API guideThe Instagram API in 2026.Professional accounts, through App Review.
Instagram's API has no fee and only posts to professional accounts, business or creator. It comes in two setups, Instagram Login and Facebook Login for Business. Publishing takes at least two calls: a media container, then media_publish. Posting for people without a role on your app takes Advanced Access, which means App Review and Business Verification.
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The Instagram API at a glanceWhat it takes before the first post.
- Price
- No fee. Meta's Platform Terms say it doesn't guarantee the platform will always be free
- Accounts you can post to
- Professional accounts only, business or creator
- Two setups
- Instagram Login (graph.instagram.com, no Facebook Page needed) or Facebook Login for Business (a linked Page). One per app
- Permissions to publish
- instagram_business_basic and instagram_business_content_publish, with Instagram Login
- Review
- Advanced Access needs App Review and Business Verification. Meta says a decision usually comes within a week
- Publishing limit
- 100 API posts per 24 hours per account, a carousel counting as one
- Access tokens
- 60 days. Refresh after 24 hours, before they expire
- Scheduling
- None: media_publish publishes at once
Checked on October 6, 2026, from Instagram's developer documentation and terms.
Our recommendationTo post to Instagram from your product, use Breakreach's API.We built it, so here's the case.
See the request- No App Review, Business Verification or screencasts: accounts connect through Breakreach's Meta app, approved for publishing, comments, insights and messages
- One request for a photo, a Reel or a carousel of 2 to 10 files: containers, status checks and JPEG conversion are handled
- Scheduling Instagram's API doesn't have, tokens refreshed for you, and the same request posts to 11 other networks
When to use Instagram's API directly. Breakreach doesn't post first comments, collaborators or Reel covers, and Stories go through its MCP server only. For those, or for product tags, build on Instagram's API directly.
How to get access to the Instagram APIFrom a developer account to your first real post.
- 1Create a Business appAt developers.facebook.com, once registered as a Meta developer. An app of another type can't use the Instagram API: create a new one and pick Business.
- 2Add the Instagram use case"Manage messaging and content on Instagram", with the API setup with Instagram Login. Add instagram_business_content_publish to the default permissions.
- 3Add your account and set up Business LoginUnder Generate access tokens, add your Instagram professional account. Then set the redirect URL, and the deauthorize and data deletion URLs.
- 4Test in Development modeOnly people with a role on the app can grant it permissions, and only they see what it posts. An app that only serves a business you own can stay on Standard Access, without review.
- 5Ask for Advanced AccessTo serve other businesses: App Review plus Business Verification. Each permission needs a successful API call in the last 30 days and a screen recording, 1080p or better, of a user granting it and the app using it.
Meta says a submission usually gets a decision within a week, often in 2 to 3 days, longer at peak times. Breakreach went through it: Meta approved our permissions for comments, insights and messages on September 24, 2026.
How to post with the Instagram APIThe requests in the demo above, one by one.
- 1Create a container per photoPOST /{ig-id}/media with image_url and is_carousel_item=true. Instagram downloads the file from that URL, so it must be public: JPEG, up to 8 MB.
- 2Create the carousel containerPOST /{ig-id}/media with media_type=CAROUSEL, the children's ids and the caption. Every photo is cropped to the first one's shape.
- 3PublishPOST /{ig-id}/media_publish with creation_id. For a Reel (media_type=REELS and a video_url), check the container's status_code first, once a minute for up to 5 minutes, until it's FINISHED.
A single photo is one container, then media_publish. Containers expire after 24 hours, and an account can create 400 of them a day.
Common Instagram API errorsWhat they mean and how to fix them.
| Error | What it means | Fix |
|---|---|---|
9 / 2207042 | The account reached its daily publishing limit. | Publish again the next day. content_publishing_limit shows the usage. |
9007 / 2207027 | Media not ready: the video container is still processing. | Poll status_code and publish once it's FINISHED. |
9004 / 2207052 | Instagram couldn't download the file from your URL. | Host it on a public URL. |
36003 / 2207009 | The photo's aspect ratio is outside 4:5 to 1.91:1. | Crop it before creating the container. |
352 / 2207026 | The video format isn't supported. | Send MOV or MP4. |
100 / 2207028 | A carousel needs 2 to 10 items. | Fix the number of children. |
25 / 2207050 | Instagram restricted the account. | The owner signs in to the Instagram app and clears it. |
Instagram API limitsRate limits, text and media.
- Publishing100 API-published posts per 24 hours per account, carousels counting as one. Some of Meta's own pages still say 50, so read the live value at GET /{ig-id}/content_publishing_limit.
- API calls4,800 calls times the account's impressions, per 24 hours (the Business Use Case limit).
- Captions2,200 characters, 30 hashtags and 20 @ mentions.
- PhotosJPEG only, up to 8 MB, between 4:5 and 1.91:1, 320 to 1,440 pixels wide.
- ReelsMOV or MP4, 3 seconds to 15 minutes, up to 300 MB, 23 to 60 frames a second. 9:16 recommended.
- Carousels and StoriesCarousels take 2 to 10 photos and videos, but no Reels. Story videos run 3 to 60 seconds, up to 100 MB.
Is the Instagram API free?
There's no fee and no price list in Instagram's docs. Meta's Platform Terms only say it doesn't guarantee the platform will always be free.
What costs is the setup: a Business app, App Review with a screen recording per permission, Business Verification, and tokens to refresh before their 60 days are up. And the account must be professional: no official API posts to a personal Instagram account.
Through Breakreach, an Instagram account counts like any other connected account: the first 2 are free, then $5 a month each up to 20.
Ways to post to Instagram from code
| What you set up | Price | Posts to Instagram | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breakreach | An API key. Accounts connect through Breakreach's reviewed apps, or your users connect theirs on a hosted page | First 2 accounts free, then $5 a month per account (less from 21) | Yes, Posts, Reels and carousels |
| Instagram's own API | A Meta Business app, App Review and Business Verification | No, Fee | Yes |
| Upload-Post | An API key | Free for 2 profiles and 10 uploads a month; Basic $24 a month for 5 profiles | Yes |
| Zernio | An API key | First 2 accounts free, then $6 per account up to 10, $3 up to 100, $1 after | Yes |
| Ayrshare | An API key | From $149 a month for 1 profile, no free plan | Yes |
| Outstand | An API key | $19 a month for 3,000 posts, then per post | Yes |
What the Instagram API can't do
- Post to personal accounts: professional accounts only
- Edit a caption after publishing: the API only turns comments on or off
- Add filters, shopping tags or Story stickers such as links and polls
- Delete posts with Instagram Login: deleting needs Facebook Login
- Carousels of more than 10 items, or Reels inside a carousel
Post to Instagram with Breakreach's APIOne request, scheduled, with retries.
What it posts on Instagram
- Photos and ReelsOne photo is a feed post, one video a Reel. Photos are converted to JPEG, and centre-cropped into 4:5 to 1.91:1 when they fall outside it.
- Carousels2 to 10 photos and videos in order, all cropped to the first photo's shape, counted as one post.
- Comments, DMs and insightsRead and answer comments, answer DMs within Instagram's 24-hour window, and read each post's metrics.
- SchedulingscheduledAt in your workspace's timezone, the next free slot, publishNow, or a draft to approve in the app.
Not yet
- First comments and collaborators
- Reel covers
- Stories through the REST API (the MCP server posts them)
The full reference, webhooks and the price per connected account are on the developers page, and the OpenAPI spec is at api.breakreach.com/v1/openapi.json.
Questions, answered.
Short answers about the Instagram API.
There's no fee: Instagram's docs have no price list, and Meta's Platform Terms only say it doesn't guarantee the platform will always be free. The cost is App Review, Business Verification and token upkeep.
No. The Instagram API only works with professional accounts, business or creator. Switching a personal account to professional takes a minute in the Instagram app.
Instagram Login (graph.instagram.com) needs no Facebook Page and covers publishing, comments and messages, but not hashtag search, product tags or partnership ads. Facebook Login for Business needs the account linked to a Page. An app uses one or the other.
100 per account per 24 hours, a carousel counting as one, per Meta's rate limit section. Some of its pages still say 50, so read GET /{ig-id}/content_publishing_limit.
Meta says a decision usually comes within a week, often in 2 to 3 days, and longer at peak times. Business Verification is a separate step.
Yes. A Reel is a container with media_type=REELS and a video_url; a carousel is 2 to 10 child containers, then a CAROUSEL container. Both end with media_publish.
The first 2 connected accounts are free; from the third it's $5 a month per account up to 20, $3 up to 100, then $2. You pay per connected account, never per post or per request.
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