12 Instagram analytics tools to master performance

Instagram used to be a black hole in terms of third-party marketing tools.

Fast forward to now and times have changed. From social listening to engagement metrics, businesses on Instagram are spoiled for choice when it comes to Instagram tracking apps and tools.

Zeroing in on the right Instagram analytics tools can be tricky, though. The platform’s recent surge in popularity coupled with frequent changes to its API makes it difficult to find a reliable, long-term solution.

Listen: we totally get it. That’s why we put together a comprehensive list of Instagram analytics apps and tools you can use in tandem with the top social media management tools to master your key marketing metrics.

Given the diversity of the platform and its content, it’s oftentimes best to have multiple sources of Instagram insights on deck based on your priorities.

Maybe you’re focused on Stories and user-generated content. Perhaps you’re frequently running ads and influencer campaigns.

Regardless of your goals, the following combination of free and paid Instagram reporting tools can help you step up your Instagram analytics game ASAP.

1. Sprout Social

While we may be the ones bringing you this list, there’s no denying Sprout Social’s powerful Instagram analytics.

In addition to empowering you with intuitive Instagram scheduling and publishing features, as well as supporting engagement through real-time monitoring, Sprout enables you to quickly analyze Instagram data at both the post and profile level. With Sprout, you can dig even deeper into your Instagram data with interactive graphs and metrics.

Sprout’s got you covered with analytics right out of the box and an option to increase the power of your data with Premium Analytics. With Premium Analytics you can dive headfirst into your Instagram data and surface trends within the metrics that matter most.

And with a suite of intuitive reporting options, it’s easy to create a custom detailed, presentation-ready report with the data that is most valuable for you.

Whether you’re examining hashtag trends to inform future content or evaluating team performance to optimize operations, you can do it at scale by measuring everything from follower growth to engagement across different products, brands or locations simultaneously.

Not to mention, Sprout Social’s Instagram Competitor Reports offer a unique and powerful way to benchmark your performance against your rivals. This tool lets you track key metrics like follower growth, engagement and posting frequency for any public Instagram Business Profile.

These insights help you see how you stack up against the average performance of your competitors and show you areas for improvement to surpass your competition.

Want to identify top posts based on engagement during specific timeframes? Looking to spotlight which industry influencers are interacting with your posts? Curious as to how your video content stacks up against that of your competitors?

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2. Iconosquare

Iconosquare is an Instagram analytics tool that’s tailored for agencies and brands managing multiple accounts. The platform’s features include competitive hashtag and growth-tracking not unlike that of Sprout.

Beyond its full-blown analytics platform, Iconosquare also offers a free Instagram audit for business profiles. This tool ensures that your profile is “complete” and sticking to the platform’s best practices. The audit assesses your 30 most recent posts as well as your general account settings.

Considering how competitive Instagram has become, it never hurts to have a sort of “second opinion” on your presence.

3. Keyhole

Instagram reporting tools that measure past performance are the norm, but it’s also helpful to analyze real-time data as well.

Keyhole provides real-time hashtag tracking for Instagram, which is perfect for social media contests, brand campaigns or other marketing efforts involving hashtags.

Besides seeing how many times a hashtag has been used, Keyhole also shows additional data such as the top posts containing your hashtag, the most engaging posts and related hashtags.

It never hurts to have fresh hashtag ideas on deck, especially considering that approximately 10 tags are considered “optimal” for Instagram engagement.

4. Social Status

Social Status is an Instagram analytics tool that gives you a comprehensive view of how your account is performing, who your audience is and what kind of content resonates with them. The platform lets you analyze data from different types of content, such as posts, stories and ads, so you can get a better understanding of your audience’s behavior.

With clear visualizations and historical data comparisons, it’s easy to track your progress over time and adjust your strategy accordingly. Social Status also makes it easy to compare your performance to industry benchmarks.

5. Hootsuite

Hootsuite offers a comprehensive Instagram analytics solution that enables users to track and understand their account’s performance. Through detailed metrics on follower growth, post engagement and audience insights, it helps users assess content effectiveness and refine their strategies.

The platform also allows for scheduling and monitoring in one place, making it easy to manage multiple Instagram accounts. With customizable reporting features, Hootsuite supports in-depth data analysis and provides an organized view of performance trends over time.

6. Squarelovin

Squarelovin provides users with valuable Instagram analytics, offering insights into engagement, follower growth and content performance. Its data shows when to post and how many people interact with each post. This helps users understand when and what type of content works best with their audience.

Squarelovin also enables a look at monthly or historical performance trends, giving users a long-term view of growth patterns. This tool’s straightforward visualizations make it easy to interpret data and refine content strategies accordingly.

7. Instagram Insights

Finally, don’t neglect the native reports provided by Instagram.

Instagram Insights reports cover impressions, engagement, reach and top posts among other metrics. This data can be broken down from the span of a few months or even years, which is key for historical performance.

Plus, you’ll get access to followers analysis and demographics so you can find out what percentage of your audience are male/female, age groups and even where the bulk of them are from.

Knowing who you’re speaking to on Instagram is undoubtedly beneficial. You might have a target audience in mind that you want to reach, but the only way to truly know who’s engaging with your posts is by looking through your Instagram analytics.

As a side note, we should also mention Facebooks’s ad manager as another native tool that analyzes paid posts. With more and more brands investing in paid social, such metrics can keep you from sending your ad spend down the drain.

The good news? Facebook has some of the most robust and in-depth social media ad analytics out there. Simply put, brands have plenty of data to determine the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of their Instagram ads.

8. Sendible

Sendible is an Instagram analytics tool that provides detailed insights into account performance, including metrics on engagement, follower growth and post reach. It has reporting features that help users see how different types of content make their audience happy.

It also tracks comments and interactions to manage engagement more efficiently. Sendible’s analytics also allow for performance comparisons over time, enabling users to identify trends and refine content strategies.

9. Bitly

Your Instagram bio is incredibly valuable real estate.

Tracking your bio link is a must-do for monitoring the success of your social campaigns. This rings true whether you’re trying to sell products or simply drive traffic to your site.

Bitly is a tried and tested link-tracking tool that’s fair game on Instagram for budding businesses and big brands alike.

Driving traffic to a specific landing page? Bitly breaks down your bio click links and can be used in conjunction with Google URL builder to provide an in-depth performance report of your campaigns. Beyond bio URLs, Bitly can also be used to track links that are included in your paid Instagram campaigns.

10. Phlanx

Phlanx’s engagement calculator analyzes the engagement rate of any given Instagram account. Although the tool is marketed as being for influencers, any personal or business account can be plugged in.

Engagement rate is calculated by dividing the number of likes and comments a post receives versus an account’s follower count. There is no magic number in terms of what a brand of influencer’s engagement rate should be, although a ballpark of ~3% is considered good to average.

Tools like Phlanx are invaluable for spotting accounts with fake followers or determining whether an influencer’s posts are receiving legitimate engagement. Phlanx can likewise be used to track competitor engagement in addition to your own account.

11. ContentStudio

ContentStudio provides Instagram analytics that allow users to track engagement metrics, follower growth and content performance. It offers insights into which posts drive the most interaction, making it easier to identify successful content types.

The platform also supports analysis of audience demographics and optimal posting times, which can inform more effective scheduling and strategy decisions. Plus, ContentStudio’s reports can consolidate data from multiple accounts, giving users a centralized view of performance across various profiles and platforms.

12. Metricool

Metricool offers Instagram analytics that help users monitor account performance, including metrics on follower growth, engagement rates and content reach. The tool provides insights into the best times to post based on audience activity, allowing users to refine their scheduling for optimal engagement.

Metricool also enables a comparison of content types, showing which posts resonate most with followers. With its clear visual reports, users can easily track trends over time and consolidate performance data from multiple accounts into one dashboard.

And with that, we wrap up our list!

Ready to try today’s top Instagram analytics tools?

Long gone are the days of businesses second-guessing their Instagram presence.

With today’s wealth of Instagram tools, businesses of all shapes and sizes are empowered to optimize their posts for engagement.

Want to score more likes and comments? Curious to know which hashtags will help maximize your reach? These data points and then some are all at your fingertips and then some with the help of Instagram analytics tools such as Sprout.

We want to hear from you, though. Anything else you’re looking for in terms of Instagram metrics? If you haven’t made the leap to a third-party analytics tool, what’s holding you back? Let us know in the comments below!