# Instagram Follower Count Tracker - Bulk Profile Refresher (`zaver.api/instagram-creator-profile-refresher`) Actor

Update follower counts for a whole creator roster from usernames: followers, following, posts, bio, category and email, plus how much each number moved since the last run. No login, no API key. Export CSV, JSON or Excel.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/zaver.api/instagram-creator-profile-refresher.md
- **Developed by:** [Zaver](https://apify.com/zaver.api) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, Lead generation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $17.90 / 1,000 profile refresheds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

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

## Instagram Follower Count Tracker - Bulk Profile Refresher

**Update follower counts for a whole creator roster from usernames, and see what moved since last time.** Paste handles, get current followers, following, posts, bio, category and contact email — plus the change since your last run, so a spreadsheet of creators becomes a monitoring feed. No login, no cookies, no API key.

> ⭐ bulk username lists · follower change between runs · one request per creator · new-post count · contact email where published · CSV/JSON/Excel · API, MCP & schedules

### What does the Instagram Follower Count Tracker do?

Rosters go stale. Follower counts in a CRM, a media kit or a campaign sheet are wrong within weeks, and checking a few hundred handles by hand is a day's work. Point this at the list and every creator comes back current — with the delta against the previous run attached, so you can see growth, decline and new posts without keeping your own history.

### What data does it return?

One row per creator:

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `username` | Creator handle |
| `followers` | Current follower count |
| `following` | Accounts the creator follows |
| `posts` | Total posts |
| `previous_followers` | Follower count at your last run |
| `followers_change` | Gained or lost since the last run |
| `followers_change_pct` | That change as a percentage |
| `posts_change` | New posts since the last run |
| `days_since_last_check` | Age of the comparison |
| `is_first_check` | `true` the first time a creator is seen |
| `full_name`, `biography`, `category` | Profile basics and Instagram category |
| `is_verified`, `is_private`, `is_business` | Account flags |
| `public_email`, `external_url` | Contact email and link in bio, where published |
| `profile_pic_url`, `url` | Avatar and profile link |
| `checked_at` | When this row was captured |
| `status` | `ok`, or why a creator could not be read |

#### Example output

```json
{
  "username": "mkbhd",
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/mkbhd/",
  "followers": 5288765,
  "following": 578,
  "posts": 2117,
  "previous_followers": 5283765,
  "followers_change": 5000,
  "followers_change_pct": 0.095,
  "posts_change": 2,
  "days_since_last_check": 3.0,
  "is_first_check": false,
  "category": "Creator",
  "is_verified": true,
  "checked_at": "2026-10-02T15:20:11Z",
  "status": "ok"
}
```

### How to update follower counts in bulk

1. Paste handles or profile URLs into **Instagram creators**, one per line.
2. Leave **Track changes between runs** on — the first run records a baseline, every later run reports the delta.
3. Run it, then download as **CSV, Excel, JSON, JSONL or XML**, or read it from the API.
4. Schedule it weekly or monthly and the roster keeps itself current.

#### Input example

```json
{
  "usernames": ["mkbhd", "dave2d", "unboxtherapy"],
  "trackChanges": true,
  "onlyChanged": false,
  "concurrency": 8
}
```

| Option | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `usernames` | array | **Required.** Handles or profile URLs, one per line. |
| `trackChanges` | boolean | Compare against the previous run and add the delta fields. Default on. |
| `onlyChanged` | boolean | Return only creators whose follower count moved. Default off. |
| `snapshotStore` | string | Named store holding the previous counts. Default `creator-snapshots`. |
| `concurrency` | integer | Creators refreshed at once, 1–15. Default 8. |

### Pricing

| Event | Price |
|---|---|
| `profile-refreshed` | **$17.90 per 1,000 creators** ($0.0179 per creator) |

You are billed per creator row delivered. Private, deleted or unreadable handles return an error row and cost **nothing**. With **Only return creators whose followers moved** switched on, you are billed only for the creators that actually changed.

### Use cases

#### Keep an agency roster current without manual checks

A few hundred creators refresh in under a minute. Schedule it weekly and every follower count in your sheet, CRM or media kit stays accurate on its own.

#### Track creator growth before and after a campaign

Run it the day before a campaign starts and the week after. `followers_change` and `posts_change` give you the growth the partnership produced, per creator, without a separate analytics tool.

#### Alert on sudden follower drops

Turn on **Only return creators whose followers moved** and schedule it daily. A large negative `followers_change` is an early sign of a purge of fake followers or a reputation problem on an account you are paying.

#### Re-score a database you already own

Follower counts decide tier and price. Refreshing the whole database quarterly keeps your rate cards and tier buckets honest.

#### Verify media-kit numbers during negotiation

Creators quote their best month. One run gives you the current count, the posting cadence and whether the account is verified or business — before you sign.

### Good to know

- Each creator costs **one upstream request**, which is why this is the cheapest way to keep a large roster current.
- The comparison lives in a named key-value store, so it survives across runs, schedules and actor rebuilds. Use separate store names to track separate rosters independently.
- The first run on a new roster reports `is_first_check: true` and no deltas — it is establishing the baseline.
- Private accounts still return followers, following and post counts; their posts are what stays hidden.
- Follower counts come from Instagram as displayed, so very large accounts are rounded the same way Instagram rounds them.

### Frequently asked questions

#### How do I update follower counts for a list of Instagram usernames?

Paste the list into **Instagram creators** and run it. One row comes back per handle with the current counts, and from the second run onwards each row also carries the change since last time.

#### Do I need an Instagram login, cookies or an API key?

No. Requests run through hosted infrastructure on our side — nothing to configure, and your own account is never used.

#### How does it know what changed?

Each run stores the follower and post counts per creator in a named key-value store, then compares the next run against it. Nothing is kept outside your own Apify account.

#### Can I track several rosters separately?

Yes. Give each roster its own **Snapshot store name** and their histories stay independent.

#### Does it work for private accounts?

Yes for the counts. Followers, following and post totals are public even on private accounts; only the posts themselves are hidden.

#### Can I get only the creators whose followers changed?

Turn on **Only return creators whose followers moved**. Unchanged creators are skipped and not billed, which makes daily monitoring cheap.

#### How fast is it for a large roster?

About one second per creator at the default concurrency, and it runs them in parallel — a 1,000-creator roster finishes in a couple of minutes.

#### What does it cost to refresh 1,000 creators?

$17.90, billed per creator delivered. Unreadable handles cost nothing.

#### Can I run it automatically every week?

Yes. Use Apify schedules, the API, the MCP server, or Make, Zapier and n8n.

### Related actors

- [Instagram Engagement Rate Calculator](https://apify.com/zaver.api/instagram-engagement-rate-calculator) — engagement rate, average views and tier benchmarks per creator
- [Instagram Profile Scraper](https://apify.com/zaver.api/instagram-profile-scraper) — full profile detail in bulk
- [Instagram Similar Profiles Finder](https://apify.com/zaver.api/instagram-similar-profiles-finder) — find creators like the ones you already work with
- [Instagram Email Scraper](https://apify.com/zaver.api/instagram-email-contact-extractor) — contact details for outreach
- [Instagram Followers Scraper](https://apify.com/zaver.api/instagram-followers-scraper) — export a creator's follower list

***

*Not affiliated with or endorsed by Instagram or Meta. Returns publicly available data.*

# Actor input Schema

## `usernames` (type: `array`):

Handles or profile URLs to refresh, one per line - e.g. <code>mkbhd</code> or <code>https://www.instagram.com/mkbhd/</code>. One request per creator, so a 1,000-name roster refreshes in a couple of minutes.

## `trackChanges` (type: `boolean`):

Compare each creator against the previous run and add follower change, percentage change, post change and days since the last check. Turn off to get plain current counts.

## `onlyChanged` (type: `boolean`):

Skip creators whose follower count is identical to the previous run. Useful for alerting. First-time creators are always returned. You are billed only for rows delivered.

## `snapshotStore` (type: `string`):

Named key-value store that holds the previous counts. Keep the default unless you want separate rosters tracked independently.

## `concurrency` (type: `integer`):

How many creators to refresh at once. Raise it for long rosters; lower it if the data provider starts rate-limiting.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "usernames": [
    "mkbhd",
    "dave2d",
    "unboxtherapy"
  ],
  "trackChanges": true,
  "onlyChanged": false,
  "snapshotStore": "creator-snapshots",
  "concurrency": 8
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `profiles` (type: `string`):

One dataset item per creator: current followers, following and posts, with the change since the previous run.

## `profilesCsv` (type: `string`):

The same rows as a CSV download, ready to refresh a roster sheet or CRM.

## `runSummary` (type: `string`):

Profiles refreshed, errors and upstream requests for this run.

# 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 = {
    "usernames": [
        "mkbhd",
        "dave2d",
        "unboxtherapy"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("zaver.api/instagram-creator-profile-refresher").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 = { "usernames": [
        "mkbhd",
        "dave2d",
        "unboxtherapy",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("zaver.api/instagram-creator-profile-refresher").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 '{
  "usernames": [
    "mkbhd",
    "dave2d",
    "unboxtherapy"
  ]
}' |
apify call zaver.api/instagram-creator-profile-refresher --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,zaver.api/instagram-creator-profile-refresher"
        }
    }
}
```

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/wK3cJlFNz1q4umbVp/builds/C9CHY6OpfNE59vvw1/openapi.json