🎬 Instagram Reels Scraper — Profiles, Hashtags & Keywords

Scrape Instagram Reels from any profile, hashtag, or direct reel URL — all in one actor. No login required. Get engagement metrics, captions, hashtags, mentions, video URLs, audio details, and more. Export to JSON, CSV, or Excel and integrate with AI pipelines, CRM workflows, or content tools.

42% cheaper than Apify's official Reel Scraper at the FREE tier — with all core metadata included at a flat price, no confusing add-ons.

Export scraped data, run the scraper via API, schedule and monitor runs, or integrate with other tools or AI workflows.

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What This Scraper Extracts

Every reel record includes:

• Reel metadata — ID, shortcode URL, post timestamp
• Engagement metrics — likes, comments, views, plays
• Caption & text — full caption, extracted hashtag list, @mentions list
• Media — direct video URL (CDN), cover thumbnail URL
• Audio — track title and artist (or "Original Audio" for custom audio)
• Creator info — username, display name, profile URL, follower count
• Content flags — is_sponsored (paid partnership), is_pinned
• Timestamps — posted_at (original post date), scraped_at

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Use Cases

• Influencer research — analyse engagement and content strategy across dozens of creators in minutes
• Competitor monitoring — track a competitor's Reels output: frequency, hashtags, viral content
• Hashtag trend analysis — discover what content is performing on a given hashtag
• Content research — build datasets for AI training, social listening, or market research
• Campaign tracking — monitor branded hashtag performance over time
• Lead generation — identify active creators in a niche by hashtag + engagement metrics

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Inputs

Field	Type	Description	Default
usernames	string[]	Instagram usernames or profile URLs (e.g. natgeo or https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/)	—
hashtags	string[]	Hashtags without the # (e.g. travel, fitness)	—
directUrls	URL[]	Specific reel URLs (e.g. https://www.instagram.com/reel/ABC123/)	—
maxReelsPerSource	integer	Max reels to collect per username, hashtag, or URL	20
onlyReelsNewerThan	string	Date filter — skip reels older than this date (e.g. 2025-01-01, 30 days, 2 weeks)	—
proxyConfiguration	object	Proxy settings — defaults to Apify datacenter	Datacenter

You only need to fill in one of usernames, hashtags, or directUrls.

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Output Example

{
  "reel_id": "C5Rdyj_q7YN",
  "reel_url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5Rdyj_q7YN/",
  "username": "natgeo",
  "display_name": "National Geographic",
  "profile_url": "https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/",
  "follower_count": 280000000,
  "caption": "Deep in the Amazon rainforest 🌿 #nature #wildlife",
  "hashtags": ["nature", "wildlife"],
  "mentions": [],
  "likes_count": 45200,
  "comments_count": 312,
  "views_count": 890000,
  "plays_count": 920000,
  "duration_seconds": 28.5,
  "video_url": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/...",
  "thumbnail_url": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/...",
  "audio_title": "Original Audio",
  "audio_artist": "natgeo",
  "is_sponsored": false,
  "is_pinned": false,
  "posted_at": "2025-03-12T14:22:00.000Z",
  "scraped_at": "2026-04-03T10:00:00.000Z",
  "source_url": "https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/reels/"
}

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Pricing

This actor uses pay-per-event pricing: you are charged only for reels actually scraped.

Volume	Price (FREE tier)	Price (GOLD tier)
100 reels	$0.15	$0.10
500 reels	$0.75	$0.50
1,000 reels	$1.50	$1.00
5,000 reels	$7.50	$5.00

Upgrade to a higher Apify plan for discounted per-reel pricing. Compared to the official Apify Reel Scraper ($0.0026/reel at FREE) — this actor is 42% cheaper at the same tier, with all engagement data included at no extra cost.

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Running via API

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_API_TOKEN' });

const run = await client.actor('khadinakbar/instagram-reels-scraper').call({
    usernames: ['natgeo', 'nasa'],
    maxReelsPerSource: 50,
});

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

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_API_TOKEN")

run = client.actor("khadinakbar/instagram-reels-scraper").call(run_input={
    "hashtags": ["travel", "adventure"],
    "maxReelsPerSource": 30,
    "onlyReelsNewerThan": "2025-01-01",
})

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

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How It Works

This actor uses a browser-based response interception approach — it opens Instagram in a real Chromium browser, waits for Instagram's internal API calls to fire naturally, and captures the structured JSON data directly from those responses. This approach:

• Avoids brittle CSS selector scraping (no breakage when Instagram redesigns)
• Gets the same structured data Instagram's own app receives
• Works without login for public profiles and hashtags
• Handles Instagram's GraphQL and REST API formats automatically

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Tips & Best Practices

• Profiles with many reels: set maxReelsPerSource to 100+ and the actor will scroll and paginate automatically.
• Hashtag research: start with 3–5 hashtags and maxReelsPerSource: 50 to quickly benchmark content.
• Date filtering: use onlyReelsNewerThan: "30 days" to only get recent content.
• Rate limits: if you encounter blocks, switch proxy to RESIDENTIAL in the proxy settings.
• Video URLs expire: Instagram CDN video URLs expire after a few hours. If you need to store videos, download them soon after scraping.

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FAQ

Does this require Instagram login? No. This actor scrapes publicly visible Reels without any Instagram account or cookies.

Can I scrape private accounts? No. Only public profiles and hashtags are accessible without login.

Why are some fields null? Instagram's API doesn't always return all fields for every reel. Missing values are set to null rather than being omitted, so every record has a consistent structure.

The video URL expired — what do I do? Re-run the actor on the same reel URL to get a fresh CDN link. CDN URLs are valid for a few hours.

Can I export to Google Sheets? Yes — in the Apify Console, after a run completes, open the Dataset tab and click Export → CSV, then import into Google Sheets.

Is this actor maintained? Yes. Issues are addressed within 48 hours. If Instagram updates their API, the actor is updated accordingly.

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Works Great With

• Instagram Comments Scraper — pull comments for any reel URL you collect with this actor
• Instagram Profile Scraper — get full profile metadata for creators you discover
• Email Extractor — enrich creator data with contact info for outreach

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Support

Found a bug or have a feature request? Leave a review or open an issue on this actor's page. All feedback is responded to within 48 hours.