In response to TikTok’s exponential growth in popularity, Instagram has introduced a relatively new feature in the past couple of years, and this is Instagram Reels.
It is currently available in more than 50 countries.
While Instagram is keeping everything to do with its usage pretty close to the chest, we have found some pretty interesting statistics that you will want to check out.
However, before we dive into these, let’s ensure that we are all in the same boat when it comes to what we know about Instagram Reels.
Here are the most important Instagram Reels statistics that we could find for 2025.
Key Statistics
- Instagram Reels’ screen space is massive compared to other Instagram post types, and is purposely 8% larger than TikTok’s in order to get a competitive edge
- Brazil’s Instagram users increased by 4.3% after Reels was introduced
- Germany and France also increased their Instagram user numbers in June 2020 after introducing Reels
- Downloads for Instagram increased by 11% in India in 2020 with the addition of Reels
- Time spent on Instagram in India increased by more than 3%
- The Lakers received the most Instagram Reels engagement
- Content on Instagram Reels gets 22% more engagement compared to regular videos on Instagram
- Instagram released Instagram Reels in late 2020 in more than 50 countries
- They launched it in Brazil first as a trial, and called it Cenas
- Nike gets an average of 4.6 million views on their reels
- 87% of Generation Z TikTok users believe that Instagram Reels is the same as TikTok
- Instagram Reels was released in India in the middle of 2020
- There was no increase in active users in India once Instagram Reels was launched
- 20 out of the 30 teams in the NBA use Instagram Reels and have experience a lot of success
- NBA teams say that they get on average 22% more engagement with Instagram Reels
- Instagram Reels can be found on the Explore Page, where 50% of people who use Instagram find new content
- 70% of brands and marketers are planning on increasing their ad spend on video
- Khaby Lame has the most-viewed Instagram Reel, with 283 million views
- Instagram has more than 1.22 billion active users every month
- Users spend on average 30 minutes per day scrolling through Instagram
- 81% of people who use Instagram use it to look for a company, a product, or a service
- 50% of people who have purchased a product online have done so because they saw it on Instagram
- 500 million people use the Instagram Stories feature every day
- 51% of Instagram users are female, and 49% are male
- Shoppable Instagram posts are selected by more than 130 million people every month
- 88% of Instagram users live outside of America
- The average Instagram business page posts once per day
- The average rate of engagement for an Instagram business post is 0.96%
- New England Patriots got 500% more engagement per Instagram Reel compared to their regular video uploads
- Zara received 150 million views on their combined Instagram Reels
- H&M received 33 million views across 17 Instagram Reels
- Chanel has averaged over 1 million views for each of their Instagram Reels
- Cristiano Ronaldo has only uploaded one Instagram Reel, which got 42 million views
- Gucci gets 1.4 million views per Instagram Reel on average
- Apple gets 6.7 million views per Instagram Reel
- Porsche got 16 million views on one of its Instagram Reels
Detailed Instagram Reels Statistics for 2025
Let’s take a look at some statistics that can help you to understand the feature a lot better, and also help you incorporate it into your Instagram marketing strategy.
1. Reels Launched in Brazil First as Cenas
You might be surprised to learn that Brazil holds one of the biggest markets for Instagram based on this statistic, which is why it makes complete sense that Instagram would use Brazil to test out a brand-new feature.
The feature came out in Brazil back in November 2019, and it’s safe to say that it took off.
2. Instagram Users Increased in Brazil by 4.34%
Thanks to this brand-new feature that Instagram decided to launch in Brazil, statistics show that there was a 4.3% increase in users in that month when Instagram reels was launched.
3. Instagram Reels Took Off in Germany and France in June 2020
Once Instagram was confident that Instagram reels had taken off in Brazil, it expanded its feature to Germany and France in June of 2020. They also made sure to update the app extensively before they did this.
4. Instagram Downloads Increased by 11.4% in India
Instagram decided to release Instagram reels in India in July 2020. Between July and August of 2020, downloads for Instagram only increased slightly, from 7 million to 7.8 million downloads.
However, when you look at this as a percentage, it is pretty significant, sitting at 11.4%.
5. Instagram’s Daily Users Stayed Where They Were in India
Instagram has a pretty big fan base in India, with 100 million daily active users. This was before launching Instagram reels, and it stayed the same even after people started to use the brand-new Instagram feature.
6. Time on Instagram Increased by 3.5% in India
Statistics show that while there weren’t that many new people that used Instagram in India when Instagram reels came out, it actually increased the time that people spent on the app itself. According to stats, this increased by 3.5%.
7. 20 of 30 NBA Teams Use Instagram Reels
This means that 2/3 of the NBA franchise have made the most of the Instagram reels feature since it launched in August 2020 in America.
8. NBA Teams’ Reels Get 22% More Engagement
As a result, the NBA received 22% more engagement with this new feature than with other aspects of their Instagram profiles.
9. The Lakers Got The Most Engagement
Statistics show that the Los Angeles Lakers got the most engagement for each Instagram reel out of everyone else in the NBA, with more than 300,000 engagements, and more than 4,000,000 plays from just one video.
10. Houston Rockets Got Total Plays
The Houston Rockets have received more than 11 million plays across just five Instagram reels videos, which means that they come in second in general when it comes to their engagement per Instagram reel.
11. Louis Vuitton Gets 7M Views on Average
Louis Vuitton is another brand that is capitalizing on Instagram reels for their engagement, and on average, they get almost 7 million views per Instagram reel.
12. Sephora France Gets More Than 400K Views
The makeup giant Sephora has been receiving upwards of 400,000 views on each of their Instagram reels that include product demos, makeup tutorials, and user-generated content.
13. Red Bull France Receives More Than 2M Views
Red Bull France has already achieved many viral Instagram reels, but their most popular Instagram reel got over 2.4 million views.
14. Junesixtyfive Gets Almost 3M Views
An influencer has managed to use Instagram reels to her advantage, and her most popular Instagram reel has amassed 2.7 million views.
15. Balmain Gets More Than 1.2M Views
Another really popular fashion brand Balmain has a really good understanding of what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to their audience.
As a result, they get an average of 1.2 million views per Instagram reel, and hundreds and thousands of likes.
Instagram Reels as an Alternative to TikTok
Before we finish off this article, it is important to see how Instagram compares to other social sites like TikTok, especially because the two are in fierce competition.
If TikTok went away tomorrow, it is highly likely that TikTok influencers would rush to Instagram reels, because there is a good chance that they already have a pretty good presence on Instagram as well.
However, if we have learned anything about marketing to the younger generation, it is that they like to do their own thing.
This means that while millennials would probably attempt to run for the safety of Instagram if something happened to TikTok, we think that there’s a pretty good chance that Generation Z would opt for yet another TikTok alternative that might not even exist yet.
Instagram has built Instagram reels into the Instagram platform as their latest feature on offer, which means that it’s not the easiest to find reels that you want to watch.
This means that it still has a long way to go if it wants to rival TikTok, but Instagram reels are a great option if you are an Instagram influencer who already has a decent following, and you don’t really want to have to shift everything over to TikTok.
TikTok definitely offers more when it comes to effects, editing tools, and sounds, so for now, it looks as if TikTok has the advantage, and will continue to do so for quite some time.
What are Instagram Reels?
Instagram reels is a brand-new feature on Instagram that lets you share video content that is in short form, and just like over on TikTok; you can edit and record videos that are 15 seconds long, and you can also add effects and sounds to them.
Once you’ve done this, you can then share videos with either your followers, or if you have your profile set to public, you can share them with the Instagram community at large through their Explore Page.
You might be thinking about why you would bother using Instagram reels if you are already on TikTok. For a lot of influencers on Instagram, Instagram reels make a lot of sense.
After all, you are already putting a lot of time and effort into growing an audience on Instagram.
Do you want to have to do this over on TikTok just to maintain your presence on Instagram? The answer probably is no. The good news is that with Instagram reels, you don’t have to.
You’re probably also wondering at this point what the difference is between stories and reels. Honestly, the answer is not a lot.
Both offer the opportunity to create video content that is short-form so that you can connect with your audience on another level. This means that the differences are small, but they are definitely still important.
The first difference is that Instagram reels includes a broader range of video editing tools, speed controls, and effects than Instagram stories.
You can also capitalize on Instagram reels to combine a number of different videos using their align feature, so that you can create a seamless transition between cuts.
Unlike Instagram stories, Instagram reels doesn’t let you use photos, which means that all your content must be in video form.
Another difference is really important between Instagram stories and Instagram reels is that Instagram stories can only be shared with the people who are already following you.
However, when it comes to Instagram reels, you can add these to the explore page where everybody is going to be able to see them.
If you have already used TikTok, Instagram, or another alternative to popular social sites like this, then you’re not going to have any issues playing around with Instagram reels.
However, even if you have no experience with them, we don’t think that it’s going to be hard to work it out.
Nevertheless, let’s take a little look at how Instagram reels works.
How Do Instagram Reels Work?
To create an Instagram reel, all you have to do is select the reels option that you’ll see towards the bottom of the screen where your Instagram camera is. You will then see all of the tools for editing to the left of your screen.
These editing tools offer audio, where you can search the library for a sound or a song that you would like to add to your video.
The good news is that you can also use your own audio by recording a reel with your audio in the background. Just make sure that you share original audio with your reel, otherwise, you could get in trouble for copywriting.
Another feature of Instagram reels is AR effects. These effects have been created by Instagram and users around the world and can be used to help you record more than one clip with different effects.
The countdown and timer feature means that you can record your video clips hands-free. Once you have pressed record, you will receive a countdown from 3 before it starts recording, so that you can do everything without having to do it manually.
The align feature means that you can line up objects from a previous clip before you record your next clip. This makes it easy for you to create seamless transitions, or even include friends in your reel.
Lastly, you can adjust the speed of your video, which is helpful if you want to make a slow-motion video.
FAQs
What is Instagram Reels?
Instagram released their Instagram reels feature back in August of 2020, to compete with TikTok, which was rapidly increasing in popularity.
This feature lets you create and share video content in short form with your Instagram audience.
With Instagram Reels you can edit and record videos that are up to 30 seconds long. You can also include sounds and effects.
When you have your account set to public, you can expand your reach through Instagram reels because you can increase the chances of being featured on the Explore page so that you can increase your reach to people who aren’t following you already.
How Do I Use Instagram Reels?
The good news is that it is pretty easy to use Instagram reels. Once you’ve opened your Instagram camera, you will see an option called ‘reels’ at the bottom of the screen.
You’ll be able to access the editing tools, as well as other features to the left of your screen.
You can also add audio effects and there is a countdown and timer feature that lets you record your video clip hands-free, which is helpful if you want to play around a little bit.
If you want to shoot your Instagram reel outside of Instagram, you can do this too, just use whatever third-party video editing tool you’ve got, and then upload your content to your Instagram profile as an Instagram real.
Is Instagram Reels Good?
Instagram Reels have become pretty popular on Instagram and from the statistics that you have read above, it is clear that businesses, brands, and influencers are really making most of them.
What’s really interesting is that a lot of TikTok users who post similar videos to their TikTok platform end up getting more people looking at their Instagram reels than on their TikTok profile.
This might indicate that using Instagram reels is a really important part of your marketing strategy, and can lead to really good results, even if you are still posting to TikTok.
What’s the Difference Between Instagram Reels and Instagram Stories?
The difference between Instagram reels and Instagram stories isn’t that great, it’s mainly in the way that people are accessing content.
With both formats, you can add visual effects, music, sounds, filters, and more. Instagram Stories only get displayed for 24 hours and can later be added to your Instagram profile in a highlight album.
Instagram Reels also have their own section on your profile, and we think that you have access to more editing effects and tools with Instagram reels.
Instagram Stories lets you post photos but Instagram Reels only lets its users produce short-form video content.
Even still, as you can see from these statistics, Instagram has done really well since the feature was first launched.
Final Thoughts
With the insight these statistics for 2025 give, we think Instagram reels are a great new feature to make the most of, and offers something different from other features like Instagram stories because you can share your Instagram Reels with the bigger Instagram community, especially if you have a public profile.
As this feature becomes more refined, it is going to be interesting to see how influencers and brands are able to take advantage of it to work with their marketing strategy.
As you can see from the latest Instagram reels statistics and examples like the NBA, there are brands that are already seeing the advantages of using Instagram reels, so there’s every chance that you can use them to your advantage as well.
