$0.05/1K - Instagram Reels Scrapy Low Cost

$0.05 per 1,000 results. Around 50x cheaper than the usual Instagram scraper, for the same job.

Extract public Reels and posts from Instagram profiles — with view, like and comment counts — and get clean, structured rows you can drop straight into a spreadsheet, a dashboard or your own database.

Give it a list of profiles, say how many items you want from each, and run it. No login, no cookies, no browser automation on your side.

What you get

For every item, the standard output includes the thumbnail, the caption's first line, the profile handle, the post URL, the publish date, view count, like count, comment count and duration. 32 more fields are available on demand — hashtags, mentions, tagged users, co-authors, carousel items, tagged location, sponsors, full caption, every video and thumbnail rendition, audio track details and more. 41 fields in total.

You choose the columns. Ask for nine fields and you get nine clean columns instead of a wall of JSON you have to clean up later.

How to use it

1. Put one or more profiles in Instagram profiles — a handle (nasa) or a profile URL (https://www.instagram.com/nasa/).
2. Pick the Content to scrape — Reels, the full timeline, or photos only.
3. Set Results limit per profile.
4. Run it, then download the dataset as JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML.

Input

Field	Type	Default	What it does
directUrls	array	["https://www.instagram.com/nasa/"]	Profiles to scrape — handle or URL
resultsType	string	reels	reels, posts (full timeline) or photos
resultsLimit	integer	100	Maximum items per profile
selectedFields	array	9 standard fields	Which columns to return

Field names match the ones used by the standard Instagram scraper, so an input written for that Actor works here with no changes.

Example input

{
  "directUrls": ["nasa", "natgeo"],
  "resultsType": "reels",
  "resultsLimit": 50,
  "selectedFields": ["url", "title", "videoPlayCount", "likesCount", "commentsCount"]
}

Output

{
  "displayUrl": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.../image.jpg",
  "title": "Coming out of my shell",
  "ownerUsername": "nasa",
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcEMvAdOryS/",
  "timestamp": "2026-08-10T20:06:13",
  "videoPlayCount": 1512492,
  "likesCount": 34514,
  "commentsCount": 291,
  "videoDuration": 79.5
}

Photos and carousels have no view count — Instagram only reports plays for video — so videoPlayCount is omitted for those items rather than sent as zero.

Every field you can request

The nine standard fields come on every run. The rest are opt-in: add them to selectedFields and they show up as extra columns.

Field	Type	What it is
displayUrl	string	Thumbnail image URL
title	string	First line of the caption, trimmed
ownerUsername	string	Profile handle, without @
url	string	Public post URL
timestamp	string	Publish date, ISO 8601
videoPlayCount	integer	Plays (Reels mode only)
likesCount	integer	Likes. -1 when the author hides them
commentsCount	integer	Comments
videoDuration	number	Length in seconds (Reels mode only)
aspectRatio	string	For example 9:16
videoUrl	string	Highest quality video URL
shortCode	string	Instagram short code
id	string	Media ID, as <pk>_<ownerId>
pk	string	Media PK on its own
caption	string	Full caption text
alt	string	Instagram's accessibility description, when it exists
hashtags	array	Hashtags found in the caption
mentions	array	Handles mentioned in the caption
taggedUsers	array	Users tagged in the media
coauthorProducers	array	Collab co-authors
childPosts	array	Carousel items, one entry each
locationName	string	Tagged place, when the post has one
locationId	string	Tagged place ID, when the post has one
ownerId	string	Owner numeric ID
ownerFullName	string	Owner display name
isPinned	boolean	Pinned to the top of the profile
paidPartnership	boolean	Declared paid partnership
sponsors	array	Handles tagged as sponsor
affiliate	boolean	Affiliate content
isCommentsDisabled	boolean	Comments turned off
hasAudio	boolean	Carries an audio track
musicInfo	object	Audio track details
productType	string	clips, feed, carousel_container
type	integer	Instagram media type
originalWidth / originalHeight	integer	Source dimensions
images	array	Every thumbnail size
videoVersions	array	Every video rendition
dashManifest	string	DASH manifest
spritesheet	object	Scrubbing sprite sheet
igPlayCount	integer	Instagram play counter (Reels mode)

Fields Instagram does not return are left out of the item instead of being sent as 0 or "", so an empty column means "not reported", never "zero".

Content types, and which counts come with each

resultsType	What you get	videoPlayCount	videoDuration
reels	Reels only	yes	yes
posts	the full timeline (Reels, photos, carousels)	omitted	omitted
photos	photos and carousels, no Reels	n/a (photos have none)	n/a

reels reads the dedicated Reels endpoint, which reports plays and duration. posts and photos read the profile timeline, which returns likes and comments for every item but does not carry play counts. If you need view counts for video, request reels. Fields that Instagram does not return are omitted from the item rather than sent as zero.

You can download the dataset in JSON, CSV, Excel, HTML, XML or RSS.

API

Every run is available over the Apify API. Replace <TOKEN> with your API token from Settings → Integrations.

Run and wait for the results

Returns the dataset items directly, in one call:

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/<ACTOR_ID>/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
        "directUrls": ["nasa"],
        "resultsType": "reels",
        "resultsLimit": 50
      }'

Best for small and medium jobs. The connection stays open until the run ends, so keep a generous client timeout.

Start a run and collect later

For large jobs, start the run and poll for it:

# 1. start
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/<ACTOR_ID>/runs?token=<TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"directUrls": ["nasa"], "resultsLimit": 5000}'

# 2. check status — look for "status": "SUCCEEDED"
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/actor-runs/<RUN_ID>?token=<TOKEN>"

# 3. fetch the items
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/<DATASET_ID>/items?token=<TOKEN>&format=csv"

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("<TOKEN>")

run = client.actor("<ACTOR_ID>").call(run_input={
    "directUrls": ["nasa"],
    "resultsType": "posts",
    "resultsLimit": 100,
})

for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item["url"], item.get("likesCount"))

JavaScript

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '<TOKEN>' });

const run = await client.actor('<ACTOR_ID>').call({
    directUrls: ['nasa'],
    resultsType: 'reels',
    resultsLimit: 100,
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items.length);

Run summary

Besides the dataset, each run writes an OUTPUT record to the key-value store with a per-profile summary:

{
  "ok": true,
  "total_items": 150,
  "users": [
    { "user": "nasa", "count": 100 },
    { "user": "natgeo", "count": 50 }
  ]
}

When a profile cannot be completed, its entry carries an error field and the items already collected stay in the dataset. A partial result is never silently reported as a full one.

Migrating from the old field names

Field names used to be in Portuguese. They now match the standard Instagram scraper, so the same input and the same output work across both Actors.

Your old input still runs. If you send the previous names, the run works and the log prints exactly what to change. Output fields already use the new names.

Old input	New input
usernames	directUrls
content_type	resultsType
quantity_per_user	resultsLimit
selected_fields	selectedFields

Old field	New field
curtidas	likesCount
comentarios	commentsCount
visualizacoes	videoPlayCount
link_post	url
codigo	shortCode
data_criacao_iso	timestamp
usuario	ownerUsername
duracao	videoDuration
url_video_preferencial	videoUrl
thumb	displayUrl
titulo	title
mencoes / marcados	mentions / taggedUsers
itens_carrossel / coautores	childPosts / coauthorProducers
fixado	isPinned
autor_id / autor_nome	ownerId / ownerFullName

Two content types changed meaning, so check yours:

• all is now posts — the full timeline.
• the old posts (timeline without Reels) is now photos. In the new vocabulary posts means the whole timeline, as it does in the standard scraper.

ownerUsername no longer carries the @ prefix, matching the standard output.

What people use this for

Influencer vetting. Pull the last 100 Reels of a creator and compare videoPlayCount against likesCount and commentsCount. Engagement that does not track with reach is the first thing agencies look for.

Content research. Sort a competitor's timeline by likes to see which formats actually land, then read hashtags and musicInfo on the winners.

Trend and sound tracking. musicInfo names the audio track on each Reel, so you can see which sound a niche is adopting before it peaks.

Brand and campaign monitoring. paidPartnership, sponsors and taggedUsers show who is running sponsored content and with whom.

Dashboards. Point the Apify API at a spreadsheet or a warehouse and let the numbers refresh on a schedule, without touching the site yourself.

Frequently asked questions

Which content type should I pick? reels if you want view counts and duration — it is the only mode Instagram reports those for. posts for the whole timeline. photos for photos and carousels with the Reels filtered out.

Why is videoPlayCount empty on posts and photos? Those modes read the profile timeline, which returns likes and comments for every item but no play counts. That is Instagram's limit, not a bug. Request reels when views matter.

Why is likesCount sometimes -1? The author hid the like count on that post. -1 means "hidden", which is different from zero, so the value is passed through as Instagram reports it.

Can I scrape private profiles? No. Only public profiles return data. A private or unavailable profile is skipped with a warning and the rest of the run continues.

What happens if one profile fails? The other profiles keep going. Items already collected stay in the dataset, and the OUTPUT record marks that profile with an error field. A partial result is never reported as a complete one.

Can I ask for more items than the profile has? Yes. You get everything available and the run ends normally.

Do I need a proxy or a login? No. There is nothing to configure — no cookies, no session, no browser.

How do I get only recent posts? Results come newest first, so a smaller resultsLimit gives you the most recent items. There is no date filter.

How do I exclude pinned posts? Request isPinned and filter them out on your side. Pinned posts appear first regardless of their publish date, which can look out of order otherwise.

Can I get comment text? No. This Actor returns media and its metrics, including commentsCount, but not the comments themselves. The routes it reads return media, not comment threads.

How much does it cost? $0.05 per 1,000 items, charged per item delivered. A run that returns nothing costs nothing.

Is this affiliated with Instagram? No. See the disclaimer at the bottom.

Notes and limits

• Only public profiles are supported. Private accounts return no items.
• A profile that is unavailable is skipped with a warning; the other profiles in the same run continue normally.
• Requesting more items than a profile has simply returns everything available.

Support

Found a bug or need a field that is not on the list? Open an issue on the Actor's Issues tab with the input you used and the run ID.

Disclaimer

This is an unofficial tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Instagram or Meta Platforms, Inc. It collects only publicly available content. You are responsible for how you use the data, including compliance with applicable laws and the target site's terms.