# How to Scrape Instagram Data in 2026

To scrape Instagram data in 2026, give a hosted scraper such as apidojo's Instagram Scraper on Apify profile, hashtag, location, audio, reels or search URLs, or plain keywords, and it returns public posts with captions, likes, comments, dates, locations and author profiles.

[![apidojo](/blog/authors/apidojo.png)**Apidojo** *15+ years of experience in data retrieval.*](/blog/authors/apidojo/)

**16 October 2026** Published

**4 min** Read

![Cover card reading 'How to Scrape Instagram Data in 2026'](/blog/covers/how-to-scrape-instagram.png)

**To scrape Instagram data in 2026, give a hosted scraper such as apidojo’s [Instagram Scraper](https://apify.com/apidojo/instagram-scraper) on Apify profile, hashtag, location, audio, reels or search URLs, or plain keywords, and it returns public posts with captions, likes, comments, dates, locations and author profiles.** It costs $0.50 per 1,000 posts and needs no Instagram login or proxies.

The official route, the Instagram Graph API, only works for Business and Creator accounts and doesn’t cover general public data such as follower lists. This pillar compares the routes, maps each data type to an apidojo actor, and covers limits and the legal side. The official API is covered in [Instagram API in 2026](/blog/instagram-api/instagram-api-guide/).

## What Instagram Data Can You Scrape?

**You can scrape public Instagram data: posts and reels, profiles, followers and following lists, comments, hashtags and locations.** Private accounts’ content can’t be collected. The table maps each data type to its apidojo actor, with prices from each actor’s listing on Apify.

| Data | apidojo actor | Price |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Posts and reels by profile, hashtag, location, audio, tagged posts or keyword | Instagram Scraper | $0.50 per 1,000 posts |
| The same, with per-query pricing and single posts or stories | Instagram Scraper API | From $0.005 per query plus $0.0005 per post |
| Hashtag posts and reels | Instagram Hashtag Scraper | $0.016 per hashtag, first 60 posts included, then $0.0004 per post |
| Location posts | Instagram Location Scraper | $0.50 per 1,000 posts |
| Profiles, followers, following, public business emails | Instagram User Scraper | $0.01 per profile, or $0.02 per keyword search with 40 profiles included, then $0.0005 per user |
| Comments | Instagram Comments Scraper, Instagram Comments Scraper API | $0.50 per 1,000 comments; or $0.0075 per post with 15 comments included |

## What Are the Ways to Scrape Instagram?

**There are 3 ways to collect Instagram data: the official Graph API, a scraper you build yourself, or a hosted scraper.** The table compares them.

| Route | Covers | Cost | Upkeep |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Instagram Graph API | Your own Business or Creator account, plus limited lookups of other business accounts | No per-call fee; App Review and rate limits | Low, after approval |
| Build your own | Any public page | Servers, proxies, engineering time | High, as Instagram changes often |
| Hosted scraper (apidojo on Apify) | Any public profile, hashtag, location, audio and keyword | From $0.50 per 1,000 posts | None for you |

## How Do You Scrape Instagram With apidojo?

**Choose the actor for your data, fill in its input, and run it from the Apify console or the API.** Listed below are the 5 steps for posts.

1.  **Open** Instagram Scraper on Apify.
2.  **Add** profile, hashtag, location, audio, reels, tagged or search URLs to `startUrls`, or words to `keywords`.
3.  **Set** `maxItems`, and `until` to keep only posts newer than a date.
4.  **Run** the actor.
5.  **Download** the dataset as JSON, CSV or Excel.

The same run from Python, in the input format the actor takes (Apify):

```
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("apidojo/instagram-scraper").call(run_input={
    "startUrls": ["https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/marketing/"],
    "maxItems": 500,
})

for post in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(post["createdAt"], post["owner"]["username"], post.get("likeCount"), post["url"])
```

The full workflow is in [how to collect Instagram data with Python](/blog/instagram-scraping/instagram-python/).

## What Limits Apply?

**apidojo’s Instagram actors set minimums and usage rules.** Listed below are the 5 that matter most (Apify, Apify).

1.  **At least 10 posts per query or profile** on the Instagram Scraper, and at least 10 posts per location on the Location Scraper.
2.  **Don’t set a very near `until` date**, which causes inefficient runs and can trigger the rate limiter.
3.  **Don’t use `customMapFunction` to filter results**; it’s for reshaping items, and filtering risks a ban.
4.  **Verified accounts return only their first 50 followers** on the User Scraper, an Instagram limit.
5.  **Free plan demo mode**: 5 runs a month, each capped at 10 items.

More detail is in [Instagram scraping limits](/blog/instagram-scraping/limits/).

## Instagram Scraping Guides by Task

**Each data type has its own guide.** Listed below are the guides in this series.

-   [How to scrape Instagram profiles and posts](/blog/instagram-scraping/scrape-profiles/)
-   [How to scrape Instagram posts by hashtag or keyword](/blog/instagram-scraping/scrape-hashtags/)
-   [How to scrape Instagram comments](/blog/instagram-scraping/scrape-comments/)
-   [How to scrape Instagram followers and following lists](/blog/instagram-scraping/scrape-followers/)
-   [How to scrape Instagram location data](/blog/instagram-scraping/scrape-locations/)
-   [How to scrape Instagram reels and audio](/blog/instagram-scraping/scrape-reels-audio/)
-   [How to collect Instagram data with Python](/blog/instagram-scraping/instagram-python/)

Use cases start at [how to monitor Instagram hashtags and brand mentions](/blog/instagram-scraping/monitor-hashtags/). The same approach for other networks is in [how to scrape TikTok data in 2026](/blog/tiktok-scraping/how-to-scrape-tiktok/) and [how to scrape Twitter data in 2026](/blog/twitter-scraping/how-to-scrape-twitter/).

## Is Scraping Instagram Legal?

**Collecting public Instagram data is a legal question that depends on where you are, what you collect and how you use it, so check Instagram’s terms and the data protection law that applies to you.** Profiles, comments and follower lists contain personal data covered by laws such as the GDPR. Collect only what you need, never try to access private accounts, and don’t republish people’s photos or videos without permission.

## The scrapers behind this

-   [Instagram Scraper Posts and reels from profiles, hashtags, locations and audio URLs; 100–200 posts/sec $0.50 / 1K posts](/scrapers/instagram-scraper/)
-   [Instagram Hashtag Scraper Top posts and reels for any hashtag; 60 items free per hashtag $0.016 / hashtag + $0.40 / 1K](/scrapers/instagram-hashtag-scraper/)
-   [Instagram Location Scraper Posts from any Instagram location page; 100–200 posts/sec $0.50 / 1K posts](/scrapers/instagram-location-scraper/)
-   [Instagram Profile Scraper Profiles, followers, following and public emails; 40 profiles free per search $0.01 / profile + $0.50 / 1K](/scrapers/instagram-user-scraper/)
-   [Instagram Comments Scraper API Comments and replies with user data; 15 comments free per post $0.0075 / post + $0.50 / 1K](/scrapers/instagram-comments-scraper-api/)

## Questions people ask

### Do you need an Instagram account to scrape Instagram?

No, apidojo's Instagram actors read public data without a login; you need an Apify account.

### How much does it cost to scrape 100,000 Instagram posts?

About $50 with the Instagram Scraper, at $0.50 per 1,000 posts.

### Can you scrape private Instagram accounts?

No, private accounts' content isn't public and can't be collected.

### Do you need proxies to scrape Instagram?

No. None of apidojo's Instagram actors needs a proxy.

## More on scraping Instagram data

-   [How to Monitor Instagram Hashtags and Mentions Monitor Instagram hashtags, brand keywords and tagged posts daily with Python, set useful alerts, and see what monitoring costs.](/blog/instagram-scraping/monitor-hashtags/)
-   [How to Scrape Instagram Profiles and Posts Scrape any public Instagram profile's posts and profile details with apidojo's actors, with fields, reels and tagged URLs, and costs.](/blog/instagram-scraping/scrape-profiles/)
-   [How to Scrape Instagram Posts by Hashtag or Keyword Scrape Instagram hashtag posts and reels or keyword searches, compare apidojo's two actors, and see real costs per 1,000 posts.](/blog/instagram-scraping/scrape-hashtags/)
-   [How to Scrape Instagram Comments Scrape comments from any public Instagram post with apidojo's comment actors, with inputs, fields, costs and what to do with the data.](/blog/instagram-scraping/scrape-comments/)
-   [How to Scrape Instagram Followers and Following Export public Instagram follower and following lists, with the inputs, fields, verified-account limit and real costs per user.](/blog/instagram-scraping/scrape-followers/)
-   [How to Scrape Instagram Location Data Scrape posts tagged at Instagram locations with apidojo's actors, with inputs, location fields, costs, uses and limits.](/blog/instagram-scraping/scrape-locations/)
-   [How to Scrape Instagram Reels and Audio Scrape a creator's reels, every reel using a sound, or a hashtag's reels, with play counts, durations, costs and uses.](/blog/instagram-scraping/scrape-reels-audio/)
-   [How to Collect Instagram Data With Python A Python script that collects Instagram posts, comments and author profiles with apidojo's actors, then cleans and saves them.](/blog/instagram-scraping/instagram-python/)
-   [Instagram Scraping Limits: Pagination and Blocks The documented limits of apidojo's Instagram actors, how pagination works, what gets runs blocked, and fixes for missing results.](/blog/instagram-scraping/limits/)
-   [Instagram profiles: search or handle lookup? A keyword search costs $0.02 and brings forty profiles. A handle lookup costs $0.01 and brings one. The right choice depends on what you already know.](/blog/instagram/instagram-keyword-vs-handle/)
-   [Measuring a campaign hashtag inside its own window A hashtag query costs $0.016 and brings sixty items with it. That allowance is per hashtag, which decides how you should slice a campaign.](/blog/instagram/instagram-campaign-hashtag-window/)
-   [What replyCount tells you before you pay Instagram comments are billed per post plus per comment, and reply threads are comments too. The top-level replyCount is your estimate, free.](/blog/instagram/instagram-reply-threads-cost/)

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