Scrape Instagram Comments: Extract Comments from Any Post

Instagram comments are a goldmine of insights. Customer feedback, sentiment, questions, complaints—it's all there.

But copying comments manually? That's not scalable. Here's how to scrape Instagram comments programmatically.

What Comment Data Can You Get?

Field	Description
Text	The comment content
Username	Who wrote it
Timestamp	When it was posted
Likes	How many likes the comment got
Replies	Responses to the comment
User info	Commenter's profile data

Why Scrape Instagram Comments?

Sentiment Analysis

Understand how people feel about a brand, product, or post. Are comments positive, negative, or neutral?

Customer Research

Find out what customers are asking, complaining about, or praising.

Influencer Vetting

Check comment quality. Real engagement or bot comments? Genuine questions or generic praise?

Content Ideas

See what questions people ask in comments—these are content ideas.

Competitive Intelligence

Monitor competitor posts. What are their customers saying?

How to Scrape Instagram Comments

Using an API

The easiest method. One request, all comments:

const response = await fetch(
  'https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape/instagram/comments?url=https://instagram.com/p/ABC123&limit=100',
  { headers: { 'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY' } }
);

const comments = await response.json();

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "comment_123",
      "text": "This is amazing! 🔥",
      "username": "user123",
      "timestamp": "2026-01-08T14:30:00Z",
      "likes": 45,
      "replies": [
        {
          "text": "Thanks so much! 🙏",
          "username": "original_poster",
          "timestamp": "2026-01-08T15:00:00Z"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "total_comments": 1247
}

Python Example

import requests

API_KEY = 'your_api_key'

def scrape_instagram_comments(post_url, limit=100):
    response = requests.get(
        'https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape/instagram/comments',
        params={'url': post_url, 'limit': limit},
        headers={'Authorization': f'Bearer {API_KEY}'}
    )
    return response.json()

# Get comments
comments = scrape_instagram_comments('https://instagram.com/p/ABC123', 200)

for comment in comments['data']:
    print(f"@{comment['username']}: {comment['text']}")

Use Cases

1. Sentiment Analysis

Categorize comments as positive, negative, or neutral:

from textblob import TextBlob

def analyze_sentiment(comments):
    results = {'positive': 0, 'negative': 0, 'neutral': 0}
    
    for comment in comments:
        blob = TextBlob(comment['text'])
        
        if blob.sentiment.polarity > 0.1:
            results['positive'] += 1
        elif blob.sentiment.polarity < -0.1:
            results['negative'] += 1
        else:
            results['neutral'] += 1
    
    return results

# Usage
comments = scrape_instagram_comments('https://instagram.com/p/ABC123', 500)
sentiment = analyze_sentiment(comments['data'])
print(sentiment)
# {'positive': 320, 'negative': 45, 'neutral': 135}

2. Find Common Questions

Extract questions from comments for FAQ content:

function findQuestions(comments) {
  return comments.filter(c => 
    c.text.includes('?') || 
    c.text.toLowerCase().startsWith('how') ||
    c.text.toLowerCase().startsWith('what') ||
    c.text.toLowerCase().startsWith('where') ||
    c.text.toLowerCase().startsWith('when')
  );
}

const comments = await scrapeComments('https://instagram.com/p/ABC123', 500);
const questions = findQuestions(comments.data);

console.log('Customer questions:');
questions.forEach(q => console.log(`- ${q.text}`));

3. Detect Bot/Fake Comments

Identify suspicious comment patterns:

function detectBotComments(comments) {
  const suspicious = [];
  const genericPhrases = ['nice', 'great post', 'love this', 'amazing', '🔥', '💯'];
  
  for (const comment of comments) {
    const text = comment.text.toLowerCase();
    
    // Very short generic comments
    const isGeneric = genericPhrases.some(phrase => 
      text === phrase || text === phrase + '!'
    );
    
    // Only emojis
    const onlyEmojis = /^[\u{1F600}-\u{1F6FF}\s]+$/u.test(comment.text);
    
    // No profile info
    const noProfile = !comment.user?.follower_count;
    
    if (isGeneric || onlyEmojis) {
      suspicious.push(comment);
    }
  }
  
  return {
    total: comments.length,
    suspicious: suspicious.length,
    suspiciousRate: ((suspicious.length / comments.length) * 100).toFixed(1) + '%'
  };
}

4. Monitor Brand Mentions

Track what people say about your brand:

async function monitorBrandComments(brandKeywords, competitorPosts) {
  const mentions = [];
  
  for (const postUrl of competitorPosts) {
    const comments = await scrapeComments(postUrl, 200);
    
    for (const comment of comments.data) {
      const text = comment.text.toLowerCase();
      
      if (brandKeywords.some(kw => text.includes(kw.toLowerCase()))) {
        mentions.push({
          postUrl,
          comment: comment.text,
          username: comment.username,
          timestamp: comment.timestamp
        });
      }
    }
  }
  
  return mentions;
}

5. Export to Spreadsheet

function commentsToCSV(comments) {
  const headers = ['username', 'text', 'likes', 'timestamp'];
  const rows = comments.map(c => [
    c.username,
    `"${c.text.replace(/"/g, '""')}"`, // Escape quotes
    c.likes,
    c.timestamp
  ]);
  
  return [headers.join(','), ...rows.map(r => r.join(','))].join('\n');
}

// Save to file
const csv = commentsToCSV(comments.data);
require('fs').writeFileSync('comments.csv', csv);

Tips for Better Results

1. Get enough comments - For sentiment analysis, 200+ comments gives better accuracy
2. Check replies too - Sometimes the best insights are in reply threads
3. Filter spam - Remove obvious bot comments before analysis
4. Track over time - Monitor comments on new posts to spot trends

Getting Started

1. Sign up at sociavault.com
2. Get 50 free credits
3. Copy your API key
4. Start scraping comments

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I scrape comments from any Instagram post?

Yes, any public post. Private accounts and their posts cannot be accessed.

How many comments can I get?

The API can retrieve all comments on a post. For viral posts with thousands of comments, you may want to set a limit.

Do I get replies to comments?

Yes, the API returns nested replies along with the parent comments.

Can I get the commenter's profile info?

Yes, basic profile information (username, follower count, verified status) is included.

Is this legal?

Yes, scraping publicly visible comments is legal. See our Instagram scraping legal guide.

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Related guides:

• Instagram Scraper API
• How to Scrape Instagram Data
• Social Media Sentiment Analysis
• Detect Fake Engagement