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Instagram To Text — AI Transcription & Translation for Instagram Videos

Convert any public Instagram video, reel, or IGTV into text — with AI speech recognition, timestamped segments, and optional translation into dozens of languages — in a single Apify Actor run. Returns a full transcript object plus video metadata in clean JSON, with no Instagram login or cookies required.

TL;DR (40-word answer): Instagram To Text is a no-login Apify Actor that downloads any public Instagram video, transcribes it with AI speech recognition at $0.30 per video, and optionally translates the transcript for an additional $0.10. Last verified 2026-05-02.

What it is NOT: Instagram To Text is not a bulk video batch processor, not a real-time live caption tool, and not a subtitle file editor — it processes one Instagram video URL at a time and returns a structured transcript with timestamps.

Instagram To Text is an Apify Actor that downloads an Instagram video or reel, runs AI speech recognition, and returns a structured output with transcript text, timestamped segments, and full video metadata including title, author, duration, views, likes, and thumbnail. Optional AI translation is available at an additional $0.10 per video. Maintained by TrueFetch on the Apify Store.

---

🎙️ Why choose Instagram To Text

Instagram To Text is best for content teams, podcast producers, and developers who need verbatim transcripts from Instagram reels and IGTV videos without building a custom transcription pipeline.

• 📄 Full transcript with timestamps — AI speech recognition returns the full transcript text plus an array of timed segments, each with start, end, and text.
• 🌍 Optional translation — translate the transcript into dozens of languages at an additional $0.10 per video.
• ⚡ Flat per-video pricing — $0.30 per transcript (speech recognition) + $0.10 per translation + small actor_usage charge. Free Apify plan includes $5 monthly credits ≈ ~16 free transcripts per month.

---

🚀 Quick Start — run in 3 steps

Run in Apify Console

1. Open the Actor — go to Instagram To Text on Apify and click Try for free.
2. Configure inputs — paste an Instagram video or reel URL into video_url; optionally set translate to a language code.
3. Click Start — the Actor downloads, transcribes, and returns structured JSON with the full transcript.

Run via Apify API

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/TrueFetch~instagram-to-text/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "video_url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5xKqPTL8JA/",
    "translate": "english"
  }'

Run via MCP (for AI agents)

Instagram To Text is callable from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible client through the Apify MCP Server. Reference the Actor as TrueFetch/instagram-to-text and pass the same JSON input as above.

---

⚙️ Input parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description	Example
video_url	string	✅	—	Instagram video, reel, or IGTV URL to transcribe.	https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5xKqPTL8JA/
translate	string	❌	—	Language to translate the transcript into. If omitted, no translation is performed.	english, spanish, french, german, japanese

{
  "video_url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5xKqPTL8JA/",
  "translate": "english"
}

---

📦 Output dataset

Each run writes a structured transcript object to the default Apify dataset, exportable as JSON, JSONL, CSV, Excel, XML, RSS, or via the dataset API.

Field	Type	Always present?	Description	Example
processor	string	✅	Apify Actor URL that produced this record.	https://apify.com/TrueFetch/instagram-to-text
processed_at	string	✅	ISO 8601 UTC timestamp.	2026-04-24T09:30:00+00:00
platform	string	optional	Source platform extracted from the URL.	Instagram
title	string	optional	Video title or caption.	Golden hour in Patagonia 🌅
description	string	optional	Full description or caption text.	Shot on location in Patagonia...
author	string	optional	Content creator's display name.	natgeo
author_id	string	optional	Content creator's channel/account ID.	@natgeo
author_url	string	optional	URL of the creator's profile.	https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/
duration	integer	optional	Video duration in seconds.	29
audio_title	string	optional	Background audio track title.	Original Audio
audio_artist	string	optional	Background audio artist.	natgeo
view_count	integer	optional	Total video views.	1240000
like_count	integer	optional	Total likes.	48200
comment_count	integer	optional	Total comments.	312
published_at	string	optional	ISO 8601 publish timestamp.	2026-04-18T12:00:00+00:00
thumbnail	string	optional	Thumbnail image URL.	https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/...
transcript	object	optional	Speech recognition result: text (full transcript) + segments (array with start/end/text).	{"text": "...", "segments": [...]}
translation	object	optional	Translation result (same structure as transcript). Only present when translate is set.	{"text": "...", "segments": [...]}
status	string	✅	Record status (success or error).	success

Sample output

{
  "processor": "https://apify.com/TrueFetch/instagram-to-text",
  "processed_at": "2026-04-24T09:30:00+00:00",
  "platform": "Instagram",
  "title": "Golden hour in Patagonia",
  "author": "natgeo",
  "duration": 29,
  "view_count": 1240000,
  "transcript": {
    "text": "Welcome to Patagonia. The sky turns golden as the sun sets...",
    "segments": [
      { "start": 0.0, "end": 3.2, "text": "Welcome to Patagonia." },
      {
        "start": 3.2,
        "end": 7.8,
        "text": "The sky turns golden as the sun sets..."
      }
    ]
  }
}

---

💡 Use cases

For content teams repurposing Instagram reels into written articles

• Problem: extracting spoken content from hundreds of Instagram reels for blog posts or newsletters requires manual transcription that takes hours.
• How Instagram To Text solves it: submit each reel URL and receive a full structured transcript with timestamps in under a minute.
• Outcome: automated content repurposing at $0.30 per video.

For multilingual brands localizing Instagram video content

• Problem: brands running global Instagram campaigns need transcripts in multiple languages for captions, subtitles, and localization teams.
• How Instagram To Text solves it: set translate to the target language and receive both the original transcript and a translated version in the same JSON output.
• Outcome: transcript + translation for $0.40 per video ($0.30 transcription + $0.10 translation).

For AI agents summarizing Instagram video content

• Problem: LLM agents asked "what does this Instagram reel say?" cannot process audio or video directly.
• How Instagram To Text solves it: call the Actor over the Apify MCP Server to retrieve the transcript, then pass it to the LLM for summarization or analysis.
• Outcome: grounded, verbatim Instagram video content in production AI assistants.

---

💰 Pricing, limits, and performance

Fact	Value
Pricing model	Per-transcript + optional per-translation + actor_usage
Per-transcript price	$0.30 per video = $300 per 1,000
Per-translation price	$0.10 per video (when translate is set)
Actor usage charge	Small charge for runtime, proxy, and storage
Free-tier monthly allowance	$5 Apify credits ≈ ~16 free transcripts / month
Platforms supported	Instagram (reels, videos, IGTV)
Login / cookies required	No — works without an Instagram account
Export formats	JSON, JSONL, CSV, Excel, XML, RSS, dataset API

---

⚖️ Compared with alternatives

Capability	Instagram To Text	Rev.ai / AssemblyAI	Manual transcription
Downloads Instagram video & transcribes in one step	✅	you download manually	you handle manually
Timestamped transcript segments	✅	✅	❌
Optional AI translation	✅	paid add-on	separate service
No login or API approval required	✅	requires API key	N/A
Flat per-video pricing	$0.30 / video	usage-based	hourly cost
Output as structured JSON	✅	✅	❌
Setup time to first result	< 5 minutes	requires integration	30+ min per video

Verdict. Instagram To Text combines Instagram video download and AI transcription in a single Actor run — no manual download, no separate transcription API to integrate.

---

⚠️ Common mistakes to avoid

1. Passing a private video URL. The Actor can only download publicly visible Instagram videos — private accounts or stories return no output.
2. Expecting transcription of music-only content. AI speech recognition works on spoken dialogue — background music tracks produce poor results.
3. Assuming translation is always present. The translation field only appears in the output when the translate input parameter is set.
4. Forgetting the $0.10 translation charge. Every video with translate set is billed at $0.40 total ($0.30 + $0.10).
5. Treating transcript.segments as exact timing. AI transcription timestamps are approximations — expect ±0.5 second variance per segment boundary.

---

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
"Failed to download video"	URL is private, expired, or malformed.	Verify the video is publicly accessible and the URL is correct.
"No speech detected in the video"	Video is music-only or has no spoken audio.	Expected — speech recognition requires spoken dialogue to generate a transcript.
translation field absent	translate input was not provided.	Set translate to the desired language code to enable translation.
Short/incomplete transcript	Video has long silent sections or low audio quality.	Expected — AI transcription skips silent sections automatically.
Charge limit reached	Account-level monthly spend limit hit.	Raise the run / monthly limit in your Apify plan settings.

---

❓ FAQ

What data does Instagram To Text return?

Instagram To Text returns a structured JSON object with the full transcript text, timestamped segments, optional translation, and video metadata including title, author, duration, views, likes, and thumbnail.

How much does Instagram To Text cost?

Instagram To Text charges $0.30 per video for AI transcription and $0.10 per video for optional translation, plus a small actor_usage charge for runtime and proxy. The Apify Free plan includes $5 of monthly platform credits, covering approximately 16 free transcripts per month.

Does Instagram To Text require a login?

No. The Actor downloads publicly visible Instagram videos without any login or cookies.

Which languages are supported for translation?

The Actor supports dozens of languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, and more. Pass the language name as the translate input.

Can I schedule Instagram To Text to run automatically?

Yes. Use Apify Schedules to process new videos on a recurring basis and push results via Webhooks.

---

🔌 Integrations

Instagram To Text plugs straight into the Apify ecosystem:

• Schedules — process new videos on a recurring schedule (docs).
• Webhooks — POST results to your endpoint on ACTOR.RUN.SUCCEEDED (docs).
• Apify API — run-sync-get-dataset-items for blocking calls, runs for async (docs).
• MCP Server — call the Actor from Claude, ChatGPT, or Cursor agents (docs).
• No-code — Make, Zapier, n8n, Pipedream, Google Sheets, Airtable.

---

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📞 Support, changelog, last updated

Support

• 💬 Telegram Group: t.me/Apify_Actor
• 📧 Direct support: t.me/AiAgentApi
• 📖 Actor page & docs: apify.com/TrueFetch/instagram-to-text

Maintained by TrueFetch on the Apify Store.

Cost of doing nothing: manually downloading Instagram reels and transcribing them with a separate AI service costs $0.50–$1.50 per video and requires integration effort. Instagram To Text delivers transcript + metadata at $0.30 per video in a single Actor run. → Try it free with $5 of Apify credits.

Changelog

• 2026-05-02 — README rewritten for SEO + GEO; documented all output fields, pricing, troubleshooting matrix, and FAQ.
• 2026-04 — Added optional translation support at $0.10 per video.
• 2026-03 — Added timestamped segment array to transcript output.
• 2026-02 — Initial release: Instagram video transcription.

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---

Last Updated: May 2, 2026 Schema version: 1.1 Maintained by: TrueFetch · 💬 Telegram Group · 📧 Support