Instagram Adds Multiple Captions to Carousels
Kata
24 June 2026 
Thanks to a new update, you can now add a unique caption to every slide of a carousel on Instagram. A small tweak, but one that could have a big impact on accessibility and storytelling.
Adding multiple captions is optional. At the final step of the upload process, you can choose to add one caption per slide or a single caption for the whole carousel.
What are Multiple Captions on Instagram Carousels?
When you create a carousel on Instagram, a drop-down menu appears on the final step before posting. This is where you can choose between a single caption or multiple captions. Each caption appears at the bottom of the screen as your viewers swipe through the slides.
It’s also accessible via a toggle when tapping the caption area. With carousels now supporting up to 20 slides, you can tell 20 different stories in one post.
Where is it Available?
The feature is rolling out now but could take a week or so to reach every Instagram user. It was tested on select accounts last month with high success rates before the broader launch.
Why is it Useful?
Beyond a creative UX-tweak for brands and creators, the update improves accessibility. Users who rely on assistive technology can now follow the full narrative of a carousel post slide by slide, with the same experience as sighted users.
Instagram Carousels: What’s Working
Carousel posts are still one of the top formats of the platform. Here’s what Metricool’s 2026 Instagram Study (freshly out of the oven 😉 ) reveals about them and why they are worth doubling down on in your next posts:
Performance vs. single-image posts
If you’re posting educational content, a tutorial, or a step-by step guide, carousels beat single-image posts on almost every front:
- 2x more reach and views
- Nearly 4x more interactions
- 9x more saves
- 310% more likes
- 67% more comments
- 54% higher engagement rate
What is worth noting is that carousels are still used 37% less often than single-image posts despite outperforming them on every metric – a gap worth leveraging in your strategy.
How the algorithm treats carousels
The Instagram algorithm re-serves carousels to users who didn’t engage the first time, stacking up views over time. And every time a carousel is re-served, it counts as a new view.
Shares by account size
Carousels are also a format people love to share, and the data backs that up across every account size:
- Carousel shares are up across every account size (+116% for Small accounts and +132% for Huge accounts)
- Comments are up, saves are growing; likes are the only metric going down, which matters less since likes are the interaction the algorithm weighs least
Carousels are the format generating the most views on Instagram right now. The algorithm rewards them with re-serves, saves trigger redistribution, and shares put them in front of new audiences. Despite all, they remain underused, which is an opportunity for creators and brands willing to invest in the format.
Eager to know more about what’s working on Instagram in 2026?
