[Blog](https://scrapfly.io/blog) / [python](https://scrapfly.io/blog/tag/python) / [The Best Open-Source Social Media Scrapers for 2026](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/best-social-media-scraping-tools) # The Best Open-Source Social Media Scrapers for 2026 by [Mohab Yousry](https://scrapfly.io/blog/author/mohab-yousry-9396552a) Jun 23, 2026 16 min read [\#python](https://scrapfly.io/blog/tag/python) [\#web-scraping](https://scrapfly.io/blog/tag/web-scraping) [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fscrapfly.io%2Fblog%2Fposts%2Fbest-social-media-scraping-tools "Share on LinkedIn") Most "best social media scraper" lists hand you ten paid APIs and a pricing table. The harder truth: nearly every tool works on YouTube and falls over on Instagram and LinkedIn, where login walls and fingerprinting do the real blocking. An independent Proxyway benchmark from October 2025 tested 11 scraping APIs across 15 protected sites and found that only 4 exceeded 80% success rate. One well known API scored 0% on Instagram and Twitter specifically. This guide covers eight free, open source, actively maintained scrapers from the [scrapfly-scrapers](https://github.com/scrapfly/scrapfly-scrapers) repository, one for each major platform, backed by one reliability engine that handles the blocking. ## Key Takeaways - **Eight platforms, one repository.** All scrapers live in `scrapfly-scrapers` repo and share the same SDK pattern, switching targets means changing the URL and headers, not rewriting the integration. - **The block rate is the real variable.** Independent benchmarks show that most scraping tools fail on Instagram, X, and LinkedIn not because of bad code but because the underlying request infrastructure fails fingerprint checks. The bypass layer determines success. - **Open source is free; blocking infrastructure is not.** The scraper code costs nothing. The Scrapfly Web Scraping API handles proxy rotation, TLS fingerprinting, and challenge solving the work that breaks static IP scrapers with clean code. - **Public data only has a clear boundary.** Data visible to a logged-out visitor is the defensible scope after hiQ v. LinkedIn. Login-walled content, private profiles, and storing EU personal data all carry separate legal and compliance risk. - **Official APIs are not substitutes for most use cases.** LinkedIn and TikTok gate useful endpoints behind vetted partner programs. X charges a lot at the basic tier. YouTube caps daily quota at 10,000 units. Scrapers cover the volume and scope the official APIs do not. - **Prototype first, scale without rewrites.** The same open-source scraper that works during development connects to the same reliability engine in production. There is no rewrite step when volume grows. **Get web scraping tips in your inbox**Trusted by 100K+ developers and 30K+ enterprises. Unsubscribe anytime. ## Quick Picks: Which Social Media Scraper Should You Use? If you know your target platform, the table below maps it directly to the right open-source scraper and the full per platform guide. Each scraper is free, maintained, and available in the same repository. | Platform | Open-source scraper | Key public data | Full guide | |---|---|---|---| | Instagram | [instagram-scraper](https://github.com/scrapfly/scrapfly-scrapers/tree/main/instagram-scraper) | profiles, posts, comments, media URLs | [How to Scrape Instagram](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/how-to-scrape-instagram) | | Twitter / X | [twitter-scraper](https://github.com/scrapfly/scrapfly-scrapers/tree/main/twitter-scraper) | tweets, replies, profile metadata | [How to Scrape Twitter](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/how-to-scrape-twitter) | | LinkedIn | [linkedin-scraper](https://github.com/scrapfly/scrapfly-scrapers/tree/main/linkedin-scraper) | profiles, companies, jobs, articles | [How to Scrape LinkedIn](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/how-to-scrape-linkedin) | | TikTok | [tiktok-scraper](https://github.com/scrapfly/scrapfly-scrapers/tree/main/tiktok-scraper) | posts, comments, profiles, search | [How to Scrape TikTok](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/how-to-scrape-tiktok-python-json) | | YouTube | [youtube-scraper](https://github.com/scrapfly/scrapfly-scrapers/tree/main/youtube-scraper) | videos, channels, comments, shorts | [How to Scrape YouTube](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/how-to-scrape-youtube) | | Reddit | [reddit-scraper](https://github.com/scrapfly/scrapfly-scrapers/tree/main/reddit-scraper) | posts, subreddits, user history | [How to Scrape Reddit](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/how-to-scrape-reddit-social-data) | | Threads | [threads-scraper](https://github.com/scrapfly/scrapfly-scrapers/tree/main/threads-scraper) | profiles, threads, engagement | [How to Scrape Threads](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/how-to-scrape-threads) | | Facebook | [facebook-scraper](https://github.com/scrapfly/scrapfly-scrapers/tree/main/facebook-scraper) | public page posts, page metadata | [How to Scrape Facebook](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/how-to-scrape-facebook) | In the next section let us understand what separates a scraper that keeps working from one that breaks every few weeks. ## What Makes a Social Media Scraping Tool Reliable in 2026? A social media scraping tool is only as good as its block rate. The platforms that matter like Instagram, X, LinkedIn run login walls and fingerprinting that quietly fail most scrapers, so reliability is the first criterion, not the last. Four factors separate a reliable scraper from one that breaks within weeks: - **Anti-bot success rate.** The Proxyway October 2025 benchmark tested 11 APIs across 15 protected sites only 4 exceeded 80% success rate, and one well known API scored 0% on Instagram and Twitter. An independent review of 75,000 plus requests confirmed success rate is the metric that varies most between providers. Read third party benchmarks before committing. - **Consistent, normalized output.** Follower count appears as `followerCount`, `fan_count`, and `edge_followed_by.count` depending on the platform. Without normalization at the scraper level, every integration needs its own parser and its own maintenance window when field names change. - **Actively maintained per-platform coverage.** Instagram changes its internal `doc_id` parameters every two to four weeks, X has updated its guest API multiple times since the 2023 lockdown. An unmaintained scraper breaks within days of a platform update. Maintenance cadence determines whether code written today still runs next month. - **Free to start, scalable without rewrites.** Open source lets you validate a use case before signing any contract. A reliability layer (proxy rotation, fingerprinting) handles volume, the scraper logic stays the same. Tools that require paid access before you can test anything add friction that open source avoids entirely. Social platforms are harder to scrape than standard websites because valuable data sits behind login walls, behavioral signals flag non-human sessions, and browser fingerprinting runs even on public pages. For a full breakdown of why social scraping is structurally harder than scraping e-commerce or news sites check out our `Social Media Scraping` article. [Social Media Scraping in 2026Compare four scraping methods across seven platforms. Difficulty ratings, anti-bot techniques, and Python examples for Instagram, Twitter/X, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, and Threads.](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/social-media-scraping) The next section walks through all eight scrapers and what makes each one worth using for its specific platform. ## The 8 Best Social Media Scraping Tools (All Open Source) ### Instagram: instagram-scraper **Best for** profile, post, and comment data at scale. The `instagram-scraper` extracts public profiles (bios, metrics, posts, captions, comments, and media URLs). Instagram is the most difficult target: it mandates logins, employs aggressive browser fingerprinting, and rotates API `doc_id` parameters every few weeks. Consequently, scrapers often fail silently, returning empty results rather than errors following platform updates. The scraper calls Instagram's internal REST API at `web_profile_info` and GraphQL endpoints rather than parsing rendered HTML, which makes it faster and more stable than DOM-based approaches. Scrapfly's Web Scraping API with Anti Scraping Protection handles the fingerprinting and residential proxy rotation that Instagram requires. python```python import json from scrapfly import ScrapflyClient, ScrapeConfig client = ScrapflyClient(key="YOUR_SCRAPFLY_API_KEY") result = client.scrape(ScrapeConfig( url="https://www.instagram.com/api/v1/users/web_profile_info/?username=instagram", asp=True, country="US", headers={"x-ig-app-id": "936619743392459"}, )) data = json.loads(result.content) user = data["data"]["user"] print(f"Username: {user['username']}") print(f"Followers: {user['edge_followed_by']['count']:,}") print(f"Following: {user['edge_follow']['count']:,}") print(f"Biography: {user['biography']}") ``` This snippet shows a profile pull using the real Instagram internal endpoint. The same structure can be used for the rest of the platforms. The same SDK pattern: `ScrapflyClient` with `asp=True` and a `country` parameter applies to all eight scrapers. The per platform difference is the URL and headers. Check out our full tutorial on scraping instagram: [How to Scrape Instagram in 2026Tutorial on how to scrape instagram.com user and post data using pure Python. How to scrape instagram without loging in or being blocked.](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/how-to-scrape-instagram) ### Twitter / X : twitter-scraper **Best for** tweets and profile data after the 2023 API lockdown. The `twitter-scraper` extracts tweets, replies, public profile metadata, follower counts, and timeline data. X removed the free public guest API in 2023, which ended programmatic access for most independent developers. Most timeline and search endpoints now require an authenticated session or a paid API plan. The scraper approaches this by using session handling and web interface endpoints that remain accessible without a developer account. X's rate limiting is aggressive enough to block datacenter IPs within minutes of sustained requests, which is why the ASP layer's residential proxy pool is what separates sustained data collection from a one time successful run. Check out our full tutorial for scraping twitter. [How to Scrape Twitter (X.com) Data in 2026X.com changed the game in 2023 by closing free API access and implementing defenses that shift every 2-4 weeks. This guide explains what breaks, why it breaks, and how ScrapFly's maintained scraper handles it automatically.](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/how-to-scrape-twitter) ### LinkedIn: linkedin-scraper **Best for** B2B profile, company, and job data. The `linkedin-scraper` extracts public profiles (names, headlines, work history), company pages, job listings, and articles. LinkedIn deploys an exceptionally aggressive anti-bot stack. Because most coveted data sits behind a login wall, and LinkedIn aggressively pursues high-volume scrapers legally, compliant tools must restrict scope exclusively to public data indexed by search engines: profiles visible to logged-out visitors, open company pages, and public job listings. Within that scope, the scraper handles LinkedIn's JavaScript rendering requirements and fingerprinting without manual stealth configuration. Check out our full tutorial [How to Scrape LinkedIn Profiles, Companies, and Jobs in 2026LinkedIn aggressively blocks scrapers. This guide shows how to scrape profiles, companies, and jobs anyway using ScrapFly's anti-bot solution. Python code included.](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/how-to-scrape-linkedin) ### TikTok: tiktok-scraper **Best for** video, comment, and creator analytics. The `tiktok-scraper` pulls post metadata, captions, like counts, comment counts, share counts, profile statistics, and search results. TikTok's main scraping challenge is its JavaScript rendered web surface. Static HTTP requests without a rendered browser context return incomplete or empty responses on most feed and search pages, requiring a headless browser or a rendering aware API call for consistent data returns. The scraper handles session warm up and JavaScript rendering through the same Web Scraping API `render_js` parameter used for other dynamic platforms, keeping the implementation consistent across the toolkit. Check out our full tutorial [How To Scrape TikTok in 2026Complete guide to scraping TikTok in 2026. Learn TikTok's new anti-bot defenses, hidden JSON APIs, and production-ready solutions. Extract profiles, videos, comments, and search data with zero maintenance using ScrapFly.](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/how-to-scrape-tiktok-python-json) ### YouTube: youtube-scraper **Best for** channel, video, and comment data without API quota limits. The `youtube-scraper` extracts channel and video metadata, comments, and shorts. YouTube is the easiest target here: most content renders unauthenticated, and it lacks the aggressive fingerprinting of Instagram or LinkedIn. While the official YouTube Data API caps daily volume at 10,000 quota units (roughly 100 detailed video lookups), scraping bypasses these restrictions, making it the only practical option for large-scale channel data collection and comment pagination. Check out our full tutorial [How to Scrape YouTube in 2026Learn how to scrape YouTube channel, video, comment, and Shorts data in Python using hidden APIs and yt-dlp. No API key required.](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/how-to-scrape-youtube) ### Reddit: reddit-scraper **Best for** posts, subreddits, and user history for research and monitoring. The `reddit-scraper` extracts post pages, subreddit listings, comment threads, and user activity history. Anonymous web access to Reddit is workable but rate limited, and verification walls start appearing under sustained request load. Since Reddit's 2023 API pricing change made programmatic PRAW access expensive at any real scale, scraping the public web interface has become the more practical route for most read only research and monitoring use cases. The scraper targets Reddit's web endpoints and JSON feed variants (`reddit.com/r/subreddit.json`) which return structured data without requiring a Reddit developer account. Check out our full tutorial [How to Scrape Reddit Posts, Subreddits and ProfilesIn this article, we'll explore how to scrape Reddit. We'll extract various social data types from subreddits, posts, and user pages. All of which through plain HTTP requests without headless browser usage.](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/how-to-scrape-reddit-social-data) ### Threads: threads-scraper **Best for** Meta's text network, profile and post data. The `threads-scraper` extracts public posts, replies, profile metadata, and engagement counts. Threads has no public API and uses a JavaScript rendered web view, but its anti-bot intensity is noticeably lower than Instagram's. The platform shares infrastructure with Instagram under Meta's backend, which means its data model can change alongside Instagram updates. That shared infrastructure is also why the Instagram level reliability layer is worth using here even though Threads itself is less aggressively defended. Check out our full tutorial [How to scrape Threads by Meta using Python (2026 Update)Guide how to scrape Threads - new social media network by Meta and Instagram - using Python and popular libraries like Playwright and background request capture techniques.](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/how-to-scrape-threads) ### Facebook: facebook-scraper **Best for** public page and group post data. The `facebook-scraper` extracts public page posts, page metadata, and public group posts. The practical constraint is the same as LinkedIn: most Facebook data sits behind a login wall, and Facebook's fingerprinting is among the heaviest of the Meta owned platforms. The scraper scopes to data accessible without authentication, which covers brand monitoring on public pages, public group content aggregation, and page level metadata collection. Check out our full tutorial [How to Scrape Facebook Marketplace and Events With PythonScrape public Facebook Pages, Posts, Marketplace, Events, and Groups in Python with Scrapfly: anti-bot bypass, residential proxies, and JS rendering.](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/how-to-scrape-facebook) ## What Powers These Scrapers? The Web Scraping API and ASP Every scraper above is thin on purpose. The blocking is handled by one Web Scraping API call, not by per platform stealth code that you maintain alongside the scraper. The division of labor works like this: - The open-source scraper owns the parsing and pagination logic for its platform. - The [Scrapfly Web Scraping API](https://scrapfly.io/products/web-scraping-api) with Anti Scraping Protection handles proxy rotation, browser fingerprinting, TLS emulation, and challenge solving. That separation is why one reliability engine works across all eight platforms without requiring per platform anti-bot maintenance in the scraper code itself. Anti Scraping Protection covers the major anti-bot vendors and handles the low-level transport layer to match real browser traffic: - **Anti-bot vendors:** Cloudflare, DataDome, PerimeterX, Kasada, and Akamai - **Transport matching:** TLS fingerprint matching and HTTP/2 header ordering to match real browser traffic signatures When Instagram updates its detection logic or TikTok changes how it evaluates session cookies, the ASP layer updates without requiring changes to your scraper code. ASP also solves schema fragmentation across platforms. The same concept: follower count returns under three different field names depending on which platform you query. Without a normalization layer, maintaining consistent output across eight scrapers means writing and updating eight separate field name mappings. The [Scrapfly AI Extraction API](https://scrapfly.io/products/extraction-api) can normalize messy social payloads into a consistent structured JSON shape, which removes the parser maintenance burden when platforms rename fields or restructure their response schemas. The architecture in practice: 1. The open source scraper constructs the target URL and sends it to the Web Scraping API. 2. ASP handles the fetch, the bypass, and the proxy selection. 3. Structured JSON comes back to your application code. Your application code never directly touches the anti-bot layer, which means adding a new platform target does not require re-engineering the blocking infrastructure. ## Do Official Social Media APIs Replace Scrapers? Official APIs are the right choice when they cover your use case. The Meta Graph API, YouTube Data API, and X API are authoritative, terms compliant, and return stable, well documented fields. For owned account data, moderation workflows, or low volume access to data you already control, the official API is the sensible starting point. The gaps appear quickly in practice: | Platform | Limitation | |---|---| | LinkedIn | Nearly all useful endpoints require approved partner status, which most developers and companies cannot obtain through a standard application | | TikTok | Same partner-gating as LinkedIn useful endpoints are not available through a standard application | | X (Twitter) | Has hard monthly caps on the number of posts you can retrieve | | Meta Graph API | Provides access to pages you own but not to public competitor pages or third-party profiles | | YouTube Data API | Capped at 10,000 quota units per day, which limits you to roughly 100 full video detail requests before hitting the ceiling | Use official APIs for sanctioned, low-volume access to data you own or have access to. Use scrapers for public data the APIs do not expose, volume requirements that exceed API quotas, or platforms where partner access is unavailable. For a comparison of official API methods versus scraping methods per platform, see our `social-media-scraping` article linked above. ## Is Social Media Scraping Legal in 2026? Scraping public social media data is broadly defensible in 2026. Per the hiQ v. LinkedIn precedent, harvesting public web data does not violate the CFAA. The practical boundary is the login wall: data visible to a logged out visitor is generally permissible, while data requiring authentication or bypassing restrictions is not. Two additional compliance considerations apply regardless of platform. - **GDPR Risks:** Storing or processing personal data of EU residents even if scraped from public profiles triggers strict GDPR obligations. Exposure lies in how the data is stored and used, not just collected. - **Public Scope:** All eight scrapers outlined in this guide target public data exclusively. None attempt to access login walled content or private profiles. This is not legal advice, and jurisdiction specific rules vary. For a thorough breakdown of the hiQ v. LinkedIn precedent, data retention requirements, and platform-specific ToS considerations, see the legal section of our `Social Media Scraping` article Linked above. ## FAQ Is there a free social media scraper?Yes, Scrapfly's eight per-platform scrapers are open source and free to run from the `scrapfly-scrapers` repo. You only pay for the Web Scraping API calls that handle blocking, and there is a free tier to start. Can you scrape social media without getting blocked?Reliably scraping Instagram, X, or LinkedIn requires defeating login walls and fingerprinting, which is what ASP automates. Independent benchmarks show most tools fail here, so the bypass layer is what determines success. What is the best tool to scrape Instagram and LinkedIn specifically?These are the two hardest mainstream targets: the `instagram-scraper` and `linkedin-scraper` paired with the Web Scraping API handle the login-wall and fingerprinting challenges that break simpler libraries. Do official platform APIs return the same data as scrapers?Not usually, official APIs cap volume and restrict access (LinkedIn and TikTok gate to partners), so scrapers cover public data that the APIs do not expose. ## Conclusion The right social media scraping stack is not a list of ten paid APIs with overlapping coverage and opaque pricing. It is one maintained, open source scraper per platform plus a reliability engine that survives the blocking those platforms deploy. Start with the `scrapfly-scrapers` repository. Pick your target platform's scraper, add your Scrapfly API key, and run. The open source layer handles parsing, pagination, and platform specific request structure. The `Scrapfly Web Scraping API` handles proxy rotation, browser fingerprinting, and challenge solving at the infrastructure level. When request volume brings IP bans and fingerprint failures, the Web Scraping API is the production answer, the same reliability layer that keeps all eight scrapers running consistently against Instagram, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, Threads, and Facebook without per platform maintenance. Legal Disclaimer and PrecautionsThis tutorial covers popular web scraping techniques for education. Interacting with public servers requires diligence and respect: - Do not scrape at rates that could damage the website. - Do not scrape data that's not available publicly. - Do not store PII of EU citizens protected by GDPR. - Do not repurpose *entire* public datasets which can be illegal in some countries. Scrapfly does not offer legal advice but these are good general rules to follow. For more you should consult a lawyer. Table of Contents Table of Contents- [Key Takeaways](#key-takeaways) - [Quick Picks: Which Social Media Scraper Should You Use?](#quick-picks-which-social-media-scraper-should-you-use) - [What Makes a Social Media Scraping Tool Reliable in 2026?](#what-makes-a-social-media-scraping-tool-reliable-in-2026) - [The 8 Best Social Media Scraping Tools (All Open Source)](#the-8-best-social-media-scraping-tools-all-open-source) - [Instagram: instagram-scraper](#instagram-instagram-scraper) - [Twitter / X : twitter-scraper](#twitter-x-twitter-scraper) - [LinkedIn: linkedin-scraper](#linkedin-linkedin-scraper) - [TikTok: tiktok-scraper](#tiktok-tiktok-scraper) - [YouTube: youtube-scraper](#youtube-youtube-scraper) - [Reddit: reddit-scraper](#reddit-reddit-scraper) - [Threads: threads-scraper](#threads-threads-scraper) - [Facebook: facebook-scraper](#facebook-facebook-scraper) - [What Powers These Scrapers? The Web Scraping API and ASP](#what-powers-these-scrapers-the-web-scraping-api-and-asp) - [Do Official Social Media APIs Replace Scrapers?](#do-official-social-media-apis-replace-scrapers) - [Is Social Media Scraping Legal in 2026?](#is-social-media-scraping-legal-in-2026) - [FAQ](#faq) - [Conclusion](#conclusion) Join the Newsletter Get monthly web scraping insights Scale Your Web Scraping Anti-bot bypass, browser rendering, and rotating proxies, all in one API. Start with 1,000 free credits. No credit card required 1,000 free API credits Anti-bot bypass included [Start Free](https://scrapfly.io/register) [View Docs](https://scrapfly.io/docs/onboarding) Not ready? 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