> **For coding agents and LLMs:** This is one Social Fetch marketing page (markdown export). For API orientation start with [`/llms.txt`](https://www.socialfetch.dev/llms.txt); for auth and crawl rules use [`/agents.txt`](https://www.socialfetch.dev/agents.txt); for every operation use [`/llms-endpoints.txt`](https://www.socialfetch.dev/llms-endpoints.txt).

## This page

- **On-site (HTML):** <https://www.socialfetch.dev/compare/instagram-graph-api>
- **Markdown (.mdx) URL:** <https://www.socialfetch.dev/compare/instagram-graph-api.mdx>

---

# 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.

## At a glance

|  | Social Fetch | the Instagram Graph 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 | `/v2/instagram/hashtags/{hashtag}/media`, 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 |

## Pricing (last verified 2026-09-23)

**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.

|  | Social Fetch | the Instagram Graph API | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 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 | ~$1.64 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](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/instagram-platform/overview), [Business Discovery](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/instagram-platform/instagram-api-with-facebook-login/business-discovery), [hashtag search](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/instagram-platform/instagram-api-with-facebook-login/hashtag-search) and [rate limiting](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/graph-api/overview/rate-limiting) docs, and the [Basic Display API sunset notice](https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/2024/09/04/update-on-instagram-basic-display-api/) (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 $1.64 per 1,000; September 2026) unless noted; Starter is $14 for 1,000. Credit costs per route from the [API reference](https://www.socialfetch.dev/docs/api/v2/instagram); `lookup_failed` and `503 temporarily_unavailable` are not billed.

## Feature matrix

| Feature | Social Fetch | the Instagram Graph API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Public profile and post data for accounts you don't manage | Yes | Partial |
| Personal (non-professional) accounts | Yes | No |
| Comments on public posts | Yes | Partial |
| Hashtag search | Yes | Partial |
| Reel transcripts | Yes | No |
| Publish posts and reels | No | Yes |
| Moderate comments and answer messages | No | Yes |
| Insights for accounts you manage | No | Yes |
| Meta-sanctioned access to your customers' accounts | No | Yes |
| No Meta app, App Review or Business Verification | Yes | No |
| Same key and schema for X, TikTok, Reddit, YouTube | Yes | No |

## 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](https://help.instagram.com/581066165581870) 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](https://www.socialfetch.dev/guides/how-to-scrape-instagram-data).

## What Social Fetch covers on Instagram

Profiles by handle (`GET /v2/instagram/profiles/{profile}`), posts and reels pages (`/v2/instagram/profiles/{profile}/media`, `/v2/instagram/profiles/{profile}/media?tab=reels`), single posts (`/v2/instagram/media/{media}`), comments and replies (`/v2/instagram/media/{media}/comments`), hashtag, profile and reel search (`/v2/instagram/hashtags/{hashtag}/media`, `/v2/instagram/profiles/search`, `/v2/instagram/reels/search`), highlights, tagged posts, and reel transcripts (`/v2/instagram/media/{media}/transcript`). Most routes cost 1 credit per completed request. `/v2/instagram/profiles/{profile}/engagement` costs 5, and hosting media files (`include=files` on the media route) 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 25 platforms. Full route list: [Instagram platform hub](https://www.socialfetch.dev/platforms/instagram). Vendor shortlist: [Best Instagram data APIs in 2026](https://www.socialfetch.dev/blog/best-instagram-data-apis-2026). Schemas: [API reference](https://www.socialfetch.dev/docs/api/v2/instagram).

## When the Instagram Graph API is the better choice

- 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

## When Social Fetch is the better choice

- 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

## Verdict: 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.

## FAQ

### 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 /v2/instagram/profiles/{profile}` 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.