# Instapect

> Instapect audits any public Instagram profile and returns a chart-rich report: engagement rate by followers measured against peer percentiles, median engagement, comment-to-like ratio, posting cadence, a content leaderboard and a transparent 0-100 Instapect Score. Every report is built only from lawfully visible public signals — no reach, impressions, demographics or Story insights.

Profile summaries are free without an account. Detailed reports require registration; new detailed scans use an account allowance. Each report states its sample size and retrieval date: `Public-profile audit · N posts sampled · retrieved <date>`.

## Core pages

- [Home](https://instapect.com/): Run an audit on any public Instagram handle.
- [Report directory](https://instapect.com/reports): Browse every public audit report by category.
- [Pricing](https://instapect.com/pricing): Free profile summaries, registration for detailed reports.
- [Sign in](https://instapect.com/auth): Account creation and Google sign-in.

## Guides

- [Blog](https://instapect.com/blog): Instagram analytics guides and benchmarks from public-profile audits.
- [Instagram Bio in 2026: What to Put in It, the 150-Character Limit, 40 Ideas, and What 336 Real Bios Show](https://instapect.com/blog/instagram-bio): An Instagram bio holds up to 150 characters; up to 5 links go in Edit profile > Links (typed URLs in the bio are not tappable); anyone can see a bio, even on a private account; profile saves fail on disallowed characters or links asking people to add you elsewhere (Instagram Help Center, checked 27 Oct 2026). Instagram search matches text against usernames, bios, captions, hashtags and places, and Instagram advises bio keywords and location (Mosseri, 25 Aug 2021). Structure: who you are, what followers get, one proof point, a call to action matching link 1; 40 bio ideas by account type and real examples. Instapect audits (336 public profiles, 28 Aug to 27 Oct 2026): median bio 105 characters (97 under 1K, 112 at 1K to 10K, 123 at 10K to 100K, 101 at 100K to 1M, 44 at 1M+); 60% have a link, 72% line breaks, 64% emoji, 23% call-to-action wording, 23% an @mention, 6% a hashtag; 22% of linked accounts use a link-in-bio service. In 147 accounts with post data, accounts with a link or a 120+ character bio had lower median engagement in every tier (mostly brands; correlation, not cause). Markdown: https://instapect.com/blog/instagram-bio.md
- [Instagram Carousel Posts in 2026: Size, the 20-Slide Limit, How to Post One, and What 1,686 Audited Posts Show](https://instapect.com/blog/instagram-carousel): A carousel is one feed post with up to 20 photos or videos (10 until August 2024); one orientation for all slides; standard size 1080 x 1350 (4:5), full resolution kept between 1.91:1 and 3:4 (1080 x 1440); slides can be reordered or removed after posting but not added; carousel videos are not Reels (Instagram Help Center, checked 25 Oct 2026). Socialinsider Q3 2026 (67.5M brand posts, by followers): carousels 0.50%, Reels 0.48%, images 0.35%. Instapect audits (145 accounts, 1,686 posts, 28 Aug to 16 Oct 2026): median carousel 1.12x its account's median post (Reels 0.99x, images 0.88x), 58.5% of 465 carousels beat it; inside the same account carousels beat Reels on 64 of 101 accounts (63%; 29 of 60 below 1M followers, 35 of 41 at 1M+) and images on 41 of 67; Reels median 2.55% engagement by plays. Plus app and desktop posting steps, edit rules, fixes when a carousel will not post, and mistakes to avoid. Markdown: https://instapect.com/blog/instagram-carousel.md
- [How Much Do Instagram Influencers Make in 2026? Rates per Post, Income Sources and 145 Audited Accounts](https://instapect.com/blog/how-much-do-instagram-influencers-make): Per sponsored feed post $20 to $200 (1K to 10K followers), $200 to $2,000 (10K to 50K), $2,000 to $5,000 (50K to 500K), $5,000 to $15,000 (500K to 1M), $15,000 to $50,000+ (1M+) per Hootsuite (updated 14 Oct 2026); rule of thumb about $100 per 10,000 followers, Sprout Social $10 to $20 per 1,000. Instagram pays directly only via Gifts ($0.01 per Star, 500+ followers), Subscriptions (10,000+ followers) and invite-only bonuses (Help Center, checked 24 Oct 2026). NeoReach: 56.55% of full-time creators below a living wage. Instapect audits (145 accounts, 1,686 posts, 28 Aug to 16 Oct 2026): at $10 per 1,000 followers the median cost per like or comment is $0.59 at 1K to 10K vs $4.06 at 10K to 50K (cost per interaction = 1 / median engagement rate %); only 16 of 145 accounts had a sponsored post among recent posts (13 at 1M+); 1M+ sponsored posts drew a median 0.27x of the account's usual post (18 of 20 below). Markdown: https://instapect.com/blog/how-much-do-instagram-influencers-make.md
- [Fake Follower Checker for Instagram: How to Spot Fake Followers in 2026 (7 Public Red Flags)](https://instapect.com/blog/how-to-spot-fake-instagram-followers): No public tool can prove Instagram followers are fake (FTC: "you can't be sure"); checkers such as Modash (follower sampling: suspicious + bots) and HypeAuditor (Audience Quality Score) give estimates. 7 public red flags with formulas: engagement vs tier, comments per 100 likes, average vs median likes, follower jumps between snapshots, generic comments, empty follower profiles, following count. Instapect audits (141 accounts, 28 Aug to 11 Oct 2026): median comments per 100 likes 7.8 under 1K, 3.3 for 1K to 10K, 5.7 for 10K to 100K, 3.0 for 100K to 1M, 1.1 for 1M+; 66 of 141 (47%) trip at least one of three numeric flags and 16 (11%) two or more, including @nike and @natgeo. Instagram Potential spam filter steps; FTC fake-indicator ban effective 21 Oct 2024. Instapect is not a fake-follower detector. Markdown: https://instapect.com/blog/how-to-spot-fake-instagram-followers.md
- [How to See Instagram Insights in 2026: Exact Steps, What They Show, and Fixes](https://instapect.com/blog/how-to-see-instagram-insights): Profile > Professional dashboard > Insights (business or creator) or Profile > Your dashboard (any public personal account, per Instagram Help Center checked 11 Oct 2026); desktop via instagram.com Dashboard. Account insights cover the past 90 days, post, Reel and story insights up to two years; demographics need 100+ accounts reached or engaged. Views replaced impressions and plays (Meta Graph API v22, 21 Jan 2025). Fixes for Insights not showing, what public data cannot show, and Instapect data (134 accounts, 917 Reels, 28 Aug to 11 Oct 2026): median Reel plays as a share of followers 443% under 1K, 122% for 1K to 10K, 18% for 10K to 100K, 10% for 100K to 1M, 7.2% for 1M+; 41 of 308 audited profiles hid like counts on at least one recent post. Markdown: https://instapect.com/blog/how-to-see-instagram-insights.md
- [What Is a Good Engagement Rate on Instagram? 2026 Benchmarks by Follower Count](https://instapect.com/blog/good-instagram-engagement-rate): About 1% or higher for brand accounts (top 25% per Rival IQ: median 0.36%, top quartile 1.05%); Socialinsider brand average 0.48% (35M posts, 2025, down about 24% YoY). Instapect audits (140 accounts, 28 Aug to 11 Oct 2026), median engagement by followers: 13.96% under 1K, 2.75% for 1K to 10K, 0.35% for 10K to 100K, 0.30% for 100K to 1M, 0.53% for 1M+, with bottom and top quartile cut-offs; above 10K only about 1 in 3 accounts reached 1%. Plus industry and format benchmarks and a 4-step check. Formula lives in the calculation guide. Markdown: https://instapect.com/blog/good-instagram-engagement-rate.md
- [Do Hashtags Work on Instagram in 2026? The 5-Hashtag Limit and What 1,631 Posts Show](https://instapect.com/blog/do-hashtags-work-on-instagram): Includes how long a hashtag can be (no documented per-tag maximum; 2,200-character caption; numbers allowed, spaces and special characters not) and whether hashtags work on Reels. Yes, as labels for classification and hashtag search, not as a reach boost. Instagram allows up to 5 hashtags per post or Reel (Help Center; cap announced 18 Dec 2025). Instapect audits (140 accounts, 1,631 posts): engagement vs the account's own median was 1.00x with 0 tags, 0.99x with 1 to 2, 1.00x with 3 to 5; within 39 accounts tagged posts got a median 0.83x of untagged posts (correlation, not causation). Posts with more than 5 tags fell from 18.7% to 3.6% after the cap. Plus Metricool 2026 (24.4M posts), how to pick 5 tags and a 4-week test. Markdown: https://instapect.com/blog/do-hashtags-work-on-instagram.md
- [Micro Influencer vs Nano Influencer in 2026: Follower Ranges, Engagement Data and Rates](https://instapect.com/blog/micro-vs-nano-influencers): Micro = about 10K to 100K followers, nano = about 1K to 10K. Instapect audits (140 accounts): median engagement 2.44% nano vs 0.35% micro; 3 of 22 micro accounts cleared 3%; creator-led micro accounts 1.18% vs 0.12% for business pages; comments per 100 likes 6.0 micro vs 1.1 for 1M+. Plus HypeAuditor 2026 tier rates, 2026 price ranges and a 5-step vetting checklist. Markdown: https://instapect.com/blog/micro-vs-nano-influencers.md
- [Best Time to Post on Instagram in 2026, by Day, Hour and Format](https://instapect.com/blog/best-time-to-post-on-instagram): Monday to Thursday, 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time. Tuesday 3 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. are the only hours Sprout Social, Buffer and Hootsuite all recommend; no two studies agree on any hour Thursday to Saturday. Best and worst times for each day of the week, worst hours (1 a.m. to 5 a.m., Buffer), Reels, carousels and Stories, industry windows (Sprout Social, Hootsuite). Instapect audits (140 accounts, 1,474 posts, UTC): best vs worst day only 7.9 points apart (Sunday 52.1%, Friday 44.2% beat own median); carousels beat their account median on every day (51.8% to 65.3%) vs Reels 39.3% to 52.9%. Markdown: https://instapect.com/blog/best-time-to-post-on-instagram.md
- [How Often Should You Post on Instagram in 2026?](https://instapect.com/blog/how-often-to-post-on-instagram): 3 to 5 feed posts a week. Buffer (2.1M posts, 102K accounts): about +12% reach per post at 3 to 5 vs 1 to 2 a week, follower growth rate 0.12% / 0.26% / 0.44% / 0.66% by band. Dash Social (1.5M posts, ~3,000 brands, Jul 2025 to Jun 2026): 2 to 3 feed posts a week give the highest engagement rate, Reels 1 to 3, Stories 30+ a week. Instapect audits (141 accounts, 28 Aug to 11 Oct 2026): median 2.42 posts a week; under 10K followers, median ER per post 5.87% (under 1 a week) vs 3.38% (3 to 7) but weekly interactions per 100 followers 1.2 vs 13.7; posts within a day of the previous one matched the account median (1.00x, 1,501 posts). Markdown: https://instapect.com/blog/how-often-to-post-on-instagram.md
- [Who Has the Most Followers on Instagram? Top 20 Accounts in October 2026, With Engagement Rates](https://instapect.com/blog/most-followed-instagram-accounts): Ranking of the most-followed accounts as of 13 Oct 2026 (Instagram 686.6M, Cristiano Ronaldo 680.2M, Lionel Messi 517.8M; InsTrack, cross-checked with Wikipedia), most-followed man, woman, musician, athlete, brand and by country, and how the top 20 changed in a year, with engagement rate, likes per post and posting frequency from Instapect audits. Markdown: https://instapect.com/blog/most-followed-instagram-accounts.md
- [How to Calculate Instagram Engagement Rate in 2026](https://instapect.com/blog/how-to-calculate-instagram-engagement-rate): Formula, worked example, spreadsheet, and benchmarks by follower tier from 140 audits. Markdown: https://instapect.com/blog/how-to-calculate-instagram-engagement-rate.md
- [Blog RSS](https://instapect.com/blog/rss.xml)

## Tools

- [Instagram Engagement Rate Calculator](https://instapect.com/instagram-engagement-rate-calculator): Free calculator for any public profile: engagement rate by followers ((avg likes + avg comments) / followers x 100) with the median beside it and the account's standing against its follower-tier anchors; worked example (@kingjames) and data showing the average is 1.5x the median or more on 44% of 140 audited accounts. Markdown: https://instapect.com/instagram-engagement-rate-calculator.md
- [Instagram Profile Analyzer](https://instapect.com/instagram-profile-analyzer): Free analyzer for any public Instagram profile: engagement rate by followers with the median, comments per 100 likes, posts per week with pinned posts removed, format mix, top posts, bio and link check, and a 0 to 100 tier-graded score (weights: engagement 35, engagement quality 25, content 15, consistency 15, growth 10). Instapect audits (145 accounts, 28 Aug to 16 Oct 2026): 69 (48%) had 1 to 3 pinned posts; counting them stretched the median gap between posts from 2.4 to 22.6 days and lifted engagement rate a median 1.20x (@mrbeast 4.15% vs 1.05%, @garyvee 1.31% vs 0.16%). Most common findings: a few posts carry the average (52 of 145), engagement below the tier's lower reference (50). Compares HypeAuditor, Inflact, Postana, InstMe and Instagram Insights (checked 26 Oct 2026). Public signals only: no reach, demographics, private accounts or fake-follower detection. Markdown: https://instapect.com/instagram-profile-analyzer.md
- [Free Instagram Analytics Tools Compared (2026)](https://instapect.com/instagram-analytics-tool): Neutral comparison of six free and freemium options, what each measures and costs (checked 12 Oct 2026): Instagram Insights (free, own account only, reach/views/demographics, past 90 days), Metricool (free plan: 1 brand, 30 days, 5 competitors), HypeAuditor (free audit with Audience Quality Score; median, views-based ER for Reels; paid on request), Social Blade (free with ads; $5 to $120/month billed yearly), Socialinsider (free calculator for business accounts; from $82/month billed yearly, 14-day trial) and Instapect (free summary, 2 detailed scans with sign-up, $5 per report or $19/month). Instapect data (119 accounts, 896 Reels, 28 Aug to 11 Oct 2026): median Reel engagement by plays vs by followers was 0.18x under 1K and 10.87x for 1M+ (0.30% vs 3.61%), which is why tools disagree. Self-published by Instapect. Markdown: https://instapect.com/instagram-analytics-tool.md

## Example reports

- [@netflix](https://instapect.com/report/netflix)
- [@nasa](https://instapect.com/report/nasa)
- [@spotify](https://instapect.com/report/spotify)
- [@garyvee](https://instapect.com/report/garyvee)

## Machine-readable

- [Sitemap](https://instapect.com/sitemap.xml): All indexable pages, refreshed as reports are published.
- [OpenAPI description](https://instapect.com/openapi.json): Public read-only endpoints.
- [API catalog](https://instapect.com/.well-known/api-catalog): RFC 9727 linkset.
- [Markdown home page](https://instapect.com/index.md): Same content as the home page in markdown.

## Methodology

- [Scoring changelog and review process](https://instapect.com/changelog): every change to the Instapect Score model, why it was made and its effect on existing scores.

- Engagement rate by followers = (avg likes + avg comments) / followers x 100.
- Median is always reported alongside the average so viral posts cannot distort the read.
- Sub-scores are shown with the formula that produced them; unmeasurable inputs are excluded, never zero-filled.
- Grading is tier-relative: an account is scored against percentile anchors for its own follower tier.