# How to Scrape Instagram Followers and Following Lists

To scrape an Instagram account's followers, give apidojo's Instagram User Scraper on Apify the account's handle, set getFollowers to true, turn getFollowings off if you don't need it, and cap the list with maxItems.

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**16 October 2026** Published

**3 min** Read

![Cover card reading 'How to Scrape Instagram Followers and Following'](/blog/covers/instagram-scrape-followers.png)

**To scrape an Instagram account’s followers, give apidojo’s [Instagram User Scraper](https://apify.com/apidojo/instagram-user-scraper) on Apify the account’s handle, set `getFollowers` to `true`, turn `getFollowings` off if you don’t need it, and cap the list with `maxItems`.** Each follower comes back with their username, full name, profile picture, privacy status and verification. It costs $0.01 per profile plus $0.0005 per user returned. Every other collection task is mapped in [how to scrape Instagram data](/blog/instagram-scraping/how-to-scrape-instagram/).

Instagram’s official API returns follower counts, not follower lists, so this is the only practical route for audience research on public accounts. This guide covers inputs, outputs, limits and costs. The full overview is in [how to scrape Instagram data in 2026](/blog/instagram-scraping/how-to-scrape-instagram/). Each follower can be expanded with [how to scrape Instagram profiles and posts](/blog/instagram-scraping/scrape-profiles/), and long lists are paced by [Instagram scraping limits](/blog/instagram-scraping/limits/).

## How Do You Scrape Instagram Followers?

**Add the account by handle, URL or user ID, choose which lists you want, and set a cap.** Both list options are on by default, so switch off the one you don’t need to avoid paying for it (Apify).

```
{
  "handles": ["nike"],
  "getFollowers": true,
  "getFollowings": false,
  "maxItems": 5000
}
```

`maxItems` counts every user returned, including the profile itself, so the example returns the profile and up to 4,999 followers.

## What Data Does Each Follower Contain?

**Each follower or following record is a short profile.** The fields below come from the User Scraper’s follower output example (Apify).

| Field | Contains |
| --- | --- |
| id | The follower’s Instagram user ID |
| username, fullName | Handle and display name |
| profilePicUrl | Profile picture link |
| isPrivate, isVerified | Privacy and verification status |
| related | The profile URL of the account whose list it came from |

For deeper data on interesting followers, such as follower counts, bios and business categories, run their handles back through the User Scraper with both list options off.

## What Limits Apply to Instagram Follower Scraping?

**The User Scraper has 3 limits.** Listed below are the limits (Apify).

1.  **Verified accounts return at most their first 50 followers**, an Instagram limit, even with a higher `maxItems`. Non-verified accounts aren’t affected.
2.  **Private accounts’ lists can’t be collected**, because the actor doesn’t log in.
3.  **Free plan demo mode** is 5 runs a month, 10 items each.

## What Does Scraping Instagram Followers Cost?

**Each profile costs $0.01, and each follower or following returned costs $0.0005.** Worked examples are shown below (Apify).

| Job | Cost |
| --- | --- |
| 1 profile and 50 followers | $0.036 |
| 1 profile, 100 followers and 100 following | $0.111 |
| 1 profile and 9,999 followers | $5.01 |
| 50 profiles and 500 followers each | $13.00 |

## What Can You Do With Follower Data?

**Follower lists help with audience research, influencer vetting and growth tracking.** Listed below are the 4 common uses.

-   **Spot fake followers**: many private, empty or default-named accounts suggest a bought audience; see [how to vet Instagram influencers with data](/blog/instagram-scraping/vet-influencers/).
-   **Map audience overlap** between two creators or brands.
-   **Track who unfollows** by comparing exports; see [how to see who unfollowed you on Instagram](/blog/instagram-followers/who-unfollowed-you/).
-   **Find creators** a respected account follows in your niche.

Follower lists are personal data about real people, so collect only what you need and follow Instagram’s terms and laws such as the GDPR. TikTok follower lists are covered in [how to scrape TikTok followers and following lists](/blog/tiktok-scraping/scrape-followers/).

## The scrapers behind this

-   [Instagram Profile Scraper Profiles, followers, following and public emails; 40 profiles free per search $0.01 / profile + $0.50 / 1K](/scrapers/instagram-user-scraper/)

## Questions people ask

### Can you export your own Instagram followers?

Yes, your data download includes your followers and following lists; see [how to download your Instagram data](/blog/instagram-data/download-your-data/).

### Why do I only get 50 followers?

The account is verified, and Instagram limits verified accounts' follower lists to the first 50.

### Can you see when someone followed an account?

No, follower records don't include follow dates.

### Does the official API return follower lists?

No, only counts; see [Instagram API in 2026](/blog/instagram-api/instagram-api-guide/).

## More on scraping Instagram data

-   [How to Scrape Instagram Data in 2026 What Instagram data you can scrape, the 3 ways to collect it, which apidojo actor fits each task, limits, costs and Python code.](/blog/instagram-scraping/how-to-scrape-instagram/)
-   [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 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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