Introducing the Instagram APIRead more →

Instagram Hashtag API. Send a hashtag or its link.

Exact post count, tag ID and restricted status. We handle the proxies, blocks and platform changes.

Instagram Hashtag API at a glance

Returns an Instagram hashtag's exact post count, or that Instagram restricts it, from its name or link. You also get its name, page link and Instagram's numeric tag ID.

GET /v1/instagram/hashtag

Read the API reference
  • 1 credit per request, $0.75–$1.97 per 1,000 requests
  • 9 typed fields null when unknown
  • url is all it needs, e.g. https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/cooking/
  • 100 credits free when you sign up, no card, so you can build before you spend

Send one request. Get 9 fields back.

Copy the request in your language, or hand it to your agent. Sign up for an API key and your first 100 credits are free.

$ npm install socialtap
url = https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/cooking/
GET /v1/instagram/hashtagTry in
const params = new URLSearchParams({
  url: "https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/cooking/",
});
const res = await fetch(`https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/hashtag?${params}`, {
  headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.SOCIALTAP_API_KEY ?? "" },
});
const body = await res.json();
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${body.error.code}: ${body.error.message}`);
const { data, meta } = body;
console.log(data, meta.credits_charged);
200 OK · GET https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/hashtagDocs

One schema on 2 platforms.

The response reference lists every field, its type and when it is null. See the full schema.

  • Null means unknown

    A field Instagram doesn't show is null, never zero or an empty string, so a real zero always means zero.

  • What it accepts

    An Instagram hashtag page link (instagram.com/explore/tags/cooking/), the page such a link opens logged out (instagram.com/popular/cooking/), or the hashtag itself with or without the # (cooking, #cooking).

  • Write one parser

    Instagram and TikTok answer in these fields, so the code that reads one reads them all.

platformstring
Platform ID (tiktok, instagram, …).
idstring
Platform-native hashtag ID (TikTok's challenge ID, Threads' tag ID); on platforms whose public pages key a hashtag by its name (Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X), the name lowercased.
namestring
The tag without #, as the platform shows it (case kept). Threads tags may contain spaces ("book club").
urlstring
Canonical hashtag page URL (for a multi-word Threads tag, its tag search page).
descriptionstring
The hashtag's description as its page shows it; null when it has none.
thumbnail_urlstring
The hashtag's own picture (not one of its posts' images); null when it has none. Platform CDN URLs can expire.
metricsobject
Counts at fetch time; null = hidden or not exposed, 0 = zero.
approximate_fieldsstring[]
JSON paths of values rounded by the platform or parsed from display text ("36M videos": metrics.post_count). [] when all exact.

What teams build with the Instagram Hashtag API.

  • Size a hashtag before a campaign

  • Track a hashtag's post count over time

  • Compare candidate hashtags for a post

  • Check whether Instagram restricts a hashtag

Good to know before you build.

  • The post count is Instagram's exact all-time count. For the very largest hashtags Instagram stops counting at a cap, and approximate_fields lists the count.
  • A restricted hashtag (one Instagram hides as sensitive) returns is_restricted true with no count or tag ID. One Instagram doesn't have, or hides without notice, returns not_found.
  • is_restricted is null for a listed hashtag, because Instagram doesn't say whether a listed hashtag's posts are limited.
  • A few one- or two-character hashtags (#a) are crowded out of Instagram's hashtag search by longer ones, so they return upstream_error rather than not_found.
  • description and thumbnail_url are null: Instagram shows neither logged out.
  • Hashtags match exactly except for case, so #fitness and #cooking are hashtags of their own, not #fitness or #cooking.

1 credit per request. Failed requests are free.

Buy credits once and spend them on any endpoint, on any platform.

SourcePrice per successful requestPer 1,000 requests
Any source1 credit$0.75–$1.97
  • Cache hits are free.
  • Credits from packs and top-ups never expire.
  • A monthly plan's credits are spent first, and what is left of them ends at each renewal.
  • Prices exclude tax: sales tax is added at checkout where it applies.
  • Outside the US, plans and packs are sold to businesses: checkout asks for your VAT, GST or other business tax ID.

Questions about the Instagram Hashtag API.

More in the API reference.

How do I check whether a hashtag is banned on Instagram?
Send it here. is_restricted true means Instagram hides the hashtag as sensitive, and a hashtag it hides without notice returns not_found.
How much does the Instagram Hashtag API cost?
A request costs 1 credit. SocialTap credits cost $0.75–$1.97 per 1,000, depending on the plan or pack.

Try it on a link you already have.

Paste it in the playground, or copy the request into your code.

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  • Failed requests are free
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