Instagram API / Docs / Graph API limits
Instagram Graph API limitations, and what to use instead
The Instagram Graph API only works with professional accounts, and only fully with the ones that log in to your app. If you need a follower count, posts or reels for an account that never connected to you, most of the time it can't help. Below are the limits as Meta documents them, checked on 7 October 2026, and when a public-data API is the better fit.
What can the Instagram Graph API do?
Meta's Instagram API lets a business or creator account that logs in to your app publish posts, read and reply to comments and DMs, and pull insights like reach and impressions. It comes in two versions: Instagram API with Instagram Login and Instagram API with Facebook Login, which needs a linked Facebook Page.
What are the limitations of the Instagram Graph API?
| Limit | What Meta's docs say |
|---|---|
| Account types | Professional accounts only (business or creator). Personal accounts aren't supported. Source |
| Other people's accounts | Business Discovery returns followers_count, media_count and media for other professional accounts. Age-gated accounts are excluded, and a direct GET on the returned media fails. Source |
| App Review | Serving accounts you don't own or manage needs Advanced Access, which means App Review and Business Verification. Source |
| Rate limits | Apps: 200 calls per hour times the number of users. Instagram endpoints: 4,800 calls per 24 hours times the account's impressions. Source |
| Hashtag search | 30 unique hashtags per 7 days, and it needs the Instagram Public Content Access feature. Source |
| Consumer apps | The Basic Display API stopped on 4 December 2024, and Meta said there is no longer a set of Instagram APIs for consumer apps. Source |
Is the Instagram Graph API free?
Meta doesn't charge per call. What it costs you is setup and limits: a Meta app, a professional account, App Review and Business Verification before you can serve other people's accounts, and rate limits tied to your users and their impressions. For a weekend project that only needs public numbers, that setup is often the real cost.
What happened to the Instagram Basic Display API?
Meta shut it down on 4 December 2024. It was the API that let personal accounts log in and share their own profile and media with an app, which is how most feed widgets and portfolio embeds worked. Meta points business apps to the Instagram API with Instagram Login or Facebook Login. Personal accounts have no official replacement.
How do I get an Instagram account's follower count with an API?
With the Graph API, a professional account that logged in to your app can read its own followers_count. For someone else's account, Business Discovery returns it only if that account is a business or creator account and not age-gated. A personal account's count isn't available at all.
With a public-data API, it's one request with the username, for any public account:
curl "https://data.fastsocial.co/v1/profile?username=nasa" \
-H "X-API-Key: $FASTSOCIAL_API_KEY"{
"ok": true,
"data": {
"username": "nasa",
"followers": 104000000,
"following": 90,
"posts_count": 4950,
"is_verified": true
}
}The profile call costs 1 credit. Private accounts return a private_account error, because only public data is available.
When is the official API the right choice?
Use Meta's API when you act for an account: publishing posts, replying to comments or DMs, or reading insights such as reach that only the account owner can see. That data isn't public, so no public-data API can give it to you, and the account's login is the right way to get it.
When does a public-data API fit better?
When you need what anyone can see on an account without logging in to it: follower counts, bios, posts, reels and engagement for creators you're vetting, competitors you track, or handles users type into your app.
| Instagram Graph API | FastSocial Instagram API | |
|---|---|---|
| Accounts it covers | Professional accounts that log in; other professional accounts via Business Discovery | Any public account, personal or professional |
| Setup | Meta app, App Review and Business Verification for other people's accounts | One API key |
| Private data (insights, DMs, publishing) | Yes, for accounts that log in | No, public data only |
| Price | No per-call fee | Free plan with 50 credits a month, then paid plans |
Instagram Graph API FAQ
What is the rate limit for the Instagram Graph API?
Two limits apply. The app limit is 200 calls per hour times your number of users. Instagram endpoints add a business limit of 4,800 calls per 24 hours times the impressions of the account you call for, so an account with few impressions gets a small budget.
Can the Instagram Graph API read personal accounts?
No. Both versions of Meta's Instagram API support professional accounts only. Since the Basic Display API ended on 4 December 2024 there is no official API for personal accounts, so their public profile data is only available through public-data APIs.
How many hashtags can I search with the Graph API?
30 unique hashtags in a rolling 7-day window. Your app also needs the Instagram Public Content Access feature, and hashtags Meta treats as sensitive return a generic error.
Do I need App Review for the Instagram API?
Only if your app serves accounts you don't own or manage. For your own account, or ones you manage, Standard Access is enough. Serving anyone else needs Advanced Access, which requires App Review and Business Verification.