Instagram Hashtag Scraper

Scrape Instagram posts by hashtag. Returns clean, structured data for each post: caption, hashtags, mentions, like / comment / play counts, image and video URLs, music, and author info. Toggle between the Top (most popular) and Recent (newest) feeds.

Unofficial. This Actor is not affiliated with, authorized, or endorsed by Instagram or Meta Platforms, Inc. It is an independent tool that retrieves publicly available data via a third-party API. Use it in compliance with Instagram's terms and all applicable laws; you are responsible for how you use the retrieved data.

What it does

• Hashtag search — give one or more hashtags (without the #); the Actor fetches the hashtag feed for each.
• Top or Recent — choose top for the most popular posts or recent for the newest.
• Each post is normalized to a flat record with engagement counts, media URLs, and author.

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
searchKeywords	string[]	["travel"]	Hashtags to scrape, without the leading #. Each is scraped independently.
feedType	enum	top	top (most popular) or recent (newest).
maxItems	integer	24	Max total posts to scrape across all hashtags.

Example input

{
  "searchKeywords": ["travel", "streetphotography"],
  "feedType": "top",
  "maxItems": 48
}

Output

One dataset item per post:

{
  "id": "3911685285908737132",
  "shortcode": "DZJGQrjtmxs",
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DZJGQrjtmxs/",
  "caption": "Come With Us!! ...",
  "hashtags": ["travel"],
  "mentions": [],
  "likeCount": null,
  "commentCount": 108,
  "playCount": 80025,
  "viewCount": 0,
  "isVideo": true,
  "mediaType": 2,
  "productType": "clips",
  "videoDuration": 38.4,
  "coverUrl": "https://...",
  "imageUrls": ["https://..."],
  "videoUrl": "https://...",
  "music": { "title": "...", "artist": "..." },
  "author": {
    "username": "themichellehammons",
    "fullName": "Michelle Hammons",
    "userId": "...",
    "isVerified": true,
    "profilePicUrl": "https://..."
  },
  "username": "themichellehammons",
  "takenAt": "2026-06-03T23:30:50Z",
  "takenAtTimestamp": 1780587050,
  "source": "hashtag:travel:top"
}

Notes

• Data is sourced live; Instagram occasionally rate-limits, so the Actor retries transient blocks with exponential backoff.
• Post IDs are de-duplicated within a run.
• likeCount may be null when Instagram hides like counts on a post.

Quick start

1. Open the Actor and press Run — the default input works out of the box.
2. Adjust the input fields below to your target (keywords, IDs, or URLs) and set maxItems to cap spend.
3. Grab results from the Dataset tab as JSON / CSV / Excel, or pull them via the Apify API and MCP from your own code.

No proxies to configure, no cookies to paste, no login — the Actor handles everything server-side.

Why teams switch to this Instagram hashtag scraper

Hashtag feeds are the fastest way to map a topic on Instagram, but browser-based scrapers stall on them and bill a premium. This Actor reads a direct HTTP API and returns recent and top posts for any hashtag as structured JSON at $2 per 1,000 posts, with engagement metrics attached.

What people build with it

• Trend detection — track a hashtag daily and chart volume and engagement to spot momentum before it peaks.
• Campaign measurement — monitor your branded hashtag to capture UGC and measure reach across creators.
• Creator discovery — the accounts repeatedly topping a niche hashtag are your collaboration shortlist.
• Competitive analysis — watch the hashtags competitors push and the posts that win under them.
• Content research — high-performing posts under a topic tag are a ready-made template library.

Tips for better results

• Pass tags with or without the leading #.
• Use several specific tags rather than one broad one for cleaner topic coverage.
• Feed discovered accounts into Instagram User Posts Scraper and Instagram Profile Scraper for a full picture of each creator.

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Why this Actor

• Direct API, no headless browser — fast, stable runs with nothing to babysit.
• No login, no cookies — we never touch your accounts, so there's no ban risk.
• Fresh, real-time data — every run reads the source live, not a stale cache.
• Pay per result — you're billed only for the rows actually delivered.
• Structured JSON — export to CSV, Excel, or JSON, or pull straight from the API / MCP.

Use cases

• Track trends, keywords, and hashtags as they emerge.
• Find top creators and viral content in any niche.
• Run competitor and category research at scale.
• Build content-idea pipelines and trend dashboards.

FAQ

Do I need an account, cookies, or to log in anywhere? No. The Actor talks to a fast, direct HTTP API server-side — you just provide inputs and run it.

How am I billed? Pay-per-result: a fixed price per row returned, with no separate platform/compute charge. Caps like maxItems keep spend predictable.

Can I run it on a schedule or call it from my app? Yes — use Apify Schedules, the REST API, the JavaScript / Python clients, or the MCP server. See the API tab.

Is this affiliated with Instagram? No. It's an independent tool that collects publicly available data. Use it in line with the platform's terms and applicable law.

More Instagram scrapers by us

• Instagram Profile — Profile · bio · follower & post counts
• Instagram User Posts — Post feed · captions · engagement · media
• Instagram Reels — Reels · play counts · MP4 download
• Instagram Comments — Post comments + replies

Browse the full fleet → https://apify.com/ethereal_wool