TikTok generates more views and total interactions per video than Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts across most account sizes, but Instagram converts a smaller audience into a higher engagement rate at most tiers measured, according to a new report from social media management platform Metricool.
The study analyzed 6,177,375 videos from 375,462 accounts worldwide over a 90-day window, comparing short-form performance across the three platforms. Metricool segmented accounts into five tiers by follower count, from Tiny (under 2,000 followers) to Huge (1 million-plus), to allow comparisons within similar account sizes rather than across them.
TikTok Leads on Views and Volume Metrics
Averaged across all accounts, TikTok videos pulled in 32,895.07 views per post, 46.2% more than Instagram’s 23,074.09 and more than six times YouTube Shorts’ 5,320.59. TikTok also led on likes (1,097.63 versus Instagram’s 765.34 and YouTube’s 88.55) and total interactions (1,207.46 versus Instagram’s 1,035.49 and YouTube’s 98.32).
Instagram, however, posted the highest engagement rate of the three platforms at 4.30%, ahead of TikTok’s 3.67% and YouTube’s 1.85%. Instagram also led on comments (21.75 per post versus TikTok’s 16.96) and more than doubled TikTok on shares, 178.51 versus 92.87.
YouTube Shorts trailed both competitors across every metric measured, in every account tier.
TikTok Dominates Views From Tiny to Big Accounts
The views gap holds through most of the follower spectrum. Tiny accounts (up to 2,000 followers) average 2,429.26 views per TikTok video, against 1,483.55 on Instagram and 1,289.72 on YouTube. Metricool’s report frames this as evidence that new accounts “get seen before they’ve built a following” on TikTok specifically.
The pattern continues through Small accounts (2,000 to 10,000 followers), where TikTok generates roughly 1.7 times Instagram’s views (11,429.06 versus 6,635.36), and Medium accounts (10,000 to 100,000 followers), where TikTok’s views lead narrows somewhat, 31,795.03 versus Instagram’s 23,447.13.
At the Big tier (100,000 to 1 million followers), TikTok’s views advantage widens again to roughly 2.6 times YouTube’s totals, 92,767.78 versus 35,421.36, and remains ahead of Instagram’s 67,528.72. But total interactions at this size are nearly tied: TikTok at 3,052.56 against Instagram’s 3,048.51.
Instagram Overtakes TikTok on Views Only at 1 Million-Plus Followers
The one tier where Instagram surpasses TikTok on raw views is Huge accounts, those with more than 1 million followers. Instagram averages 422,824.21 views per video against TikTok’s 417,476.26. TikTok still leads on total interactions at this size, 19,837.76 versus Instagram’s 16,019.21, a gap Metricool attributes largely to TikTok’s higher volume of likes among top-tier accounts (18,374.79 versus Instagram’s 13,763.88).
Instagram, meanwhile, holds its lead on shares across every single account tier in the report, from Tiny to Huge. At the Huge tier, Instagram accounts average 1,633.06 shares per video against TikTok’s 1,230.22, a gap the report calls the most consistent finding across the entire dataset.
Engagement Rate Favors Instagram at Most Sizes
Instagram’s engagement-rate advantage over TikTok holds at most tiers measured. Tiny accounts see 3.79% engagement on Instagram versus 2.79% on TikTok; Small accounts see 4.45% versus 2.49%; Medium accounts see 4.66% versus 2.35%; Big accounts see 4.51% versus 3.29%. The gap narrows most at the Huge tier, where TikTok’s 4.75% engagement rate edges out Instagram’s 3.78%, the only size class in which TikTok leads on that metric.
Comments follow a similar pattern, with Instagram ahead of TikTok in every tier except Tiny accounts, where TikTok averages 2.02 comments per video against Instagram’s 1.48.
YouTube Shorts Still Building Momentum
YouTube Shorts posted the lowest totals across views, likes, comments, shares and engagement rate in every account tier in the study. The gap is most pronounced at the Huge tier, where YouTube’s total interactions of 1,422.49 per video are roughly one-fourteenth of TikTok’s 19,837.76 and about one-eleventh of Instagram’s 16,019.21.
Metricool’s report characterizes YouTube Shorts as “the platform still finding its footing,” noting it has not caught up to Reels or TikTok on any measured metric but has room to grow.
Dragomir is a Serbian freelance blog writer and translator. He is passionate about covering insightful stories and exploring topics such as influencer marketing, the creator economy, technology, business, and cyber fraud.
TikTok generates more views and total interactions per video than Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts across most account sizes, but Instagram converts a smaller audience into a higher engagement rate at most tiers measured, according to a new report from social media management platform Metricool.
The study analyzed 6,177,375 videos from 375,462 accounts worldwide over a 90-day window, comparing short-form performance across the three platforms. Metricool segmented accounts into five tiers by follower count, from Tiny (under 2,000 followers) to Huge (1 million-plus), to allow comparisons within similar account sizes rather than across them.
TikTok Leads on Views and Volume Metrics
Averaged across all accounts, TikTok videos pulled in 32,895.07 views per post, 46.2% more than Instagram’s 23,074.09 and more than six times YouTube Shorts’ 5,320.59. TikTok also led on likes (1,097.63 versus Instagram’s 765.34 and YouTube’s 88.55) and total interactions (1,207.46 versus Instagram’s 1,035.49 and YouTube’s 98.32).
Instagram, however, posted the highest engagement rate of the three platforms at 4.30%, ahead of TikTok’s 3.67% and YouTube’s 1.85%. Instagram also led on comments (21.75 per post versus TikTok’s 16.96) and more than doubled TikTok on shares, 178.51 versus 92.87.
YouTube Shorts trailed both competitors across every metric measured, in every account tier.
TikTok Dominates Views From Tiny to Big Accounts
The views gap holds through most of the follower spectrum. Tiny accounts (up to 2,000 followers) average 2,429.26 views per TikTok video, against 1,483.55 on Instagram and 1,289.72 on YouTube. Metricool’s report frames this as evidence that new accounts “get seen before they’ve built a following” on TikTok specifically.
The pattern continues through Small accounts (2,000 to 10,000 followers), where TikTok generates roughly 1.7 times Instagram’s views (11,429.06 versus 6,635.36), and Medium accounts (10,000 to 100,000 followers), where TikTok’s views lead narrows somewhat, 31,795.03 versus Instagram’s 23,447.13.
At the Big tier (100,000 to 1 million followers), TikTok’s views advantage widens again to roughly 2.6 times YouTube’s totals, 92,767.78 versus 35,421.36, and remains ahead of Instagram’s 67,528.72. But total interactions at this size are nearly tied: TikTok at 3,052.56 against Instagram’s 3,048.51.
Instagram Overtakes TikTok on Views Only at 1 Million-Plus Followers
The one tier where Instagram surpasses TikTok on raw views is Huge accounts, those with more than 1 million followers. Instagram averages 422,824.21 views per video against TikTok’s 417,476.26. TikTok still leads on total interactions at this size, 19,837.76 versus Instagram’s 16,019.21, a gap Metricool attributes largely to TikTok’s higher volume of likes among top-tier accounts (18,374.79 versus Instagram’s 13,763.88).
Instagram, meanwhile, holds its lead on shares across every single account tier in the report, from Tiny to Huge. At the Huge tier, Instagram accounts average 1,633.06 shares per video against TikTok’s 1,230.22, a gap the report calls the most consistent finding across the entire dataset.
Engagement Rate Favors Instagram at Most Sizes
Instagram’s engagement-rate advantage over TikTok holds at most tiers measured. Tiny accounts see 3.79% engagement on Instagram versus 2.79% on TikTok; Small accounts see 4.45% versus 2.49%; Medium accounts see 4.66% versus 2.35%; Big accounts see 4.51% versus 3.29%. The gap narrows most at the Huge tier, where TikTok’s 4.75% engagement rate edges out Instagram’s 3.78%, the only size class in which TikTok leads on that metric.
Comments follow a similar pattern, with Instagram ahead of TikTok in every tier except Tiny accounts, where TikTok averages 2.02 comments per video against Instagram’s 1.48.
YouTube Shorts Still Building Momentum
YouTube Shorts posted the lowest totals across views, likes, comments, shares and engagement rate in every account tier in the study. The gap is most pronounced at the Huge tier, where YouTube’s total interactions of 1,422.49 per video are roughly one-fourteenth of TikTok’s 19,837.76 and about one-eleventh of Instagram’s 16,019.21.
Metricool’s report characterizes YouTube Shorts as “the platform still finding its footing,” noting it has not caught up to Reels or TikTok on any measured metric but has room to grow.
Image source: Metricool
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