8 Instagram Analytics Tools for Easy Metric Tracking

If you manage Instagram business accounts, you’ve surely also had to deal with Instagram Insights and Meta Business Suite. Going through the complex interfaces and having to search through countless tabs for simple Instagram metrics, you’ve already felt the common frustration of social media managers.

So have I, and I’m here to reassure you that better options do exist when managing multiple social media accounts. Read on for my list of the best Instagram analytics tools on the market, with reliable data and intuitive ways of analyzing impact to improve your Instagram accounts.

Why you should consider an Instagram analytics tool instead of Instagram Insights?

Instagram Insights, the native analytics tool for Instagram, has several downsides. It falls short for businesses and digital marketers looking to deeply understand and improve their Instagram content strategy. Here are some specific disadvantages:

• Unfriendly, non-intuitive interface. Different analytics are in different places, making navigating and finding specific information challenging, especially for newbies.
• Inconsistent numbers. You may find inconsistent data between the Instagram app and Meta Business Suite.
• Ever-changing interface. Regular updates often require you to relearn where to find the information you need. Especially painful when it comes to Meta Business Suite, valid for various app Insights updates as well.

Considering all these limitations, let’s review the benefits of using a dedicated Instagram analytics app:

• Get actionable insights and data

Instagram analytics apps help you improve your Instagram profile and presence by providing clear, easy-to-understand performance data, coupled with actionable tips such as best times to post.

• Optimize your social media strategy

The comprehensive, well-structured data you get from an Instagram analytics app allows you to improve your strategy.

• Improve engagement

With detailed audience demographics, post performance, and sentiment analysis, you can create better content and double-down on what resonates with your followers.

• Achieve your marketing objectives

Instagram analytics tools provide actionable insights that help you align your social media activities with your broader marketing goals.

• Have relevant things in one place

A third-party Instagram analytics tool gathers all essential data in a single dashboard. This makes it easier for you to monitor and analyze your Instagram performance.

Top Instagram analytics tools for an easy business dashboard

Planable Analytics | Sprout Social | Hootsuite | Iconosquare | HubSpot | SocialPilot | Keyhole | Emplifi

There are plenty of marketing tools that help you perform a full Instagram audit. Below, I’ve compiled a list of the eight best Instagram analytics tools based on the value they offer.

1. Planable Analytics: best for intuitive Instagram account analytics

Planable Analytics is great for marketers looking for an Instagram analytics tool that gives a clear overview of their content performance and easy reporting to clients or stakeholders. The tool covers Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn (and will add more platforms soon).

The analytics and reporting feature is integrated into Planable’s complete social media management solution that comes with amazing collaboration features. So, it’s ideal for teams looking to manage all their content efforts in one place.

Here’s what you can do with Planable Analytics:

• Overview of your performance: You can easily see how your account performs over custom periods of time. Track metrics like follower growth, reach, impressions, engagement, and profile visits. The tool compares your account’s performance versus the data in the corresponding past period.

• Top performing content: This gives you clear overview of which posts perform better, based on the metrics that matter to you, and also allows you to go in-depth with more info on each post. You can analyze metrics like impressions, engagement, plays, reactions, comments, and shares. It helps you see what content works best for your audience. Then, you can refine your own strategy accordingly.

• Easy reporting: This feature allows you to generate custom reports that you can easily share with your clients or stakeholders. Show the impact of your work and support any suggestions for future strategy with clear, actionable data.

Pricing

Planable Analytics costs $9/month per workspace (which is a dedicated section for each of an agency’s clients or a company’s brands). The social media analytics tool is available as an add-on for all of Planable’s paid plans (that start at $11/month), and has a free 7-day trial period.

Planable Analytics cons:

• Doesn’t cover social monitoring or listening.

• The free trial is only available on Planable paid plans.

2. Sprout Social: best for in-depth engagement tracking

Sprout Social is a great social media analytics tool for businesses and marketing teams seeking detailed insights into their social media marketing activities. It supports platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

Here are the key features that make Sprout Social stand out from other Instagram analytics tools:

• Multiple reporting options: With this tool, you can get various types of reports, including network-specific, cross-network, paid, and competitive reports.
• Visual tools: Interactive charts and graphs let you visualize your performance from different perspectives. You can isolate the most important information for strategic decision-making.
• Organic vs. paid performance: This Instagram analytics tool lets you separate and compare organic and paid social media performance. This way, you can understand the effectiveness of each approach and refine future strategies accordingly.

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Pricing

Sprout Social offers a 30-day free trial. After the trial, you can upgrade to a paid plan, starting at $249 per month (+$199/month for each additional user).

Sprout Social cons:

• It’s expensive, especially for teams, because each user comes at an additional cost.

3. Hootsuite: best for identifying the best times to post

Hootsuite is best for businesses and social media managers aiming to maximize their online engagement metrics. It’s a social media management software with a comprehensive analytics tool. Hootsuite supports seven social media platforms – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Key Hootsuite benefits include:

• ROI analysis: Hootsuite’s Advanced Analytics feature shows you which campaigns drive the most leads and conversions. This dashboard also shows organic, paid, and web metrics in one place.
• Best time to post on Instagram: Hootsuite analyzes when your audience is most active, helping you find the best time to publish Instagram posts. When you post at the right time, you can reach more people, increase engagement, and drive sales.
• Competitive analysis research: Stay ahead of the competition with reports that compare your Instagram performance against your competitors. These reports show you what works in your industry and what doesn’t. As a result, you can adjust your strategy to engage your audience more.
• Repurpose top-performing posts: Hootsuite identifies your Instagram posts with the highest engagement rate. Use this information to repurpose the best posts.

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Pricing

You can try Hootsuite for free for 30 days. After that, you can upgrade to a paid plan. The Professional paid plan costs $99 per month for one user, and the Team plan costs $249 per month for three users. If you need access to Hootsuite for at least five members of your team, you can request custom pricing.

Hootsuite cons:

• A wide range of features can be overwhelming for social media marketing beginners.
• It’s expensive for companies with limited budgets.

4. Iconosquare: best for cross-platform reporting

Iconosquare is best for businesses and social media professionals who need detailed analytics across multiple platforms. It supports Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

The key features Iconosquare offers include:

• Instagram engagement metrics: Iconosquare gives you comprehensive insights into your Instagram post reach and engagement rate. Knowing these metrics, you’ll understand what resonates with your audience to create more similar content.
• Customizable analytics dashboard: You can create your custom dashboard and include the insights you want to track. This feature helps you monitor the metrics that matter to you clutter-free.
• Automated reporting: Set up automatic reporting and receive updated insights in your inbox. This way, you’ll always stay ahead of your analytics and react to changes in time.

Pricing

Iconosquare offers a 14-day free trial. Paid plans start at $29 per month for a single user and at $49 per month for teams of up to 10 users.

Iconosquare cons:

• The data retention period is limited to 12 months for a Single plan and 24 months for a Teams plan.

5. Hubspot: best for monitoring social mentions

HubSpot’s Marketing Hub includes a social media management tool. It’s best for enterprises and large marketing agencies who need to monitor social mentions across Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. It also allows you to integrate with Google Analytics, so you can track website engagement and sales metrics.

HubSpot offers the following analytics features:

• Social mentions monitoring: This feature helps ensure you never miss a conversation with important contacts. You can also create keyword monitoring streams to track how Instagram users use your branded keywords.

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• Social media marketing ROI reporting: HubSpot allows you to compare the performance of different platforms, campaigns, and publishing times. You can also integrate HubSpot Marketing Hub with your CRM. This way, you can analyze the leads, conversions, and ROI your campaigns generated.

Pricing

HubSpot offers a free demo. If you like how it works, you can upgrade to one of its paid plans. The Professional plan starts at $792 per month and the Enterprise plan starts at $3,300 per month, billed annually.

HubSpot cons:

• There are no plans suitable for small and medium-sized businesses.

6. SocialPilot: best for reporting to clients

SocialPilot is best suited for social media managers and agencies looking for a cost-effective analytics tool. It’s a social media management software supporting Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, and Google Business.

Here are the key analytics features SocialPilot offers:

• Multi-channel analytics: SocialPilot gives you access to detailed metrics for content across all platforms, not just Instagram. You can see insights at both page and post level.
• Combined analytics reports: You can compile multiple analytics reports from different social networks into one comprehensive PDF to share with stakeholders.
• Automated social reporting: You can schedule automatic weekly or monthly reports. This Instagram analytics tool will compile insights by profile or network and prepare share-ready PDFs in your dashboard.

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Pricing

SocialPilot offers a 14-day free trial for you to get the hang of the software. The cost of paid plans varies based on the number of users and social media accounts connected to your subscription. It starts at $24 per month for one user and ten social media accounts. If you have a team, then the price will range from $37.50 to $150 per month.

SocialPilot cons:

• No competitor insights available.

7. Keyhole: best for monitoring hashtag and influencer marketing campaigns

Keyhole is especially effective for businesses and marketing agencies focused on tracking hashtag analytics and influencer campaigns on Instagram. It’s a great tool to measure the ROI of your Instagram campaigns and create client-ready reports.

Besides Instagram, Keyhole also supports analytics for five other platforms. TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn insights give you a broader view of your overall digital marketing performance.

Here’s how Keyhole can enhance your Instagram marketing strategy:

• Measure Instagram influencers’ metrics: Keyhole helps you choose the right influencer for your campaigns. This analytics tool shows you key metrics like influencer’s follower insights and engagement rates. It also helps you compare results influencers generated for you. All these insights help you improve your messaging and decide which social media influencers to rehire for future campaigns.

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• Track Instagram hashtags: Keyhole tracks keywords that matter to you. You can track any keyword insights, whether it’s a popular hashtag or your branded one. It shows you metrics like total posts, users, reach, impressions, and engagement for selected keywords. You can also see top posts that include the keyword, a list of influential users who used it, which gender uses the hashtag the most, and what the user sentiment behind the hashtag is.

• Track your Instagram campaign ROI: Keyhole shows you all the valuable insights you need to track your campaign’s impact and ROI. Metrics like impressions, reach, and engagement allow you to calculate your campaign’s success.

Pricing

Keyhole offers an 8-day free trial for you to try how the platform works. Paid plans start at $63 per month for individual users and small businesses. For teams and businesses with multiple accounts, the cost is $119/month.

Keyhole cons:

• The wide range of analytics features can be overwhelming for beginner users.
• Free trial only lasts for eight days, which may not be enough to try the analytics tool properly.

8. Emplifi: best for measuring customer engagement

Emplifi is best suited for marketing teams that want to understand customer engagement across multiple social platforms. It supports Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, and Snapchat.

The social analytics Emplifi provides help you create customer-centric strategies and improve overall customer experience. Here are the key features that can lead you to these results:

• Centralized information: Emplifi unites customer engagement information from various sources into a single platform. This makes managing multiple clients or multiple business accounts of the same brand easier.
• Tracking: The platform enables you to track influencer engagement and viral trends. This way, you can capitalize on unexpected surges in product popularity.

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Pricing

Emplifi offers a free trial. However, it doesn’t specify the duration publicly. Their Essential paid plan costs $2,400/year billed yearly and includes 10 profiles. For the other paid plans, the platform doesn’t disclose the pricing. You have to contact Emplifi’s sales team to discuss pricing details.

Emplifi cons:

• You can’t use the free trial unless you talk to the sales team first.

Instagram analytics FAQs

Does Instagram track analytics?

Yes, Instagram Insights tracks your performance and provides analytics about your Instagram account’s audience: demographics, post reach, and impressions.

How do I check my Instagram analytics for free?

You can check your Instagram analytics for free by switching your Instagram account to a creator or business account. This will give you access to Instagram Insights, a free Instagram analytics tool showing basic data on your follower demographics and post performance.

Conclusion

Instagram analytics tools simplify the process of tracking the key metrics of your social media performance. They provide deeper insights than the native Instagram analytics or Meta Business Suite. For example, competitor analysis, social listening, and hashtag insights are features only Instagram analytics tools provide.

Whether you’re a social media manager or a business owner, using at least one of these Instagram analytics tools can significantly boost your Instagram marketing strategy. Planable is a great option that covers all your content needs, from content creation to Instagram insights.