Instagram Reels Transcript — video to text with timestamps

What does Instagram Reels Transcript do?

Paste an individual public Instagram Reel URL with speech. Each video yields one row with text, timed segments, language and billedMinutes. Optional subtitle links are srtUrl and vttUrl. Private or login-only videos return free failure rows. A Reel with Instagram library music and no speech returns a free no_text row. Successful transcription is $0.006 per started audio minute on Free/Bronze; the deployed engine price applies on other tiers.

How to use

1. Click Start with the single prefilled public example, or replace it with your own individual Instagram Reel URL. Public player access may change; the example still needs integration QA.
2. Set Apify's maximum cost per run before a large batch. Read text, segments, language, billedMinutes, and optional srtUrl or vttUrl.
3. Select SRT or VTT under Output formats if needed. Speaker labels, translated subtitles, and summaries are off by default; enabling them can add charges.

Input example

{
  "urls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-YpOOwvJME/"
  ]
}

Output example

Illustrative output shape; the words below are not a verified transcript of the example:

{
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-YpOOwvJME/",
  "success": true,
  "charged": true,
  "language": "en",
  "durationSeconds": 25,
  "billedMinutes": 1,
  "text": "Example spoken words.",
  "segments": [
    {
      "start": 0,
      "end": 2.5,
      "text": "Example spoken words."
    }
  ]
}

Pricing

A successful transcript emits one audio-minute event per started minute of audio. The Free/Bronze price is $0.006 per minute. Private, login-only, removed, inaccessible, silent and invalid links return success: false, charged: false, errorType and error (and billedMinutes: 0 when present) with zero audio-minute events. Other optional features may have separate charges.

Limitations

Instagram can change public-player access. Profiles and all videos from an account are not supported. A Reel containing only licensed music and no speech returns a free no_text row. The shared audio engine may recognize other media URLs, but this specialist listing is for individual Instagram Reel links. No cookies or private content are used. A reachable page does not guarantee downloadable media. A public interview Reel was linked by a 2026 science communication paper and its embed page was anonymously reachable on 2026-10-26. This Actor has not yet transcribed it with the real backend.

FAQ

Can I transcribe a private video or an entire Instagram profile?

No. Paste individual public video URLs; inaccessible videos return a free error row. Instagram profiles are not expanded into all their videos.

Are failures charged?

No. Failed rows have charged: false and zero audio-minute events.

Can I export subtitles?

Yes. Timed successful transcripts can include SRT and VTT files in srtUrl and vttUrl.