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Quick answer
Across eight studies, three things hold: carousels beat single images, carousels lead on engagement and saves, and Reels lead on reach in most of the reach data. The one big study of slide count (Eden, 655,385 carousels) found longer carousels did better. Where studies disagree, it is usually because they measure different things: reach per follower, engagement per follower, or likes against a creator's own baseline.
The 8 studies at a glance
| Study | Sample and period | What it measures | Headline finding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Socialinsider 2026 | 35M posts, 2025 | Engagement per follower | Carousels 0.55%, Reels 0.52%, images 0.37% |
| Metricool 2026 | 24M posts, Jan to Feb 2026 | Saves, reach, interactions | Carousels 9x the saves of single images |
| Buffer 2024 | 4M+ posts, 2022 to 2024 | Median reach and engagement | Reels 1.36x carousel reach; carousels 1.12x Reels engagement |
| Fanpage Karma 2026 | 3M+ posts, Jan to Apr 2026 | Reach per follower | Reels lead reach at every account size |
| Fanpage Karma 2025 | ~700K posts, Jan to May 2025 | Reach and engagement rate | Carousels 13% more reach than Reels |
| Eden 2026 | 655K carousels, Aug 2025 to Aug 2026 | Likes vs creator's own baseline | 18 to 20 slides 13 to 15% above baseline |
| Later | Posts from about three years | Engagement rate | Carousels 19% above single images |
| Socialinsider 2020 | 22M posts incl. ~3M carousels | Engagement rate | 10-slide carousels highest (limit was 10) |
Sources: Socialinsider's 2026 benchmarks, Metricool's 2026 Instagram study, Buffer's analysis of 4M+ posts, Fanpage Karma's 2026 study, Fanpage Karma, Eden's 2026 carousel study, Later, Socialinsider's 2020 carousel study, via Search Engine Journal.
Where every study agrees
- Carousels beat single images. Socialinsider, Buffer (2.14x the engagement), Later (+19%) and Metricool (9x the saves) all say so, and Metricool found single-image reach fell 22% year on year.
- Carousels lead on saves and engagement rate. Every study that measured engagement put carousels at or near the top.
- Reels lead on comments. Socialinsider found it at every account size, and Eden found 2.7 comments per 100 likes for Reels against 1.8 for carousels.
Where they contradict each other: reach
Fanpage Karma's 2025 study found carousels reached 13% more people than Reels. Its 2026 study, on four times as many posts, found Reels led reach at every account size, and Buffer found Reels got 1.36x the reach of carousels. Same company, opposite answers, a year apart.
That is not a scandal; it is what happens when a platform changes and samples differ. Buffer even shows carousels used to lead on reach until mid-2022. So when a guide says "carousels get more reach than Reels", ask which year and which accounts.
Why the numbers differ so much
Different denominators
Engagement "per follower" (Socialinsider) and "per impression" give different rankings. A format that reaches more strangers can look worse per follower.
Different baselines
Eden compares each post with its own creator's usual one. That removes the effect of account size, which most other studies do not.
Different periods
Instagram's ranking changes. A 2022 to 2024 average and a January to April 2026 snapshot can disagree and both be right.
Different accounts
Tool users (Buffer, Metricool, Fanpage Karma customers) are not average Instagram users. Eden says its index leans to active, growing accounts.
The one question with two studies behind it: length
Only two studies looked at slide count, six years apart. Socialinsider's 2020 carousel study, via Search Engine Journal found engagement dipped after three slides and peaked at 10, the maximum then. Eden's 2026 carousel study found the share of carousels that doubled their creator's usual likes rose from 23.4% at 3 slides to 32.2% at 18. Both point the same way: longer carousels that are worth reading do better.
Yet most guides still recommend 5 to 10 slides without citing either. We checked: see how many slides should a carousel have.
What to do with all this
- Stop posting single images for anything you want seen: every study puts them last.
- Use carousels for teaching and trust, and make them as long as the content deserves.
- Use Reels to reach new people, then point them to your carousels.
- Distrust any number without a sample, period and metric. We found one popular claim with no traceable source at all: see 10 carousel myths, fact-checked.
FAQ
Do carousels get more reach than Reels?
Mostly no. Buffer and Fanpage Karma's 2026 study found Reels reach more people; Fanpage Karma's 2025 study found carousels did. Carousels lead on engagement and saves.
Which carousel study is the most reliable?
None is perfect. The largest are Socialinsider (35M posts) and Metricool (24M); Eden is the only recent one that controls for account size by comparing each post with the creator's own baseline.
Why do carousel statistics contradict each other?
They measure different things (reach per follower, engagement per follower, likes against a baseline), over different periods, on different groups of accounts.
Do longer carousels perform better?
Both studies that measured it say yes: Socialinsider in 2020 and Eden in 2026. See how many slides should a carousel have.