hikerapi

instagrapi vs HikerAPI – what I ended up using

Tags: #python #api #webscraping

I recently worked on an Instagram-related project and tried two different approaches: instagrapi and HikerAPI.

Both can get the job done, but they solve the problem in different ways.

instagrapi

I started with instagrapi because it fits naturally into Python projects.

The biggest advantage is control. Everything runs on your side, you can customize the workflow, and you are not depending on another API layer.

The downside is that you also have to maintain everything yourself. Sessions, reliability, scaling, and keeping the setup working become your responsibility.

HikerAPI

I also tested HikerAPI, which takes a different approach: instead of running a library yourself, you use a hosted REST API.

For me, the main benefit was simplicity. I could just make requests and focus on building the actual application instead of managing the infrastructure.

Example:

import requests

headers = {"x-access-key": "YOUR_KEY"}

user = requests.get(
    "https://api.hikerapi.com/v2/user/by/username?username=spotify",
    headers=headers
).json()

r = requests.get(
    f"https://api.hikerapi.com/v2/user/followers?user_id={user['pk']}",
    headers=headers
)

print(r.json())

HikerAPI starts at $0.001/request and includes 100 free requests for testing. More details are available at https://hikerapi.com.

Which one makes more sense?

I think it depends on what you need.

I would choose instagrapi if I wanted maximum control, a Python-only setup, and didn't mind maintaining the system myself.

I would choose HikerAPI if I wanted a simple REST interface, faster integration, and less operational work.

They are not exactly direct replacements for each other — they are two different approaches to the same problem.