Instagram Profile Stats Scraper

Pass a bulk list of Instagram usernames, @handles, or profile URLs and receive one dataset row per profile with follower count, following count, post count, verification, privacy, display name, and a canonical profileUrl. Built for influencer-marketing teams, growth operators, and MCP agents that need a cheap, cookieless stats lookup before they enrich a full profile.

This Actor reads public Instagram profile metadata through the official web profile endpoint on instagram.com, with Apify Residential proxies, scheduling, and dataset export (JSON, CSV, Excel, HTML).

Best fit for this Actor

• You already have a roster of creator or brand handles and want follower / following / post counts in one export.
• You want a bounded, per-profile bill for a stats-only job, then you can enrich a shortlist later.
• You accept public Instagram profile data, including private accounts that still publish a public follower total.
• For bios, emails, phones, and recent posts, continue with Instagram Profile Scraper. For the posts themselves, then use Instagram Posts Scraper.

Use case: weekly creator roster

An influencer-ops manager keeps a spreadsheet of 80 fashion creators. They paste the handles, including a few @ prefixes and full instagram.com URLs. The run returns followersCount, postsCount, and isVerified for each row. They sort by followers, keep accounts above their campaign floor, and pass the surviving usernames into Instagram Profile Scraper when they need bio links and contact fields.

Quick start input

{
  "usernames": ["natgeo", "@nasa", "https://www.instagram.com/instagram/"],
  "deduplicate": true,
  "maxItems": 500
}

Each value in usernames is one lookup. Bare handles, @handles, and profile URLs all normalize to the same username. deduplicate keeps a repeated handle as a single request. maxItems is the run-wide safety cap after that list is read.

Input reference

Field	Type	What it controls
usernames	array of strings	Required. Instagram usernames, @handles, or profile URLs. Prefill uses natgeo, @nasa, and the official Instagram URL.
deduplicate	boolean	Default true. Collapses repeated handles to one request.
maxItems	integer	Default 500, minimum 1. Caps how many input rows are processed.
maxRequestRetries	integer	Default 2, range 0–10. Extra attempts on a transient Instagram response.
requestTimeoutSecs	integer	Default 30, range 10–120. Seconds allowed for one profile request.

Open the Input tab in Console for the live form. Empty or malformed tokens still write a row so the export stays aligned with the list you submitted.

What data you receive

One dataset item is one profile-stats attempt: a successful public stats record, an empty public payload, or an input-format row. Download the dataset as JSON, CSV, Excel, or HTML from the run Output tab.

Field	Type	Meaning
input	string	The exact token you submitted.
username	string	Normalized Instagram handle.
profileUrl	string	Canonical https://www.instagram.com/{username}/ URL.
followersCount	integer	Public follower total.
followingCount	integer	Public following total.
postsCount	integer	Public post total.
isPrivate	boolean	Private account flag when Instagram publishes it.
isVerified	boolean	Verified-badge flag.
fullName	string	Display name.
source	string	Provenance. Native public web profile metadata.
status	string	Row outcome: OK, VALID_EMPTY, INVALID_INPUT, or UPSTREAM_FAILED.
statusMessage	string	Short human-readable detail.
scrapedAt	string	ISO 8601 collection time.

{
  "input": "https://www.instagram.com/nasa/",
  "username": "nasa",
  "profileUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/nasa/",
  "followersCount": 104403992,
  "followingCount": 92,
  "postsCount": 4883,
  "isPrivate": false,
  "isVerified": true,
  "fullName": "NASA",
  "source": "native",
  "status": "OK",
  "statusMessage": "Profile stats scraped successfully.",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-08-18T09:16:23.629Z"
}

status values:

Value	Meaning
OK	Public stats were written. This is the billed primary event.
VALID_EMPTY	The handle was processed and Instagram returned no public user payload.
INVALID_INPUT	The token is outside accepted username / @handle / profile-URL formats.
UPSTREAM_FAILED	Retries finished without a usable public payload.

Real-world use cases

1. Bare usernames

{
  "usernames": ["nasa", "natgeo"],
  "deduplicate": true
}

2. Mixed handles and profile URLs

{
  "usernames": ["@instagram", "https://www.instagram.com/nasa/"],
  "deduplicate": true,
  "maxItems": 50
}

3. Deduped campaign list

{
  "usernames": ["natgeo", "natgeo", "@natgeo"],
  "deduplicate": true
}

Three copies of the same creator become one request and one stats row.

4. Bounded sample for an agent

{
  "usernames": ["nasa", "natgeo", "instagram"],
  "maxItems": 3,
  "maxRequestRetries": 2,
  "requestTimeoutSecs": 30
}

Why agents choose this Actor

• One input field (usernames) accepts handles, @ prefixes, and profile URLs.
• One row per submitted token (or per unique handle when deduplicate is on), so batch exports stay complete.
• Flat keys (followersCount, followingCount, postsCount, profileUrl) are spreadsheet- and tool-call friendly.
• Provenance is explicit: source plus ISO scrapedAt.
• status is stable enough to branch on: keep OK rows, review VALID_EMPTY, fix INVALID_INPUT.
• Cost is scoped to successful stats rows. Set maxItems to the budget you can spend.
• When you need emails and recent posts, continue with Instagram Profile Scraper after this stats lookup.

Agent checklist

1. Pass usernames, @handles, or https://www.instagram.com/{user}/ URLs in usernames.
2. Set maxItems to the number of lookups you want billed at the live profile-stats-scraped price.
3. Leave deduplicate on when the same creator appears more than once.
4. After the run, read the default dataset. Keep rows where status is OK.
5. Preserve profileUrl as the public source link in any summary.
6. When you need bio, email, or recent posts, continue with Instagram Profile Scraper using the same username values.

Use through the API

curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/khadinakbar~instagram-profile-stats-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "usernames": ["nasa", "@natgeo"],
    "deduplicate": true,
    "maxItems": 50
  }'

When the Actor completes, read dataset items from the default dataset. You can download JSON, CSV, Excel, or HTML from the run Output tab or the Dataset API.

Use with AI agents through Apify MCP

Get Instagram follower, following, and post counts for nasa, natgeo, and https://www.instagram.com/instagram/. Return username, followersCount, followingCount, postsCount, isVerified, isPrivate, profileUrl, and status. Deduplicate handles. Then read the dataset and keep profileUrl as the source link.

Connect through https://mcp.apify.com. After the tool call, read the dataset, check each row status, and keep maxItems inside your cost scope.

Pricing

This Actor uses Pay per event (PPE) plus platform usage. Open the live Pricing tab for current event details, and use Apify's run cost controls to keep the workflow aligned with your budget.

Worked examples at the launch prices (apify-actor-start plus primary event profile-stats-scraped):

Input	Rows billed	What happens
One valid public profile	1 primary event	Stats row with status: OK
Three unique public profiles	3 primary events	Three billed stats rows
Repeated handles with dedupe on	1 primary event	One request, one billed row
Malformed token only	0 primary events	INVALID_INPUT row, start event plus platform usage
Public handle with empty payload	0 primary events	VALID_EMPTY row, start event plus platform usage

Formula: OK row count × profile-stats-scraped + start event + platform usage. Platform usage (compute, residential proxy transfer, storage) is billed to the user on top of events.

Connect the workflow

• Start with this Actor to rank a handle list by followersCount and postsCount.
• Continue with Instagram Profile Scraper when the shortlist needs bio, email, phone, and recent posts.
• Then use Instagram Posts Scraper to pull content from the same public usernames.

Best results

• Prefer canonical profile URLs or exact handles. Stories, reels, and /p/ post paths are outside the username contract and write INVALID_INPUT rows.
• Keep deduplicate on for CRM exports that repeat the same creator.
• Set maxItems to the campaign size you actually need; the cap is the cheapest way to bound a bulk run.
• Treat scrapedAt as collection time. Schedule a weekly run on the same usernames list when you are watching growth.
• Private accounts can still return public follower totals with isPrivate: true. Pair that flag with your outreach rules.

Builder's note

I built this as a stats-only sibling of the full Instagram profile Actor after watching teams pay for bios and recent posts when they only needed follower totals to rank a roster. I found Instagram's public web_profile_info JSON already carries edge_followed_by, edge_follow, and edge_owner_to_timeline_media counts, so an HTTP lookup through residential proxies is enough. In my testing, accepting @handles and full profile URLs in the same usernames array cut the most common agent mistakes. My goal was a complete batch export: every submitted token still appears as a row, and only OK stats rows are billed.

FAQ

Does this return emails or recent posts? This Actor is a stats lookup. When you need emails and recent posts, continue with Instagram Profile Scraper.

Do I need an Instagram login or cookies? No. It reads public profile metadata. You never paste a session cookie.

What happens to a typo or a missing account? The run still finishes. A typo writes INVALID_INPUT. A processed handle with no public user object writes VALID_EMPTY. Those rows are present in the dataset and are outside the primary event.

Can an AI agent use this? Yes. It is MCP-ready: pass handles or profile URLs, read one row per profile, and inspect status before summarizing.

How fresh are the counts? Each row's scrapedAt is the collection timestamp for that run. Schedule repeats on the same list for a growth series.

Responsible use

Use this Actor on public Instagram profile metadata you are authorized to collect. Keep request volume courteous, treat follower totals as public research data, and follow Instagram's terms of service plus applicable laws (including GDPR/CCPA where they apply). Instagram and Meta are trademarks of their respective owners.