Instagram competitor analysis
Instagram competitor analysis: compare your account with 2–3 competitors
- Price
- Free plan: 100 credits, no card. One analysis uses about 60 credits.
- What you get
- One comparison table with followers, posts per week, format mix (Reels, carousels, photos), median engagement per post by followers, median Reel plays and median engagement per play, each with the number of posts behind it; each account's three best recent posts and what they are about; giveaways flagged; the formats, topics or rhythm that work for competitors but are weak on your account, and three things to try next.
- Coverage
- Any public Instagram accounts, brands or creators, in any country: yours plus two or three competitors. Private accounts, Stories, ads and Instagram Insights (reach, saves, profile visits) are not available.
- Time to report
- Usually 3–5 minutes.
- Account
- Sign-in with Google required to run it. You can read the example and fill in the form without an account.
Enter your Instagram account and two or three competitors. Nolyn reads each account's 24 most recent posts, leaves out pinned posts, collabs owned by other accounts and hidden likes, and puts posting rhythm, format mix, engagement per follower, Reel plays and engagement per play side by side, then lists each account's best posts and the gaps your account can fill.
Example: Owala vs Hydro Flask and YETIHow do you analyze Instagram competitors?
Read the same number of recent posts from your account and two or three competitors, then compare posting rhythm, format mix and engagement per follower and per Reel play on the same rules. In Nolyn's October 22, 2026 run, Owala's median post reached 0.47% of followers against 0.11% for YETI and 0.073% for Hydro Flask, while all three got 2.1–2.3% engagement per play.
What you get
One table, same rules for every account
What works for each competitor
Your gaps and next tests
Example: Owala vs Hydro Flask and YETI
A real run on October 22, 2026 comparing three drinkware brands. Nolyn read each profile and 24 to 36 feed items per account to keep 24 posts each: it left out 11 collab posts owned by creators in Hydro Flask's feed, 6 in YETI's and YETI's pinned post. Publish dates were decoded from the post IDs.
Highest engagement per follower
0.47%
Owala, 24 posts; YETI 0.11%, Hydro Flask 0.073%
Engagement per play
2.06–2.29%
All three brands, median per Reel
Most Reel plays
331,796
Owala median, 12 Reels; 3.7× YETI, 16× Hydro Flask
Collabs left out
17
11 in Hydro Flask's feed, 6 in YETI's
| Account | Followers | Posts per week | Reels / carousels / photos | Engagement per follower | Median Reel plays | Engagement per play | Best recent post |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owala (@owala) | 1.18M | 4.8 | 19 / 3 / 2 | 0.47% | 332K (12 Reels) | 2.11% | Owala × Pokémon at Target Reel (60,872 likes) |
| YETI (@yeti) | 2.34M | 6.0 | 12 / 12 / 0 | 0.11% | 89K (12 Reels) | 2.29% | Rain apparel launch carousel (11,952 likes) |
| Hydro Flask (@hydroflask) | 630K | 3.0 | 16 / 7 / 1 | 0.073% | 21K (16 Reels) | 2.06% | @rolemodel collection carousel (20,943 likes) |
24 posts per account; engagement = (likes + comments) ÷ followers, median per post. Reel plays and engagement per play are medians over the Reels that returned a play count. Figures as Instagram returned them on October 22, 2026.
Owala gets 4 to 6 times the engagement per follower
The gap is reach, not reaction
YETI wins with launch carousels; Owala barely posts them
Giveaways and creator collabs distort raw counts
Every figure was recomputed from the profile and post responses saved from this run. The run's report gave YETI's engagement per play as 2.50%; recomputed over its 12 Reels it is 2.29%. Seven of Owala's 19 Reels, all on the newest page, came back without a play count, so its plays figures rest on 12 Reels. Only public numbers of brand accounts are shown.
Run it for your own product or accountHow it works
Read the profiles
Followers, posts, bio and category for your account and each competitor.
Read 24 posts each
Publish date, format, likes, comments and Reel plays, leaving out pinned posts, hidden likes and collabs owned by others.
Compare on the same rules
Posts per week, format mix, median engagement by followers and by plays, in one table.
Find the gaps
Each account's best posts, giveaways flagged, and what your account could try next.
Who uses an Instagram competitor analysis
Brands and DTC sellers
Social media managers and agencies
Creators
What it cannot do
Nolyn reads the public numbers Instagram shows on each post: likes, comments and, for Reels, plays. It cannot see reach, impressions, saves, shares, profile visits, Stories, ads or follower demographics, and some Reels come back without a play count. It compares the 24 most recent posts per account, so one viral post or a launch week can move the medians; newer posts are still collecting likes. Engagement per follower falls as accounts grow, so compare accounts of similar size or look at engagement per play.
Questions
How do I do an Instagram competitor analysis?
Pick two or three accounts that sell to the same buyers, read the same number of recent posts from each and compare them on the same rules: posting rhythm, format mix, engagement per follower and per Reel play. Then look at each competitor's best posts for formats and topics you are not using.
Is there a free Instagram competitor analysis tool?
Running it needs a free Nolyn account: sign in with Google and you get 100 free credits. The sample run on this page compared three accounts for 60 credits in under 4 minutes. This page, the sample and the brief are free to read, and the Instagram engagement rate calculator works without an account.
Can I see a competitor's Instagram insights?
No. Reach, saves, profile visits and demographics are private to the account owner. A competitor analysis uses what is public on each post: likes, comments, Reel plays and publish dates, which is enough to compare rhythm, formats and engagement.
Which engagement rate should I compare?
Both. Engagement per follower shows how much of the audience reacts and falls as accounts grow; engagement per play shows how viewers respond to a Reel regardless of size. In the sample, Owala led per follower by 4 to 6 times while all three brands sat between 2.06% and 2.29% per play.
Why leave out collabs and giveaways?
A collab post owned by a creator shows up in the brand's feed with the creator's audience; a giveaway asks people to comment. In the sample, 11 creator collabs in Hydro Flask's feed and Owala's two giveaways (2,248 and 1,990 comments) would have skewed the medians, so collabs are left out and giveaways are flagged.
How many competitors can I compare?
Two or three, plus your own account, in one run. That keeps 24 posts per account within one report; for more accounts, run it again with another set.
What is the difference from the Instagram profile analyzer?
The profile analyzer looks at one account in depth: its best and weakest posts and what to learn from them. The competitor analysis puts several accounts on the same rules in one table and ends with the gaps for your account.
Is there a free Instagram competitor analysis tool?
You can start free: new accounts get 100 one-time credits, no card required. One analysis like this uses about 60 credits, so the free credits cover about 1 runs. Paid plans add monthly credits.
Do I need to sign up?
To run it, yes: sign in with Google. It is free and asks for no card. You can read the example and fill in the form before signing in.
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