Instagram API alternative: Social Fetch vs the Instagram Graph API
Meta's Instagram API, still widely called the Graph API, is built for professional accounts you own or manage: publishing, comments, messages and insights. It can't read personal accounts, and its only window onto other accounts, Business Discovery, covers professional accounts alone. The Basic Display API stopped working on December 4, 2024. Social Fetch reads public profiles, posts, reels and comments from any public account, plus hashtag search, with no Meta app or review. It can't publish or see private insights.
No credit card required.
- Whose data
- Any public account, personal or professionalProfessional accounts you own or manage; other professional accounts via Business Discovery
- Getting access
- Sign up, get 100 free credits (no card), call with one keyMeta app and professional account; App Review and Business Verification to serve accounts you don't own
- Price
- 1 credit per profile: about $0.00165 on the Scale pack, $0.014 on StarterNo published per-call fee
Teams running monitoring, research, and enrichment pipelines
Why teams switch from Instagram API.
What changes when your social lookups move to one REST API.
One API for 23 platforms
TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, X and more behind one key and one schema — no separate Instagram API setup per network.
Pricing you can reason about
One completed lookup, one price. Failed lookups aren't billed, so you know how far a balance goes.
JSON in the same request
Fetched live when you ask and returned in the response — ~3.2s on average, no job to poll.
No scraper maintenance
We handle proxies, browser changes, and platform breakages.
Built for production jobs
Run concurrent workloads with explicit statuses and request IDs.
Pay as you go, or save monthly
Start with 100 free credits and no subscription. Pay-as-you-go credits never expire; running lookups every month? A monthly plan gets you lower per-credit rates.
What teams build with Social Fetch
Monitoring, enrichment, research and content workflows — the jobs teams run on Instagram API, as plain API calls.
What does Instagram data cost on each?
Meta doesn't publish a per-call fee for its Instagram API. What it costs you is setup, App Review, rate limits, and the accounts it won't return. Social Fetch bills per completed request: 1 credit for a profile, posts or reels page, or comments page, 5 for the engagement summary, and more only if you ask it to host media files.
Single public profile lookup
- Social Fetch
- ~$0.00165
- Instagram API
- No per-call fee, but professional accounts only, via Business Discovery
Personal (non-professional) public account
- Social Fetch
- 1 credit, same as any public profile
- Instagram API
- Not available: Business Discovery returns professional accounts only
1,000 profile lookups
- Social Fetch
- ~$1.65 at the Scale pack rate; $14 if you buy the Starter pack
- Instagram API
- No per-call fee, within platform rate limits (200 calls an hour per app user)
75k profile lookups a month
- Social Fetch
- ~$124 at the Scale pack rate
- Instagram API
- No per-call fee, but only professional accounts and within platform rate limits
Hashtag research
- Social Fetch
- 1 credit per results page
- Instagram API
- No per-call fee; 30 unique hashtags per account per rolling 7 days, after App Review
Insights for your own accounts
- Social Fetch
- Not available
- Instagram API
- Included
Before your first request
- Social Fetch
- Sign up and copy an API key
- Instagram API
- Meta app, professional account (plus a Facebook Page for Facebook Login); App Review for accounts you don't manage
| Scenario | Social Fetch | Instagram API |
|---|---|---|
| Single public profile lookup | ~$0.00165 | No per-call fee, but professional accounts only, via Business Discovery |
| Personal (non-professional) public account | 1 credit, same as any public profile | Not available: Business Discovery returns professional accounts only |
| 1,000 profile lookups | ~$1.65 at the Scale pack rate; $14 if you buy the Starter pack | No per-call fee, within platform rate limits (200 calls an hour per app user) |
| 75k profile lookups a month | ~$124 at the Scale pack rate | No per-call fee, but only professional accounts and within platform rate limits |
| Hashtag research | 1 credit per results page | No per-call fee; 30 unique hashtags per account per rolling 7 days, after App Review |
| Insights for your own accounts | Not available | Included |
| Before your first request | Sign up and copy an API key | Meta app, professional account (plus a Facebook Page for Facebook Login); App Review for accounts you don't manage |
Instagram figures from Meta's Instagram Platform overview, Business Discovery, hashtag search and rate limiting docs, and the Basic Display API sunset notice (September 2024), all checked September 2026. Meta publishes no per-call price for the Instagram API. Platform rate limits are 200 calls an hour multiplied by the app's daily active users. Social Fetch figures use the Scale pack rate ($379 for 230,000 credits, about $1.65 per 1,000; September 2026) unless noted; Starter is $14 for 1,000. Credit costs per route from the API reference; lookup_failed and 503 temporarily_unavailable are not billed.
Social data, priced simply.
Start with 100 free credits. Monthly plans give you predictable volume and lower per-request rates.
Starter
15,000credits
$1.93 / 1k requests
- Fits a daily monitor or a weekly research sprint
- Up to 25 active monitors
Growth
50,000credits
$1.58 / 1k requests
- Sized for everyday production pipelines
- Up to 100 active monitors
Scale
150,000credits
$1.50 / 1k requests
- For heavy workloads that run all month
- Up to 250 active monitors and priority support
Need 1M+ credits, invoicing, or volume rates? Talk to us
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Social Fetch vs Instagram API, side by side.
How each product expects you to integrate, what you're billed for, and which capabilities come as standard.
Whose data
- Social Fetch
- Any public account, personal or professional
- Instagram API
- Professional accounts you own or manage; other professional accounts via Business Discovery
Getting access
- Social Fetch
- Sign up, get 100 free credits (no card), call with one key
- Instagram API
- Meta app and professional account; App Review and Business Verification to serve accounts you don't own
Price
- Social Fetch
- 1 credit per profile: about $0.00165 on the Scale pack, $0.014 on Starter
- Instagram API
- No published per-call fee
Rate limits
- Social Fetch
- No published per-minute cap on paid routes
- Instagram API
- 4,800 × impressions per 24 hours for your accounts; Business Discovery and hashtag search on platform limits
Hashtags
- Social Fetch
/v1/instagram/search/hashtags, 1 credit per page- Instagram API
- 30 unique hashtags per account per rolling 7 days, after App Review
Writes and private data
- Social Fetch
- None: read-only public data
- Instagram API
- Publishing, comment moderation, messaging and insights for your accounts
| Row | Social Fetch | Instagram API |
|---|---|---|
| Whose data | Any public account, personal or professional | Professional accounts you own or manage; other professional accounts via Business Discovery |
| Getting access | Sign up, get 100 free credits (no card), call with one key | Meta app and professional account; App Review and Business Verification to serve accounts you don't own |
| Price | 1 credit per profile: about $0.00165 on the Scale pack, $0.014 on Starter | No published per-call fee |
| Rate limits | No published per-minute cap on paid routes | 4,800 × impressions per 24 hours for your accounts; Business Discovery and hashtag search on platform limits |
| Hashtags | /v1/instagram/search/hashtags, 1 credit per page | 30 unique hashtags per account per rolling 7 days, after App Review |
| Writes and private data | None: read-only public data | Publishing, comment moderation, messaging and insights for your accounts |
Public profile and post data for accounts you don't manage
- Social Fetch
- Instagram API
Personal (non-professional) accounts
- Social Fetch
- Instagram API
Comments on public posts
- Social Fetch
- Instagram API
Hashtag search
- Social Fetch
- Instagram API
Reel transcripts
- Social Fetch
- Instagram API
Publish posts and reels
- Social Fetch
- Instagram API
Moderate comments and answer messages
- Social Fetch
- Instagram API
Insights for accounts you manage
- Social Fetch
- Instagram API
Meta-sanctioned access to your customers' accounts
- Social Fetch
- Instagram API
No Meta app, App Review or Business Verification
- Social Fetch
- Instagram API
Same key and schema for X, TikTok, Reddit, YouTube
- Social Fetch
- Instagram API
| Capability | Social Fetch | Instagram API |
|---|---|---|
| Public profile and post data for accounts you don't manage | ||
| Personal (non-professional) accounts | ||
| Comments on public posts | ||
| Hashtag search | ||
| Reel transcripts | ||
| Publish posts and reels | ||
| Moderate comments and answer messages | ||
| Insights for accounts you manage | ||
| Meta-sanctioned access to your customers' accounts | ||
| No Meta app, App Review or Business Verification | ||
| Same key and schema for X, TikTok, Reddit, YouTube |
Teams building on Social Fetch.
“Our TikTok and Instagram scrapers broke constantly. Social Fetch took us off that rotation — we ship product again.”
“Transcripts at volume from one endpoint. No broken scrapers for our small team to maintain.”
“Live profile data on every request. We never flag accounts from a stale cache.”
“Heavy concurrent load, no rate limits to negotiate. The rare API I haven't wrapped in retries.”
Which one should you pick?
If your situation matches the right-hand card, Instagram API is probably the better buy — and that's fine.
Pick Social Fetch if…
- You read public accounts you don't manage, including personal accounts
- Creator discovery or vetting where the account owner never logs into your app
- Hashtag or comment research beyond 30 hashtags a week
- Instagram is one of several platforms on the same key and schema
- You need reel transcripts or public engagement snapshots
Pick Instagram API if…
- You publish, schedule, moderate comments or answer messages for accounts you manage
- You need insights that are private to the account owner
- Your customers connect their own professional accounts and expect Meta-approved access
- You only need a few professional accounts and Business Discovery's fields are enough
- Procurement requires first-party access under Meta's terms
Social Fetch vs Instagram API: common questions
Migration, billing surprises, and what changes when you add a second platform.
Is the Instagram Basic Display API still available?
No. Meta ended the Instagram Basic Display API on December 4, 2024. It recommended that business use cases move to the Instagram API with Instagram Login or with Facebook Login, both of which only serve professional accounts.
Can the Instagram Graph API read any public account?
No. Business Discovery returns basic data and media for other professional (business or creator) accounts only. Personal accounts and age-gated professional accounts are not returned. Social Fetch's GET /v1/instagram/profiles/{handle} works for any public account.
Do I need Meta App Review for the Instagram API?
For your own accounts, Standard Access is enough. To serve professional accounts you don't own or manage, you need Advanced Access, which requires App Review and Business Verification. Hashtag search also needs review for the Instagram Public Content Access feature.
How much does the Instagram Graph API cost?
Meta publishes no per-call fee. The costs are setup, App Review, rate limits and the accounts it won't return. Social Fetch charges 1 credit per profile lookup: about $0.00165 at the Scale pack rate or $0.014 on the $14 Starter pack, with 100 free credits to start.
What are the Instagram API rate limits?
Calls for accounts you manage are limited to 4,800 times the account's impressions per 24 hours. Business Discovery and hashtag search use Meta's platform rate limits: 200 calls an hour multiplied by the app's daily active users. Hashtag search is also capped at 30 unique hashtags per account per rolling 7 days.
Can Social Fetch publish to Instagram or read insights?
No. Social Fetch is read-only and returns what is publicly visible: profiles, posts, reels, comments, hashtags and transcripts. Publishing, comment moderation, messaging and private insights need Meta's API.
Can Social Fetch read private Instagram accounts?
No. A private account returns lookupStatus: private instead of its posts. Only public data is available.
Is using an Instagram API alternative allowed?
Instagram's Terms of Use prohibit collecting information in an automated way without Meta's express permission, and Social Fetch cannot give you that permission. Whether a public-data service fits your use depends on your jurisdiction, the data and how you use it. If you need Meta-sanctioned access, use Meta's API. This is not legal advice.
The detailed Social Fetch vs Instagram API comparisonHow Instagram API works, where the costs come from, and when to keep it.
Which "Instagram API" are you comparing?
Most people still call it the Instagram Graph API. Meta now documents it as the Instagram Platform, in two setups: the Instagram API with Instagram Login, where people sign in with Instagram, and the Instagram API with Facebook Login for Business, which needs the Instagram professional account linked to a Facebook Page. Only the Facebook Login setup supports hashtag search.
The Instagram Basic Display API, the one that let consumer apps read a personal account's own profile and media, stopped working on December 4, 2024. Meta pointed business use cases to the two setups above; there is no official replacement for personal accounts. If an old integration or WordPress feed broke that week, that's why.
Built for accounts you manage
Both setups serve Instagram professional accounts, business or creator. Personal accounts are not supported. Standard Access, the default, suits development and apps that only serve accounts you own or manage. To serve professional accounts you don't own or manage, such as your customers', you need Advanced Access, which means Meta App Review and Business Verification.
That model fits a scheduler, a social inbox, or an analytics dashboard where each customer connects their own account. It doesn't fit creator discovery, competitor tracking, or vetting an influencer who will never log into your app.
Business Discovery and hashtag search: the limited window
Business Discovery is the official way to read an account you don't manage. Through your own professional account's token it returns another professional account's follower and media counts and its media with like, comment and view counts. It doesn't return personal accounts or age-gated professional accounts, and you can't request the returned media objects directly.
Hashtag search lets one professional account query at most 30 unique hashtags in a rolling 7-day window, returning top or recent media. It needs App Review for the Instagram Public Content Access feature, and it doesn't cover Stories. Both Business Discovery and hashtag search run on Meta's platform rate limits (200 calls an hour per daily active app user) rather than the per-account limits.
What only Meta's API does
If you publish, schedule, moderate comments, or answer messages for Instagram accounts, you need Meta's API. The same goes for account and media insights, which are private to the account owner and never visible on a public profile. Social Fetch is read-only and only sees what a logged-out visitor could see.
Meta's API is also the sanctioned route. When your customers connect their accounts through Meta's login, you have their consent and Meta's approval, and for accounts you manage there is no per-call fee. If that is your product, build on Meta.
Terms, data rights and private accounts
Instagram's Terms of Use say you can't collect information in an automated way without Meta's express permission. Social Fetch returns publicly visible Instagram data; it is not a Meta partner product and cannot give you that permission. Private accounts return lookupStatus: private rather than their content. Whether a public-data service fits your use depends on your jurisdiction, what you collect and how you use it. This is not legal advice; for a longer discussion see how to scrape Instagram data.
What Social Fetch covers on Instagram
Profiles by handle (GET /v1/instagram/profiles/{handle}), posts and reels pages (/v1/instagram/profiles/{handle}/posts, /v1/instagram/profiles/{handle}/reels), single posts (/v1/instagram/posts), comments and replies (/v1/instagram/posts/comments), hashtag, profile and reel search (/v1/instagram/search/hashtags, /v1/instagram/search/profiles, /v1/instagram/search/reels), highlights, tagged posts, and reel transcripts (/v1/instagram/posts/transcript). Most routes cost 1 credit per completed request. /v1/instagram/profiles/{handle}/engagement costs 5, and hosting media files (hostMedia, downloadMedia) adds credits as documented on each route. Read meta.creditsCharged on every response.
The same key covers X, TikTok, Reddit, YouTube and the rest of the 23 platforms. Full route list: Instagram platform hub. Vendor shortlist: Best Instagram data APIs in 2026. Schemas: API reference.
Bottom line: Accounts you manage: Meta's API. Public accounts you don't: Social Fetch.
Meta's Instagram API is the right tool for publishing, moderation, messaging and insights on professional accounts that you or your customers connect, and it has no per-call fee. It was never built to read accounts you don't manage: Business Discovery covers professional accounts only, and the Basic Display API is gone. Social Fetch reads public profiles, posts, reels and comments from any public account, plus hashtag search, for 1 credit per request, but can't publish, see private insights, or give you Meta's permission.
See the response for yourself.
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