Instagram Followers Count Scraper

Export current follower counts and public profile statistics for up to 1,000 Instagram accounts in one run. Use usernames, @handles, or profile URLs to create repeatable audience snapshots for reporting, creator research, and scheduled monitoring.

The Actor reads Instagram's public, first-party profile surface directly. It does not require your Instagram cookie, login credentials, a third-party data API, or paid proxy traffic.

What you can do

• Check many known Instagram accounts without opening profiles manually
• Compare followers, following, and post counts in one export
• Reconcile results with your original list using input and inputIndex
• Schedule recurring runs and track changes using the ISO fetchedAt timestamp
• Keep successful rows when individual profiles are unavailable or temporarily blocked

Input example

{
  "profiles": ["nasa", "@instagram", "https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/"],
  "maxRetries": 2,
  "requestDelayMs": 500,
  "maxConcurrency": 1
}

Duplicate usernames and equivalent profile URLs are fetched once. Input is limited to 1,000 entries per run.

Output example

{
  "input": "nasa",
  "inputIndex": 0,
  "id": "528817151",
  "username": "nasa",
  "fullName": "NASA",
  "followersCount": 104356825,
  "followingCount": 92,
  "postsCount": 4878,
  "isVerified": true,
  "isPrivate": false,
  "biography": "Making the seemingly impossible, possible. ✨",
  "externalUrl": "https://www.nasa.gov/",
  "profilePicUrl": "https://...",
  "profileUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/nasa/",
  "fetchedAt": "2026-08-13T12:01:36.724Z"
}

Input settings

Field	Type	Default	Description
profiles	array of strings	required	Instagram usernames, handles, or profile URLs; 1–1,000 entries
maxRetries	integer	2	Retries for temporary source errors, from 0 to 5
requestDelayMs	integer	500	Delay between lookup starts, from 0 to 10,000 ms
maxConcurrency	integer	1	Simultaneous lookups, from 1 to 5; sequential is the safest default

Output fields

Field	Description
input	Original submitted value
inputIndex	Zero-based position of the first matching input
id	Stable public Instagram profile ID
username	Current Instagram username
fullName	Public display name
followersCount	Current follower count
followingCount	Number of accounts followed
postsCount	Number of published posts when the current public response supplies it; otherwise null
isVerified	Whether the account is verified
isPrivate	Whether the account is private
biography	Public profile biography
externalUrl	Public profile website, when supplied
profilePicUrl	Public profile image URL, when available
profileUrl	Canonical Instagram profile URL
fetchedAt	UTC timestamp for this snapshot

The default dataset contains successful profile snapshots. The OUTPUT record summarizes requested, successful, failed, duplicate, and pending inputs. Failed profiles are not emitted as paid result rows.

Input recipes

Monitor a creator roster: submit your complete username list and schedule the Actor daily or weekly. Join exports by id or inputIndex.

Quick comparison: submit 2–10 handles with the default reliability settings, then sort the dataset by followersCount.

Large list: use low concurrency and a modest delay to reduce temporary Instagram rate limits. Successful rows are saved progressively.

Who is it for?

This Actor is built for creator-marketing teams, agencies, analysts, and developers who already have a list of Instagram accounts and need repeatable audience-size snapshots. It complements discovery scrapers by efficiently monitoring a known roster.

Pricing

This Actor uses pay-per-event pricing. A small Actor-start event is charged only after valid input, and one profile event is charged only after a successful row is saved. See the live Actor Pricing tab for current rates and subscription-tier discounts. Failed or duplicate profiles are not charged as profile results.

API usage

Run the Actor from JavaScript with apify-client:

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('fetch_cat/instagram-followers-count-scraper').call({
  profiles: ['nasa', 'instagram'],
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Python with apify-client:

import os
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient(os.environ['APIFY_TOKEN'])
run = client.actor('fetch_cat/instagram-followers-count-scraper').call(
    run_input={'profiles': ['nasa', 'instagram']}
)
items = client.dataset(run['defaultDatasetId']).list_items().items
print(items)

Or start a run with cURL:

curl -X POST 'https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/fetch_cat~instagram-followers-count-scraper/runs?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"profiles":["nasa","instagram"]}'

MCP and AI agents

Connect through Apify MCP to let compatible AI clients run the Actor and inspect its dataset.

$claude mcp add apify --transport http 'https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch_cat/instagram-followers-count-scraper'

Equivalent MCP client configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch_cat/instagram-followers-count-scraper"
    }
  }
}

Example prompts: “Check the current follower counts for nasa and instagram” or “Compare these ten handles and report failed inputs separately.” Keep lists bounded and ask the agent to report failed inputs from the run summary as well as successful rows.

Limits and reliability

• Only public profile metadata is returned; this Actor does not log in or expose follower identities, private posts, or historical growth estimates.
• No Instagram account cookie or third-party scraping API is required.
• Renamed, deleted, age-restricted, or unavailable accounts can fail independently.
• Instagram may temporarily rate-limit lookups. Retries and pacing reduce disruption but cannot guarantee every account resolves in every run.
• Large lists can reach the run deadline. Completed rows remain available, and bounded pending work is saved for diagnosis or resumption.
• Counts reflect the public value available at fetch time and can change immediately afterward.
• postsCount can be null for profiles affected by Instagram's current business-category profile-response defect; follower and following counts remain available through the Relay fallback.

FAQ

Can I get the list of followers?

No. This Actor exports account-level public counts and profile metadata, not follower or following identities.

Does it work for private accounts?

It can return public profile-level metadata that Instagram exposes for an account, but it does not access private content.

How do I monitor follower growth?

Schedule repeated runs with the same profile list and compare followersCount by id and fetchedAt in your database or spreadsheet.

Can I use it through an API or MCP?

Yes. Use the Apify API/client example above or connect the Actor-specific Apify MCP URL.

What happens when one username is invalid?

Other profiles continue. Successful rows remain in the dataset, while failures appear in the OUTPUT run summary and are not charged as profile results.

Related Actors

• Instagram Search Scraper — discover public Instagram accounts and content
• Instagram Creator Email Finder — enrich creator research workflows
• Username Profile Finder — locate matching public profiles across platforms
• Instagram Posts Scraper — export public post data for content analysis
• TikTok Profile Scraper — compare public creator profiles across platforms

Support

For questions or reproducible problems, open an issue from the Actor's Apify Console page. Include a small redacted input, run ID, and the behavior you expected. Do not include passwords, session cookies, or private personal data.