Instagram Engagement Falls to 0.48% as Carousels Overtake Reels in 2026 Benchmarks

In 2025, the average engagement rate for brand posts on Instagram was 0.48%, whereas Rival IQ reported a 17% decline in the all-industry median to 0.30%. Carousels achieved the highest engagement at 0.55%, closely followed by Reels at 0.52%, which saw a 4% increase year over year. In contrast, static images dropped 18% to 0.37%. This data comes from Socialinsider's examination of 35 million posts and other reports. Instagram boasts over 3 billion monthly active users and is utilized by 70% of marketers. Accounts with 1K-5K followers engage at 4-5%, while those with over 500K followers engage at 1-2%. Brands typically post a median of 3.7 times per week. In Q2 2026, Meta's ad revenue hit $59.4 billion, with Instagram ads reaching 1.99 billion users.