Best Instagram API Alternatives (After Meta Changes)

Meta's ongoing API restrictions have made Instagram data access increasingly challenging. The official Graph API has significant limitations, third-party tools face constant changes, and what worked last year may not work today.

This guide covers your current options for Instagram data access in 2026.

The Current Instagram API Landscape

What Meta Restricts

Basic Display API (Deprecated 2024):

• No longer available for new applications
• Existing apps migrated to Graph API

Instagram Graph API Limitations:

• Business/Creator accounts only (no personal)
• Only accounts you own or manage
• Limited to media, comments, insights
• No search or discovery
• Strict rate limits

What You Can't Do Officially:

• Search public posts by hashtag
• Access competitor accounts
• Discover influencers
• Analyze trends across Instagram
• Get historical public data

Why Alternatives Matter

For research, competitive intelligence, and market analysis, the official API's limitations are significant. Alternatives provide access to public data that Instagram's API doesn't expose.

Instagram Data Access Options

Detailed Comparison

1. Instagram Graph API (Official)

What It Is: Meta's official API for Instagram business and creator accounts.

What You Get:

• Media from accounts you manage
• Comments on your posts
• Basic insights (business accounts)
• Mentions (business accounts)

Limitations:

• Only your own accounts
• No search or discovery
• No competitor data
• Business/Creator accounts only

Cost: Free

Best For: Managing your own Instagram presence programmatically.

2. Xpoz

What It Is: AI-native social data platform with pre-indexed Instagram database.

What You Get:

• Instagram posts and reels
• User profiles
• Engagement metrics
• Hashtag and keyword search
• Historical data
• Natural language queries

Pricing:

Sample Queries:

"Find Instagram posts about 'sustainable fashion' from the past month"

"Show me the most-engaged Instagram accounts posting about fitness"

"What's the sentiment around our brand on Instagram this week?"

Pros:

• Multi-platform (Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit)
• No scraping reliability issues
• Natural language interface
• Transparent pricing

Cons:

• Pre-indexed (not real-time)
• Database coverage may vary

Best For: Research, brand monitoring, competitive analysis.

3. Apify Instagram Scrapers

What It Is: Cloud-based scraping platform with Instagram-specific actors.

Popular Actors:

• Instagram Profile Scraper
• Instagram Hashtag Scraper
• Instagram Post Scraper
• Instagram Comment Scraper

What You Get:

• Profile data
• Post content and metrics
• Hashtag monitoring
• Comment extraction

Pricing:

• Platform: $49+/month
• Compute credits per run
• Per-actor pricing varies

Pros:

• Flexible configurations
• Multiple scraper options
• Export to multiple formats

Cons:

• Reliability varies (Instagram anti-bot measures)
• Accounts can get blocked
• Maintenance needed when Instagram changes

Best For: Custom scraping workflows with technical tolerance.

4. Bright Data Instagram

What It Is: Enterprise data collection platform with Instagram capabilities.

What You Get:

• Web scraping infrastructure
• Proxy networks
• Instagram dataset access
• Custom data collection

Pricing:

• Enterprise pricing (contact sales)
• Per-request or subscription models
• Significant minimum commitments

Pros:

• Enterprise reliability
• Large-scale capability
• Dedicated support

Cons:

• Expensive for smaller teams
• Complex setup
• Enterprise sales process

Best For: Large enterprises with significant Instagram data needs.

5. PhantomBuster

What It Is: Browser automation platform with Instagram automation tools.

Instagram Tools:

• Profile Scraper
• Follower Extractor
• Post Scraper
• Auto-Liker/Commenter

What You Get:

• Profile information
• Follower/following lists
• Post content
• Engagement automation

Pricing:

• Starter: $69/month
• Pro: $159/month
• Team: $439/month

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Multiple Instagram tools
• Chrome extension

Cons:

• Uses your Instagram account
• Risk of account restrictions
• Hours-based pricing

Best For: Lead generation, competitor research at small scale.

6. Data365

What It Is: Enterprise social data API provider.

What You Get:

• Instagram post data
• User profiles
• Engagement metrics
• Enterprise SLAs

Pricing:

• Custom enterprise pricing
• Annual contracts

Pros:

• Enterprise reliability
• API-based access
• Support and SLAs

Cons:

• Expensive
• Sales process required

Best For: Enterprise applications.

Feature Comparison Matrix

Use Case Recommendations

Influencer Discovery

Best Choice: Xpoz

Why:

• Search for users by topic/niche
• Filter by engagement metrics
• Multi-platform discovery (also find them on TikTok, Twitter)

Query:

"Find Instagram accounts with 10K-100K followers posting about 'vegan recipes'
with engagement rates above 3%"

Brand Monitoring

Best Choice: Xpoz

Why:

• Track brand mentions across posts
• Monitor hashtags
• Cross-platform visibility

Query:

"Find Instagram posts mentioning 'BrandName' or using #BrandName from the past month"

Competitor Analysis

Best Choice: Xpoz or Apify

Why:

• Analyze competitor content strategy
• Track posting frequency
• Compare engagement metrics

Query:

"Compare posting frequency and average engagement for @competitor1,
@competitor2, and @competitor3 over the past 90 days"

Hashtag Research

Best Choice: Xpoz

Why:

• Search posts by hashtag
• Track hashtag trends
• Discover related hashtags

Query:

"What are the most-used hashtags in posts about 'sustainable fashion'?
Show top 20 by frequency."

Lead Generation

Best Choice: PhantomBuster (with caution)

Why:

• Extract follower lists
• Profile scraping
• Export to CRM

Caution: Account risk; use carefully.

Technical Considerations

Reliability

Data Freshness

Compliance Considerations

Official API: Full compliance Third-party indexed: Provider handles compliance Scraping: User responsible for compliance

Migration from Deprecated APIs

If you were using Instagram's Basic Display API:

1. Assess needs:

   • Own account management → Graph API
   • Research/analysis → Xpoz or third-party
   • Custom scraping → Apify

2. Test alternatives:

   • Try Xpoz free tier
   • Evaluate data coverage
   • Compare to previous capabilities

3. Adjust workflows:

   • New query patterns
   • Different data formats
   • Updated reporting

Cost Analysis

For 100K Instagram Posts/Month

For 1M Instagram Data Points/Month

Key Takeaways

• Official Graph API is limited to your own business/creator accounts.

• Xpoz offers best value for research with its multi-platform coverage and natural language queries.

• Scraping tools work but carry reliability and compliance concerns.

• Enterprise options exist for large-scale needs but come with enterprise pricing.

• Meta continues restricting access, making pre-indexed databases increasingly valuable.

Conclusion

Instagram data access has become more challenging as Meta continues restricting API capabilities. The official Graph API only helps if you're managing your own accounts—it provides no research, competitive intelligence, or discovery capabilities.

For most research and monitoring needs, Xpoz offers the best combination of:

• Multi-platform coverage (Instagram + Twitter + TikTok + Reddit)
• No scraping reliability concerns
• Natural language queries
• Transparent, accessible pricing

Start with free tiers to test against your specific needs, then scale to paid options as value is demonstrated. The landscape continues evolving, but pre-indexed databases provide the most stable foundation for Instagram intelligence work.