How to scrape Instagram Post Count with Python

How many posts a profile has. This tutorial gets it with a short Python program and the Instagram Post Count API. Each successful call costs 1 credit; errors and not-found answers are free.

1. Get an API key

Sign in to get a key and 100 free credits, no card. Then put the key in an environment variable so it stays out of your code:

export SCRAPEIO_API_KEY="your_key_here"

2. Set up Python

pip install requests

3. Write the code

Save this as scrape.py.

import os
import requests

API_KEY = os.environ["SCRAPEIO_API_KEY"]
URL = "https://scrapeio.com/v1/instagram/profile/post-count"
params = {"handle": "nike"}

r = requests.get(URL, params=params, headers={"x-api-key": API_KEY}, timeout=60)
r.raise_for_status()
print(r.json()["data"])

4. Run it

python scrape.py

The response has the same envelope on every endpoint: success, cached, credits_used, credits_remaining and data. Shared fields such as handle, followers, plays, likes and created_at have the same names on every platform.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`handle` (required)	string	Instagram username.

Errors and what you pay

Status	Meaning	Charged
`200`	Success	Yes, unless cached
`400`	A parameter is missing or wrong	No
`401`	The key is missing or invalid	No
`402`	Not enough credits	No
`403`	The account or post is private	No
`404`	Not found on the platform	No
`429`	More than 300 requests a minute	No
`502`	Every source is down; retry shortly	No

Same endpoint in other languages

Node.js · JavaScript · TypeScript · Go · Rust · Java · C# · PHP · Ruby · Kotlin · Swift · R

Prefer no code?

Connect the MCP server to Claude Code, Cursor or Codex and ask in plain English. The agent uses the instagram_post_count tool for you.

100 free credits, no card. Credits never expire.

Get API key