How to Find Your Best-Performing Instagram Posts

By the Pixtale Growth team · 3 October 2026 · 5 min read

Your best posts are a record of what your audience actually wants. The trick is to rank them fairly and then look for what they have in common, rather than guessing.

Rank by engagement, not likes alone

Add likes and comments for each post and sort from highest to lowest. Comments matter because they take more effort than a like. For reels, keep views alongside as a separate reach signal.

Compare each post with your own average

Raw numbers mislead when an account is growing. Express each post as a percentage above or below the account's average: a post at +60% clearly beat the norm, while one at -40% fell well short.

Look for shared patterns

Once you have your top three and bottom three, compare them on:

• Format: reel, photo or carousel
• Topic and the first line of the caption
• Day and time of posting
• Whether the caption asks a question or gives a call to action
• Hashtags and tagged accounts

You will usually find two or three differences that repeat. Those are your levers.

Turn winners into a plan

Make a follow-up to your best post with the same topic and format but a new angle. Post it in your strongest time slot. Then measure again. The guide to the best time to post explains how to find that slot from your own data.

See it for any account

The free analyser ranks recent posts and marks each one with a verdict. Pro explains why each post won or underperformed.