawyer if you are unsure. Instagram is a trademark of its owner; this Actor is not affiliated with or endorsed by Instagram or Meta.

Can I use it through the API or with Make, Zapier and n8n?

Yes. Every run can be started through the Apify API and returns the dataset as JSON, CSV or Excel. Schedules, webhooks and integrations for Make, Zapier, n8n and Google Sheets are on the Integrations tab.

Can AI agents use it?

Yes. Agents connected to Apify's MCP server can find and run this Actor as a tool, with the same per-profile pricing. Give it a list of usernames and read back follower counts, bios and engagement.

How is the engagement rate calculated?

Average likes plus average comments over the latest posts, divided by followers, times 100. Pinned posts are left out when at least three other posts remain, because they are old favourites that stay on top. Around 1-3 % is typical; well under 0.5 % on a large account often means inactive or bought followers.

Why did I get fewer results than I asked for?

Some usernames do not exist or are restricted (they return error rows), the run reached your maximum cost per run, or it reached its timeout. The log says which, and nothing collected before that is lost.

Related scrapers

• TikTok Creator & Profile Scraper: the same creator vetting for TikTok, with exact follower and like counts.
• Threads Scraper - Posts, Likes & Replies by Profile: the posts of the same accounts on Threads.
• YouTube Channel & Video Scraper: subscriber counts and uploads for creators who are also on YouTube.
• Website Tech Stack & Lead Enrichment Scraper: emails, phones and socials from the websites in the bios.

Support

Missing a field, or found a profile that does not work? Open an issue on the Issues tab with the input you used, and it will be looked at quickly.