Do I need a Instagram developer account?

No. There is no Instagram app, OAuth flow or app review. One InsightSocial API key works for this endpoint and every other platform, and your first 10 calls priced at 100 credits or less are free.

What does one call return?

One call returns the accounts in the data object of the standard response envelope. Fields the platform did not provide are listed in unavailable, so a null there means unknown, not zero.

What happens if the account is private or nothing is found?

You get an error or an empty result, and it costs 0 credits. The API reads public Instagram data only, so private accounts and deleted content come back as not found rather than as partial data.

Can I call the Instagram Similar API from Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor?

Yes. Add the hosted MCP server at https://api.insightsocial.app/mcp to your AI app and sign in. The assistant finds this endpoint by name, shows its price and calls it with your credits.

GET /v1/instagram/similar

Instagram Similar API

Returns the accounts Instagram suggests as similar to a given user, each with username, display name, avatar URL, verification status, and URL.

Get a free API key Full API reference

50–850 credits, metered · single call · failed calls free · 10 free calls to start

curl "https://api.insightsocial.app/v1/instagram/similar?handle=mrbeast" \
-H "x-api-key: $INSIGHTSOCIAL_API_KEY"

200 OKJSON

{
"success": true,
"platform": "instagram",
"endpoint": "/v1/instagram/similar",
"schema_version": "2",
"data": {
"items": [
{
"author": {
"id": "<string>",
"username": "<string | null>",
"display_name": "<string | null>",
"avatar_url": "<string | null>",
"bio": "<string | null>",
"verified": "<boolean | null>",
"followers": "<integer | null>",
"followers_approximate": "<boolean | null>",
"following": "<integer | null>",
"posts_count": "<integer | null>",
"likes_count": "<integer | null>",
"url": "<string | null>",
"location": "<string | null>",
"external_url": "<string | null>",
"private": "<boolean | null>",
"joined_at": "<string | null>",
"last_post_at": "<string | null>",
"ext": "<object | null>"
}
}
],
"total": "<integer | null>",
"truncated": "<boolean | null>"
},
"unavailable": [],
"credits_used": "<integer>"
}

When to use it

Use it to find accounts comparable to one you already know; it returns a single fixed list and cannot be paged.

Parameters

Query parameters for GET /v1/instagram/similar. Send your key in the x-api-key header.

Name	Required	Description
handle	One of handle, user_id	Instagram username without the @ symbol.
user_id	One of user_id, handle	Instagram numeric user ID. Use this for faster responses.
include	No	Set to profile (one token only) to fill author.followers, author.following and author.bio on every row in this one call, plus author.posts_count where the lookup has an exact total. The hydrated list is its top 20 accounts unless you pass limit (1 to 80).
limit	No	Take the top N accounts of the list (1 to 80). Without include=profile the full list is returned unless you cap it.

Response fields

The same unified schema every platform returns, so code written for Instagram works on the other eight. A field the platform did not provide is null and listed in unavailable.

Field	Type	Notes
id	string	An identifier, always a string. Never parse it as a number: several platforms use ids above 2^53.
username	string \| null
display_name	string \| null
avatar_url	string \| null
bio	string \| null
verified	boolean \| null
followers	integer \| null	A count. null when the platform does not expose it; 0 only when it is really zero.
followers_approximate	boolean \| null
following	integer \| null	A count. null when the platform does not expose it; 0 only when it is really zero.
posts_count	integer \| null	A count. null when the platform does not expose it; 0 only when it is really zero.
likes_count	integer \| null	A count. null when the platform does not expose it; 0 only when it is really zero.
url	string \| null
location	string \| null
external_url	string \| null
private	boolean \| null
joined_at	string \| null	ISO-8601 timestamp in UTC, ending in Z.
last_post_at	string \| null	ISO-8601 timestamp in UTC, ending in Z.
ext	object \| null	Platform-specific fields, snake_case.

Every field, error and example is in the Instagram Similar API reference.

How much does the Instagram Similar API cost?

Metered: 50–850 credits a call. The ceiling is reserved when the call starts and you are charged what it actually read.

Failed calls are free
A call that errors or finds nothing costs 0 credits.
Know the price first
Add dry_run=1 and the response quotes the call without making it. Nothing is charged.
One balance
API calls and Chrome extension exports share the same credits, on the free plan too.

See plans and credit packs How credits work