Instagram Reels Outlier Finder: Viral Reels vs Creator Median

Instagram Reels Outlier Finder: the reels that beat a creator's normal

Find which reels went viral for a creator: every reel's plays against the creator's median plays (the outlier score), with likes, comments, engagement rate, plays per day, plays per follower and the upload date, best outlier first. The top outliers also get their caption, hashtags, length and sound.

This is how content strategists find what to copy: not the biggest accounts' biggest reels, but the reels that did 3x, 5x or 10x what that creator normally gets. For creators, social media managers, agencies and brand researchers. No login, nothing connected to your Instagram.

What you get

Field	What it holds
Reel rows	outlierScore (plays / creator median), rank, plays, likes, comments, engagementRate, playsPerDay, playsPerFollower, uploadedAt, ageDays, pinned, thumbnail, url, shortCode, and for the top outliers caption, hashtags, durationSeconds, audio, postedAt
Creator row	followers, verified, reelsRead, medianPlays, meanPlays, p90Plays, outliers2x, outliers5x, bestReel, bestScore, medianPlaysPerFollower
SUMMARY	what each creator returned, notes and what was charged

What people use it for

• Viral research: the reels that beat a creator's normal, and why
• Content ideas: copy formats that work, not just big accounts
• Competitor tracking: which of a rival's reels took off
• Creator vetting: how consistent a creator's reach really is
• Reporting: a creator's median, p90 and outliers in one row

How to use it

1. Add creators: Instagram usernames or profile links.
2. Set Latest reels per creator and how many top outliers get captions.
3. Click Start, then open the Outliers or Creators table.

Input

Field	Example	Notes
Creators	username	One per line
Latest reels per creator	36	6 to 240; the median is taken over them
Captions for the top	10	Caption, hashtags, length and sound
Only reels scoring at least	0	e.g. 2 for 2x the median and up

Output

Each result is one row in the run's dataset (download it as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or HTML, or read it through the API). An example row (values shortened):

{
  "kind": "reel",
  "creator": "example.creator",
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/…/",
  "rank": 1,
  "outlierScore": 4.18,
  "plays": 5603930,
  "likes": 224334,
  "comments": 631,
  "engagementRate": 4.01,
  "playsPerDay": 797199,
  "uploadedAt": "2026-10-10T13:13:38Z",
  "durationSeconds": 14.93,
  "creatorMedianPlays": 1341745
}

From a run on 17 October 2026 (a large nature-media creator, name removed): 24 reels read, median 1,341,745 plays, 90th percentile 3,633,995, 4 reels at 2x the median or more; the best reel had 5,603,930 plays, 4.18x the median, 797,199 plays a day in its first week. A record named SUMMARY in the run's key-value store says what each creator returned and what was charged.

Pricing

• $0.002 per scored reel ($2 per 1,000), with its outlier score and stats
• Captions, lengths and sounds for the top outliers are included
• Creator rows are free; private and missing accounts cost nothing; reels below your minimum score are not charged

What typical jobs cost at the list price:

Job	Cost
A creator's latest 36 reels	$0.07
10 creators, 36 reels each	$0.72
100 creators, 24 reels each	$4.80
Only the 2x outliers of 10 creators (about 6 each)	about $0.12

On Apify's Scale and Business plans the per-event prices are lower (Store discounts). Set Maximum cost per run and the Actor stops cleanly when it is reached: you never pay more than that.

Tips

• Set Only reels scoring at least to 2 or 3 to get just the outliers.
• Read 36 or more reels: the median is steadier.
• Pinned reels are often old hits: check pinned before copying.

Use it through the API

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>")
run = client.actor("zaiq/instagram-reels-outlier-finder").call(run_input={"creators": ["username"], "reelsPerCreator": 36, "minScore": 2})
for row in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(row)

JavaScript

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>' });
const run = await client.actor('zaiq/instagram-reels-outlier-finder').call({"creators": ["username"], "reelsPerCreator": 36, "minScore": 2});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();

HTTP (one call, results back)

curl -X POST 'https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/zaiq~instagram-reels-outlier-finder/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"creators": ["username"], "reelsPerCreator": 36, "minScore": 2}'

Integrations and schedules

• Schedules: run it every hour, day or week from the Apify Console (Schedules) and keep a history of results.
• Make, Zapier, n8n, Google Sheets, Slack, Airtable: connect it through Apify's integrations, or send each finished run to a webhook.
• Datasets: results stay in the run's dataset; export them or read them by API whenever you need them.

Use it with AI agents (MCP)

Add Apify's MCP server (https://mcp.apify.com) to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code or any MCP client. The agent can find this Actor and run it for you: ask it for "find the reels of these 10 creators that got at least 3 times their usual plays". AI agents can also pay for runs directly through Apify's agentic payments.

Limits

• Public accounts only; private accounts cost nothing.
• Plays come from the creator's Reels tab; reels with hidden like and view counts are left out.
• The upload time comes from each reel's media id (it is the upload moment, a few minutes before publishing); the exact post time is added for the top outliers.

FAQ

What is an outlier score?

A reel's plays divided by the median plays of the creator's reels read in the same run: 3 means three times their normal.

Do I need an Instagram account?

No. Everything comes from what Instagram shows a signed-out visitor.

Why the median and not the average?

One viral reel pulls the average up; the median is what the creator normally gets.

Can it search hashtags?

No: Instagram hides hashtag search from signed-out visitors. Give creators.

Related Actors from Zaiq

• instagram-reel-script-analyzer: any reel as its script: hook, on-screen text, beats
• youtube-outlier-finder: the same for YouTube channels and searches
• tiktok-video-script-analyzer: TikTok videos as their script
• instagram-transcript-scraper: what is said in reels

Support

Questions, a site that changed, or a field you need? Open an issue on this Actor's Issues tab: we answer there, usually within a day.

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Also found as: instagram outlier finder, viral reels finder, instagram reels analytics, instagram reels scraper, reels performance, instagram competitor analysis, viral content research, instagram views scraper.