Metricool’s 2026 Instagram Study Reveals Reels and Carousels Are Reshaping Platform Strategy

New report finds Instagram carousels are outperforming TikTok carousels by nearly five times, while TikTok continues to lead on video performance

MADRID, ES, June 16, 2026 –Metricool, a global social media management platform, today unveiled its 2026 Instagram Study, analyzing more than 24.3 million posts across 375,000 accounts worldwide to examine how brands, creators and audiences are using Instagram in 2026.

The study comes as Instagram updates its algorithms to prioritize original content and engagement quality. Metricool found that reels and carousels are emerging as the formats most aligned with how the platform now distributes and rewards content. 

Reels remain the platform’s strongest format for discovery and interaction, generating more than four times the interactions of single-image posts and seeing average watch time more than double year over year (YoY) to 8.5 seconds. Carousels, meanwhile, are becoming one of the platform’s strongest formats for repeat engagement, generating nine times more saves than single-image posts and outperforming single images across every major metric.

Metricool’s findings also reveal a clear contrast with its recent TikTok study: TikTok remains stronger for video performance, with Instagram Reels generating nearly 30% fewer views and 14% fewer interactions than TikTok videos on average. But the pattern reverses for carousels, where Instagram generates 4.7x more views and 5.8x more interactions than on TikTok, underscoring that brands should not treat the two platforms as interchangeable.

Key findings include:

• Single-image posts are losing ground, with reach down 21.96%, interactions down 25.41% and engagement down 45.98% YoY.
• Instagram activity is up across the platform, with brands publishing 24.04% more content YoY, while views increased 26.56% and interactions rose 19.25%.
• Smaller accounts still have room to grow, with only 21% of accounts under 10,000 followers growing in 2026, showing Instagram can still help emerging brands and creators build an audience.
• Hashtags are becoming less effective on Instagram, with posts using at least one hashtag seeing 31.70% fewer views and 33.89% fewer interactions than the platform average, making natural-language captions and Instagram SEO more important.
• Community prompts are driving stronger engagement, with posts that include a question generating 36.70% more comments and posts with comment-focused CTAs generating 202.78% more comments.
• Stories remain a valuable connection tool, with replies increasing 88% YoY, showing audiences are still using Stories to interact directly with brands and creators.

“The rules for earning attention on Instagram are changing,” said Juan Pablo Tejela, CEO and Co-Founder of Metricool. “The strongest brands are no longer treating Instagram as one single feed strategy. They are using each format for a specific purpose — whether that is reaching new audiences, driving saves, sparking conversation or building community through direct interactions. In 2026, growth will come from understanding how audiences actually engage with content.”

For brands and creators, the takeaway is that Instagram strategy in 2026 should be built around purpose-driven posts. Metricool recommends using Reels to reach new audiences, carousels for save-worthy content, Stories for direct audience connection and captions that invite conversation. With most Instagram views happening in the first three days after posting, teams should also focus on timing, early engagement and distribution to give each post the best chance to gain momentum.

The full 2026 Instagram Study is available here: https://metricool.com/instagram-research-study/

The full 2026 TikTok Study, including detailed performance benchmarks, format analysis, traffic source trends, hashtag insights, content lifespan data and best posting times, is available here: https://metricool.com/tiktok-study/  

Methodology 

Metricool analyzed 24,364,803 Instagram posts from 375,118 accounts worldwide between January–February 2025 and January–February 2026. 

Metricool

Metricool is a global social media and online ad management platform that helps more than 4 million professionals, agencies and brands plan, schedule, analyze and manage social media and ad campaigns from one platform. Its AI-powered tools, including its AI Text Generator and MCP connector, help users create posts, streamline workflows and connect Metricool data to AI tools like Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Make and Zapier. Metricool is a trusted partner of global brands including Louis Vuitton, David Guetta, Adidas, H&M and Costco.