Instagram Reels Scraper

Scrape Instagram Reels by keyword search or by username. Returns clean, structured data for each reel: caption, hashtags, play / like / comment counts, video and thumbnail URLs, duration, dimensions, posting time, and author info.

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

• Keyword search — give one or more keywords or hashtags; the Actor paginates the Instagram Reels search results for each.
• Username — give one or more Instagram usernames (without the @) to scrape the reels they have posted.

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
searchKeywords	string[]	["travel"]	Keywords / hashtags to search. Each is paginated independently.
usernames	string[]	[]	Instagram usernames (without @, e.g. natgeo) whose reels to scrape.
maxItems	integer	50	Max total reels across all keywords and usernames.

Example input

{
  "searchKeywords": ["travel", "fitness"],
  "usernames": ["natgeo"],
  "maxItems": 100
}

Output

One dataset item per reel:

{
  "id": "3846759592345027142",
  "code": "DVib3feDUJG",
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVib3feDUJG/",
  "caption": "POV: driving in southern Western Australia 🌊 ...",
  "hashtags": ["#aus", "#travel", "#roadtrip", "#traveldiaries"],
  "playCount": 14384995,
  "likeCount": 1960226,
  "commentCount": 3040,
  "mediaType": 2,
  "videoDuration": 13.5,
  "videoUrl": "https://...cdninstagram.com/...",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://...cdninstagram.com/...",
  "width": 1080,
  "height": 1920,
  "takenAt": 1772789515,
  "isPaidPartnership": false,
  "username": "chiarabarbetta_",
  "author": {
    "userId": "3586322971",
    "username": "chiarabarbetta_",
    "fullName": "Chiara🌞",
    "isVerified": false,
    "profilePicUrl": "https://..."
  },
  "source": "search:travel"
}

Notes

• Data is sourced live; Instagram occasionally rate-limits, so the Actor retries transient blocks with exponential backoff.
• Reels are de-duplicated by ID within a run.
• Pagination uses the upstream pagination_token cursor returned with each page.

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 Reels scraper

Most Instagram scrapers either drive a headless browser (slow, login-gated, and prone to failed runs) or charge a premium per 1,000 items. This Actor reads a direct HTTP API: runs finish fast, there's no cookie or login to paste, and you pay a flat $2 per 1,000 Reels with engagement metrics included on every row.

What people build with it

• Viral-format research — pull the top Reels for an account or topic and rank by playCount / likeCount to reverse-engineer what's working now.
• Competitor tracking — archive a rival's Reels on a schedule and catch new campaigns the day they launch.
• Influencer vetting — real per-Reel engagement (not the media-kit average) before you sign a partnership.
• Content repurposing — export captions, hashtags, and media URLs to feed cross-posting and newsletter pipelines.
• Trend datasets — build a labelled corpus of Reels for a niche, with view and like counts as a free quality signal.

Tips for better results

• Cap maxItems while you dial in your query, then raise it for full pulls.
• Combine with Instagram Hashtag Scraper to discover Reels by topic, then Instagram Reels Transcript Scraper to turn the winners into searchable text.
• Engagement counts come back as numbers, so sorting and filtering downstream is trivial.

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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

• Pull structured content + engagement for analytics dashboards.
• Track a creator's or topic's output and performance over time.
• Build training/research datasets of posts and metadata.
• Power competitor and trend monitoring.

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 Hashtag — Posts by hashtag · engagement
• Instagram Comments — Post comments + replies

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