# How to Find Trending Hashtags on Instagram

Instagram doesn't publish a list of trending hashtags, so you find them by searching a topic, opening the Tags results to compare how many posts each hashtag has, and checking whether its newest posts are recent and getting engagement.

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

**16 October 2026** Published

**3 min** Read

![Cover card reading 'How to Find Trending Hashtags on Instagram (5 Max)'](/blog/covers/trending-hashtags.png)

**Instagram doesn’t publish a list of trending hashtags, so you find them by searching a topic, opening the Tags results to compare how many posts each hashtag has, and checking whether its newest posts are recent and getting engagement.** Since December 2025 you can use at most 5 hashtags per post or reel, so picking the right ones matters more than adding many.

A hashtag is trending when a lot of new posts use it in a short time, not just when it has a huge total. This hub covers how to spot that, how many tags to use, and links to guides on searching hashtags and trending audio. Every other Instagram guide starts from [how to search on Instagram](/blog/instagram-search/how-to-search-on-instagram/).

## How Many Hashtags Can You Use on Instagram?

**You can use up to 5 hashtags on a post or reel.** Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri announced the cap in December 2025, saying a few specific tags perform better than a long list of generic ones, and that hashtags help with search but don’t necessarily increase reach ([Digital Trends](https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/instagram-now-limits-you-to-five-hashtags-per-post/)). Guides recommending 20 or 30 hashtags predate the change.

## How Do You Find Trending Hashtags on Instagram?

**Search your topic, compare the hashtags in the Tags results, and open each one to see how fresh its posts are.** Listed below are the 5 steps.

1.  **Tap** the magnifying glass and type your topic.
2.  **Open** the **Tags** results to see related hashtags and their post counts.
3.  **Open** a hashtag and look at its newest posts.
4.  **Check** how recent they are and how much engagement they get.
5.  **Repeat** for related tags and shortlist the ones that are active and specific.

## How Do You Tell If a Hashtag Is Trending?

**A hashtag is trending when many new posts use it each day and those posts get engagement; a huge total post count alone only shows it’s popular, not rising.** The table shows how to read what you see.

| Signal | Trending tag | Established or crowded tag |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Newest posts | Minutes or hours old | Days old |
| Total posts | Often modest, growing fast | Very large, growing slowly |
| Engagement on new posts | Strong | Mixed |
| Topic | Tied to a moment, event or format | Generic, such as #love |

## Which Hashtags Should You Use?

**With only 5 slots, use specific hashtags that describe the post, rather than the biggest tags.** A useful mix is one or two niche tags, one for the content format, one for your community or location, and a trending tag only when it truly fits. Searching several tags together is covered in [how to search multiple hashtags on Instagram](/blog/instagram-trends/search-multiple-hashtags/).

## What Else Trends on Instagram?

**Audio trends move faster than hashtags on Instagram, especially on reels.** The Audio tab in search shows how many reels use a sound, and a rising count is the clearest trend signal Instagram gives you. The full method is in [how to find trending audio on Instagram](/blog/instagram-trends/trending-audio/).

## How to Measure Hashtag Trends With apidojo

**To see whether a hashtag is actually rising, count its new posts per day; apidojo’s [Instagram Hashtag Scraper](https://apify.com/apidojo/instagram-hashtag-scraper) on Apify collects a hashtag’s posts and reels with their dates, likes, comments and `hashtags` list, and its `until` input limits results to posts created on or after a date.** The `until` filter works most reliably with posts only (Apify).

```
{
  "keyword": "marathontraining",
  "getPosts": true,
  "getReels": false,
  "until": "2026-10-01",
  "maxItems": 1000
}
```

Each hashtag query costs $0.016 and includes the first 60 posts, then $0.0004 per post, so 1,000 posts from one hashtag cost about $0.39. Checking hashtags on a schedule is covered in [how to monitor Instagram hashtags and brand mentions](/blog/instagram-scraping/monitor-hashtags/).

## The scrapers behind this

-   [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/)

## Questions people ask

### Does Instagram have a trending hashtags page?

No, there's no official trending hashtags list; search and compare tags instead.

### Do hashtags still help on Instagram?

They help people and Instagram understand what a post is about, and help with search; Instagram's head says they don't necessarily increase reach.

### What happens if you add more than 5 hashtags?

Instagram's cap is 5 per post or reel, so trim your list to the 5 that fit best.

### Should hashtags go in the caption or a comment?

In the caption, where the 5-hashtag cap applies and the tags describe the post.

## More on Instagram trends

-   [How to Search Multiple Hashtags on Instagram Instagram can't combine hashtags in search. Workarounds in the app, and a data method that finds posts using all your tags.](/blog/instagram-trends/search-multiple-hashtags/)
-   [How to Find Trending Audio on Instagram Spot trending Instagram audio in Reels, the music browser and the Professional dashboard, judge momentum, and know business account limits.](/blog/instagram-trends/trending-audio/)

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