Instagram User Search API

Returns the Instagram accounts a web search finds for your words, like a niche, a place or a name, with their usernames and profile links. Each has its display name, bio and follower, following and post counts as the search index shows them. Add fill=true to get each account's current profile (user ID, exact counts, verified badge, picture, links) in the same response.

GET /v1/instagram/search_profiles

Read the API reference

1 credit per page, +1 per result filled in, up to 51 credits, $0.75–$1.97 per 1,000 pages
16 typed fields null when unknown
50 accounts per page, the search engine's ranking (most relevant first)
query is all it needs, e.g. coffee roaster

Send one request. Get up to 50 accounts 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

query = coffee roaster

Open in playground

GET /v1/instagram/search_profilesTry in

const params = new URLSearchParams({
  query: "coffee roaster",
});
const res = await fetch(`https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/search_profiles?${params}`, {
  headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.SOCIALTAP_API_KEY ?? "" },
});
const body = await res.json();
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${body.error.code}: ${body.error.message}`);
const { data, page, meta } = body;
console.log(data, meta.credits_charged);

import os

import requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/search_profiles",
    params={"query": "coffee roaster"},
    headers={"x-api-key": os.environ["SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"]},
)
body = res.json()
if not res.ok:
    raise RuntimeError(f"{body['error']['code']}: {body['error']['message']}")
data, page, meta = body["data"], body["page"], body["meta"]
print(data, meta["credits_charged"])

require "json"
require "net/http"

uri = URI("https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/search_profiles")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form('query' => 'coffee roaster')
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req["x-api-key"] = ENV.fetch("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY")
res = Net::HTTP.start(uri.host, uri.port, use_ssl: uri.scheme == "https") { |http| http.request(req) }
body = JSON.parse(res.body)
raise "#{body["error"]["code"]}: #{body["error"]["message"]}" unless res.is_a?(Net::HTTPSuccess)
pp body["data"]
puts body["meta"]["credits_charged"]

<?php

$query = http_build_query([
    'query' => 'coffee roaster',
]);
$ch = curl_init('https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/search_profiles?' . $query);
curl_setopt_array($ch, [
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => ['x-api-key: ' . getenv('SOCIALTAP_API_KEY')],
]);
$body = json_decode(curl_exec($ch), true);
if (curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_RESPONSE_CODE) >= 400) {
    throw new RuntimeException($body['error']['code'] . ': ' . $body['error']['message']);
}
print_r($body['data']);
echo $body['meta']['credits_charged'], PHP_EOL;

package main

import (
	"encoding/json"
	"fmt"
	"log"
	"net/http"
	"net/url"
	"os"
)

func main() {
	q := url.Values{}
	q.Set("query", "coffee roaster")
	req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/search_profiles?"+q.Encode(), nil)
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}
	req.Header.Set("x-api-key", os.Getenv("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"))
	res, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}
	defer res.Body.Close()
	var body struct {
		Data  json.RawMessage `json:"data"`
		Page  json.RawMessage `json:"page"`
		Meta  map[string]any  `json:"meta"`
		Error *struct {
			Code    string `json:"code"`
			Message string `json:"message"`
		} `json:"error"`
	}
	if err := json.NewDecoder(res.Body).Decode(&body); err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}
	if body.Error != nil {
		log.Fatalf("%s: %s", body.Error.Code, body.Error.Message)
	}
	fmt.Println(string(body.Data), body.Meta["credits_charged"])
}

curl -G 'https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/search_profiles' \
  --data-urlencode 'query=coffee roaster' \
  -H "x-api-key: $SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"

{
  "data": [
    {
      "approximate_fields": [
        "profile.metrics.follower_count",
        "profile.metrics.following_count",
        "profile.metrics.post_count"
      ],
      "community": null,
      "details": null,
      "hashtag": null,
      "matched_url": "https://www.instagram.com/coffeeroasterlnk/",
      "place": null,
      "platform": "instagram",
      "platform_specific": {},
      "position": 0,
      "post": null,
      "profile": {
        "avatar_url": null,
        "bio": "Specialty coffee, fresh roasted and made easy. Serving Lincoln and beyond since 1995. 🖤 Woman owned. Community focused.",
        "display_name": "The Coffee Roaster",
        "id": null,
        "is_verified": null,
        "metrics": {
          "follower_count": 4053,
          "following_count": 1599,
          "post_count": 1651,
          "total_like_count": null,
          "total_view_count": null
        },
        "url": "https://www.instagram.com/coffeeroasterlnk/",
        "username": "coffeeroasterlnk"
      },
      "snippet": "4,053 followers, 1,599 following, 1,651 posts – The Coffee Roaster (@coffeeroasterlnk) on Instagram: \"Specialty coffee, fresh roasted and made easy. Serving Lincoln and beyond since 1995. 🖤 Woman owned. Community focused.\"",
      "sound": null,
      "title": "The Coffee Roaster (@coffeeroasterlnk) · Lincoln, NE",
      "type": "profile",
      "unknown_fields": [],
      "url": "https://www.instagram.com/coffeeroasterlnk/"
    },
    {
      "approximate_fields": [
        "profile.metrics.follower_count",
        "profile.metrics.following_count",
        "profile.metrics.post_count"
      ],
      "community": null,
      "details": null,
      "hashtag": null,
      "matched_url": "https://www.instagram.com/thecoffeeroaster/",
      "place": null,
      "platform": "instagram",
      "platform_specific": {},
      "position": 1,
      "post": null,
      "profile": {
        "avatar_url": null,
        "bio": "📍TCR Cafe NUS AS8 🎓TCR Academy 🔝Corporate Teambuilding | Trusted by Thousands ⭐️Proven Latte Art & Barista Coaching 👇Book Coffee Workshops",
        "display_name": "The Coffee Roaster | Cafe & Coffee Academy",
        "id": null,
        "is_verified": null,
        "metrics": {
          "follower_count": 3446,
          "following_count": 100,
          "post_count": 1542,
          "total_like_count": null,
          "total_view_count": null
        },
        "url": "https://www.instagram.com/thecoffeeroaster/",
        "username": "thecoffeeroaster"
      },
      "snippet": "3,446 followers, 100 following, 1,542 posts – The Coffee Roaster | Cafe & Coffee Academy (@thecoffeeroaster) on Instagram: \"📍TCR Cafe NUS AS8 🎓TCR Academy 🔝Corporate Teambuilding | Trusted by Thousands ⭐️Proven Latte Art & Barista Coaching 👇Book Coffee Workshops\"",
      "sound": null,
      "title": "The Coffee Roaster | Cafe & Coffee Academy (@thecoffeeroaster) ...",
      "type": "profile",
      "unknown_fields": [],
      "url": "https://www.instagram.com/thecoffeeroaster/"
    },
    {
      "approximate_fields": [
        "profile.metrics.follower_count",
        "profile.metrics.following_count",
        "profile.metrics.post_count"
      ],
      "community": null,
      "details": null,
      "hashtag": null,
      "matched_url": "https://www.instagram.com/coffee_roaster_cafe/",
      "place": null,
      "platform": "instagram",
      "platform_specific": {},
      "position": 2,
      "post": null,
      "profile": {
        "avatar_url": null,
        "bio": "Coffee Roastery, Store and Coffee Shop. 📆 Horario: Lun a Sab de 10am a 8pm 📍 Contamos con parqueo propio",
        "display_name": "Coffee Roaster",
        "id": null,
        "is_verified": null,
        "metrics": {
          "follower_count": 1476,
          "following_count": 195,
          "post_count": 207,
          "total_like_count": null,
          "total_view_count": null
        },
        "url": "https://www.instagram.com/coffee_roaster_cafe/",
        "username": "coffee_roaster_cafe"
      },
      "snippet": "1,476 Followers, 195 Following, 207 Posts - Coffee Roaster (@coffee_roaster_cafe) on Instagram: \"Coffee Roastery, Store and Coffee Shop. 📆 Horario: Lun a Sab de 10am a 8pm 📍 Contamos con parqueo propio\"",
      "sound": null,
      "title": "Coffee Roaster (@coffee_roaster_cafe) • Instagram photos and videos",
      "type": "profile",
      "unknown_fields": [],
      "url": "https://www.instagram.com/coffee_roaster_cafe/"
    }
  ],
  "page": {
    "has_more": true,
    "next_cursor": "c1.EXAMPLE_CURSOR",
    "next_cursor_expires_at": "2026-10-26T12:00:00Z",
    "end_reason": null
  },
  "meta": {
    "request_id": "req_3f9c2a7d1e8b4c6a9f0e2d4b6a8c0e1f",
    "platform": "instagram",
    "source": "web_search",
    "is_cached": false,
    "credits_charged": 1,
    "latency_ms": 1168,
    "fetched_at": "2026-10-25T12:00:00Z",
    "input": null,
    "credits_remaining": 9999,
    "client_request_id": null,
    "warnings": []
  }
}

import { SocialTap } from "socialtap";

const client = new SocialTap(); // apiKey defaults to process.env.SOCIALTAP_API_KEY

const res = await client.instagram.searchProfiles.list({ query: "coffee roaster" });
console.log(res.data);
console.log(res.credits.charged, res.meta.request_id);

import java.net.URI;
import java.net.URLEncoder;
import java.net.http.HttpClient;
import java.net.http.HttpRequest;
import java.net.http.HttpResponse;
import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        String query = "query=" + encode("coffee roaster");
        HttpRequest request = HttpRequest.newBuilder()
            .uri(URI.create("https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/search_profiles?" + query))
            .header("x-api-key", System.getenv("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"))
            .GET()
            .build();
        HttpResponse<String> response = HttpClient.newHttpClient()
            .send(request, HttpResponse.BodyHandlers.ofString());
        // An error is {"error": {"code", "message", ...}}; success is {data, meta}, meta.credits_charged its price.
        if (response.statusCode() >= 400) throw new RuntimeException(response.body());
        System.out.println(response.body());
    }

    static String encode(String value) {
        return URLEncoder.encode(value, StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
    }
}

using System.Text.Json;

using var http = new HttpClient();
http.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("x-api-key", Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"));

var query = string.Join("&",
    "query=" + Uri.EscapeDataString("coffee roaster"));
var res = await http.GetAsync("https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/search_profiles?" + query);
using var body = JsonDocument.Parse(await res.Content.ReadAsStringAsync());
if (!res.IsSuccessStatusCode)
{
    var error = body.RootElement.GetProperty("error");
    throw new Exception($"{error.GetProperty("code")}: {error.GetProperty("message")}");
}
Console.WriteLine(body.RootElement.GetProperty("data"));
Console.WriteLine(body.RootElement.GetProperty("meta").GetProperty("credits_charged"));

// Cargo.toml: reqwest = { version = "0.12", features = ["blocking", "json"] }, serde_json = "1"
use std::env;

fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let res = reqwest::blocking::Client::new()
        .get("https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/search_profiles")
        .query(&[("query", "coffee roaster")])
        .header("x-api-key", env::var("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY")?)
        .send()?;
    let ok = res.status().is_success();
    let body: serde_json::Value = res.json()?;
    if !ok {
        return Err(format!("{}: {}", body["error"]["code"], body["error"]["message"]).into());
    }
    println!("{} {}", body["data"], body["meta"]["credits_charged"]);
    Ok(())
}

200 OK · GET https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/search_profilesLong arrays and strings are shortened here. Real responses are complete.Docs

One schema on 6 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
Words to find Instagram accounts by, as a web search reads them: a niche, a business type, a place, a name (coffee roaster, yoga studio austin, "blue bottle").
Write one parser
Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and 3 more platforms answer in these fields, so the code that reads one reads them all.

platformstring: Platform the item is on.
typestring: The kind of item the result names, as the resource that describes it: profile (an account), post, hashtag, sound, place or community. The item's summary is the field of that name, and a filled result's record is details.<type>. A search that finds several kinds (a platform's top search) mixes them in one list. New values may be added as more kinds are searchable; treat unknown values as other.
positioninteger: Zero-based rank of the result in the list, across pages: the search engine's order, counting only the results kept.
urlstring: The item's canonical link on the platform (the account's page for a profile, the post's for a post).
matched_urlstring: The page the index listed: the item's own page, or one of its pages that names it (a video of an account, for a profile found through it).
titlestring: The page's title as the index shows it: often the item's name, but not the item's own field. Null when the index shows none.
snippetstring: The index's excerpt of the page: often the item's description and counts as the page stated them when it was indexed, days or weeks ago. Null when the index shows none.
profileobject: The account the result names (type profile): what its link and the index's text say of it, completed from details when the result is filled. Null for every other type.

What teams build with the Instagram User Search API.

Find influencers in a niche
Build lead lists of local businesses
Find an account from a name alone

Good to know before you build.

Instagram has no logged-out account search, so results come from a public web search engine's index of profile pages, in its ranking. An account the index hasn't crawled isn't found.
Without fill, id, avatar_url and is_verified are null, and counts, display name and bio are the index's copy of the profile page, rounded and possibly weeks old (listed in approximate_fields).
With fill=true, each result's details.profile is the account's live record from the Instagram Profile API, and its summary is updated from it.
A result the profile lookup can't fetch (a renamed or deleted account) stays unfilled at no extra cost, and meta.warnings says so.
The index goes only so deep, so a search usually ends after two or three pages (page.end_reason end).
Case doesn't matter. site: operators are removed, and intitle:, inurl:, intext: and their allin forms count as the plain words they hold.

From 1 credit per page. Failed requests are free.

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

Plans and packs How this endpoint is priced How credits work

Source	Price per successful page	Per 1,000 pages
Any source	1 credit + 1 per result filled in up to 51 credits (50 results filled in)	$0.75–$1.97 + $0.75–$1.97 per result filled in

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 User Search API.

Try it with your own search.

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

free credits

No credit card
Failed requests are free
Works on all 218 endpoints

Start for free Read the docs

Instagram User Search API. Accounts matching your search.