The Most-Followed Instagram Accounts in 2026 (Top 50)

Instagram’s own account is the most-followed account on the platform, with about 698 million followers as of January 2026. The most-followed individual is footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, at roughly 670 million. Ronaldo has added more than 60 million followers since we first compiled this list in October 2023, the biggest jump anywhere in the top ten, and he is now closing the gap on the brand account itself.

Below is the full top 50, ranked by follower count, with a column showing how each account moved since our October 2023 snapshot. We collect this data ourselves and refresh it every month.

The 50 most-followed Instagram accounts (January 2026)

Counts come from Social Blade, the most widely cited public follower tracker, cross-checked against the figures in Wikipedia’s list of most-followed Instagram accounts. The “Since Oct 2023” column compares each account to the snapshot we published on this page in October 2023. “New” marks accounts that were outside our top tier then.

One handle change to note: Justin Bieber moved from @justinbieber to @lilbieber. And one account that was on our 2023 list is gone entirely: Nicki Minaj, who sat around 227 million, deactivated her Instagram in October 2025. More on that further down.

Who is the most-followed person on Instagram?

Cristiano Ronaldo is the most-followed person on Instagram, at about 670 million followers. The @instagram brand account is ahead of him overall, so the honest split is this: Instagram is the most-followed account, and Ronaldo is the most-followed individual. Lionel Messi is second among people, at roughly 511 million.

When we first built this list in October 2023, Ronaldo trailed the Instagram brand account by about 52 million followers. That gap is now under 30 million. If both hold their current pace, a person overtaking a platform’s own account for the top spot becomes a real possibility in the next year or two, which would be a first.

Which accounts grew the most since 2023?

Sports accounts drove almost all of the real growth in the top tier. Ronaldo led with about +63 million, then Real Madrid at +33 million, FC Barcelona at +22 million, Kylian Mbappé at +21 million, Neymar at +18 million, Billie Eilish at +15 million, Virat Kohli at +14 million, and the UEFA Champions League at +11 million. Lionel Messi added +23 million across the period.

Five of the eight biggest gainers are footballers or football clubs. Messi’s 2023 move to Inter Miami widened his United States audience, and Ronaldo kept climbing through his Al-Nassr move and a late-2024 collaboration with MrBeast. Outside sport, only Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift posted clear gains.

Which big accounts lost followers since 2023?

Most of the Western celebrity accounts flattened or slipped. The Kardashian and Jenner accounts all fell: Khloé by about 13 million, Kim by 11 million, Kendall by 10 million, Kourtney by 9 million. Selena Gomez dropped roughly 15 million, the largest single decline in the top ten, and Beyoncé and Zendaya each fell around 10 million.

None of these are collapses. They reflect a top tier that filled up years ago and a feed that now rewards short video and sports moments over posed celebrity photos. These counts also move with periodic bot purges, so small monthly dips are noise. The multi-year direction is the real signal.

What happened to Nicki Minaj’s account?

Nicki Minaj was around 227 million followers and sat near rank 18 on our 2023 list. She is absent from the 2026 ranking because she deactivated her Instagram account in October 2025, not because she lost her audience. Social Blade stopped recording new data for the account on October 20, 2025, which lines up with the deactivation. Her profile now returns a “Sorry, this page isn’t available” message, while her X account stays active. That is the difference between losing followers and switching a profile off, and it is why a 220-million-follower account can vanish from a ranking in a single month.

The top accounts in detail

1. Instagram (@instagram), 698M

The platform’s own account has been active since 2012 and gets suggested to new users by default, which keeps it ahead of every individual. It posts creator features and product updates rather than personal content. Up about 39 million since our 2023 count.

2. Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano), 670M

The most-followed person on any platform, anywhere. Match footage, family posts, and sponsorships, plus a steady run of high-reach collaborations, kept him growing faster than anyone else in the top ten. He also leads our most-followed Twitter accounts list.

3. Lionel Messi (@leomessi), 511M

His 2023 move to Inter Miami pulled in a large new United States audience on top of an already massive following across Latin America. Up about 23 million since 2023.

4. Selena Gomez (@selenagomez), 415M

Still the most-followed woman on Instagram, splitting posts between music, acting, and her Rare Beauty brand. Her count is down about 15 million since 2023, the steepest drop in the top ten. She also ranks in the top three on our most-followed Threads accounts list.

5. Kylie Jenner (@kyliejenner), 391M

Beauty and fashion content tied to her cosmetics business. Roughly flat for two years, down about 9 million from her 2023 peak.

6. Dwayne Johnson (@therock), 390M

Film promotion, workouts, and his Teremana and ZOA brands. One of the most stable accounts in the top ten, almost unchanged since 2023.

7. Ariana Grande (@arianagrande), 372M

Music and film, with a bump in activity around her recent acting work. Down about 8 million since 2023.

8. Kim Kardashian (@kimkardashian), 353M

Lifestyle posts and her SKIMS brand. Down about 11 million since 2023, in line with the wider celebrity-tier slide.

9. Beyoncé (@beyonce), 308M

Posts in bursts around tours and album cycles rather than daily, which is rare for an account this size. Down about 10 million since 2023.

10. Khloé Kardashian (@khloekardashian), 299M

Lifestyle and family content. The largest decline in the top ten in percentage terms since 2023, down about 13 million.

11. Nike (@nike), 298M

The most-followed sportswear brand on the platform, built on athlete features and campaign films rather than product shots. Down about 7 million since 2023.

12. Justin Bieber (@lilbieber), 292M

Now posting under the handle @lilbieber after changing it from @justinbieber. Roughly flat since 2023.

13. Kendall Jenner (@kendalljenner), 284M

Modeling and fashion campaigns plus her 818 Tequila brand. Down about 10 million since 2023.

14. Taylor Swift (@taylorswift), 280M

One of the few entertainment accounts to grow since 2023, up about 7 million, carried by the Eras Tour run and album releases.

15. National Geographic (@natgeo), 275M

The most-followed magazine account, posting photography from contributors worldwide. Down about 8 million since 2023.

16. Virat Kohli (@virat.kohli), 274M

The most-followed cricketer on Instagram and one of the few non-football athletes near the top. Up about 14 million since 2023, reflecting Instagram’s growth in India.

17. Jennifer Lopez (@jlo), 246M

Music, film, and her business ventures. Down about 6 million since 2023.

18. Neymar (@neymarjr), 233M

Up about 18 million since 2023, one of the larger gains in the list, helped by his move to Al-Hilal and later return to Santos.

19. Kourtney Kardashian (@kourtneykardash), 215M

Lifestyle, family, and her Lemme supplement brand. Down about 9 million since 2023.

20. Miley Cyrus (@mileycyrus), 210M

Music and personal posts. Down about 5 million since 2023, holding steadier than most of the celebrity tier.

21. Katy Perry (@katyperry), 201M

Music and tour content. Down about 5 million since 2023.

22. Real Madrid CF (@realmadrid), 180M

The fastest-growing club account on the list, up about 33 million since 2023. Match content, signings, and a global fanbase keep it climbing.

23. Kevin Hart (@kevinhart4real), 176M

Comedy, film promotion, and frequent posts with Dwayne Johnson. Down about 3 million since 2023.

24. Zendaya (@zendaya), 175M

Film and fashion, with spikes around her Dune and Spider-Man releases. Down about 10 million since 2023.

25. Cardi B (@iamcardib), 164M

Music and personal posts. Down about 4 million since 2023.

26. LeBron James (@kingjames), 157M

The most-followed basketball player on Instagram. Almost flat since 2023, down about 1 million.

27. Demi Lovato (@ddlovato), 152M

Music and personal posts. Down about 5 million since 2023.

28. Rihanna (@badgalriri), 149M

Fewer personal posts than most accounts this size, leaning on her Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty brands. Down about 3 million since 2023.

29. FC Barcelona (@fcbarcelona), 146M

Up about 22 million since 2023, the second-fastest-growing club account behind Real Madrid.

30. Chris Brown (@chrisbrownofficial), 143M

Music and tour content. Roughly flat since 2023, down about 1 million.

31. Drake (@champagnepapi), 141M

Music and lifestyle posts. Down about 2 million since 2023.

32. Ellen DeGeneres (@ellendegeneres), 134M

Still posts under the handle @theellenshow. The talk show ended in 2022, and the account is down about 5 million since 2023 with less frequent posting.

33. Kylian Mbappé (@k.mbappe), 129M

Up about 21 million since 2023, boosted by his move to Real Madrid in 2024. One of the youngest fast-growers on the list.

34. Billie Eilish (@billieeilish), 125M

Up about 15 million since 2023, one of only two entertainment accounts in the gainers column, carried by her album and tour cycle.

35. UEFA Champions League (@championsleague), 121M

Match highlights and goals from Europe’s top club competition. Up about 11 million since 2023, in step with the wider football surge.

37. Gal Gadot (@gal_gadot), 106M

Film and personal posts. Down about 3 million since 2023. She now sits just behind Lisa of Blackpink, who entered the top tier since our last update.

Ranks 36 and 38 through 50 are newer entries to our top tier, including Lisa, Vin Diesel, Narendra Modi, NASA, Shakira, and MrBeast. We are adding profile images for each of these to match the rest of the list.

How is this follower data collected?

We pull each account’s follower count from Social Blade, then cross-check against Wikipedia’s list, which itself syncs from Social Blade. Counts are rounded to the nearest million above 100 million and to one decimal below that. The “Since Oct 2023” column uses the snapshot we published here in October 2023 as the baseline, so the change figures are our own tracking, not a third-party estimate.

Counts move every day, and different trackers read them at slightly different moments, so treat single-million gaps as measurement noise. The rankings and the multi-year trends are reliable. The exact last digit is not.

More social media rankings from NoobSpace

If you track follower data across platforms, these lists use the same method:

• Most-followed TikTok accounts
• Most-followed Facebook pages
• Most-followed Twitch streamers
• The biggest X (Twitter) Spaces ever

New to the platform or fixing a problem? Start with our Instagram guides.

Data current as of January 2026. We update this list every month. Tell us in the comments which account you want us to add next.