Instagram Analytics Tools in 2026: 5 Compared
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Updated November 5, 2026. Prices and analytics limits are from each tool's own pricing page on that date; the Instagram section is from Instagram's Help Center on the same day.
What is the best Instagram analytics tool? Start with Instagram's own Insights: they are free and cover views, interactions, new followers and audience details for any timeframe within the past 90 days. Add a tool only when you need longer history or several accounts in one place. Later and Metricool are the lowest-cost ways to do that, and Blaze fits if you want results next to the posts it made.
Instagram analytics tools compared
| Tool | Starting price (checked November 5, 2026) | What it measures | Free plan or trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Later | $18.75 a month, billed yearly | Instagram and TikTok analytics; up to 3 months of history on Starter, 1 year on Growth | 14-day trial; no free plan |
| Metricool | from $20 a month | Account analytics; unlimited history on paid plans, 30 days on the free plan | Free plan for 1 brand |
| Sprout Social | $79 per seat a month, billed yearly ($99 monthly) | Profile and post reports on Essentials | 30-day trial |
| Buffer | from $5 a month for 1 channel | Insights; 30 days of history on the free plan, unlimited on Essentials | Free plan for 3 channels; 14-day trial on paid plans |
| Hootsuite | from $99 per user a month | Analytics and reporting on Standard | 14-day trial; no free plan |
Blaze is not in the table because its analytics come with the posting plan: $79 a month with a 7-day free trial. Details below.
What Instagram's own analytics show
Instagram's Help Center describes free insights for public accounts. The overview shows Views, Interactions, New followers and Content you shared, and you can open each one for detail. You can pick a preset or custom timeframe within the past 90 days.
- Per post, Story, Reel and live video: views, viewers, interactions and accounts engaged.
- Audience: top countries, cities, age ranges and gender breakdown, shown once you reach over 100 accounts. Follower trends need at least 100 followers.
The limit is the 90-day window and one account at a time. If you want a longer record or several accounts together, that is where the tools above come in.
Instagram analytics in Blaze
Blaze's Insights tab shows highlights for each connected account over 7 or 30 days, with history up to a year. New accounts take a few days to fill in; on the 7-day free trial, insights start on day 4. You can connect Google Analytics too. Blaze posts to Instagram from a business or creator account linked to a Facebook Page.
From Claude, ChatGPT or Codex, the Blaze MCP server gives a performance digest: followers and impressions for each account for yesterday, the last 7 days and the last 30 days, each compared with the period before, plus the week's top posts. Missing numbers are shown as missing, never estimated.
Questions people ask
Is there a free Instagram analytics tool?
Yes. Instagram's own insights are free. Metricool's free plan adds 30 days of analytics for 1 brand, and Buffer's free plan adds 30 days of Insights for up to 3 channels.
Which tool keeps the longest Instagram history?
Metricool and Buffer list unlimited history on their paid plans. Later keeps up to 3 months on Starter and a year on Growth. Blaze shows up to a year. Instagram itself shows 90 days.
Do I need an analytics tool if I already schedule posts?
Often not. Most schedulers include analytics; see the best Instagram schedulers and the social media analytics tools comparison for every network.