Instagram competitor analysis tool (free): method, template and tracker
A useful Instagram competitor analysis answers one question: which of their Reels beat their own usual reach, and why? Follower counts and average likes can’t tell you that. Views compared with each creator’s normal can.
Here is what that looks like on live data. Our fitness, food, travel, beauty, money, tech, home and pets Reels samples picked up 443 Reels from the last 21 days, posted by 431 creators. The fastest, @pieces_she_loves’s “If you’re wondering which soap is best for daily bathing without stri…”, is collecting about 453K views a day. 36% of the Reels use a named track (the rest use original audio or list no track), and the median Reel drew 0.9 comments per 1,000 views. Lengths among the 30 fastest Reels are spread out (10 under 15 s, 7 at 15–30 s, 8 at 30–60 s and 5 over 60 s), so length alone isn’t the pattern here.
Instagram keeps saves, reach and audience data private to the account owner, and creators can hide like counts. So the free method below leans on what is public for every Reel: views on the Reels tab, comments, length, audio, caption and posting date. It compares each Reel with the creator’s own median instead of a fixed number. Plan on about 30 minutes a week for five competitors, or let Followlly run the same checks automatically.
Updated Oct 2, 2026 · based on 443 videos from 431 creators · How we measure
What to track in an Instagram competitor analysis
Views alone mislead. Every signal below is measured against the creator’s own normal, not against other accounts.
| Signal | How to measure it for free | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Outliers | Views (shown on the profile’s Reels tab) ÷ the creator’s median views for Reels older than 3 days. Flag 3× or more. | A format or hook that already works in your niche, proven on a comparable account. |
| Rising now | Check a fresh Reel’s views twice, 6–12 hours apart, and compare views per hour with the creator’s usual pace. | What is taking off today, while you can still respond this week. |
| Posting cadence | Reels per week over the last 4 weeks. Count carousels separately. | Whether Reels growth comes from volume or from a few hits. |
| Formats and length | Tag each Reel (tutorial, list, before/after, POV, voiceover, talking head…) and note its length. | Which formats keep showing up among a creator’s outliers. |
| Audio | Original audio or a named track? Tap it to see how many Reels use it. | Whether the audio carries the idea or is just background. |
| Hooks and covers | The first line, the first on-screen text and the cover frame on the grid. | What earns the tap from the profile grid and the first two seconds of attention. |
| Comments per 1,000 views | Comments ÷ views × 1,000. Likes can be hidden, and saves are private. | Which topics start conversations, a strong hint for your next hook. |
Free method: Instagram competitor analysis in 30 minutes a week
Works without any tool. This is the same logic Followlly runs automatically.
- Choose 5–10 Reels competitors. Accounts posting Reels to the same audience as you, mostly your size up to about 10× bigger. Search your niche keywords in Instagram search to find them, and keep one or two smaller accounts on the list: a small account’s breakout is the easiest kind to reproduce.
- Log their last 20 Reels. From the Reels tab: date, link, views, comments, likes (if shown), length, audio, format, first line and cover. Skip Stories and carousels for this sheet.
- Set each creator’s baseline. Take the median views of their Reels older than three days, since newer Reels are still collecting views. A median ignores the one viral Reel that would inflate an average.
- Mark the outlier Reels. Views ÷ baseline. At 3× or more, mark the Reel as an outlier; at 10×, open it and go through it frame by frame.
- Break outliers down to the mechanic. Hook type, structure, format, length, the cover and the role of the audio. Then drop the topic and ask: would this still work on a different subject?
- Check the pace of fresh Reels. Note the views on anything under 48 hours old, then again 6–12 hours later. A much faster pace than the creator’s usual means it is rising now.
- Note cadence and collabs. Reels per week, which days, and whether outliers were Collab posts shared to two audiences.
- Post one or two tests. Make your own Reel with the same mechanic, in your topic and voice, and check it against your own median after three days.
Instagram competitor analysis template
Paste this header into Google Sheets or Excel, one row per Reel. “usual_views” is the creator’s median, and “multiple” is views ÷ usual_views. There is no saves column because Instagram keeps saves private.
creator,date,url,views,comments,likes,length_s,audio,format,first_line,cover,collab,usual_views,multiple
| creator | date | views | length | audio | usual views | multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| @lismaaaary | Sep 30, 2026 | 68K | 7 s | original audio / not listed | 30K | 2.3× |
A real row from the current sample: @lismaaaary’s best video against the median of their 2 other videos in our sample (just under the 3× outlier line).
Live example: Instagram competitor signals in the current sample
From 443 Reels posted in the last 21 days on fitness, food, travel, beauty, money, tech, home and pets niche hashtags, by 431 creators. Every video links to the original post on the creator’s profile.
Creators with 3+ videos in the sample: best video vs their usual
| Creator | Niche | Videos in sample | Best video | Their usual (median of the others) | Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| @lismaaaary | Beauty | 3 | 68K views | 30K | 2.3× |
This is the calculation the method above asks for, on real data. With only a few videos per creator in a hashtag sample it is a rough read; on a full profile of 20 videos it gets much steadier.
Length and audio of the 30 fastest Reels
| Length | Reels |
|---|---|
| under 15 seconds | 10 |
| 15–30 seconds | 7 |
| 30–60 seconds | 8 |
| over 60 seconds | 5 |
9 of the 30 use a named track; the other 21 use original audio or list no track. Write down the same split for your competitors’ outliers. It tells you whether audio is part of the format in your niche.
Fastest Reels by views per day
453Kviews / dayInstagrambeauty
If you’re wondering which soap is best for daily bathing without stripping your @pieces_she_loves · 1.4M views · 3d ago♪ Let It Out, Let It Out — Veronica May
189Kviews / dayInstagrammoney
Not EVERY interaction needs a tip! Here are the places where tipping is not requ@networthandchillpod · 383K views · 2d ago
159Kviews / dayInstagramhome
Frame the memories. Style the wall. Make it yours. 🤎@spacivo_interior · 348K views · 2d ago
121Kviews / dayInstagramhome
Diy rc car@the_diy_garage26 · 363K views · 3d ago♪ Maine Tere Hi Bharose — Suneel Lodhi
111Kviews / dayInstagrammoney
How to make animated kids YouTube videos with Melius AI! aivideos@createwmishhh · 222K views · 2d ago
96Kviews / dayInstagramhome
(no caption)@lunacolorr · 449K views · 5d ago♪ Loose Legs — Auralux
82Kviews / dayInstagramtravel
Nothing better@hooked_onaus · 138K views · 2d ago
78Kviews / dayInstagramfood
BUREK ME MISH SI NË BUREKTORE – por shumë më i lehtë në shtëpi! Kjo është receta@balis.kitchen · 93K views · 1d ago
74Kviews / dayInstagrambeauty
Coconut की ये Secret Hacks हर किसी को ज़रूर पता होनी चाहिए DesiNuskhe@yourhealthmaster · 294K views · 4d ago
73Kviews / dayInstagrambeauty
쿠팡 8400원 옆볼륨 헤어피스 ㅊㅊ@vanilrabin · 154K views · 2d ago♪ GRLS — TUIDE
69Kviews / dayInstagrambeauty
Sportswear haul+ try-on with @glowmode_official Search for GLOWMODE on SHEIN and@hell0busra · 120K views · 2d ago
65Kviews / dayInstagrambeauty
This is for those that are holding onto that hair that is doing nothing for them@hair.by.becky · 131K views · 2d ago♪ Patient Zero — Taylor SwiftSample caveat: these come from niche hashtags, which favor videos that are already spreading, so the multiples run higher than on a typical competitor list. The samples are refreshed about every 7 days. Niche pages: Fitness · Food · Travel · Beauty · all trend pages.
How Followlly automates Instagram competitor analysis
- Add handles. Paste the Instagram (and TikTok) creators you compete with. No password, and nothing connects to your account.
- Scheduled checks. Followlly pulls their recent public Reels every 2–3 days, depending on the plan, and keeps a short view history for each one.
- Outliers flagged. Each Reel is compared with the creator’s median for Reels older than three days. By default, 3× or more is flagged as an outlier, and you can change the threshold.
- Rising now. Views per hour between checks, against that creator’s normal pace. Three times faster gets flagged.
- Content DNA. A breakout is broken down to its portable mechanic (hook, structure, format, role of the sound) without the original topic or wording.
- Scripts. AI writes scripts that apply the mechanic to your niche and cite your own numbers, delivered with a morning plan in the app.
On top of the handles you add, Followlly watches your whole niche: Reels on your niche hashtags, refreshed every 7 days and ranked by views per day, the sounds that play in them, rising Google searches, and audience questions from niche subreddits.
| Creator | Producer | Studio | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $29/mo early access · regular $39 | $79/mo early access · regular $99 | $199/mo early access · regular $249 |
| Instagram + TikTok competitors | 5 | 15 | 50 |
| Competitor check | every 3 days | every 2 days | every 2 days |
| Your own accounts | 2 | 5 | 30 |
| Extra client workspace | — | — | +$20/mo |
Every plan starts with a 7-day free trial on the plan you pick. A card is required; the first charge comes after the trial and you can cancel anytime. Full details on pricing.