I've only used HikerAPI as the data backend for a self-hosted OSINT tool, and so far just for setup and testing, so this is an early look rather than a long-term verdict. The pricing model makes sense for low, irregular usage: you pay per request, and the balance check is free, so you can confirm a token works without spending anything. Compared with running my own scraper (rotating accounts and proxies, handling login challenges, and patching every time Instagram changes its private API), handing that maintenance to someone else is the main thing I'm paying for. My one complaint is the dashboard: the "API Key" under Settings is an account-management key for creating tokens, not the access token the API wants, and the only feedback when you use the wrong one is a generic "Unauthorized" error. Once I had a real access token it worked right away, but you need to fund the account before any actual lookups go through.