Instagram Marketing Statistics for 2026: Engagement Rates, Content Formats, Reels, Influencer Performance, Shopping, Audience Data, and Organic Reach

In 2026, Instagram remains the second most important social media marketing platform in the world, used by nearly 80% of marketing professionals globally. Its 2.3 billion monthly active users and advertising audience of 1.9 billion people make it the fourth largest advertising platform worldwide. Instagram’s ad revenue reached approximately USD 67 billion in 2025, placing it as the second-highest-earning social platform after YouTube and making Instagram alone responsible for more than one-third of Meta’s total revenue. Over 250 million active business profiles operate on the platform. Over 90% of users follow at least one business. And 36% of users now use Instagram as a search engine to discover products, brands, and information.

Yet the platform’s organic marketing landscape is increasingly demanding. The average engagement rate across all content types declined from approximately 0.50% in H1 2024 to 0.45% in June 2025, representing a 24.1% year-over-year decrease according to SocialInsider’s analysis of 31 million posts from 119,000 pages. Organic reach fell 12% year-over-year to an average of 3.50%. Only 20.7% of creators post Reels regularly despite Reels achieving 1.23% engagement compared to 0.55% for carousels and 0.70% for single images. The algorithm increasingly favors Reels for non-follower distribution, with Reels reaching 36% more users than carousels and 125% more than photo posts for smaller accounts.

The influencer layer provides a counterweight to declining organic benchmarks. The global influencer marketing industry reached USD 32.55 billion in 2025, growing at a 33.11% CAGR since 2014. Instagram nano-influencers deliver engagement rates of 6.23%, micro-influencers 3.86%, and macro-influencers 0.61%. For every USD 1 spent on Instagram influencer campaigns, brands generate approximately USD 4 in sales. And 79% of marketers identify Instagram as an important influencer channel, with 30% citing it as the platform delivering the highest influencer ROI.

This article compiles more than 60 Instagram marketing statistics drawn from SocialInsider analysis of 31 million posts and 70 million social media posts, SocialPilot 2026 Instagram statistics, Hootsuite Instagram statistics, the 2025 Sprout Social Index, the Sprout Social 2024 Social Media Content Strategy Report, Zebracat 2025 Instagram marketing statistics, the Influencer Marketing Hub 2025 Benchmark Report surveying 315 marketers, Captiv8 2024 Organic Benchmark Report, Sociallyin Influencer Marketing Statistics 2025, eMarketer, and Digital Web Solutions analysis, all published within the last two years.

Scope and Methodology

Includes only publicly available Instagram marketing statistics relevant for 2026.
Based on the latest figures published within the last two years.
Sources include primary research, first-party platform data, institutional studies, and industry reports.
Each statistic is listed separately with its original source and study context.
No estimates, forecasts, interpretations, or recommendations are included.

Key Instagram Marketing Statistics for 2026

Instagram’s ad revenue reached approximately USD 67 billion in 2025, with Meta’s total revenue at roughly USD 183 billion, placing Instagram as the second-highest-earning social platform for advertising globally, based on eMarketer data cited in a 2026 Instagram statistics overview by SocialPilot.
Nearly 80% of marketing professionals globally integrated Instagram into their digital marketing campaigns as of January 2024, making it the most used social platform for marketers outside of Facebook, based on Statista data published at Statista.
Instagram has an advertising audience of 1.9 billion people, making it the fourth-largest ad audience worldwide after YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok, based on eMarketer data cited in a 2026 Instagram statistics overview by SocialPilot.
The average engagement rate across all Instagram content types was 0.45% in June 2025, down from approximately 0.50% in H1 2024, representing a 24.1% year-over-year decrease, based on SocialInsider analysis of 31 million Instagram posts from 119,000 pages with an active presence between January 2023 and December 2024, published at SocialInsider.
Instagram’s overall engagement rate declined 28% year-over-year in 2025, significantly impacted by the platform growing more crowded, algorithmic changes making organic reach harder, and users changing their engaging patterns, based on SocialInsider analysis of 70 million social media posts from January 2024 through December 2025, published at SocialInsider.
Instagram has a 12% year-over-year decrease in average reach rate, with the platform currently averaging a reach rate of 3.50%, which is still double Facebook’s average reach rate of 1.20%, based on SocialInsider analysis of Facebook and Instagram posts published between May 2024 and May 2025, published at SocialInsider.
79% of global marketers leveraged Instagram for the marketing of products and services in 2024, and over 250 million active business profiles operate on the platform as of 2025, based on data cited in a 2025 average engagement rate on Instagram analysis by Digital Web Solutions.
90% of Instagram users follow at least one business account, and 58% of users say they have visited a business profile in the past month, reflecting the deep integration of brand discovery into Instagram’s daily usage pattern, based on data cited in a 2025 Instagram marketing statistics overview by Zebracat.
36% of Instagram users use the platform like Google for search and discovery, and 7% start their shopping searches on Instagram, based on Hootsuite 2025 Instagram statistics published at Hootsuite.
29% of Instagram users make purchases directly on the platform, making it the third-most-used social platform for in-app purchasing, based on the 2025 Sprout Social Index published at Sprout Social.
Instagram’s average engagement rate by reach is 3.00%, compared to Facebook’s maximum of 1.20%, indicating that Instagram users who do see content are substantially more likely to interact with it than Facebook users, based on SocialInsider analysis published at SocialInsider.
Business accounts on Instagram grew 4.6% year-over-year compared to 2024, with creator accounts growing 9% over the same period, based on Zebracat 2025 Instagram marketing statistics published at Zebracat.

Engagement Rate by Format Statistics

Reels achieve an average engagement rate of 1.23% per post, compared to 0.55% for carousel posts and 0.70% for photo posts, while Reels reach 36% more users than carousels and 125% more than photo posts for small to mid-sized accounts under 50,000 followers, based on SocialInsider analysis of 31 million Instagram posts published at SocialInsider.
Carousels generate 12% more engagement compared to Reels and approximately two times more than single-image posts, while also driving the highest number of saves of any Instagram content format, based on data cited in a 2025 average engagement rate on Instagram analysis by Digital Web Solutions.
The average overall Instagram engagement rate in 2025 sits at 2.0% across methodologies that account for reach rather than just followers, with carousels achieving 2.4% in the same analysis framework, based on Hootsuite 2025 Instagram statistics published at Hootsuite.
Instagram Stories have an average reach of approximately 0.91 users per post, meaning fewer than one person on average sees most Stories, while Reels reach about 11 users and carousels reach about 7.8 users, based on Statista data cited in a 2026 Instagram statistics overview by SocialPilot.
Brands with 1,000 to 5,000 followers have the highest Reels view rate at 20%, while accounts with 5,000 to 10,000 followers have a view rate of 10.20%, and even accounts with over 100,000 followers still see a view rate of 4%, based on a SocialInsider study cited in a 2025 Instagram marketing statistics overview by Sprout Social.
62% of business accounts use Instagram Stories regularly, while 48% use Reels as part of their content strategy, and only 20.7% of all creators post Reels on a regular monthly basis despite Reels commanding the highest algorithmic priority, based on data cited in a 2025 Instagram marketing statistics overview by Zebracat.
There was a 12% increase in Reels usage among brands between 2023 and 2024, with Instagram reporting that video creation is growing at 2 times the rate of other content formats on the platform, based on SocialInsider data cited in a 2025 Instagram marketing statistics overview by Sprout Social.
Static image posts maintain an average engagement rate of approximately 0.70%, which is the lowest-performing standard format, while posts published between 6 PM and 8 PM see 14% higher reach than those posted in the morning, based on data cited in a 2025 average engagement rate on Instagram analysis by Digital Web Solutions.
49% of Gen Z prefer carousel posts over static images when browsing on Instagram, and carousel posts reach 12% more unique accounts than single-image posts, based on data cited in a 2025 Instagram marketing statistics overview by Zebracat.

Organic Reach and Content Performance Statistics

Instagram’s average reach rate is 3.50% in 2025, representing a 12% year-over-year decline, with Instagram Stories averaging just 0.91% audience reach and Reels significantly outperforming other formats for non-follower discovery, based on SocialInsider analysis published at SocialInsider.
Content shared to both Stories and Feed reaches 15% more accounts than feed-only posts, while posting consistently 5 or more times per week can increase average reach by 19%, based on Zebracat 2025 Instagram marketing statistics published at Zebracat.
Engagement within the first 30 minutes can lift total reach by up to 20%, and location tags boost reach by 18% compared to posts without them, based on Zebracat 2025 Instagram marketing statistics published at Zebracat.
Posts without hashtags achieve 23% higher reach compared to those packed with hashtags according to the SocialPilot Instagram Trends Report, reflecting a shift away from hashtag-volume strategies toward content quality and direct audience relevance, based on data cited in a 2026 Instagram statistics overview by SocialPilot.
Business profiles with active Stories highlights see 17% higher engagement rates than those without, and business profiles with complete contact details receive 23% more profile visits than those without, based on Zebracat 2025 Instagram marketing statistics published at Zebracat.
Brands that post twice per week see the best engagement outcomes despite some retailers posting as many as 17 times weekly, confirming that posting frequency quality outperforms volume, based on Hootsuite 2025 Instagram statistics published at Hootsuite.

Influencer Marketing Statistics

Instagram nano-influencers (under 10,000 followers) deliver an average engagement rate of 6.23%, micro-influencers (10,000 to 100,000 followers) deliver 3.86%, and mega-influencers with over 1.5 million followers average just 2.80% organic engagement rates, based on the Captiv8 2024 Organic Benchmark Report cited in a 2026 micro-influencer engagement rate statistics analysis at Archive.com.
Instagram’s average influencer engagement rate across all tiers declined from 2.18% in 2021 to 1.59% in 2024, with nano-influencers maintaining the strongest performance at 1.73% and macro-influencers at 0.61% and mega-influencers at 0.68%, based on the Influencer Marketing Hub 2025 Benchmark Report citing analysis from 315 marketers and 100-plus industry leaders, published at Influencer Marketing Hub.
79% of marketers say Instagram is an important influencer channel for their campaigns, and 30% of marketers say Instagram generates the biggest ROI for influencer activities of any platform, based on HypeAuditor and HubSpot data cited in a 2025 influencer marketing statistics overview by Sixth City Marketing.
For every USD 1 spent on Instagram influencer campaigns, brands generate approximately USD 4 in sales, with the overall influencer marketing average across all platforms at USD 5.78 return per dollar invested, based on Dash App and Shopify research cited in a 2025 influencer marketing statistics overview by Sixth City Marketing.
Instagram nano-influencers (1,000 to 10,000 followers) make up 75.9% of the entire Instagram influencer ecosystem, and micro-influencers (10,000 to 50,000) account for approximately 13.6%, meaning nearly 90% of all Instagram influencers are small creators, based on the Influencer Marketing Hub 2025 Benchmark Report cited in a 2026 micro-influencer engagement rate statistics analysis at Archive.com.
The cost of Instagram influencer posts ranges from USD 20 to USD 100 per post for nano-influencers to USD 100 to USD 1,000 for micro-influencers, USD 1,000 to USD 5,000 for mid-tier, and USD 5,000-plus for macro-influencers, with celebrity posts reaching USD 1 million or more, based on Sprout Social and Influencer Marketing Hub pricing data cited in a 2025 influencer marketing statistics compilation by Social Snowball.
70% of brands prefer working with small-scale influencers, with 44% favoring nano-influencers and 26% favoring micro-influencers, versus only 30% choosing macro or celebrity talent, based on the Influencer Marketing Hub 2025 Benchmark Report cited in a 2025 influencer marketing statistics overview by Stack Influence.
80% of marketers use Instagram for influencer campaigns, and the global influencer marketing industry reached USD 32.55 billion in 2025, growing from USD 24 billion in 2024 and USD 1.4 billion in 2014, at a CAGR of 33.11%, based on the Influencer Marketing Hub 2025 Benchmark Report published at Influencer Marketing Hub.

Instagram Shopping and Commerce Statistics

60% of people discover new products on Instagram, and 45% of users make a purchase after seeing a product in their feed, based on data cited in a 2025 Instagram marketing statistics overview by Zebracat.
Instagram’s conversion rate is 1.6%, compared to Facebook’s 1.1%, making it the higher-converting Meta platform for direct purchase actions, based on data cited in a 2025 Instagram marketing statistics overview by Zebracat.
40.1% of Instagram shoppers already spend more than USD 200 per year through the platform, and 30% of Instagram purchases are made through shoppable posts, based on Hootsuite and Cropink data cited in a 2025 Instagram statistics overview by Hootsuite.
User-generated content on Instagram generates a 4.5% higher conversion rate compared to branded content produced solely by the brand, reflecting the authenticity premium that audiences assign to peer-produced content, based on data cited in a 2025 Instagram statistics compilation by Metricool.
86% of all consumers make at least one influencer-inspired purchase per year, with Gen Z and millennials most likely to act on recommendations daily or weekly, based on the Sprout Social 2024 Influencer Marketing Report cited in a 2025 social media ROI overview at Sprout Social.
Instagram Stories are viewed by 62% of active users daily, and beauty brands achieve a Story completion rate of 72%, while e-commerce accounts generate an average CTR of 0.7% on Instagram ads, based on Zebracat 2025 Instagram marketing statistics published at Zebracat.

Audience and Demographic Statistics

Instagram has 2.3 billion monthly active users globally as of 2025, with India holding the largest user base at approximately 350 million active monthly users, followed by the United States at 169 million and Brazil at 134 million, based on Statista data cited in a 2025 Instagram marketing statistics overview by Zebracat.
The largest age group on Instagram is 18 to 24 year olds at 32% of the user base, followed by 25 to 34 year olds at 29%, with approximately 14% of the audience aged 35 to 44, based on Zebracat 2025 Instagram marketing statistics published at Zebracat.
51% of global Instagram users identify as female and 49% as male as of 2025, representing near parity in gender split, based on data cited in a 2025 Instagram marketing statistics overview by Zebracat.
72% of U.S. teens and 76% of U.S. adults aged 18 to 29 are on Instagram, and 12% of U.S. teens visit their Instagram profiles almost constantly, based on Hootsuite 2025 Instagram statistics published at Hootsuite.
Users aged 18 to 24 spend the most time on the Instagram app at an average of 43 minutes per day, while users 65 and over average just 3 minutes per day, and 72% of users access the platform daily, based on Hootsuite 2025 Instagram statistics published at Hootsuite.
99% of Instagram users access the platform via mobile devices, and urban residents make up 62% of Instagram’s active users compared to 38% from suburban and rural areas combined, based on data cited in a 2025 Instagram marketing statistics overview by Zebracat.

Regional or Geographic Statistics

The United States led global Instagram influencer activity with 18.9 million sponsored posts in 2024, representing 22.7% of all global influencer content, followed by Brazil with 12 million posts at 14.5% and India with 5.57 million posts at 6.7%, based on Influencer Marketing statistics data cited in a 2025 influencer marketing overview by Social Snowball.
The United States has 3.78 million Instagram influencers representing 15.6% of the global total, followed by India with 1.99 million influencers at 8.2%, with the MENA and Latin America regions seeing double-digit growth in influencer marketing budgets driven by increased focus on regional relevance and local partnerships, based on Social Snowball influencer marketing statistics published at Social Snowball.
After the United States, Brazil and India are the next most popular countries by total Instagram influencer engagements in 2024, based on Sprout Social Influencer Marketing data cited in a 2025 Instagram marketing statistics overview by Sprout Social.
Instagram penetration in the United States has reached 67% of the total population, with approximately 62% of the overall U.S. adult population actively using the platform, based on Zebracat 2025 Instagram marketing statistics published at Zebracat.
European brands increased influencer budgets in 2024 to 2025, with strong growth in the UK, DACH, and Nordic regions, while UK market strategies mirror U.S. approaches in prioritizing short-form video and affiliate programs, based on data cited in a 2025 influencer marketing statistics analysis by Marketing LTB.
Food-related accounts on Instagram average 1.3% engagement compared to 0.8% for tech brands, travel brands see an average reach rate of 13% per post, fitness influencers average a 1.8% engagement rate above the overall industry average of 1.1%, and nonprofit organizations see an average engagement rate of 1.5%, based on Zebracat 2025 Instagram marketing statistics published at Zebracat.

References

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