❤️💬 Instagram Likes Scraper with Comments

Instagram Likes Scraper with Comments — Likers, Commenters, Comment Text & Reply Threads

Extract everyone who engaged with an Instagram post — the people who liked it, the people who commented, and what they actually wrote — including reply threads, comment timestamps, comment like counts, tagged usernames and hashtags.

One combined dataset with a row_type column, so likers, commenters and replies arrive in a single flat table you can filter.

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What is Instagram Likes Scraper with Comments?

Most Instagram like scrapers return a list of usernames. That tells you who engaged, but not why they mattered.

This Actor returns both sides of engagement in one run:

• Likers — the full liker list from a post or Reel, with username, user ID, full name, verified and private flags, and profile picture.
• Commenters — the same identity fields, plus the comment itself: text, UTC timestamp, like count, tagged usernames, hashtags and whether it has replies.
• Replies — the child comments underneath, each as its own row with a parent_comment_id linking it back to the thread.

Every row carries an identical column set, with row_type (liker / commenter / reply) and is_child telling you which kind it is. That means a CSV export opens cleanly in a spreadsheet — no merging, no unnesting, no separate exports to reconcile.

Rows are saved live as they are collected, so an interrupted run still leaves you with everything gathered up to that point.

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What data can you extract?

👤 Person fields (on every row)

Field	Description
username	Instagram handle
id	Instagram user ID
full_name	Display name
is_verified	Blue-check flag
is_private	Private account flag
is_new	Instagram's new-user flag
profile_pic_url	Profile picture URL
profile_pic_id	Profile picture identifier
latest_reel_media	Latest story/reel media marker
latest_reel_media_utc	Timestamp for that marker

💬 Comment fields (populated on commenter and reply rows)

Field	Description
comment_text	The full comment
comment_id	Comment identifier
comment_url	Direct link to the comment
comment_created_at_utc	UTC timestamp of the comment
comment_like_count	Likes on the comment
child_comment_count	Number of replies underneath
has_replies	Whether the comment has a thread
tagged_usernames	@mentions parsed from the text
hashtags	Hashtags parsed from the text
is_covered	Instagram's covered/hidden flag

🏷️ Row and post fields

Field	Description
row_type	liker, commenter or reply
is_child	true on reply rows
parent_comment_id	The comment a reply belongs to
post_url / liked_post	The post this row came from
total_likes	Total likes on the post
total_comments	Total comments on the post
comments_fetched_ratio	What share of the comments this run covered
scraped_at	UTC time the row was collected

On liker rows the comment fields are present but null, keeping the column set consistent across the whole export.

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Why teams scrape Instagram engagement

For influencer vetting

A liker list shows reach; comment text shows whether the audience is real. Twenty "🔥🔥" comments from the same pod read very differently from twenty questions about the product. comments_fetched_ratio tells you how much of the conversation you actually sampled.

For lead generation

People who comment questions on a competitor's product post are in-market right now. Filter comment_text for "price", "link", "where", "DM" and you have a qualified list with usernames attached.

For audience research

hashtags and tagged_usernames parsed out of comment text show what your audience associates with your content and who they pull into the conversation.

For growth analytics

Run the same post twice and diff on id to see who newly engaged. Compare total_likes against the likers you can actually retrieve to understand your real reachable audience.

For competitor tracking

Their commenters are your prospects. The reply threads show how they handle objections in public.

For community management

Reply rows with parent_comment_id reconstruct whole threads, so you can find the conversations that went unanswered.

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How to scrape likes and comments step by step

1. Copy the Instagram post or Reel URLs you want (e.g. https://www.instagram.com/p/XXXXX/).
2. Paste them into Instagram Post URLs — one per line, as many as you need.
3. Get your Instagram session ID: browser DevTools → Application → Cookies → instagram.com → sessionid. Paste it into Instagram session ID. This is required in practice — see the note below.
4. Set Max users to collect and Max comments per post.
5. Choose a Comment sort order (popular or recent) and set Max replies per comment.
6. Click Start, then export the Output tab as CSV, Excel or JSON.

The session ID is not optional in practice. Instagram now serves a login-wall page to anonymous requests on the likers, comments and reply endpoints. Without a sessionid, runs will come back empty. Use an account you are comfortable using for this purpose.

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⬇️ Input

Example input

{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/p/DLm63qQpxvw/"
  ],
  "maxCount": 500,
  "maxCommentsPerPost": 200,
  "commentSortOrder": "popular",
  "includeReplies": true,
  "maxRepliesPerComment": 5,
  "sessionId": "<YOUR_INSTAGRAM_SESSIONID>"
}

Input reference

Field	Type	Default	Description
startUrls	array	— (required)	Instagram post or Reel URLs. Likers, commenters and full comment content are collected from each.
maxCount	integer	100	Cap on unique top-level users (likers + commenters) across all posts, 1–10,000. Reply authors are not counted against it.
maxCommentsPerPost	integer	100	How many top-level comments to fetch full detail for, per post, 1–10,000. A separate budget from maxCount.
commentSortOrder	string	popular	How comments are ranked before the cap is applied. popular — highest like count first. recent — newest first. Sorted locally, because Instagram does not reliably honour a server-side sort.
includeReplies	boolean	true	Fetch reply threads for comments that have them. Adds extra requests per post.
maxRepliesPerComment	integer	5	Replies fetched per comment, 0–50. Replies are extra rows and are not counted against maxCount.
sessionId	string	""	Your Instagram sessionid cookie. Required in practice — anonymous requests hit a login wall.
proxyConfiguration	object	off	Optional. Leave off for direct requests; if Instagram blocks you the Actor auto-escalates: direct → datacenter → residential, with retries.

The two budgets are independent. maxCommentsPerPost: 10 with maxRepliesPerComment: 3 yields up to 10 comments and up to 30 replies per post, regardless of maxCount.

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⬆️ Output

Example output — liker row

{
  "row_type": "liker",
  "is_child": false,
  "username": "example_user",
  "id": "1234567890",
  "full_name": "Example User",
  "is_verified": false,
  "is_private": false,
  "profile_pic_url": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/…",
  "post_url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DLm63qQpxvw/",
  "liked_post": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DLm63qQpxvw/",
  "total_likes": 18420,
  "comment_text": null,
  "comment_like_count": null,
  "parent_comment_id": null,
  "scraped_at": "2026-08-10T09:14:02.000Z"
}

Example output — commenter row

{
  "row_type": "commenter",
  "is_child": false,
  "username": "another_user",
  "id": "9876543210",
  "full_name": "Another User",
  "is_verified": true,
  "comment_id": "17900112233445566",
  "comment_url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DLm63qQpxvw/c/17900112233445566",
  "comment_text": "Where can I buy this? @mybestie you need it 🔥 #musthave",
  "comment_created_at_utc": "2026-08-09T18:44:10.000Z",
  "comment_like_count": 214,
  "child_comment_count": 3,
  "has_replies": true,
  "tagged_usernames": ["mybestie"],
  "hashtags": ["musthave"],
  "total_comments": 1840,
  "comments_fetched_ratio": 0.108,
  "post_url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DLm63qQpxvw/"
}

Example output — reply row

{
  "row_type": "reply",
  "is_child": true,
  "parent_comment_id": "17900112233445566",
  "username": "brand_official",
  "comment_id": "17900998877665544",
  "comment_url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DLm63qQpxvw/c/17900112233445566/r/17900998877665544",
  "comment_text": "Link is in our bio! 💛",
  "comment_created_at_utc": "2026-08-09T19:02:55.000Z",
  "comment_like_count": 12,
  "has_replies": false
}

Illustrative values — a live run returns current Instagram data.

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Usage recipes

Find buying intent in a competitor's comments

{
  "startUrls": ["https://www.instagram.com/p/COMPETITOR_POST/"],
  "maxCommentsPerPost": 500,
  "commentSortOrder": "recent",
  "includeReplies": true
}

Filter comment_text for "price", "link", "where", "how much", "DM". Those usernames are in-market.

Vet an influencer before you pay them

Run one of their recent posts, then compare total_likes against the depth of comment_text. Generic one-word comments at scale are the classic engagement-pod signature.

Rebuild whole comment threads

Group by parent_comment_id: the commenter row is the parent, every reply row beneath it is the thread, ordered by comment_created_at_utc.

Likers only, fast

{
  "startUrls": ["https://www.instagram.com/p/YOUR_POST/"],
  "maxCount": 900,
  "maxCommentsPerPost": 1,
  "includeReplies": false
}

Track who newly engaged

Run the same post on a schedule and diff on id. New IDs are new engagers, and scraped_at timestamps each pass.

Map the conversation vocabulary

Aggregate hashtags and tagged_usernames across a set of posts to see what your audience associates with your content.

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How does this compare to Instagram's official API?

The Instagram Graph API does not offer this. Liker identities are not exposed at all — you can read a like count, never the list of people. Comment reading is limited to accounts you own or manage, requires a Business or Creator account linked to a Facebook Page, an approved app, and a review process — and it still cannot show you a competitor's engagers.

This Actor reads publicly visible engagement through the same session a logged-in user has, which is the only route to liker lists and third-party comment data.

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Integrate and automate

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_APIFY_API_TOKEN>")

run = client.actor("scraperforge/instagram-likes-scraper").call(run_input={
    "startUrls": ["https://www.instagram.com/p/DLm63qQpxvw/"],
    "maxCount": 500,
    "maxCommentsPerPost": 200,
    "sessionId": "<YOUR_INSTAGRAM_SESSIONID>",
})

for row in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    if row["row_type"] != "liker":
        print(row["row_type"], "|", row["username"], "|", row["comment_text"])

JavaScript

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '<YOUR_APIFY_API_TOKEN>' });

const run = await client.actor('scraperforge/instagram-likes-scraper').call({
    startUrls: ['https://www.instagram.com/p/DLm63qQpxvw/'],
    maxCount: 500,
    sessionId: '<YOUR_INSTAGRAM_SESSIONID>',
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items.filter((i) => i.row_type === 'commenter'));

REST API

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/scraperforge~instagram-likes-scraper/runs?token=<YOUR_APIFY_API_TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"startUrls":["https://www.instagram.com/p/DLm63qQpxvw/"],"maxCount":500,"sessionId":"<YOUR_INSTAGRAM_SESSIONID>"}'

n8n, Make, Zapier and AI agents

Call the Actor from n8n, Make, Zapier or an MCP-capable agent — a common pattern is comments → LLM intent classification → CRM.

Schedules and webhooks

Attach a Schedule to re-run key posts and deduplicate on id (or comment_id), then route results with webhooks or the Google Sheets / Airtable / Slack integrations.

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Pricing and what you are charged for

This Actor is a flat monthly rental: one fixed price per month, with no per-result charge. Run as many posts as you need within the platform's usage limits.

The current monthly price is on the Pricing tab of this Actor's page. Apify platform usage (compute units, and residential proxy traffic if the automatic escalation kicks in) is billed separately.

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Limits, reliability and blocking

• A session ID is required in practice. Instagram serves a login wall to anonymous requests on the likers, comments and reply endpoints.
• Instagram caps liker retrieval. The likers_chrono endpoint typically stops returning new likers after roughly 950 per post, regardless of maxCount. A post with 50,000 likes will not yield 50,000 likers — no tool can change that.
• total_likes and total_comments are the post's real totals, so comparing them against your row count shows exactly how much you covered. comments_fetched_ratio states it directly.
• Comment sorting is applied locally before the cap, because Instagram does not reliably honour a server-side sort order.
• Replies cost extra requests, so includeReplies: true on a large comment budget makes runs noticeably longer. Set maxRepliesPerComment: 0 or turn replies off to speed things up.
• Reply authors bypass maxCount by design — they are child rows budgeted only by maxRepliesPerComment.
• Proxy escalation is automatic: direct → datacenter → residential with retries, then it stays on residential.
• Private posts are not accessible, and hidden or filtered comments may not appear.
• Profile picture URLs expire — they point at Instagram's CDN.
• Default run options are 4 GB memory and a 1-hour timeout.

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Is it legal to scrape Instagram likes and comments?

This Actor collects publicly visible engagement on public posts — the likes and comments any logged-in user can see by opening the post.

Usernames, full names, profile pictures and comment text are personal data under GDPR and comparable laws. Have a lawful basis before you process them, keep only what you need, honour deletion requests, and do not use the output for unsolicited bulk DMs or spam. Comment text belongs to its author. Comply with Instagram's Terms of Use, and note that supplying a session ID means acting as that account.

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❓ Frequently asked questions

Do I really need an Instagram session ID?

Yes, in practice. Instagram serves a login-wall page to anonymous requests on these endpoints, so runs without a sessionid come back empty.

Where do I find my session ID?

Browser DevTools → Application → Cookies → instagram.com → the sessionid value.

Why did I get far fewer likers than the post has likes?

Instagram's likers endpoint typically stops returning new results after around 950 per post. That is a platform limit, not an Actor setting.

What is row_type for?

It labels each row: liker, commenter or reply. Filter on it to split the export into the three kinds of engagement.

Do replies count against my user limit?

No. Replies are child rows budgeted only by maxRepliesPerComment; maxCount counts top-level users.

How do I rebuild a thread?

Match reply rows to their parent via parent_comment_id, and order by comment_created_at_utc.

Does commentSortOrder change what Instagram sends?

No — sorting is applied locally before the cap, because Instagram does not reliably honour a server-side sort.

Does it work on Reels?

Yes. Reel URLs are supported alongside standard post URLs.

Do I need a proxy?

Not to begin with. If Instagram blocks you the Actor escalates on its own: direct → datacenter → residential.

Which export format should I use?

CSV or Excel works well because the column set is consistent across row types. Use JSON if you want tagged_usernames and hashtags as real arrays.

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🔗 Related scrapers

• Facebook Group Posts and Details Scraper with Comments — the same engagement question on Facebook.
• Youtube Community Posts Scraper — likes, comment counts and polls from YouTube.
• X Posts Scraper (Twitter) — engagement metrics including views and bookmarks.
• TikTok Trending Creator Insights Scraper — creator-level engagement for influencer vetting.

Browse the full collection on the ScraperForge profile.

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💬 Feedback

Need deeper reply threads, comment-only output, or a custom engagement pipeline? Open an issue on the Issues tab of this Actor.