# Instagram Similar Accounts Scraper: $1 per 1,000 (`rowfinch/instagram-similar-accounts-scraper`) Actor

Find the accounts Instagram lists as similar to any public profile: up to ~80 per profile, two levels deep, ranked by how many of your profiles they're similar to. Optional followers, bio, email and phone. $1 per 1,000 accounts.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/rowfinch/instagram-similar-accounts-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Rowfinch](https://apify.com/rowfinch) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.00 / 1,000 similar accounts

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Instagram Similar Accounts Scraper

Find the accounts Instagram lists as similar to any public profile: about 80 per profile, ranked by how many of your profiles they're similar to. Add followers, bio, email and phone when you need them.

**$1 per 1,000 accounts.**

### What it's for

- **Influencer discovery**: start from 3 creators you like and get the ones Instagram groups with them.
- **Lead lists**: brands and shops of a niche with their public email, phone and website.
- **Competitor mapping**: the accounts Instagram puts next to a competitor.
- **Lookalike audiences**: a niche's accounts for ads, outreach or partnerships.

### Input

| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| `usernames` | Usernames or profile URLs, one per line |
| `depth` | `1`: accounts similar to these profiles. `2`: also accounts similar to those |
| `maxTotalProfiles` | Accounts saved in the run (default 1,000) |
| `maxSimilarPerAccount` | Only the most similar accounts of each list (default: all, ~80) |
| `minSeedOverlap` | Only accounts similar to at least this many of your profiles |
| `onlyVerified`, `excludePrivate` | Free filters |
| `excludeUsernames` | Accounts to leave out |
| `enrichProfiles` | Adds followers, following, posts, bio, website, category, public email, phone and city |
| `minFollowers`, `maxFollowers`, `onlyBusiness` | Filters that look each account up |

Coming from another similar accounts scraper? Its field names (`startUsernames`, `searchDepth`, `maxItem`, `enrichProfile`, `verifiedOnly`, `skipPrivate`) work here too.

### Output

One row per account, most relevant first:

```json
{
  "similarTo": ["whalesnation", "oceana"],
  "overlap": 2,
  "depth": 1,
  "position": 1,
  "id": "14443889360",
  "username": "oceansnation",
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/oceansnation/",
  "fullName": "Oceans Nation",
  "verified": true,
  "private": false,
  "profilePicUrl": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/...",
  "followersCount": 3240700,
  "followsCount": 434,
  "postsCount": 2860,
  "biography": "A community built on a passion for the ocean 🌊",
  "externalUrl": "http://discoversharkstours.com",
  "isBusinessAccount": true,
  "businessCategoryName": null,
  "email": "info@oceansnation.com",
  "phone": null,
  "city": null
}
```

`overlap` is how many of your profiles list the account, and `position` its best place on those lists. The fields from `followersCount` on come only with `enrichProfiles` or a follower or business filter.

Profiles that can't be read get a row with the reason, free of charge:

```json
{ "input": "some_private_profile", "error": "Private profile" }
```

### Price

- **$1 per 1,000 accounts**
- **$0.003 per account looked up**, with `enrichProfiles` or a follower or business filter, kept or not
- Private, missing or invalid profiles: free

| Run | Cost |
|---|---|
| 5 profiles, 400 accounts | $0.40 |
| 3 profiles, depth 2, 1,000 accounts | $1.00 |
| 1,000 accounts with followers, bio and contacts | $4.00 |

A run stops at the maximum cost you set for it. On Apify's free plan, a run returns up to 50 accounts and looks up 10.

### FAQ

**How many accounts per profile?**
Instagram lists about 80. For more, use depth 2 or add more profiles of the same niche.

**Why do some accounts appear with `overlap` 3 or more?**
They're on the lists of several of your profiles: the strongest matches for the niche. Set `minSeedOverlap` to 2 to keep only those.

**Does every account have an email?**
No. Only what the account shows publicly: the email of business and creator accounts, else the first one in the bio. In our tests, about half of a niche's accounts had one.

**Does it work with private accounts?**
Not as a starting profile. Private accounts can appear in the results; leave them out with `excludePrivate`.

**Is it legal?**
It reads only what Instagram shows publicly. Usernames, names and contacts are personal data under GDPR and similar laws: use them for a legitimate purpose, honor opt-outs and deletion requests, and follow anti-spam laws when you reach out.

# Actor input Schema

## `usernames` (type: `array`):

One per line. Several profiles of the same niche make the ranking sharper.

## `depth` (type: `string`):

Depth 2 reads the lists of the most similar accounts until there are enough results.

## `maxTotalProfiles` (type: `integer`):

The most relevant first: accounts similar to more of your profiles, then higher on their lists.

## `maxSimilarPerAccount` (type: `integer`):

Takes only the most similar accounts of each list. Empty: all of them, ~80.

## `minSeedOverlap` (type: `integer`):

2 or more keeps only accounts similar to several of your profiles.

## `onlyVerified` (type: `boolean`):

Free: needs no lookup.

## `excludePrivate` (type: `boolean`):

Free: needs no lookup.

## `excludeUsernames` (type: `array`):

Accounts you already know or work with.

## `enrichProfiles` (type: `boolean`):

Followers, following, posts, bio, website, category, public email and phone, city. $0.003 per account looked up.

## `minFollowers` (type: `integer`):

Looks accounts up to filter them.

## `maxFollowers` (type: `integer`):

Looks accounts up to filter them.

## `onlyBusiness` (type: `boolean`):

Looks accounts up to filter them.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "usernames": [
    "natgeo"
  ],
  "depth": "1",
  "maxTotalProfiles": 100,
  "minSeedOverlap": 1,
  "onlyVerified": false,
  "excludePrivate": false,
  "enrichProfiles": false,
  "onlyBusiness": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `accounts` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "usernames": [
        "natgeo"
    ],
    "maxTotalProfiles": 100
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("rowfinch/instagram-similar-accounts-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "usernames": ["natgeo"],
    "maxTotalProfiles": 100,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("rowfinch/instagram-similar-accounts-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "usernames": [
    "natgeo"
  ],
  "maxTotalProfiles": 100
}' |
apify call rowfinch/instagram-similar-accounts-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,rowfinch/instagram-similar-accounts-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/0gZ1vCfwrQIrTARzF/builds/g9T8PfNYj0SisDTKY/openapi.json