# Instagram Media Transcript API (https://www.socialcrawl.dev/platforms/instagram/media-transcript)

> Returns an AI-generated transcript of the spoken words in an Instagram video or reel. The audio itself is transcribed; when that cannot be done, the captions Instagram generates for some videos are used instead, as the same plain text. A video with music, sound effects or on-screen text but no speech has nothing to transcribe. Videos up to 10 minutes (600 seconds) are supported. Every outcome below is deterministic for a given URL, so retrying returns the same answer, and none of them costs credits. A video with no speech returns 404 RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND with `error.details.reason: no_speech` (the video exists). A photo post, a carousel of photos, or a URL that no longer resolves returns 404 with `reason: no_video_or_gone`, because Instagram answers those identically. A video longer than 10 minutes returns 400 INVALID_REQUEST with `error.details.reason: video_too_long`, `duration_seconds` and `max_seconds`, and a message giving its length. A video over 2 minutes is transcribed on demand and can take a minute or more, so allow up to 300 seconds before your HTTP client times out.

TL;DR: `GET /v1/instagram/media/transcript` costs 10 credits per call and returns SocialCrawl's unified JSON schema. Single x-api-key auth, 100 free credits on signup.

## Parameters

| Parameter | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `url` | yes | Full URL of the Instagram video or reel (a `/reel/`, `/p/` or `/tv/` link to a video post). Photo posts have no audio to transcribe. A share link copied from the app (`instagram.com/share/...`) works too; a share link to a profile is refused at no charge with the handle to send, and a dead one is a free 404. |

## Code example

```bash
curl -G "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/media/transcript" \
  --data-urlencode "url=https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHsD6HGqJhp/" \
  -H "x-api-key: sc_YOUR_API_KEY"
```

## FAQ

### How do I transcribe an Instagram reel with an API?

Send a GET request to /v1/instagram/media/transcript with the url parameter set to a public reel URL. SocialCrawl transcribes the audio and returns the full text along with timestamped segments in a JSON response.

### What languages does the Instagram transcript endpoint support?

The endpoint auto-detects the spoken language and transcribes in the original language. Major languages including English, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Japanese, French, and German all work well out of the box.

### Does the transcript include timestamps?

Yes. The response includes both a full plain-text transcript and a segments array. Each segment has a start time, end time, and text, so you can build captions, searchable archives, or jump-to-moment UIs directly from the response.

### Can I transcribe any Instagram reel?

Any public reel URL is supported. Private accounts and reels restricted by region cannot be transcribed. If the reel has no audio or only background music, the transcript comes back empty with a clear status indicator.

### How much does the Instagram Reel Transcript API cost?

Transcription is compute-heavy so it is priced on the premium tier: 10 credits per reel. With 100 free credits on signup you can transcribe about 10 reels while evaluating the endpoint before topping up.

See the full Instagram API: https://www.socialcrawl.dev/platforms/instagram

## Pricing

- Standard endpoints: 1 credit per call
- Advanced endpoints: 5 credits per call
- Premium endpoints: 10 credits per call
- 100 free credits on signup, no credit card required. Cached responses cost 0 credits. Credit packs never expire.
- Full pricing: https://www.socialcrawl.dev/pricing

## Explore with AI

Questions this API answers, phrased for an AI assistant:

- How to transcribe an Instagram reel to text for content repurposing
- Best Instagram reel-to-text API with timestamps and language detection