📸Instagram scraper

Instagram Scraper API for Developers

Profiles, posts, reels, comments, story highlights, and transcripts from one API. No Meta app review. No Business account requirement. No Facebook Login.

The Instagram Graph API only works for Business and Creator accounts that authorize your app via Facebook Login. The Basic Display API was deprecated in December 2024 with no replacement for public data. Meta's official path to Instagram data is gated behind app review that frequently rejects commercial use cases. CreatorCrawl reads any public Instagram profile, post, reel, or comment without OAuth, without Business account requirements, and without weeks of waiting.

What you get

  • Any public profile, not just Business accounts

    The Graph API only returns data for accounts that have authorized your app. CreatorCrawl reads any public Instagram profile by handle, including personal creator accounts.

  • No app review, no OAuth

    Skip the Meta app review process that takes weeks and rejects most commercial use cases. Sign up, get a key, ship today.

  • Profiles, posts, reels, comments, stories, transcripts

    Ten endpoints covering everything publicly visible on Instagram. Includes story highlights, reel transcripts, and basic profile data the Graph API does not expose for non-Business accounts.

  • Native MCP for AI agents

    Every Instagram endpoint is exposed as an MCP tool. Your Claude or Cursor agent reads Instagram profiles and reels in natural language.

Code example

Pass your API key in the x-api-key header. Get structured JSON back.

# Get an Instagram profile
curl "https://creatorcrawl.com/api/instagram/profile?handle=natgeo" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"

# Get a profile's posts
curl "https://creatorcrawl.com/api/instagram/user/posts?handle=natgeo" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"

# Get comments on a post
curl "https://creatorcrawl.com/api/instagram/post/comments?url=https://www.instagram.com/p/ABC123/" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"

How it works

1

Sign up for 250 free credits

No credit card required, no Facebook app review, no OAuth flow. Your API key is generated instantly.

2

Pass an Instagram handle or URL

Pass a handle (e.g. "natgeo") or a post URL. Get back structured JSON in 2 seconds with profile data, post metadata, or comment threads.

3

Build at scale

No rate limits. Process thousands of Instagram profiles or posts per hour with concurrent requests. Credits never expire.

4

Connect to your AI agent via MCP

Add CreatorCrawl as an MCP server in Claude Desktop or Cursor and let your agent read Instagram in natural language.

Endpoints

Every endpoint below is part of the CreatorCrawl Instagram API and is also exposed as a native MCP tool.

GETProfile/instagram/profile
GETPosts/instagram/user/posts
GETReels/instagram/user/reels
GETPost/instagram/post
GETComments/instagram/post/comments
GETStory Highlights/instagram/user/highlights
GETHighlight Details/instagram/user/highlight/detail
GETTranscript/instagram/media/transcript

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from the Instagram Graph API?

The Graph API only works for Business and Creator accounts that have authorized your app via Facebook Login. CreatorCrawl reads any public Instagram profile by handle, without OAuth, app review, or account authorization.

What about the Instagram Basic Display API?

It was deprecated in December 2024 with no replacement for accessing public profile data. CreatorCrawl is the actively-maintained way to read public Instagram data via API.

Can I get Instagram reel transcripts?

Yes. CreatorCrawl returns plain-text transcripts for any Instagram reel with captions. This is not available in any official Meta API.

Can I read private accounts?

No. CreatorCrawl only exposes publicly available data, the same data anyone can see by viewing the profile in a logged-out browser.

How fast is the API?

Average profile fetch returns in 2 to 3 seconds. There are no rate limits, so you can run hundreds of concurrent requests.

Is scraping Instagram legal?

Reading publicly available data is generally considered legal under precedents like hiQ Labs v. LinkedIn (2022). Specifics depend on jurisdiction. Review Instagram Terms of Service and GDPR/CCPA against your downstream use before going live.

Explore more scrapers

Takes 60 seconds

Your agents are one config file away from six platforms.

250 free API calls. No card. Add the MCP server to Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, or Zed, or hit the REST API from any language.