# Instagram Engagement API (https://www.socialcrawl.dev/platforms/instagram/engagement)

> Returns computed engagement statistics for an Instagram account based on its recent posts — an overall engagement rate, follower count, total likes and comments across the sampled posts, and a per-post breakdown with likes, comments, post time, and likes/comments-per-hour velocity. Pass the account `handle`.

TL;DR: `GET /v1/instagram/engagement` costs 5 credits per call and returns SocialCrawl's unified JSON schema. Single x-api-key auth, 100 free credits on signup.

## Parameters

| Parameter | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `handle` | yes | Instagram username without the @ symbol. |

## Code example

```bash
curl "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/engagement?handle=mrbeast" \
  -H "x-api-key: sc_YOUR_API_KEY"
```

## FAQ

### How do I calculate an Instagram account's engagement rate with an API?

Send a GET request to /v1/instagram/engagement with a handle. SocialCrawl samples the account's recent posts and returns the overall engagement rate, follower count, total likes and comments, and a per-post breakdown as a JSON object.

### How is the engagement rate computed?

It is computed deterministically from the account's recent posts: total likes plus comments across the sample relative to follower count. No AI estimation is involved, so results are reproducible.

### What per-post metrics does it return?

Each sampled post includes likes, comments, and post time, plus a likes-per-hour and comments-per-hour velocity so you can see how quickly engagement accrued after posting.

### How much does the engagement API cost?

Each request costs 5 credits on the advanced tier and returns the full computed statistics object. New accounts get 100 free credits with no credit card to start.

### What is the engagement endpoint used for?

It powers influencer vetting and competitor benchmarking: verify a creator's real engagement rate before a deal, or compare accounts on likes and comment velocity.

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 compute an Instagram influencer's engagement rate with an API
- API that returns Instagram engagement rate and per-post likes-per-hour