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Research

Studies from the Virev research desk. Most measure public Instagram, TikTok and YouTube accounts from Virev data.

43 articles, newest first

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Core studies

  1. How many followers to get verified on Instagram? 680K checked

    We checked 680,058 Instagram accounts. 1 in 10 with 1K-5K followers has a blue check, and the median verified account has 102,548 followers.

  2. How fast do Instagram accounts grow? We tracked 126,356 accounts (2026)

    The median Instagram account gained 0.93% followers per 30 days, and 24.2% lost followers. Growth by follower tier, posting pace and reel share, the time from 1K to 10K, and how rare a 20% jump is, with a CSV.

  3. How many followers do you need to get sponsored? 1 in 13 at 10K (2026 data)

    We checked 227,611 Instagram creators. In 6 months, 2.1% of creators with 1K-2K followers posted a sponsored post, 7.5% at 10K-20K and 21.7% at 1M+. The 10K step, gifts vs paid deals, niches and real small creators, with a CSV.

  4. Influencer marketing statistics 2026: 112 numbers from 35 million posts

    Every number from Virev's creator studies in one place, each with its sample, dates and source. Sponsored posts get 0.69x a creator's usual engagement, 83% of Instagram creators posted none in a year, and published rates cost $43 per 1,000 views. With a CSV.

  5. How the Instagram algorithm works in 2026: Collab posts get 52% more views

    We compared 10.4 million reels with the same creator's other reels. Collab posts get 1.52x the views, reels over 3 minutes 0.76x, and hashtags, posting time and frequency move views by 9% or less. Data from 384,002 creators, with a CSV.

  6. How does the TikTok algorithm work? We measured 3.2 million videos (2026)

    Within the same creator and month, TikTok videos of 3 to 10 minutes got 1.54x the views of 10 to 20 second ones, and photo posts 0.81x. Hashtags, sounds and posting time moved views much less. What TikTok says, what the data shows, with a CSV.

  7. Are micro and nano influencers worth it? We measured 391,731 creators (2026)

    100 nano influencers at published rates got a typical 969,000 views for $11,150. One macro creator got 144,000 views for $8,240. Reach, sponsored-post drop, cost per view and supply by niche, with a CSV.

  8. How much does TikTok pay per 1,000 views? $0.40 median

    115 creators showed their Creator Rewards payouts: a median $0.40 per 1,000 views, or $400 per million. Most got under $1. Every source is in a CSV.

  9. Best time to post on YouTube: Saturday and Sunday, 7% more views

    Post on Saturday or Sunday. Across 173,516 videos, weekend uploads got 7% more views than Tuesday to Thursday uploads on the same channel.

  10. Do hashtags still work? We measured 35 million posts: +4% on Instagram, +10% on TikTok (2026)

    A post with hashtags gets 1.04x the likes and comments of the same account's posts without them on Instagram, and 1.10x on TikTok.

  11. How much do influencers make from brand deals? $3,900/year

    We priced a year of sponsored posts by 49,185 Instagram creators. 83% had no brand deals. Those with deals made a median $3,900; the top 1%, $253,000+.

  12. How much does YouTube pay per view? $4.14 per 1,000 views (2026)

    YouTube pays about $0.004 per view, or $4.14 per 1,000 long-form views and $0.18 for Shorts. Earnings for 1K to 1B views from 226 payouts 92 creators reported.

  13. Best time to post on Instagram in 2026: 2.6M posts show Sunday nights win, by 5.5%

    Compared with the same creator's other posts, Instagram posts do best on Sunday and from 9 PM to 3 AM local time. The best window beats the worst by 5.5%, not 50%. Results by tier, country, format and category for 46,839 creators, a TikTok comparison and a CSV.

  14. Best time to post on TikTok: 3.5M videos show 6 to 9 AM wins, by 3% (2026)

    Compared with the same creator's other videos, TikTok videos posted from 6 to 9 AM local time get 3.0% more engagement and 1.6% more views. Heatmaps by region, results by country, tier and niche, posting frequency and how fast views arrive. 53,316 creators, with a CSV.

  15. Influencer rates 2026: $110 to $13,894 per Instagram post

    Instagram influencer pricing by tier: $110 a post at 1K-10K followers, $635 at 10K-100K, $3,553 at 100K-500K. That is $43 per 1,000 real views.

  16. Good Instagram engagement rate by follower count (2026)

    The median Instagram engagement rate is 1.89% across 431,494 accounts. A good rate beats the tier median: 2.99% at 1K-10K, 1.69% at 10K-50K, 0.77% at 1M+.

  17. Do sponsored posts perform worse? We measured 175,104 Instagram posts (2026)

    Sponsored Instagram posts get 0.69x the likes and comments of the same creator's normal post, and about half for creators over 500K followers. Gifted posts get 0.94x. Data from 391,731 creators, with a CSV.

  18. TikTok engagement rate by followers (2026): 5.70% median

    5.70% is the median TikTok engagement rate in 274,473 accounts. It falls from 18.30% at 1K-10K followers to 1.86% at 400K-500K and 1.04% above 1M.

Creator lists and more

  1. Average Instagram followers: the median creator has 27,454 (2026 data)

    We measured 580,272 Instagram creator accounts with 1,000+ followers. The median has 27,454 followers and the mean 302,471. 142,316 puts you in the top 25%, 544,763 in the top 10%. By category, country and verified status, with a CSV.

  2. How many views is viral? 2.8M on TikTok, 2.4M on Reels

    We measured 6.4 million TikToks and Instagram reels. The top 1% starts at 2.8M views on TikTok and 2.4M on Reels, but at 1.4M for a TikTok creator with 1K-10K followers and 283K for a reel.

  3. What is a KOL? Key opinion leaders vs influencers, measured (2026)

    A KOL (key opinion leader) is a creator whose word on one topic moves buyers. We measured 334,469 Instagram creators by KOL tier in Korea, Japan and the US, with KOC data and a CSV.

  4. How much to charge for a sponsored post in 2026: $15 to $30 per 1,000 views

    Price a sponsored post from your views: median views of your last 10 posts, times $15 to $30 per 1,000, minus the sponsored drop. Data from Virev.

  5. Do Instagram Collab posts get more views? We measured 4.5 million Collabs (2026)

    26% of Instagram reels are Collabs. Collab reels beat the creator's own reels for 87% of nano creators and 52% of creators with 1M+ followers. Data from 384,002 accounts, with a CSV.

  6. Yoga influencers on Instagram: 43 yoga and Pilates creators by follower tier (2026)

    43 yoga and Pilates creators on Instagram in 15 countries, from 1,100 to 2.3 million followers, with measured typical-post engagement, posting pace and brand deals. Plus what 128 yoga creators get per post, and why they advertise their own classes far more than brands.

  7. Mom influencers on Instagram: 47 US creators by follower tier (2026)

    47 US mom influencers on Instagram, from 1,370 to 1.7 million followers, grouped by tier, with measured typical-post engagement, posting pace and brand fit. Plus what a mom creator gets per post at each size, and how 1,096 mom creators get paid.

  8. Running influencers on Instagram: 51 creators by follower tier (2026)

    51 running, trail, triathlon and HYROX creators on Instagram in 18 countries, from 1,400 to 1.2 million followers, with measured typical-post engagement, posting pace and brand fit. Plus how 438 runners get paid, and what Runna posts get.

  9. Gym and bodybuilding influencers on Instagram: 46 US creators by follower tier (2026)

    46 US gym, bodybuilding, CrossFit and weightlifting creators on Instagram, from 1,000 to 1.7 million followers, with measured typical-post engagement, posting pace and brand fit. Plus what a gym creator with 20K followers gets per post, and how 834 strength creators get paid.

  10. Will AI kill us all? Researchers say 10%, forecasters 2.4%

    Probably not. AI researchers put extinction at 10%, superforecasters put an AI disaster at 2.4% by 2100. When AI could take over, how, and if AI will go away.

  11. Lifestyle influencers on Instagram: 40 creators with measured engagement (2026)

    40 lifestyle influencers on Instagram, from 1,200 to 2.5 million followers, with the engagement rate of their typical post, posting pace, a recent post and brand fit. Picked from 5,224 lifestyle creators Virev measured, split into home, family, day in the life, minimal and wellness, with sponsored-post results from 7,852 ad posts.

  12. Beauty influencers on Instagram: 40 creators with measured engagement (2026)

    40 beauty influencers on Instagram across skincare, makeup, hair, nails and K-beauty, from 1,000 to 900,000 followers, with the engagement rate of their typical post, posting pace, a recent post and brand fit. Picked from 2,439 beauty creators Virev measured, with results from 4,919 sponsored beauty posts and a L'Oréal Paris case.

  13. Food influencers on Instagram: 40 creators with measured engagement (2026)

    40 food influencers on Instagram, from 1,300 to 4.4 million followers, with the engagement rate of their typical post, posting pace, a recent post and brand fit. Picked from 3,077 food creators Virev measured, split into restaurants, recipes, baking, healthy and vegan, with NYC picks and results from 5,714 sponsored food posts.

  14. Micro fitness influencers on Instagram: 55 creators with 1K to 50K followers (2026)

    55 micro and nano fitness influencers on Instagram with 1,000 to 50,000 followers, in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Typical-post engagement, posting pace, a recent post and brand fit for each, split by bodybuilding, powerlifting, running, yoga, coaches, home workouts and women's strength. Picked from 1,396 small fitness creators Virev measured.

  15. Book influencers: 40 bookstagram and BookTok creators, measured (2026)

    32 bookstagrammers and 8 BookTok creators, from 3,500 to 1.3 million followers, with typical-post engagement, posting pace, a recent post and brand fit. Picked from 944 book creators Virev measured, plus the ad numbers for the niche.

  16. Christian influencers on Instagram: 36 creators with measured engagement (2026)

    36 Christian creators on Instagram, from 2,000 to 4.9 million followers, with the engagement rate of their typical post, posting cadence and a recent post. Picked from 625 Christian creators that Virev measured, read from July to October 2026.

  17. Dog and pet influencers on Instagram: 36 creators with measured engagement (2026)

    36 dog, cat and pet influencers on Instagram, from 1,400 to 2.4 million followers, with the engagement rate of their typical post, posting pace, a recent post and brand fit. Picked from 455 pet creators that Virev measured, with sponsored-post results from 1,137 ad posts.

  18. Fashion influencers on Instagram: 40 creators with measured engagement (2026)

    40 fashion influencers on Instagram, from 1,000 to 1.3 million followers, with the engagement rate of their typical post, posting pace, a recent post and brand fit. Picked from 2,504 fashion creators that Virev measured, with results from 2,994 sponsored fashion posts and a SHEIN case.

  19. Finance influencers on Instagram: 39 finfluencers with measured engagement (2026)

    39 finance influencers on Instagram, from 2,000 to 6.5 million followers, with the engagement rate of their typical post, posting pace, a recent post and a brand-fit note. Plus how 126 finance creators compare with 53,934 others, what sponsored finance posts get, and the FTC, SEC and FINRA rules that apply.

  20. Fitness influencers in 2026: 52 Instagram creators by tier

    52 fitness influencers on Instagram, picked from 2,001 we measured: 22 with 1,000-10,000 followers, the 20 biggest accounts, and women and men compared.

  21. Golf influencers on Instagram: 38 creators measured, from 6k to 4M followers

    A list of 38 golf influencers built from Virev's crawl data, grouped by tier, with followers, typical-post engagement rate, posting pace, a recent example post and brand fit for each. Read August to September 2026.

  22. NYC influencers: 37 New York Instagram creators, measured (2026)

    37 New York Instagram creators from nano to macro, each with followers, typical-post engagement rate, posting rate and a recent post. Built from 8,863 NYC accounts Virev tracks.

  23. Japanese influencers: 39 Instagram creators in Japan, measured (2026)

    39 Instagram creators who post from Japan, nano to macro, each with followers, typical-post engagement rate, posting rate, a recent post and a brand-fit note. Built from 2,665 Japanese-language creators Virev tracks.

  24. Korean influencers: 36 Instagram creators in Korea, measured (2026)

    36 Korean Instagram creators from nano to macro, each with followers, typical-post engagement rate, posting rate and a recent post, plus how Korean creators label ads. Built from 2,678 Korean creators Virev tracks.

  25. Travel influencers on Instagram: 39 creators with measured engagement (2026)

    39 travel influencers on Instagram, from 1,175 to 1.5 million followers, with the engagement rate of their typical post, posting pace, a recent post and brand fit. Picked from 2,230 travel creators that Virev measured, with sponsored-post results from 3,309 travel ad posts.