Jared JamesInstagram's native account view is useful, but its date range stops at 90 days.
Meta's account Insights documentation says professional accounts can choose preset or custom timeframes within the past 90 days. That limit applies to the aggregate account view, not every piece of content. For example, Reel insights remain available for up to two years after the Reel was published.
A separate analytics tool is useful when you need a longer trend line, reports across several accounts, or public competitor data in one place. This guide compares seven current options by their Instagram analytics, stored history, competitor features, reporting workflow, and price.
The Short Answer
For agencies and marketing teams that also need publishing and approvals, Maeve Social puts Instagram account and post analytics, period comparisons, scheduling, a social inbox, and branded PDF reports in one product. It does not provide competitor benchmarks or best-time recommendations.
If your situation is more specific, the field sorts quickly.
Maeve Social
Instagram account and post analytics with period comparisons, inside the same fixed-price plans as the scheduler, inbox, and client reports.
See Maeve Analytics and ReportsPlan, preview, and publish in one workflow
What Instagram Already Gives You Free
Every professional account gets Instagram Insights free. Meta lists the available account metrics, including views, reach, interactions, engaged accounts, follower growth, and audience details when an account has at least 100 followers. You can also open insights for individual posts, Stories, Reels, and live videos.
The aggregate account date selector only accepts periods within the past 90 days, and Insights only covers content posted after the account became professional. Individual content follows separate retention rules, so it is inaccurate to say every post disappears after 90 days. A paid tool becomes useful when its own stored history, competitor monitoring, exports, or multi-account reports answer questions the native account view does not.
How the 7 Tools Compare
Prices checked in August 2026, monthly billing unless noted.
| Tool | Entry Price | Free Plan | Competitor Tracking | Scheduling Included |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maeve Social | $25/mo flat | 3-day trial | No | Yes, full workflow |
| Metricool | From $25/mo | Yes, 1 brand | Yes | Yes |
| Iconosquare | $39/mo | Yes, 2 profiles | Yes, with benchmarks | Yes, secondary |
| Pallyy | $15/mo | Yes, 15 posts/mo | Yes, Instagram | Yes |
| Later | $25/mo | 14-day trial | Scale plan | Yes, visual planner |
| Hootsuite | $99/user/mo, annual | 14-day trial | Yes, 5 on Standard | Yes |
| Sprout Social | $99/user/mo | 30-day trial | Professional and above | Yes |
1. Maeve Social, the Best for Agencies and Marketing Teams
Maeve Social puts Instagram account and post analytics in the same workspace as publishing. The dashboard supports 7, 14, 30, 60, and 90-day ranges plus all time, compares each period with the preceding one, and separates Instagram feed and Reel views. It does not currently calculate best times to post.
The same product includes an Instagram scheduler for feed posts, carousels, Reels, and Stories, plus first comments and grid planning. The social inbox covers Instagram, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, and Google Business Profile. Standard adds client review and branded PDF analytics reports with an optional written analysis page. Those reports are generated on demand, one platform at a time.
Maeve's plans have fixed allowances rather than per-user billing: Basic includes 20 social connections and 1 user, Standard includes 50 and 5 users, and Premium removes both caps. Analytics currently covers Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, and Threads. There is no competitor tracking, industry benchmarking, scheduled report delivery, or cross-platform PDF. Choose a specialist if any of those are requirements.
| Plan | Monthly | Social Connections | Users |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $25/mo | 20 | 1 |
| Standard | $99/mo | 50 | 5 |
| Premium | $199/mo | Unlimited | Unlimited |
2. Metricool, the Budget Pick With Unlimited History
Metricool's pricing page lists a free plan for 1 brand with 30 days of analytics, 20 scheduled posts a month, and tracking for 5 competitors. Starter begins at $25 a month for 5 brands and adds unlimited analytics history, PDF and PowerPoint reports, and 100 competitors. Advanced begins at $67 a month for 15 brands and adds team roles, approvals, custom reports, Looker Studio, and API access.
Metricool's historical-data documentation adds two important limits. Paid history for X is restricted to 30 days, and metrics such as follower history and Instagram Stories are recorded from the date you connect the account because the network does not provide older values through its API. The free plan also excludes LinkedIn and X, while X access costs extra on a paid plan.
3. Iconosquare, the Pure Analytics Specialist
Iconosquare's pricing page lists more than 100 metrics, publishing, reporting, competitor tracking, and industry benchmarks across paid plans. Launch includes 5 social profiles, 1 user, 1 year of data retention, 100 scheduled posts a month, and 1 competitor per social profile. Scale raises retention to 2 years, includes 3 users and unlimited scheduled posts, and tracks up to 5 competitors per profile. Excel has unlimited retention and competitor tracking, 6 users, and white-label reports.
Iconosquare supports 8 networks. Its industry benchmarks cover Instagram and Facebook, and direct messages in the conversations feature are limited to Instagram and Facebook. Extra users are paid additions, so compare the included user count with the team that will actually use it.
4. Pallyy, the Best Under $20 for Solo Creators
Pallyy's pricing page lists a free plan with 1 social set, 15 scheduled posts a month, 30 days of analytics, and 1 Instagram competitor. Starter costs $15 a month for up to 2 accounts in one set, 20 scheduled posts, 30 days of analytics, and up to 10 Instagram competitors. Pro costs $25 for up to 11 accounts, unlimited posts, 5 years of analytics, approvals, the shared calendar, inbox, and up to 10 Instagram competitors.
Pallyy reports analytics for Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Agency costs $99 a month for 10 social sets and 3 users, with custom reports and exports. The 14-day trial does not require a card. This makes Pallyy useful for a solo Instagram workflow, but its reporting network coverage is narrower than a cross-network suite.
5. Later, the Visual-First Companion
Later's pricing page centers the product on scheduling, a visual Instagram planner, Link in Bio, and analytics. Starter costs $25 a month for 1 social set, 30 posts per profile each month, and 3 months of analytics. Growth costs $50 for 2 sets, 180 posts per profile, and 1 year of analytics. Scale costs $110 for 6 sets, unlimited posts, 2 years of analytics, and competitive benchmarking.
Each social set can contain one profile on each of Later's 8 supported networks. X and Google Business Profile are not included. There is no free plan, and the trial lasts 14 days.
6. Hootsuite, the Enterprise Breadth Option
Hootsuite's plans page lists Standard at $99 per user a month on annual billing. It includes 10 social accounts, reports, benchmarks for 5 competitors, sentiment analysis, and a listening view covering the previous 7 days. Professional costs $199 per user and adds unlimited social accounts, inbox automation, and custom reports. Advanced costs $399 per user and adds approvals, message routing, and bulk scheduling for up to 350 posts.
The pricing model is the filter: $99 per user a month on annual billing to start, with approval workflows and bulk scheduling on the $399 Advanced tier. A 3-person team on Advanced pays $1,197 a month, which is why it makes sense at enterprise scale and rarely below it.
7. Sprout Social, the Enterprise Reporting Benchmark
Sprout Social's pricing page lists Essentials at $99 per user monthly or $79 on annual billing for 5 profiles. Standard costs $249 monthly or $199 annually and adds the Smart Inbox, review management, keyword and location monitoring, and reporting. Professional costs $399 monthly or $299 annually, removes the profile cap, and adds competitor, tag, and paid performance reports. Advanced costs $499 monthly or $399 annually and adds sentiment analysis, API access, help desk integrations, and care reports. Listening and Premium Analytics are add-ons.
The price reflects every bit of that. Essentials at $99 a seat omits the Smart Inbox, the realistic entry for teams is Standard at $249 a seat monthly, and a 3-person team pays $747 a month before add-ons.
Check Whether Your Tool Splits Performance by Format
A blended account average can hide changes in content mix. If the team publishes more Reels one month and more carousels the next, compare each format separately before attributing a change to creative quality or timing.
Check whether a tool reports feed posts, Reels, and Stories separately, and whether its engagement-rate formula uses followers, reach, impressions, or another denominator. Use the same formula and format split each period so the comparison stays meaningful.
Matching the Tool to Your Actual Question
Start from the question you most need answered.
How We Chose These Tools
We checked six things: retention after connection, format-level reporting, competitor or benchmark features, client-report options, publishing and engagement workflows, and the price of the tier that includes the named feature. Prices come from current official vendor pricing pages and use monthly billing unless the text explicitly says annual billing.
Maeve Social is our product. It combines analytics with publishing, an inbox, approvals, and on-demand branded reports. It does not have competitor tracking, benchmarks, best-time recommendations, scheduled report delivery, or a PDF that combines several platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions
The questions people ask most about Instagram analytics.
The native account view covers the past 90 days, while each paid tool adds a different layer. Metricool keeps longer history, Iconosquare adds competitor and industry context, Pallyy offers low-cost Instagram reporting, Later pairs analytics with visual planning, and Hootsuite and Sprout add larger-team controls.
Maeve Social fits teams that need analytics beside scheduling, an inbox, approvals, and on-demand client reports. Connect whichever tool you choose before you need a trend that depends on metrics the Instagram API does not provide retrospectively.
Related tools
Maeve Analytics and Reports
Period comparisons and on-demand branded PDF reports with an optional written analysis page.
The Maeve Instagram Scheduler
Feed posts, carousels, Reels, Stories, first comments, and grid planning from one composer.
Maeve Social Pricing
Fixed-price plans from $25 a month, with analytics on every plan and defined user and connection allowances.
