Python guide
Text, likes and dates for the comments on a public Instagram post or reel, saved to CSV. One API key. No Instagram login, cookies or browser.
import csv
import os
import requests
API_URL = "https://www.monocrawl.com/v1/instagram/post-comments"
HEADERS = {"x-api-key": os.environ["MONOCRAWL_API_KEY"]}
POST = "https://www.instagram.com/p/DdttvvwsKwS/"
def get_comments(post_url, max_pages=100):
params = {"url": post_url}
for _ in range(max_pages):
body = requests.get(API_URL, params=params, headers=HEADERS, timeout=60).json()
if not body.get("success"):
raise RuntimeError(body["error"]["message"])
yield from body["data"]["items"]
if not body["data"].get("has_more"):
break
params = {"url": post_url, "cursor": body["data"]["cursor"]}
with open("comments.csv", "w", newline="", encoding="utf-8") as file:
writer = csv.writer(file)
writer.writerow(["id", "created_at", "likes", "author", "text"])
for comment in get_comments(POST):
author = comment.get("author") or {}
writer.writerow([comment["id"], comment["created_at"], comment["likes"],
author.get("handle"), comment["text"] or ""])$ python comments.py
GET /v1/instagram/post-comments page 1
✓ 14 comments · 3 credits · has_more: true
↻ following the cursor until has_more is false
✓ comments.csv · this reel: 399 comments ≈ 29 pages ≈ 87 credits (estimate)
Four steps
export MONOCRAWL_API_KEY="mn_your_key_here"
pip install requestsWhat you get
MONOCRAWL_API_KEY=mn_••••••••Free plan · 1,000 credits a month · No card
What comes back
A real page from Gymshark’s reel announcing its Sam Sulek collection: 14 of its 399 comments, for 3 credits. 8 are below, commenters left out.
idThe comment’s Instagram idtextWhat the commenter wrotecreated_atWhen, as an ISO timestamplikesLikes on the commentauthorThe commenter’s public profilehas_moreWhether another page followsthat's a long time without the bathroom
026 Sept 2026Samsung Led
026 Sept 2026This is cold!
026 Sept 2026Havnt picked up some Gymshark in a while, hoping this is the one!
026 Sept 2026Finally your actually in one this is what we want
026 Sept 2026Cinema
026 Sept 2026Why does this guy always wear a hat?
026 Sept 2026Pls don’t have it be all boxed in fit for tops/shirts/jumpers etc 🤞🏾
026 Sept 2026{
"success": true,
"data": {
"count": 14,
"has_more": true,
"cursor": "mlc1.…",
"items": [
{
"id": "18127312405853087",
"text": "that's a long time without the bathroom",
"created_at": "2026-09-26T17:26:31.000Z",
"likes": 0
},
{
"id": "18123663448851610",
"text": "Samsung Led",
"created_at": "2026-09-26T17:25:34.000Z",
"likes": 0
},
{
"id": "17942273697349910",
"text": "This is cold!",
"created_at": "2026-09-26T16:44:41.000Z",
"likes": 0
},
{
"id": "18227681749328346",
"text": "Havnt picked up some Gymshark in a while, hoping this is the one!",
"created_at": "2026-09-26T16:12:39.000Z",
"likes": 0
},
{
"id": "18000210033021694",
"text": "Finally your actually in one this is what we want",
"created_at": "2026-09-26T16:05:41.000Z",
"likes": 0
},
{
"id": "17909398872510621",
"text": "Cinema",
"created_at": "2026-09-26T14:28:44.000Z",
"likes": 0
},
{
"id": "18121956046903852",
"text": "Why does this guy always wear a hat?",
"created_at": "2026-09-26T14:22:08.000Z",
"likes": 0
},
{
"id": "18114776474470276",
"text": "Pls don’t have it be all boxed in fit for tops/shirts/jumpers etc\n🤞🏾",
"created_at": "2026-09-26T11:30:03.000Z",
"likes": 0
}
]
}
}Cost
Every page of comments costs 3 credits; the recorded page returned 14. Replies cost 2 credits a page. Slide to see what a post costs.
Estimated at 14 comments a page, as on the recorded page. Failed calls are free.
Two more things
A comment with replies has its own thread. Fetch it from instagram/comment-replies with the post URL and the comment’s id: same fields, same cursor, 2 credits a page.
REPLIES_URL = "https://www.monocrawl.com/v1/instagram/comment-replies"
params = {"url": POST, "comment_id": "18227681749328346"}
body = requests.get(REPLIES_URL, params=params, headers=HEADERS, timeout=60).json()
for reply in body["data"]["items"]:
print(reply["likes"], reply["text"])A failed call returns success: false with an error type and message, and costs nothing. On HTTP 429, wait and try again.
Rate limits by planimport time
def get_page(params, attempts=5):
for attempt in range(attempts):
response = requests.get(API_URL, params=params, headers=HEADERS, timeout=60)
if response.status_code != 429:
return response.json()
time.sleep(2 ** attempt)
raise RuntimeError("Still rate limited; try again later")Other platforms
The same key collects comments from other platforms. Each endpoint’s reference lists its fields and paging.
Questions
No. You call Monocrawl with your API key and get the comments back as JSON. It works for public posts and reels.
One page. The recorded page returned 14, with has_more set to true and a cursor for the next page. Pass the cursor back with the same post URL.
3 credits for each page that comes back, and 2 credits a page for replies. The free plan’s 1,000 credits a month cover about 333 pages, and failed calls are free.
Yes. Use instagram/comment-replies with the post URL and the comment’s id. It returns replies with the same fields and pages them the same way.
Call instagram/posts with the account’s handle. It returns recent posts with their URLs and comment counts, 1 credit a page. Then run this loop on each post URL.
Meta’s Instagram API returns comments on accounts you manage. Our Instagram data API comparison sets out the official routes and the main providers side by side.
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