Meta API Integration: 6 Ways to Build on Meta

If you're building a product that works with your customers' Instagram accounts, Facebook Pages or Meta ad accounts, there are six realistic ways to do it. Three are Meta's own APIs, one is a unified API (Adeli, which is ours), and two are tools that work without code. This list compares them for teams building a product where each customer connects their own accounts.

How did we compare these Meta integration options?#

Every option gets the same four questions:

• What it is. The API or tool, and what it covers on Meta.
• Who it fits. The kind of product it makes sense for.
• What you need. Developer app, business verification, App Review, and code.
• Trade-offs. What it costs you in time, control or reach.

The right one depends on how many networks you need and how soon you need to ship.

At a glance#

Option	Covers	App Review on your side	Fits
Instagram API with Instagram Login	Instagram professional accounts	Yes	Instagram-only products
Adeli (ours)	Instagram, Facebook Pages, Meta ads, plus TikTok, YouTube, X, Bluesky, LinkedIn	No	Multi-platform products that need to ship fast
Facebook Login for Business + Graph API	Facebook Pages, linked Instagram accounts	Yes	Products built around Facebook Pages
Marketing API	Meta ads	Yes, plus the Marketing API Access Tier	Ads-heavy products
No-code automation tools	Your own or your team's accounts	No	Internal automations
Meta Business Suite	Your own accounts, by hand	No	Not an integration; the baseline

1. Instagram API with Instagram Login: Meta's direct route for Instagram#

What it is. The Instagram API with Instagram Login lets your users sign in with Instagram itself, no Facebook Page required. An approved app can publish posts, Reels, Stories and carousels, read insights, and manage comments and messages on Business and Creator accounts.

Who it fits. Products that only need Instagram, where users manage Instagram on its own.

What you need.

• A Meta developer app with the Instagram use case
• Permissions such as instagram_business_basic and instagram_business_content_publish
• Meta App Review for each permission, and business verification for Advanced Access

Trade-offs.

• No fee, full control. You call Meta directly and see every response.
• Instagram only. Facebook Pages and ads need the other Meta APIs.
• Review time. Plan for about a week per App Review round, and more than one round if a screencast misses something.

Our Instagram API guide explains how this version differs from the Facebook Login one.

2. Adeli (ours): a unified API with Meta's approvals already done#

What it is. Adeli is a unified social media and ads API. One API key covers Instagram, Facebook Pages and Meta ads, along with TikTok, YouTube, X, Bluesky and LinkedIn. Adeli holds the Meta developer apps and has already passed App Review.

Who it fits. Marketing platforms, AI content tools and vertical SaaS that need Meta plus other networks, and need to ship this quarter.

What you need.

• An Adeli API key
• Nothing on Meta's side: no developer app, no business verification, no App Review
• Your users connect through Adeli's connect flow, with Instagram Login or Facebook Login

Trade-offs.

• No review wait. Users connect their accounts through Adeli's approved apps on day one.
• Less code to maintain. Adeli handles OAuth, token refresh and Meta's API changes, and returns a per-platform status on every publish.
• A third party in the path. Adeli sits between you and Meta, and covers the endpoints it has built rather than every Graph API edge.
• A paid service. It's free to start, and the price grows with the customers you serve rather than the posts they publish; see pricing.

3. Facebook Login for Business with the Graph API: the Pages-first route#

What it is. Facebook Login for Business signs users in with Facebook and gives your app access to the Pages they manage, through the Pages API. Instagram accounts linked to those Pages are reachable through the Instagram API with Facebook Login.

Who it fits. Products built around Facebook Pages, or users whose Instagram accounts are linked to a Page.

What you need.

• A Meta developer app with a Facebook Login for Business configuration
• Page permissions such as pages_manage_posts and pages_read_engagement
• App Review and business verification, as with option 1

Trade-offs.

• One login, two networks. One authorization can cover a Page and its linked Instagram account.
• More moving parts. You manage user tokens, Page tokens and their expiry. Our Facebook Page access token guide covers the exchange.
• Same review queue as every other Meta permission.

See our Facebook Graph API guide for the access and token details.

4. Marketing API: Meta's direct route for ads#

What it is. The Marketing API creates and reports on ad campaigns across Facebook, Instagram and Meta's other apps.

Who it fits. Ads platforms and marketing tools that create campaigns and pull results for their customers.

What you need.

• A Meta app with the Marketing API product
• The ads_management permission through App Review
• Full Access in the Marketing API Access Tier; the default Limited Access is, in Meta's words, "for development only"
• A verified business

Trade-offs.

• Deep control. Every objective, targeting option and reporting field.
• A separate access tier. The Marketing API Access Tier is its own approval on top of ads_management. Our Meta Ads API guide walks through it.
• Spend risk. A retried request can create a second live campaign, so your code needs idempotency and paused-by-default creation.

5. No-code automation tools: for accounts you control#

What it is. Automation tools such as Zapier and Make have Facebook and Instagram steps that post or react to events without code.

Who it fits. Teams automating their own brand's accounts, or prototyping a workflow before building it properly.

What you need.

• An account on the automation tool
• A login to the Facebook Page or Instagram account you want to automate

Trade-offs.

• Fast to set up. A working flow in minutes.
• Not built for embedding. These tools automate accounts you or your team control. They don't give your customers a connect flow inside your product.
• Per-task pricing. Costs grow with every run.

6. Meta Business Suite: the manual baseline#

What it is. Meta Business Suite is Meta's own app for posting, messaging and ads on your Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Who it fits. A business running its own accounts by hand. It's on this list as the baseline, not as an integration.

What you need. A Facebook account with access to the business's Pages and Instagram accounts.

Trade-offs.

• Free and official.
• No API. Nothing your product can call for your customers.

Which Meta integration should you pick?#

Pick by how many networks you need and how soon you need to ship:

• Only Instagram, and you have time for App Review: the Instagram API with Instagram Login.
• Meta plus other networks, shipping this quarter: a unified API like Adeli.
• Facebook Pages first: Facebook Login for Business with the Graph API.
• Ads only, with deep campaign control: the Marketing API, directly.
• Your own accounts, no product to embed in: a no-code tool or Meta Business Suite.

For the wider decision, see unified social media API vs. direct integration.