Do carousels get more reach than Reels?
It depends on which reach you mean. Reach is the unique accounts that saw a post. Views, since Instagram retired impressions in April 2025 and moved every format to one views metric,[6] count repeat appearances, including a carousel served a second time. Engagement rate is interactions divided by followers (Socialinsider) or by reach (Buffer), and the two give very different numbers for the same post.
On engagement rate the three datasets agree: carousels first, Reels second, single images last.[1][4][7] On reach, two of the three have Reels ahead, by 29% in Metricool’s 2026 study[5] and 36% in Buffer’s analysis,[8] while Socialinsider’s reach study of 872,075 Facebook and Instagram posts has carousels at a 4.50% reach rate, Reels at 4.10% and images at 4.00%.[3] On views, Metricool and Socialinsider both have carousels ahead of Reels, at every account size Socialinsider reports.[1][5]
What did each dataset measure?
The numbers cannot be compared without the sample and the formula. Socialinsider measures engagement rate by followers: likes plus comments divided by follower count.[1] Buffer measures engagement as a share of reach: likes, comments, saves and shares divided by the accounts that saw the post.[7] Metricool reports averages and year-over-year change.[11]
| Study | Sample and period | Metric | Carousels vs Reels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Socialinsider, 2026 benchmarks[1] | 35 million posts, 447,613 pages, January to December 2025, with Q1 and Q2 2026 updates | Engagement rate by followers; average views per post by account size | Engagement 0.55% vs 0.52% (2025); 0.50% vs 0.48% (Q2 2026). Views: carousels ahead at every size |
| Socialinsider, reach study[3] | 872,075 Facebook and Instagram posts, January 2025 to August 2026 | Reach rate: reach divided by followers | Carousels 4.50%, Reels 4.10%, images 4.00% |
| Socialinsider, engagement report[2] | 15 million posts, 417,130 pages, October 2025 to March 2026 | Median comments, saves and shares per post | Reels 33 comments, 35 saves, 5 shares; carousels 25, 37, 3 |
| Metricool, 2026 Instagram study[4][5] | 24,364,803 posts, 375,118 accounts, January to February 2025 vs 2026 | Averages per post: reach, views, interactions, saves | Reels reach 29% more people; carousels get 20% more views and 9× the saves of a single image |
| Buffer, 2026 engagement report[7][8] | 52 million posts across 10 platforms; reach from 4 million posts, January 2022 to October 2024 | Median engagement rate by reach; average reach | Engagement 6.90% vs 3.31%; Reels 36% more reach than carousels |
Two cautions. Socialinsider’s benchmark page presents its 2025 values as 2026 because there was not enough 2026 data at publication,[1] and its reach page gives two overall Instagram reach rates (3.20% and 4.90%) without reconciling them.[3] Buffer’s reach figures end in October 2024.[8]
Where do the studies agree?
On engagement and on saves. Socialinsider has carousels as the top format at 0.55% in both 2024 and 2025, while images fell from 0.45% to 0.37%.[1] In Q2 2026 every format moved lower, to 0.50% for carousels, 0.48% for Reels and 0.33% for images, with the order unchanged.[1] Buffer’s gap is wider because of the formula: measured against reach rather than followers, carousels earn 6.90% and Reels 3.31%, with single images between them at 4.44%.[7] Buffer’s explanation is that Reels are optimized for views and reach, which dilutes their per-impression engagement.[7]
Saves are the clearest carousel win. Metricool found carousels generate nine times more saves than single-image posts and outperform single images across every major metric.[4] Socialinsider’s engagement report, from 15 million posts, has carousels at a median of 37 saves against 35 for Reels and 10 for images, while Reels lead on comments (33 against 25) and shares (5 against 3).[2] Reels get talked about and sent; carousels get kept.
They also agree that single images are losing ground. Metricool has single-image reach down 21.96%, interactions down 25.41% and engagement down 45.98% year over year.[4] Buffer’s advice is to put photos in a carousel rather than post them alone.[8]
Where do they disagree, and why?
On reach. Metricool’s newsletter states it plainly: “In 2026, Reels reach 29% more people than carousels and 212% more than single-image posts.”[5] Its reach guide calls Reels “the platform’s strongest format for reaching people who don’t follow you,” the only format whose engagement rate grew in 2026 (up almost 25%), with shares up 67% and average watch time doubled from 4 to 8.5 seconds.[6] Buffer’s older data points the same way: Reels got 1.36 times the reach of carousels and 2.25 times the reach of single photos.[8]
Socialinsider’s reach study has carousels marginally ahead, 4.50% against 4.10%.[3] The likely reason is the denominator. Socialinsider’s reach rate divides reach by followers,[3] and its views table is strongest for big accounts: at 100,000 to one million followers, carousels average 35,370 views against 16,035 for Reels.[1] A large follower base that gets each carousel served twice will show more reach per follower than a Reel that is mostly shown to strangers. Metricool measures per post across all account sizes, where Reels’ distribution to non-followers counts for more.
Views are not reach. Metricool has the carousel as the format with the most views per post, 27,000 and more on average, 20% more than Reels,[5] at the same time as Reels reach 29% more people. Both are true because a re-served carousel is counted again.[6] TikTok slideshows against videos shows the same pattern on TikTok: stills win depth, video wins broadcast reach.
What does Instagram itself say?
Instagram has explained both mechanisms on the record. In his May 31, 2023 post on how Instagram ranks content, Adam Mosseri wrote that in Reels, “much like Explore, the majority of what you see is from accounts you don’t follow,” and that the most important predictions are “how likely you are to reshare a reel, watch a reel all the way through, like it.” In Explore, the key predicted actions are “likes, saves, and shares.”[10] That is the structural reason Reels reach strangers: the Reels tab is a non-follower surface by design.
“Why [do] carousels often get more reach than photos? Two main reasons. One, multiple pieces of media are going to mean more interactions with your carousel posts, and more interactions is going to mean more reach on average. And two, if someone sees your carousel post but they don’t swipe, we’ll often give that carousel a second chance and automatically move to that second piece of media for the viewer.”
Note what he compared: carousels with photos, not carousels with Reels. The same reel, as Social Media Today reports it, added that carousels with music are eligible to appear in the Reels tab.[9] Metricool describes the second-chance mechanic the same way, with the repeat showing starting on the second image.[5] We could find no Instagram page that ranks carousels against Reels on reach.
A practical mix for a small business posting a few times a week
Three posts a week is enough to use both formats for what each does. The mix is set by the goal, not by which format is “winning” this quarter.
Questions people ask
- Do carousels or Reels get more engagement on Instagram in 2026?
- Carousels. Socialinsider’s 2026 benchmark has carousels at a 0.55% engagement rate against 0.52% for Reels and 0.37% for images, and Buffer’s 2026 report, measured against reach, has carousels at 6.90% against 3.31% for Reels.
- Do Reels get more reach than carousels?
- In two of three 2026 datasets, yes. Metricool finds Reels reach 29% more people than carousels and Buffer finds 36% more. Socialinsider’s reach study has carousels slightly ahead, 4.50% against 4.10%, on a measure that divides reach by followers.
- Why do carousels get so many views?
- Because a carousel is shown again. Adam Mosseri has said that if someone sees a carousel and does not swipe, Instagram will often give it a second chance on the second slide. Views count repeat appearances since Instagram replaced impressions with views in April 2025.
- What is the Instagram carousel engagement rate in 2026?
- 0.55% for 2025 and 0.50% in Q2 2026 by Socialinsider’s follower-based measure, the highest of any format. Buffer’s reach-based measure gives a 6.90% median. The two are not comparable because they divide by different numbers.
- Should a small business post carousels or Reels?
- Both, for different jobs. Post a Reel when the goal is being seen by people who do not follow you, and a carousel when the goal is saves, understanding or a sale. At three posts a week, one Reel and two carousels covers both.
Sources
Every figure above points at one of these. Facts were last checked on .
- [1]Socialinsider: 2026 Instagram organic engagement benchmarks. 35 million posts from 447,613 pages, January to December 2025; engagement rate by followers; Q1 and Q2 2026 updates; views per post by account size
- [2]Socialinsider, May 25, 2026: Instagram engagement report. 15 million posts from 417,130 pages, October 2025 to March 2026; median comments, saves and shares by format
- [3]Socialinsider, September 3, 2026: Social media reach statistics. 872,075 Facebook and Instagram posts, January 2025 to August 2026; reach rate by format; reach rate defined as reach divided by followers
- [4]Metricool, June 16, 2026: Metricool’s 2026 Instagram study reveals Reels and carousels are reshaping platform strategy. 24,364,803 posts from 375,118 accounts; Reels over four times the interactions of a single image; carousels nine times the saves; single-image declines
- [5]Metricool newsletter, June 21, 2026: Instagram: tell me your goal, and I’ll tell you what can help. Reels reach 29% more people than carousels and 212% more than single images; carousels 27,000+ views per post, 20% more than Reels; the second showing starts with the second image
- [6]Metricool, July 20, 2026: How to reach non-followers on Instagram. Reels the strongest format for non-followers; Reels engagement up almost 25%, shares up 67%, watch time 4 to 8.5 seconds; impressions retired in April 2025; carousels re-served
- [7]Buffer, March 5, 2026: The state of social media engagement in 2026. 52 million posts across 10 platforms; engagement as a share of reach: carousels 6.90%, single images 4.44%, Reels 3.31%; Reels optimized for views and reach
- [8]Buffer, October 23, 2024: Data shows Instagram Reels are best for reach, but not engagement. 4 million posts, January 2022 to October 2024; Reels 1.36 times the reach of carousels and 2.25 times single photos; carousels 12% more engagement than Reels
- [9]Social Media Today, October 17, 2024: IG chief recommends posting carousels to improve reach. Transcription of Adam Mosseri’s reel on why carousels get more reach than photos, and music making carousels eligible for the Reels tab
- [10]Instagram, May 31, 2023: Instagram ranking explained, by Adam Mosseri. Reels are mostly from accounts you don’t follow; the predictions used for Reels, Feed and Explore
- [11]Metricool, June 18, 2026: 2026 Instagram stats: what the data tells us. The 2026 vs 2025 averages table; 65% of Reel views and 76% of post views in the first three days
