IGComments

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How to get a list of everyone who commented on an Instagram post

Sometimes you don’t want every comment — you want every commenter, once. Here is how to turn a post’s comments into a de-duplicated list of usernames, and the decisions worth making before you do.

Updated Oct 6, 2026 · 7 min read

Comments versus commenters

A post with 1,000 comments rarely has 1,000 commenters. Some people comment several times, the account owner replies to many of them, and giveaway entrants often post once per friend they tag. A list of commenters is the set of distinct usernames behind those comments — usually noticeably shorter.

People want that list for different reasons:

  • Giveaway records — a list of everyone who entered, one line each, to keep alongside the result.
  • Thanking or following up with participants — after an event, a collaboration or a Q&A.
  • Checking eligibility — matching commenters against a list of customers, members or attendees.
  • Audience research — knowing how many distinct people a post actually reached in the comments.

Instagram has no “list commenters” button, and scrolling through the comments to write names down misses people and counts others twice. Exporting is faster and more reliable.

Step by step with IGComments

  1. Copy the link of the post or Reel: Share (paper-plane icon) → Copy link. The account must be public.
  2. Paste it into IGComments and press Get comments. You don’t log in to Instagram.
  3. Turn on “one comment per person”. The list drops to a single row per commenter.
  4. Decide about replies. Add the top-level only filter if someone who only replied to another comment shouldn’t be on your list.
  5. Know which comment is kept. For each person, the filter keeps their first comment that matches your other filters — so with a date range set, it’s their first comment inside that window. Sorting (oldest, newest, most liked) only changes the order of the list, not which comment represents each person.
  6. Export as CSV, Excel or JSON. The file contains exactly the filtered rows: one per person, with their username, user ID and the comment that was kept.

Posts with up to 200 comments are free. For larger posts, the first 200 comments are a free preview and a one-time Export Pass covers the rest — $4.99 for up to 10,000 comments. A complete list of commenters needs every comment, so on big posts unlock the full set before exporting. See pricing.

What the list contains

Each row includes the commenter’s username and user_id, plus the comment that represents them (comment, posted_at_utc, likes), whether it was a reply, and the mentions and hashtags in it. If you only need names, delete the other columns after downloading.

It does not include display names, follower counts, email addresses, phone numbers or bios. An Instagram username is not a contact list, and the export won’t turn it into one. If you need to contact people, do it through Instagram itself, or through a channel they have already given you.

The user_id column is worth keeping. Usernames can change; the ID stays the same. If you are matching the list against something you exported earlier, match on user_id.

Doing it in a spreadsheet instead

If you already have a full export and want the list without re-filtering, a spreadsheet can do it. Usernames are in column C.

  • Excel 365 / 2021+ or Google Sheets: in an empty column, enter =UNIQUE(C2:C5000). Every distinct username spills down the column. Wrap it as =SORT(UNIQUE(C2:C5000)) for alphabetical order.
  • Count them: =COUNTA(UNIQUE(C2:C5000)), adjusting the range so it doesn’t include empty rows (in Sheets, =COUNTUNIQUE(C2:C) ignores blanks for you).
  • Older Excel: copy column C to a new sheet, then Data → Remove Duplicates.
  • Top-level commenters only: =UNIQUE(FILTER(C2:C5000, H2:H5000="no")), where column H is is_reply.

For more on cleaning up the file, see exporting Instagram comments to Excel or to Google Sheets.

Checking the list against another list

A common next step is to compare commenters with something else — last month’s entrants, a list of customers’ Instagram handles, or the commenters on another post. Put the other list in a second sheet (say Other, usernames in column A) and add a column next to your commenters:

  • Is this commenter on the other list? =COUNTIF(Other!A:A, C2)>0 returns TRUE or FALSE.
  • Excel 365 lookup: =XLOOKUP(C2, Other!A:A, Other!B:B, "not found") brings back a matching value from the other sheet, such as a customer number.
  • Who commented on both posts? Export both posts, then use the COUNTIF test on one against the other. In Google Sheets, =FILTER(UNIQUE(C2:C), COUNTIF(Other!A:A, UNIQUE(C2:C))) lists the overlap in one go.

Usernames in the export are lowercase handles without the @. If your other list includes the @ or capital letters, clean it first with =LOWER(SUBSTITUTE(A2, "@", "")) so the match works. Where both lists come from IGComments exports, compare user_id instead — it survives username changes.

Decisions to make before you publish or use the list

  • Remove yourself and your team. The post owner almost always appears, usually from replies. Delete those rows or search for your own username first.
  • Replies or not. For “everyone who took part in the conversation”, include replies. For giveaway entries, rules usually say “comment on this post”, which most hosts read as top-level comments.
  • The snapshot moment. The list reflects comments at the moment you fetched them. If entries closed on a certain day, set the date range filter to end that day. The date filter works in whole days in UTC, so for a deadline at a specific hour, export first and filter posted_at_utc in a spreadsheet after converting your deadline to UTC.
  • Hidden comments. Comments Instagram filtered as spam, hid with Hidden Words, or that came from restricted accounts aren’t publicly visible, so those people won’t be on the list. See why the comment count doesn’t match.
  • Privacy. Keep the list for the purpose you made it for, don’t share it publicly beyond what’s needed (announcing a winner, say), and delete it when you’re done. Our view on this is in is it legal to export Instagram comments.

Using the list for a giveaway

A de-duplicated list of commenters is exactly what a fair one-entry-per-person draw needs. You can pick from it yourself, but spreadsheet random functions recalculate whenever the sheet changes and leave no record anyone else can check. Our sister tool Pickfetti fetches the comments, applies one entry per person and any other rules (tag requirements, keywords, excluding the host), picks the winner, and publishes a proof page you can share with entrants.

Whichever way you draw, keep the exported list. If someone asks whether they were entered, you can check in seconds.

FAQ

Can I see a list of everyone who commented on an Instagram post?

Not inside Instagram. Export the comments with IGComments and turn on the one comment per person filter to get one row per commenter.

Does the list include people who only replied?

By default, yes. Add the top-level only filter if people who only replied to other comments should be left out.

Can I get commenters’ emails or follower counts?

No. The export includes usernames, user IDs and the comment data only — no emails, display names, follower counts or other profile data.

Which comment is kept when someone commented several times?

Their first comment that matches your other filters. Changing the sort order changes how the list is ordered, not which comment is kept for each person.

How do I count the people on the list?

IGComments shows the number of unique commenters in the stats panel. In a spreadsheet, =COUNTA(UNIQUE(C2:C5000)) or, in Google Sheets, =COUNTUNIQUE(C2:C) gives the same number.