Instagram Scraping Limits: Pagination, Rate Limits and Blocks

apidojo’s Instagram actors handle pagination and need no proxies or login, but each sets usage rules: at least 10 posts per query or profile, at least 10 comments per post, no filtering with customMapFunction, no very near until dates, and demo mode capped at 5 runs of 10 items a month on Apify’s free plan. Instagram itself adds limits, such as verified accounts showing only their first 50 followers.

Breaking an actor’s rules can trigger its rate limiter, so it pays to design runs around them. This guide collects every documented limit and the fixes for runs that return too little. The actor overview is in how to scrape Instagram data in 2026. The limits matter most on long lists, such as scraping Instagram followers and following. TikTok’s paging rules are in TikTok scraping limits.

What Limits Do apidojo’s Instagram Actors Set?

Each actor sets its own minimums and rules. The table collects them.

Actor	Rules
Instagram Scraper	At least 10 posts per query or profile; no very near until; keywords can return fewer than maxItems
Instagram Hashtag Scraper	until is most reliable with posts only; the hashtag must exist and have public content
Instagram Location Scraper	Location needs at least 10 posts; set maxItems above 10
Instagram Comments Scraper	At least 10 comments per post; post URLs or IDs only
Instagram User Scraper	Verified accounts return at most 50 followers; private accounts unsupported; follower and following options are on by default
All of them	Free plan: 5 runs a month, 10 items each; customMapFunction must not filter

How Does Pagination Work?

The actors page through results for you; you control volume with maxItems. Leaving maxItems empty means no set limit. On the Instagram Scraper, maxItems and the run’s “Maximum charged results” setting together control the total, so check both when a run stops early (Apify).

Why Does an Instagram Scrape Return Fewer Results?

Fewer results usually come from a low cap, a narrow input, or content that’s private, deleted or hidden. Listed below are the 6 checks.

1. Raise maxItems and the maximum charged results.
2. Widen the date: a recent until excludes older posts.
3. Broaden keywords, which stop when results stop surfacing new posts.
4. Confirm the account or hashtag is public and exists.
5. Check for verified accounts in follower runs, capped at 50 followers.
6. Open the Storage tab for the full dataset, not the console preview.

What Gets a Run Blocked?

Runs get rate-limited or blocked when they break an actor’s usage rules. Listed below are the 4 to avoid (Apify).

• Fetching fewer than 10 posts per query or profile, or scraping posts with very few comments.
• Setting a very near until to limit results artificially.
• Filtering with customMapFunction, treated as abuse of pay-per-result pricing; filtered items are replaced with { noResults: true } and you risk a ban.
• Using date logic such as new Date or Date.now in customMapFunction, which is rejected; use until instead.

How Do You Run Large Jobs Safely?

Split very large jobs into smaller runs, and filter after the run in your own code. If the log shows “Logging is too fast, some lines were skipped”, scrape smaller amounts per run (Apify). Python workflows are covered in how to collect Instagram data with Python.

What Limits Does the Official API Have?

Meta’s Instagram API limits Hashtag Search to 30 unique hashtags per account in a rolling 7 days, and only covers professional accounts that authorise your app. The details are in Instagram Graph API limits.