# Instagram Reels Transcript: Reel & Video to Text (`spokentext/instagram-reel-transcript`) Actor

Paste public Instagram Reel or video links and get the full transcript, timestamps and SRT subtitles, plus the creator, caption, views and likes. 99+ languages. No login, no cookies. Pay per audio minute.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/spokentext/instagram-reel-transcript.md
- **Developed by:** [clement](https://apify.com/spokentext) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, Videos, AI
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.10 / 1,000 audio minute transcribeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

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

### What is Instagram Reels Transcript?

Paste public Instagram Reel or video links and get **what is said in each reel as text**, with timestamps and optional SRT subtitles, plus the reel's **creator, caption, views and likes**.

Try it now: the example below transcribes a public reel in a few seconds.

### What can this Instagram transcript tool do?

- **Works on any public reel**, with or without captions: the audio itself is transcribed.
- **99+ languages**, detected automatically (Whisper large-v3).
- **Music-only reels are recognised**: they come back marked `noSpeech` with an empty transcript, and are not charged.
- **Pay per audio minute.** Most reels are under a minute, so one reel usually costs one minute. Nothing is charged for reels that fail.
- **No login, no cookies, no Instagram account.**

Because it runs on Apify, you also get:

- **Scheduling:** collect transcripts of new reels on a regular basis.
- **API access:** start runs and read results from your own code.
- **Integrations:** send results to Make, Zapier, n8n, Google Sheets and more.
- **Monitoring:** get alerted when a run fails or returns less than expected.
- **Exports:** download results as JSON, CSV or Excel.

### What can you provide?

| Input | Example |
|---|---|
| Reel link | `https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqlKdduP1p-/` |
| Video post link | `https://www.instagram.com/p/POST_ID/` |
| Link copied from the app | `https://www.instagram.com/reel/POST_ID/?igsh=...` |

Paste as many links as you like, one per line. Profiles, stories and highlights are not supported: open the reel and copy its link.

### How to get an Instagram transcript

1. Copy the link of each reel (in the app: **Share → Copy link**).
2. Paste the links into **Instagram Reel or video links**.
3. Optionally set the language, turn off timestamps, or turn on SRT subtitles.
4. Click **Start**, then download the results from the **Output** tab as JSON, CSV or Excel.

### How much does an Instagram transcript cost?

You pay for each minute of audio transcribed, rounded to the nearest minute, with a minimum of one minute per reel that contains speech. Most reels are under a minute, so one reel usually costs one minute. The price depends on your Apify Store discount tier:

| Store discount tier | Price per audio minute |
|---|---|
| Free plan | $0.003 |
| Bronze | $0.0027 |
| Silver | $0.0024 |
| Gold and above | $0.0021 |

At the Bronze price:

| Run | Cost |
|---|---|
| 100 reels of under a minute | $0.27 |
| 1,000 reels of under a minute | $2.70 |

Music-only reels and failed reels are free. Set **Maximum minutes per video** or the run's maximum charge to cap spending.

On the free Apify plan, each run transcribes up to 10 minutes of audio in total: longer audio is cut there and marked `"truncated": true`. Paid Apify plans have no such limit.

### Input example

```json
{
    "urls": [
        "https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqlKdduP1p-/"
    ],
    "includeSegments": true
}
```

| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `urls` | Links to public reels, one per line |
| `language` | Two-letter language code (optional; detected automatically otherwise) |
| `includeSegments` | Add timestamped segments to each result |
| `includeSrt` | Add the transcript as SRT subtitles |
| `maxMinutesPerFile` | Longer videos are cut at this length |

### Output example

A real result for the input above, shortened. One dataset item per reel:

```json
{
    "inputUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqlKdduP1p-/",
    "status": "ok",
    "platform": "Instagram",
    "postUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqlKdduP1p-/",
    "postTitle": "Video by potus46archive",
    "creator": "President Joe Biden Archived",
    "creatorHandle": "potus46archive",
    "caption": "The @NASA Artemis II crewed mission around the Moon will inspire the next generation of explorers...",
    "postedAt": "2023-04-03",
    "likes": 474902,
    "comments": 5135,
    "language": "English",
    "durationSeconds": 90,
    "transcribedMinutes": 1,
    "truncated": false,
    "text": "President Biden? Yes. You're Artemis Team Two. Hey, Artemis Team Two. How are you all doing? Look, I want to thank you for your incredible service...",
    "segments": [{ "start": 0, "end": 5.28, "text": "President Biden?" }]
}
```

Counts are the public figures at the time of the run. Fields Instagram does not show for a reel (views are often hidden) are left out. Reels that cannot be read produce an item with `"status": "error"` and an `error` message saying why.

### Use cases

- **Content research:** read what top creators in your niche say in their reels, and search it.
- **Repurposing:** turn your own reels into captions, blog posts or newsletters.
- **Brand and competitor monitoring:** see how products are presented and reviewed.
- **Subtitles:** get SRT files to repost a reel elsewhere with captions.
- **AI workflows:** feed transcripts to an LLM for summaries, hooks or trend analysis.

### Tips for reliable results

- **Paste the link of the reel itself.** Profile and hashtag pages are not accepted.
- **Run a failed link again later.** A platform refusal is usually temporary, and it is not charged.
- **Set the language** for short clips or noisy audio.

### FAQ

#### Does it need the reel's captions?

No. It listens to the audio, so it works on reels without captions, and in any language.

#### Can I transcribe a whole profile?

Paste the links of the reels you want. Profile pages are not accepted, so a run never costs more than the reels you chose.

#### Can I use it from my own code, Make, Zapier or n8n?

Yes. Every Apify Actor has an API and ready-made integrations. See the examples below.

### Limits

- All users share one transcription service with an hourly limit. When it is reached, the Actor waits up to 5 minutes, then returns what it has finished, marked `"truncated": true` and charged only for that part, with a `note` saying when to try again.
- Public reels only. Private accounts, stories and some age-restricted reels need a login, which this Actor does not use.
- Instagram occasionally refuses a request. The Actor retries once; if it still fails, the reel is reported as an error, not charged, and can be run again later.

### Other Actors you may find useful

| Actor | What it does |
|---|---|
| [TikTok Transcript](https://apify.com/spokentext/tiktok-transcript) | What is said in TikTok videos, with creator and public counts |
| [Audio & Video to Text](https://apify.com/spokentext/audio-video-to-text) | Transcribe your own files and public video links |
| [Subtitle Generator](https://apify.com/spokentext/subtitle-generator) | SRT and VTT subtitle files, ready for your editor |
| [Spotify Podcast Transcript](https://apify.com/spokentext/spotify-podcast-transcript) | Transcripts of Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Deezer episodes |
| [Meta AI Brand Visibility Tracker](https://apify.com/spokentext/meta-ai-brand-visibility) | Whether Meta AI recommends your brand |

### Run it from the API

With cURL:

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/spokentext~instagram-reel-transcript/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "urls": ["https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqlKdduP1p-/"] }'
```

With Python:

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("spokentext/instagram-reel-transcript").call(run_input={"urls": ["https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqlKdduP1p-/"]})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item.get("creator"), item.get("text", "")[:100])
```

This Actor is an independent tool. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Instagram or Meta; their names only describe the links it accepts.

### Feedback

Something failed or gave a wrong result? Open an issue in the **Issues** tab of this page, with the error message from your results: every report is read and fixed. If the Actor saved you time, a rating helps others find it.

# Actor input Schema

## `urls` (type: `array`):

Links to public Instagram Reels or video posts (instagram.com/reel/..., /p/..., /tv/...). Private accounts and stories are not supported.

## `language` (type: `string`):

Two-letter language code of the audio (en, fr, es, de...). Leave empty to detect it automatically. Setting it improves accuracy on short or noisy audio.

## `includeSegments` (type: `boolean`):

Add a list of timestamped segments (start, end, text) to each result.

## `includeSrt` (type: `boolean`):

Add the transcript as an SRT subtitle file string, ready to load into a video editor or player.

## `maxMinutesPerFile` (type: `integer`):

Longer videos are cut at this length, so a single run can never cost more than you expect.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqlKdduP1p-/"
  ],
  "includeSegments": true,
  "includeSrt": false,
  "maxMinutesPerFile": 300
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `transcripts` (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 = {
    "urls": [
        "https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqlKdduP1p-/"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("spokentext/instagram-reel-transcript").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 = { "urls": ["https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqlKdduP1p-/"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("spokentext/instagram-reel-transcript").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 '{
  "urls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqlKdduP1p-/"
  ]
}' |
apify call spokentext/instagram-reel-transcript --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,spokentext/instagram-reel-transcript"
        }
    }
}
```

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/seumcqIGTvjOphqJB/builds/0B12gGQOQVoogqbk8/openapi.json