{
  "dataset": "Instagram engagement rate benchmarks 2026",
  "publisher": "Pinlyx",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0",
  "date": "2026-09-19",
  "url": "https://pinlyx.com/research/instagram-engagement-benchmarks-2026",
  "metric": "engagement_rate_pct",
  "definition": "(mean likes + mean comments) per post, divided by followers, times 100. Computed from the posts the crawl retains for each account, not from a sampled subset chosen at query time.",
  "source_endpoint": "GET /insights/instagram/benchmarks (Pinlyx Data API)",
  "catalog": {
    "accounts_total": 24101,
    "accounts_measured": 7669,
    "coverage_pct": 31.8,
    "oldest_measurement": "2026-08-29T13:01:34.000Z",
    "newest_measurement": "2026-09-19T10:51:36.000Z",
    "min_sample_for_reliable": 100,
    "note": "The catalogue is a set of accounts collected for discovery and monitoring, not a random sample of Instagram."
  },
  "bands": [
    {
      "band": "under_10k",
      "followersFrom": 0,
      "followersTo": 10000,
      "sampleSize": 224,
      "reliable": true,
      "observedMin": 19,
      "observedMax": 9844,
      "p25": 6.547,
      "p50": 19.258,
      "p75": 74.34,
      "p90": 301.814,
      "avgPostsAnalysed": 11.8
    },
    {
      "band": "10k_100k",
      "followersFrom": 10000,
      "followersTo": 100000,
      "sampleSize": 1214,
      "reliable": true,
      "observedMin": 10011,
      "observedMax": 99947,
      "p25": 1.648,
      "p50": 6.443,
      "p75": 17.93,
      "p90": 48.505,
      "avgPostsAnalysed": 11.7
    },
    {
      "band": "100k_1m",
      "followersFrom": 100000,
      "followersTo": 1000000,
      "sampleSize": 3260,
      "reliable": true,
      "observedMin": 100110,
      "observedMax": 999899,
      "p25": 1.229,
      "p50": 3.545,
      "p75": 9.067,
      "p90": 20.561,
      "avgPostsAnalysed": 11.9
    },
    {
      "band": "1m_10m",
      "followersFrom": 1000000,
      "followersTo": 10000000,
      "sampleSize": 2423,
      "reliable": true,
      "observedMin": 1000055,
      "observedMax": 9980087,
      "p25": 0.631,
      "p50": 1.966,
      "p75": 5.174,
      "p90": 11.17,
      "avgPostsAnalysed": 12
    },
    {
      "band": "over_10m",
      "followersFrom": 10000000,
      "followersTo": null,
      "sampleSize": 548,
      "reliable": true,
      "observedMin": 10035963,
      "observedMax": 686336276,
      "p25": 0.295,
      "p50": 1.017,
      "p75": 2.525,
      "p90": 5.458,
      "avgPostsAnalysed": 11.9
    }
  ],
  "recomputed_from_listing": {
    "note": "Percentiles recomputed from the per-account engagement_rate field of a full listing walk, as an independent check of the API ladder.",
    "rows": [
      {
        "band": "under_10k",
        "n": 224,
        "p25": 6.547,
        "p50": 19.258,
        "p75": 74.34,
        "p90": 301.814,
        "mean": 180.48
      },
      {
        "band": "10k_100k",
        "n": 1213,
        "p25": 1.648,
        "p50": 6.435,
        "p75": 17.956,
        "p90": 48.58,
        "mean": 22.272
      },
      {
        "band": "100k_1m",
        "n": 3259,
        "p25": 1.229,
        "p50": 3.546,
        "p75": 9.068,
        "p90": 20.564,
        "mean": 8.666
      },
      {
        "band": "1m_10m",
        "n": 2423,
        "p25": 0.631,
        "p50": 1.966,
        "p75": 5.174,
        "p90": 11.17,
        "mean": 4.457
      },
      {
        "band": "over_10m",
        "n": 548,
        "p25": 0.295,
        "p50": 1.017,
        "p75": 2.525,
        "p90": 5.458,
        "mean": 2.159
      }
    ]
  },
  "catalog_walk": {
    "rows": 24101,
    "by_band": [
      {
        "band": "under_10k",
        "accounts": 225
      },
      {
        "band": "10k_100k",
        "accounts": 1222
      },
      {
        "band": "100k_1m",
        "accounts": 3261
      },
      {
        "band": "1m_10m",
        "accounts": 2428
      },
      {
        "band": "over_10m",
        "accounts": 548
      },
      {
        "band": "no_followers",
        "accounts": 16417
      }
    ],
    "posts_analysed_12": 23522,
    "posts_analysed_known": 24101,
    "ig_category": {
      "labelled_accounts": 3751,
      "person_labels": [
        "Artist",
        "Digital creator",
        "Actor",
        "Reel creator",
        "Athlete",
        "Public figure"
      ],
      "person_labelled_accounts": 2198,
      "top": [
        {
          "label": "Artist",
          "accounts": 554,
          "sharePct": 14.8
        },
        {
          "label": "Digital creator",
          "accounts": 507,
          "sharePct": 13.5
        },
        {
          "label": "Actor",
          "accounts": 498,
          "sharePct": 13.3
        },
        {
          "label": "Reel creator",
          "accounts": 238,
          "sharePct": 6.3
        },
        {
          "label": "Athlete",
          "accounts": 213,
          "sharePct": 5.7
        },
        {
          "label": "Public figure",
          "accounts": 188,
          "sharePct": 5.0
        },
        {
          "label": "Fan page",
          "accounts": 143,
          "sharePct": 3.8
        },
        {
          "label": "Personal Goods & General Merchandise Stores",
          "accounts": 108,
          "sharePct": 2.9
        },
        {
          "label": "Personal blog",
          "accounts": 94,
          "sharePct": 2.5
        },
        {
          "label": "Publishers",
          "accounts": 81,
          "sharePct": 2.2
        },
        {
          "label": "Musician/band",
          "accounts": 80,
          "sharePct": 2.1
        },
        {
          "label": "Creators & Celebrities",
          "accounts": 79,
          "sharePct": 2.1
        }
      ]
    }
  },
  "silence_at_crawl": {
    "definition": "Days between the newest post the crawl held for an account and the crawl that read it (last_seen minus last_post_at in the listing). Measured at crawl time, not at publication.",
    "crawl_from": "2026-08-29",
    "crawl_to": "2026-09-19",
    "all": {
      "accounts": 21664,
      "medianDaysSinceLastPost": 2.3,
      "quiet30": 2568,
      "quiet30Pct": 11.9,
      "quiet90": 1059,
      "quiet90Pct": 4.9,
      "quiet365": 270,
      "quiet365Pct": 1.2
    },
    "by_band": [
      {
        "band": "under_10k",
        "accounts": 201,
        "medianDaysSinceLastPost": 3.2,
        "quiet30Pct": 17.4,
        "quiet90Pct": 8.0,
        "quiet365Pct": 2.5
      },
      {
        "band": "10k_100k",
        "accounts": 1098,
        "medianDaysSinceLastPost": 2.7,
        "quiet30Pct": 17.2,
        "quiet90Pct": 7.9,
        "quiet365Pct": 2.8
      },
      {
        "band": "100k_1m",
        "accounts": 2929,
        "medianDaysSinceLastPost": 2.5,
        "quiet30Pct": 12.5,
        "quiet90Pct": 4.4,
        "quiet365Pct": 1.0
      },
      {
        "band": "1m_10m",
        "accounts": 2180,
        "medianDaysSinceLastPost": 2.2,
        "quiet30Pct": 9.6,
        "quiet90Pct": 2.7,
        "quiet365Pct": 0.6
      },
      {
        "band": "over_10m",
        "accounts": 494,
        "medianDaysSinceLastPost": 2.0,
        "quiet30Pct": 10.1,
        "quiet90Pct": 2.8,
        "quiet365Pct": 0.4
      },
      {
        "band": "no_followers",
        "accounts": 14762,
        "medianDaysSinceLastPost": 2.3,
        "quiet30Pct": 11.7,
        "quiet90Pct": 5.1,
        "quiet365Pct": 1.3
      }
    ]
  },
  "sample": {
    "handles": 1500,
    "seed": 20260919,
    "strata": [
      {
        "band": "under_10k",
        "handles": 225
      },
      {
        "band": "10k_100k",
        "handles": 250
      },
      {
        "band": "100k_1m",
        "handles": 250
      },
      {
        "band": "1m_10m",
        "handles": 250
      },
      {
        "band": "over_10m",
        "handles": 250
      },
      {
        "band": "no_followers",
        "handles": 275
      }
    ],
    "coverage": [
      {
        "band": "under_10k",
        "handles": 225,
        "inCatalog": 225,
        "profileComplete": 225,
        "cadenceAvailable": 223,
        "mixAvailable": 224
      },
      {
        "band": "10k_100k",
        "handles": 250,
        "inCatalog": 250,
        "profileComplete": 250,
        "cadenceAvailable": 243,
        "mixAvailable": 248
      },
      {
        "band": "100k_1m",
        "handles": 250,
        "inCatalog": 250,
        "profileComplete": 250,
        "cadenceAvailable": 248,
        "mixAvailable": 249
      },
      {
        "band": "1m_10m",
        "handles": 250,
        "inCatalog": 250,
        "profileComplete": 250,
        "cadenceAvailable": 239,
        "mixAvailable": 241
      },
      {
        "band": "over_10m",
        "handles": 250,
        "inCatalog": 250,
        "profileComplete": 250,
        "cadenceAvailable": 238,
        "mixAvailable": 240
      },
      {
        "band": "no_followers",
        "handles": 275,
        "inCatalog": 275,
        "profileComplete": 0,
        "cadenceAvailable": 273,
        "mixAvailable": 275
      }
    ],
    "note": "Stratified random sample of the listing walk; coverage was read first and the cadence and content-mix endpoints only where coverage listed them. Handles are not published."
  },
  "cadence": {
    "definition": "posts_per_week and gap_hours as returned by GET /insights/instagram/{handle}/cadence, computed over the most recent posts the crawl holds (12 for almost every account). quiet_at_crawl is crawled_at minus the newest post in the window.",
    "all": {
      "band": "all",
      "accounts": 1464,
      "medianPostsPerWeek": 0.7,
      "p25PostsPerWeek": 0.22,
      "p75PostsPerWeek": 2.48,
      "medianGapHours": 63.8,
      "dailyOrMorePct": 10.2,
      "underWeeklyPct": 57.6,
      "quiet30AtCrawlPct": 12.6,
      "quiet90AtCrawlPct": 5.0,
      "apiDormantPct": 40.8
    },
    "by_band": [
      {
        "band": "under_10k",
        "accounts": 223,
        "medianPostsPerWeek": 0.66,
        "p25PostsPerWeek": 0.2,
        "p75PostsPerWeek": 1.9,
        "medianGapHours": 50.3,
        "dailyOrMorePct": 9.4,
        "underWeeklyPct": 57.4,
        "quiet30AtCrawlPct": 17.9,
        "quiet90AtCrawlPct": 9.4,
        "apiDormantPct": 43.0
      },
      {
        "band": "10k_100k",
        "accounts": 243,
        "medianPostsPerWeek": 0.57,
        "p25PostsPerWeek": 0.21,
        "p75PostsPerWeek": 1.94,
        "medianGapHours": 70.2,
        "dailyOrMorePct": 9.9,
        "underWeeklyPct": 63.4,
        "quiet30AtCrawlPct": 14.8,
        "quiet90AtCrawlPct": 6.6,
        "apiDormantPct": 37.4
      },
      {
        "band": "100k_1m",
        "accounts": 248,
        "medianPostsPerWeek": 0.56,
        "p25PostsPerWeek": 0.22,
        "p75PostsPerWeek": 2.07,
        "medianGapHours": 71.7,
        "dailyOrMorePct": 9.7,
        "underWeeklyPct": 62.5,
        "quiet30AtCrawlPct": 13.3,
        "quiet90AtCrawlPct": 4.4,
        "apiDormantPct": 29.0
      },
      {
        "band": "1m_10m",
        "accounts": 239,
        "medianPostsPerWeek": 0.59,
        "p25PostsPerWeek": 0.18,
        "p75PostsPerWeek": 1.9,
        "medianGapHours": 76.0,
        "dailyOrMorePct": 8.4,
        "underWeeklyPct": 63.6,
        "quiet30AtCrawlPct": 11.7,
        "quiet90AtCrawlPct": 4.2,
        "apiDormantPct": 39.3
      },
      {
        "band": "over_10m",
        "accounts": 238,
        "medianPostsPerWeek": 1.27,
        "p25PostsPerWeek": 0.43,
        "p75PostsPerWeek": 3.15,
        "medianGapHours": 53.7,
        "dailyOrMorePct": 12.6,
        "underWeeklyPct": 42.9,
        "quiet30AtCrawlPct": 8.8,
        "quiet90AtCrawlPct": 1.7,
        "apiDormantPct": 55.5
      },
      {
        "band": "no_followers",
        "accounts": 273,
        "medianPostsPerWeek": 0.76,
        "p25PostsPerWeek": 0.21,
        "p75PostsPerWeek": 2.91,
        "medianGapHours": 53.8,
        "dailyOrMorePct": 11.4,
        "underWeeklyPct": 55.7,
        "quiet30AtCrawlPct": 9.5,
        "quiet90AtCrawlPct": 4.0,
        "apiDormantPct": 41.4
      }
    ]
  },
  "content_mix": {
    "definition": "Formats and vs_account_avg_pct as returned by GET /insights/instagram/{handle}/content-mix: a format's average interactions against the account's own weighted average, null for formats seen fewer than twice.",
    "all": {
      "accounts": 1477,
      "posts": 20454,
      "medianPostsAnalysed": 12,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "reel",
          "posts": 9076,
          "postSharePct": 44.4,
          "accountsUsing": 1279,
          "accountsUsingPct": 86.6,
          "onlyFormatAccounts": 116,
          "medianVsAccountAvgPct": -14.4,
          "positiveVsAccountAvgPct": 38.2,
          "ratedAccounts": 950
        },
        {
          "format": "carousel",
          "posts": 4390,
          "postSharePct": 21.5,
          "accountsUsing": 680,
          "accountsUsingPct": 46.0,
          "onlyFormatAccounts": 26,
          "medianVsAccountAvgPct": 10.5,
          "positiveVsAccountAvgPct": 58.5,
          "ratedAccounts": 545
        },
        {
          "format": "image",
          "posts": 6988,
          "postSharePct": 34.2,
          "accountsUsing": 1159,
          "accountsUsingPct": 78.5,
          "onlyFormatAccounts": 111,
          "medianVsAccountAvgPct": 0.7,
          "positiveVsAccountAvgPct": 50.7,
          "ratedAccounts": 808
        }
      ],
      "pairs": [
        {
          "a": "reel",
          "b": "carousel",
          "accounts": 467,
          "aWinsPct": 39.4
        },
        {
          "a": "reel",
          "b": "image",
          "accounts": 730,
          "aWinsPct": 44.4
        },
        {
          "a": "carousel",
          "b": "image",
          "accounts": 325,
          "aWinsPct": 63.7
        }
      ],
      "bestFormat": {
        "accounts": 1028,
        "rows": [
          {
            "format": "reel",
            "accounts": 350,
            "sharePct": 34.0
          },
          {
            "format": "carousel",
            "accounts": 295,
            "sharePct": 28.7
          },
          {
            "format": "image",
            "accounts": 383,
            "sharePct": 37.3
          }
        ]
      }
    },
    "by_band": [
      {
        "band": "under_10k",
        "accounts": 224,
        "posts": 3637,
        "reelPostSharePct": 47.5,
        "carouselPostSharePct": 20.5,
        "imagePostSharePct": 31.9,
        "reelBeatsCarouselPct": 44.6,
        "reelVsCarouselAccounts": 83
      },
      {
        "band": "10k_100k",
        "accounts": 248,
        "posts": 3168,
        "reelPostSharePct": 44.3,
        "carouselPostSharePct": 14.1,
        "imagePostSharePct": 41.6,
        "reelBeatsCarouselPct": 46.4,
        "reelVsCarouselAccounts": 56
      },
      {
        "band": "100k_1m",
        "accounts": 249,
        "posts": 3315,
        "reelPostSharePct": 47.2,
        "carouselPostSharePct": 15.5,
        "imagePostSharePct": 37.3,
        "reelBeatsCarouselPct": 41.3,
        "reelVsCarouselAccounts": 46
      },
      {
        "band": "1m_10m",
        "accounts": 241,
        "posts": 3195,
        "reelPostSharePct": 41.9,
        "carouselPostSharePct": 16.6,
        "imagePostSharePct": 41.5,
        "reelBeatsCarouselPct": 32.6,
        "reelVsCarouselAccounts": 46
      },
      {
        "band": "over_10m",
        "accounts": 240,
        "posts": 3513,
        "reelPostSharePct": 38.1,
        "carouselPostSharePct": 22.8,
        "imagePostSharePct": 39.1,
        "reelBeatsCarouselPct": 24.0,
        "reelVsCarouselAccounts": 75
      },
      {
        "band": "no_followers",
        "accounts": 275,
        "posts": 3626,
        "reelPostSharePct": 47.0,
        "carouselPostSharePct": 37.2,
        "imagePostSharePct": 15.8,
        "reelBeatsCarouselPct": 42.9,
        "reelVsCarouselAccounts": 161
      }
    ]
  },
  "facets": {
    "note": "GET /directory/instagram/facets is a scaled block sample, approximate by design; sampled is the raw count, estimated the catalogue-wide projection.",
    "language": {
      "available": true,
      "method": "sample",
      "sampledRows": 221,
      "rows": [
        {
          "key": "en",
          "sampled": 40,
          "estimated": 4357
        },
        {
          "key": "es",
          "sampled": 3,
          "estimated": 327
        },
        {
          "key": "de",
          "sampled": 2,
          "estimated": 218
        },
        {
          "key": "ja",
          "sampled": 2,
          "estimated": 218
        },
        {
          "key": "pt",
          "sampled": 1,
          "estimated": 109
        },
        {
          "key": "ru",
          "sampled": 1,
          "estimated": 109
        },
        {
          "key": "sw",
          "sampled": 1,
          "estimated": 109
        },
        {
          "key": "tr",
          "sampled": 1,
          "estimated": 109
        },
        {
          "key": "id",
          "sampled": 1,
          "estimated": 109
        },
        {
          "key": "ca",
          "sampled": 1,
          "estimated": 109
        }
      ]
    },
    "category": {
      "available": true,
      "method": "sample",
      "sampledRows": 224,
      "rows": [
        {
          "key": "business",
          "sampled": 12,
          "estimated": 1290
        },
        {
          "key": "music",
          "sampled": 5,
          "estimated": 537
        },
        {
          "key": "memes",
          "sampled": 4,
          "estimated": 430
        },
        {
          "key": "deals",
          "sampled": 4,
          "estimated": 430
        },
        {
          "key": "movies",
          "sampled": 3,
          "estimated": 322
        },
        {
          "key": "news",
          "sampled": 2,
          "estimated": 215
        },
        {
          "key": "sports",
          "sampled": 2,
          "estimated": 215
        },
        {
          "key": "design",
          "sampled": 1,
          "estimated": 107
        },
        {
          "key": "science",
          "sampled": 1,
          "estimated": 107
        },
        {
          "key": "education",
          "sampled": 1,
          "estimated": 107
        },
        {
          "key": "politics",
          "sampled": 1,
          "estimated": 107
        },
        {
          "key": "travel",
          "sampled": 1,
          "estimated": 107
        }
      ]
    },
    "followers": {
      "available": true,
      "method": "sample",
      "sampledRows": 245,
      "rows": [
        {
          "key": "100k-1m",
          "sampled": 41,
          "estimated": 4029
        },
        {
          "key": "1m-10m",
          "sampled": 28,
          "estimated": 2751
        },
        {
          "key": "10k-100k",
          "sampled": 14,
          "estimated": 1376
        },
        {
          "key": "10m+",
          "sampled": 3,
          "estimated": 295
        },
        {
          "key": "1k-10k",
          "sampled": 1,
          "estimated": 98
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}