# Instagram Username Availability Checker (`seemuapps/instagram-username-checker`) Actor

Check if Instagram usernames are available or taken in bulk, get alternative handle suggestions, and see who owns taken names - no login required.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/seemuapps/instagram-username-checker.md
- **Developed by:** [Andrew](https://apify.com/seemuapps) (community)
- **Categories:**
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $4.00 / 1,000 username checkeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Instagram Username Availability Checker

Check whether Instagram usernames are available or already taken, hundreds at a time, without logging in. Paste a list of handles, get back a clean table that says **available**, **taken**, or **invalid** for each one, plus who currently owns the taken names and ready-made alternatives that are free.

### What you get

For every username you enter, one record with:

- **Status** — `available`, `taken`, `invalid` (breaks Instagram's naming rules) or `error`
- **Reason** — a plain-English explanation, including a warning when a free-looking name contains a word Instagram reserves at signup
- **Owner details for taken names** — user ID, display name, verified badge, private flag, business flag, category, follower / following / post counts, bio, external link and profile picture URL
- **Alternative suggestions** — when a name is taken, the checker can test common variants (`name_`, `the.name`, `name.official`, `namehq`, `name2026`, …) and tell you which ones are free
- **Profile URL** and an ISO `checkedAt` timestamp on every row
- Export to JSON, CSV, Excel or Google Sheets directly from the Apify console

### Use cases

- **Brand and product naming** — confirm your handle is free before you register the domain and file the trademark
- **Rebrands and launches** — check a shortlist of candidate usernames across all your markets in one run
- **Handle monitoring** — re-run on a schedule to catch the moment a wanted username frees up
- **Agency onboarding** — validate client-supplied handle lists and catch typos, dead accounts and impostors
- **Username research** — see who owns a name, how big their audience is, and whether it's a parked or abandoned account

### How to use

1. Enter one or more **usernames** (with or without @, profile URLs are fine too)
2. Optionally set **Alternatives to check when taken** (0–10) to get free variants for every taken name
3. Leave **Include owner profile details** on to see who holds each taken name
4. Run the actor — one row per checked handle appears in the **Dataset** tab

Invalid names (over 30 characters, illegal characters, a trailing period or consecutive periods) are reported without an external check and are not billed.

### Output format

```json
{
  "username": "natgeo",
  "status": "taken",
  "available": false,
  "reason": "An account already uses this username",
  "profileUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/",
  "alternativeFor": null,
  "userId": "787132",
  "fullName": "National Geographic",
  "isVerified": true,
  "isPrivate": false,
  "isBusiness": true,
  "category": "",
  "followerCount": 268605896,
  "followingCount": 194,
  "mediaCount": 31964,
  "biography": "Step into wonder and find your inner explorer with National Geographic 🌎",
  "externalUrl": "http://visitstore.bio/natgeo",
  "profilePicUrl": "https://.../",
  "checkedAt": "2026-09-07T02:58:11.000Z"
}
```

An available name looks like this:

```json
{
  "username": "my.brand.new.handle_2026",
  "status": "available",
  "available": true,
  "reason": "No account uses this username",
  "profileUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/my.brand.new.handle_2026/",
  "alternativeFor": null,
  "checkedAt": "2026-09-07T02:58:11.000Z"
}
```

Alternative suggestions carry the original name in `alternativeFor` so you can group them in a spreadsheet.

### Good to know

- **Available means no public account currently uses the name.** Instagram may still refuse it at signup if it was deleted or banned recently, or if it contains a reserved brand word such as "instagram". The `reason` field flags the reserved-word case.
- Deactivated (temporarily disabled) accounts also show as available, because Instagram hides them completely while they are disabled.
- Names are normalized to lowercase and duplicates are removed before checking, so `@NatGeo` and `natgeo` count once.
- Each checked handle costs one result. Invalid names are free.

### Related actors

- **Instagram Account Age & Country Checker** — find out when a taken username's account was created and where it is based
- **Bulk Social Handle Checker** — check the same handle across Instagram, TikTok and X at once

# Actor input Schema

## `usernames` (type: `array`):

Instagram usernames to check, with or without @ (profile URLs work too). One availability check per entry. Duplicates are removed automatically.

## `suggestAlternatives` (type: `integer`):

When a username is taken, also check up to this many alternative handles (e.g. name\_, the.name, name.official, nameHQ) and report which of those are free. 0 disables suggestions. Each alternative checked counts as one result.

## `includeProfileDetails` (type: `boolean`):

For taken usernames, include the current owner's display name, follower count, verification, privacy flag and profile picture in the result.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "usernames": [
    "natgeo",
    "my.brand.new.handle_2026"
  ],
  "suggestAlternatives": 0,
  "includeProfileDetails": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

One record per username checked: username, status (available | taken | invalid | error), available, reason, profileUrl, alternativeFor, and for taken names the owner's userId, fullName, isVerified, isPrivate, followerCount, followingCount, mediaCount, profilePicUrl. checkedAt on every row.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "usernames": [
        "natgeo",
        "my.brand.new.handle_2026"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("seemuapps/instagram-username-checker").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "usernames": [
        "natgeo",
        "my.brand.new.handle_2026",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("seemuapps/instagram-username-checker").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "usernames": [
    "natgeo",
    "my.brand.new.handle_2026"
  ]
}' |
apify call seemuapps/instagram-username-checker --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,seemuapps/instagram-username-checker"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/fXgRCc7HOk23D8mnL/builds/7P2gLha8eqweEnFJH/openapi.json