Capabilities
Accounts are identified by username, without the @, and posts by the shortcode in the post URL. Lists such as posts and followers return a pagination token in meta, and most tokens expire after 15 minutes.
Users search matches a name or username and returns each account's user ID, username, full name, profile picture, and verified and private flags. Hashtag search returns tags with their post counts, and similar accounts lists the profiles Instagram suggests next to a user. See examples
A username returns the biography, external links, profile pictures, follower, following, and post counts, category, and the verified, private, and business flags. That is usually enough to confirm you have the right account before you pull its posts. See examples
The posts endpoint returns one page of a user's feed, including photos, videos, and carousels, with captions, like and comment counts, and media URLs. To open a single post or reel, pass its shortcode to the post details endpoint. Keyword search also finds posts and reels. See examples
Follower and following lists come back one page at a time, with each account's user ID, username, full name, private flag, and profile picture. Pass the pagination token from the previous response to keep going. See examples
Pass a post's shortcode to get the comments that load with it, each with the text, creation time, like count, reply count, and author. Replies are counted but not returned, and only that first batch is available. The API does not list the accounts that liked a post. See examples
The highlights endpoint lists the story highlights pinned to a profile, with each highlight's title, created and updated times, media count, and cover image. The stories inside a highlight are not included. See examples
Shortened examples
Each sample is a trimmed object from a response body, and a live call also includes a meta object. The counts and captions are examples.
{
"id": "17841405822304914",
"username": "natgeo",
"full_name": "National Geographic",
"profile_picture_url": "https://instagram.fdfw1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t51.2885-19/11826035_167876430151828_1430798092_a.jpg",
"followers_count": 196000000,
"following_count": 0,
"media_count": 10000,
"bio": "Explore the world through the lens of National Geographic photographers.",
"is_verified": true,
"website": "https://www.nationalgeographic.com"
"..."
}
{
"post_id": "2591023561234567890",
"comments": [
{
"id": "17896450831234567",
"username": "john_doe",
"text": "Absolutely stunning view! 😍",
"timestamp": "2025-09-28T12:15:00Z",
"like_count": 45
},
{
"id": "17896450831234568",
"username": "travel_addict",
"text": "Adding this to my bucket list! 🌄",
"timestamp": "2025-09-28T12:30:00Z",
"like_count": 32
}
]
}
{
"id": "2591023561234567890",
"media_type": "IMAGE",
"media_url": "https://instagram.fdfw1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t51.2885-15/11826035_167876430151828_1430798092_n.jpg",
"thumbnail_url": "https://instagram.fdfw1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t51.2885-15/11826035_167876430151828_1430798092_n.jpg",
"caption": "A breathtaking view of the Grand Canyon at sunset.",
"like_count": 150000,
"comments_count": 1200,
"timestamp": "2025-09-28T12:00:00Z"
"..."
}
{
"post_id": "2591023561234567890",
"hashtags": [
"#GrandCanyon",
"#Sunset",
"#TravelPhotography",
"#NatureLovers"
]
}
Look up the account with users search, or go straight to the profile if you already know the username. Posts, followers, and highlights are separate calls on that username. For one post, take the shortcode from its URL and request the post details or its comments.
The Instagram docs cover search, profiles, posts, followers and following, highlights, post details, comments, and related posts. They also explain pagination tokens, how long they last, and the 1 request per second limit.
Every endpoint in the documentation includes a sample request in Shell, JavaScript, PHP, and Python.
Shell
JavaScript
PHP
PythonWhy SteadyAPI
The API reads public accounts and posts. Each call returns one object or one page, and calls are limited to 1 request per second per account.
Pricing
Your plan's monthly requests work on this API and every other SteadyAPI API. Plan details, overage rates, and the Free plan's daily cap are on the pricing page. Need more volume than the largest plan? Email [email protected].
Free $0.00 per month | Starter $14.99 per month | Developer $39.99 per month | Business Popular $89.99 per month | Enterprise $299.99 per month | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | |
| Requests per month | 500 | 10,000 | 50,000 | 250,000 | 2,500,000 |
| Stock Market API | |||||
| Options Data API | |||||
| Crypto Data API | |||||
| AliExpress API | |||||
| Reddit API | |||||
| Booking.com API | |||||
| Real Estate API | |||||
| Baseball (MLB) API | |||||
| Hockey API | |||||
| Football API | |||||
| Amazon API | |||||
| eBay API | |||||
| Walmart API | |||||
| Instagram API | |||||
| Twitter / X API | |||||
| TikTok API | |||||
| YouTube API | |||||
| AutoHub API | |||||
| ScrapeFlow | |||||
| Commercial Use | |||||
| Optional overage rate* | $1.50 per 1,000 requests | $1.05 per 1,000 requests | $0.50 per 1,000 requests | $0.09 per 1,000 requests | |
| Overage cap | up to 50,000 extra | up to 250,000 extra | up to 1,250,000 extra | up to 12,500,000 extra |
Free $0.00 per year | Starter $11.96 per month$143.52 billed yearly | Developer $32.50 per month$389.99 billed yearly | Business Popular $72.50 per month$869.99 billed yearly | Enterprise $320.83 per month$3,849.99 billed yearly | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | |
| Requests per month | 500 | 10,000 | 50,000 | 250,000 | 2,500,000 |
| Stock Market API | |||||
| Options Data API | |||||
| Crypto Data API | |||||
| AliExpress API | |||||
| Reddit API | |||||
| Booking.com API | |||||
| Real Estate API | |||||
| Baseball (MLB) API | |||||
| Hockey API | |||||
| Football API | |||||
| Amazon API | |||||
| eBay API | |||||
| Walmart API | |||||
| Instagram API | |||||
| Twitter / X API | |||||
| TikTok API | |||||
| YouTube API | |||||
| AutoHub API | |||||
| ScrapeFlow | |||||
| Commercial Use | |||||
| Optional overage rate* | $1.50 per 1,000 requests | $1.05 per 1,000 requests | $0.50 per 1,000 requests | $0.09 per 1,000 requests | |
| Overage cap | up to 50,000 extra | up to 250,000 extra | up to 1,250,000 extra | up to 12,500,000 extra |
* Overage is optional and stays off until you turn it on in Billing. It is available on paid plans billed by card through Stripe, and not during a trial. Usage is counted in monthly periods that start on your billing day, yearly plans included. Requests past the included limit are charged at the plan's rate for each started block of 1,000, up to the overage cap, on one invoice after the period ends. Amounts under $0.50 carry over to the next invoice. If you change plans during a period, the limit and overage rate of the plan you are on when the period ends apply to the whole period.
The Free plan is also capped at 20 requests per day (New York time). Requests count by endpoint weight, and only responses with HTTP status 200 count.
Commercial use is included only on the plans that list it. If you are not sure whether your project counts as commercial use, email [email protected] before you launch.
Also on the blog
These posts come from across SteadyAPI, so the one at the top may be about a different API. The reference for this page is the documentation above.
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