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THE TOP 10 MOST POPULAR BRANDS ON INSTAGRAM IN 2026 – RANKING LIST
What are the world’s top 10 most popular brands on Instagram in 2026?
Find out the top list of the most followed brands on Instagram globally.
Brought to you by Mau, Global Head of Marketing Strategy at eDigital.
Marketers are collaborating with some of the top 25 most popular Australians on Instagram
THE TOP 10 MOST POPULAR BRANDS ON INSTAGRAM IN 2026 – RANKING LIST
Before you discover the top 10 most-followed brands on Instagram, let me tell you something you may find hard to admit:
Instagram is mugging you in broad daylight 🔫 while you thank them for the privilege.
Instagram algorithm shows your “viral” content to roughly the same audience who’d notice if you screamed into your office printer: Adam from the branding team and he does not even know your name. 😵
You own nothing 🤡 on Instagram.
You’re renting followers from landlords who charge you extra just to talk to your audience.
It’s like building a mansion on rented land: expensive, temporary, and the landlord can bulldoze it whenever they update their “community guidelines”. 🏠💥
Meanwhile, Zuckerberg is swimming in a pool filled with your ad spend. 🏊♂️💰
Your current situation:
❌ Zero follower data ownership 📊❌
❌ Organic reach = no-one watching! 🕵️♂️
❌ Ad costs rising faster than your therapy bills 📈💀
❌ Followers “export” button? Pure fantasy 🦄
The intervention your marketing needs:
✅ Stop being Instagram’s favourite ATM 🏧❌
✅ Own your audience 👑
✅ Lower your customer acquisition costs 💰
✅ Build marketing systems that own and control 🤖❤️
Throwing money at Instagram ads hoping for results is expensive self-harm with the worse ROI. 🔥
Ready to break up with Instagram’s abuse?
Book a strategy session and learn to build digital marketing that works for you, not against your bank account. 🚀
Stop renting your success. Start owning it.
Let’s craft the best digital marketing plan and social media strategy that boosts sales and customer lifetime value.
THE TOP 10 MOST POPULAR BRANDS ON INSTAGRAM – RANKING 2026 LIST
You’re convinced that knowing whether Nike 👟 beats NatGeo 🌎🦌 in follower count on Instagram will somehow transform your struggling campaigns into a viral sensation 🚀.
You’re on a holy quest 🧙♂️ to uncover which suburban cosmetic clinic 🔐 unlocked the algorithm and got 18-year-olds to double-tap ❤️ like it’s dropping the next big mammoplasty collab.
I’m watching you 👀:
You need to know these top 10 brands 🏆 to build a preso that’ll surely impress your boss 👔, the same one who still thinks “going viral” means catching something contagious 🤧 after a successful (but not that successful) Tinder date 💔🔥.
Said boss believes that knowing Real Madrid CF ⚫⚪ has 177 million followers while FC Barcelona 🔴🔵 has 143 million will somehow explain why your brand’s Instagram has 82 followers 📉 (including your marketing interns’ 12 fake accounts 🤡 and that one bot 🤖 that keeps selling cryptocurrency courses).
This exclusive access 🔐 to the top 10 most-followed brands on Instagram 🎯 might just crack the code to marketing enlightenment 💡or at least give you some really impressive slides 💻 for Monday’s meeting 📅 where you can pretend you understand why a tampon brand and a fried chicken chain are beefing in the comments 🍗 and why that somehow means your Q3 is lookin’ strong. 📈🔥
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We have completed research that uncovers the top 10 brands on Instagram with the most followers in 2026.
What are the world’s top 10 most popular brands on Instagram by the number of followers?
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The 2026 ranking list of the top 10 brands with the most followers on Instagram.
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The most popular brand on Instagram is Instagram.
Fitness marketers are collaborating with some of the top 25 most-followed female fitness influencers on Instagram
10. Victoria’s Secret
Victoria’s Secret is one of the most-followed brands on Instagram with 79.7+ million followers.
@victoriassecret
Victoria’s Secret is one of the world’s top 25 most popular luxury high fashion brands. Even some of the top 25 most-followed Australian women on YouTube enjoy following Victoria’s Secret on Instagram.
However, some ex-models have exposed the dark side of Victoria’s Secret including sexual harassment, psychological abuse, anorexia and telling models to do drugs to lose weight.
Victoria’s Secret is one of the best 10 American clothing brands
9. Premier League
Premier League is one of the most popular brands on Instagram with 79.9+ million followers.
@premierleague
Related: the new Premier League logo
Jamie Carragher’s selfy – Liverpool 7 Manchester United 0 – Gary Neville – March 2023
Marketers on Instagram are using the best time to post on Instagram
The Premier League is the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football League. Seasons usually run from August to May, with each team playing 38 matches: two against each other team, one home and one away.
8. NBA (National Basketball Association)
NBA is one of the most popular brands on Instagram with 90.1+ million followers.
@nba
The NBA is back and basketball freaks are following it on Instagram to watch the best basketball updates, news, fun videos, teams and players.
Ben Simmons Australian basketball player – One of the top 25 most popular Australians on Instagram.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams. It is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional basketball league in the world.
Sports marketers are collaborating with some of the world’s top 25 most popular sports athletes on Instagram.
7. NASA (National Aeronautics & Space Agency)
Nasa is one of the most-followed brands on Instagram with 98.8+ million followers.
@nasa
Note: Nasa has 85+ million followers. Some may argue it is a brand, some may say it is a government organisation.
Marketers are also checking out the most-followed British people on Instagram
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research and space research.
We found that top brands in the fashion and sports industries cover most of these top 10 brands on our ranking list.
6. Champions League
Champions League is one of the most popular brands on Instagram with 121+ million followers.
@championsleague
The Champions League is the world’s most popular football (soccer) tournament of the year and football fans love following the Champions League’s Instagram account.
Related: the top 10 most-followed footballers on TikTok
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Fans of this list also checked out the top 10 most popular brands on TikTok
5. FC Barcelona
Barcelona F.C. is one of the most-followed brands on Instagram with 146+ million followers.
@fcbarcelona
Even without Messi, Neymar, Iniesta or Suarez; Barcelona FC continues to be one of the most popular brands on Instagram. Barcelona is also one of the top 10 most popular brands on TikTok
Related: the best 10 Lionel Messi wallpapers HD and photos
Messi best goal ever Barcelona F.C. logo background
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Barcelona fans checked out the top 10 Neymar wallpaper photos brazil images for laptop
4. Real Madrid
Real Madrid CF is one of the most popular brands on Instagram with 181+ million followers.
@realmadrid
Real Madrid logo PNG medium size
Cristiano Ronaldo has left Real Madrid FC but that has not stopped the Real Madrid brand from winning millions of followers on Instagram. Related: The best 10 Cristiano Ronaldo wallpapers HD and photos.
RealMadrid is also one of the most popular brands on TikTok.
Instagram accounts from individuals who are also brands (i.e. Cristiano Ronaldo – CR7 – One of the top 25 most-followed sports athletes on Instagram) in some cases have far more followers than brands on Instagram.
Australian marketers are collaborating with some of the top 25 most popular Australian on TikTok
3. National Geographic
National Geographic is one of the most-followed brands on Instagram with 275+ million followers.
@natgeo
Not many printed magazines have re-invented themselves as great as the National Geographic brand.
Even their print second-hand magazine issues have monetary value in some countries as collection items.
NatGeo gets tonnes of followers on Instagram for being true to its mission of sustainability and looking after nature and the planet.
NatGeo fans are using some of the top 25 sustainability hashtags on TikTok
NatGeo video cover images on Instagram
NatGeo fans also checked out the top 25 most-followed Brits on Instagram
A quick question: Are you ready to start your influencer outreach program in Australia? Get immediate access to a premium list of the top 200 most-followed Australians on Instagram.
2. Nike
Nike is one of the most popular brands on Instagram with 298+ million followers.
@nike
Nike is an American athletic footwear and apparel brand headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, United States. Nike is the world’s largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment.
Nike continues to reinvent itself and win people from all generations.
Related: the best generation names and years chart
Tash Peterson fake vegan activist Nike animal killing climate change protestor
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People are also reading the top 10 most popular brands on TikTok
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Marketers also checked out some of the top 25 British people on Instagram
The most popular brands on Instagram influence thousands of consumers and their choices. No doubt, these top 10 brands on Instagram have the power to increase business sales.
Learn how to craft your social media strategy template or use the best influencer marketing brief template today!
1. Instagram
No surprise, Instagram is the most popular brands on Instagram with 699+ million followers.
The new Instagram logo PNG medium size
Instagram is an online social media platform owned by Meta.
Instagram users can upload digital content that can be edited with filters, be organised by hashtags, and be associated with a location via geographical tagging and also share the content on other social media platforms like Facebook.
Posts on Instagram can be shared publicly or with pre-approved followers.
Instagram users can browse other users’ content by tags and locations, view trending content, like photos, and follow other users to add their content to a personal feed.
The popular Instagram app is available on iOS, Android, Windows 10, and the web.
As the Facebook brand is dying around the youth generations, Instagram is offering Meta (parent brand) the revenues Facebook is losing.
The official Instagram account on Instagram is the most-followed brand on Instagram.
Are you ready to start your influencer outreach program in Australia?
Get immediate access to a premium list of the top 250 most followed Australians on Instagram.
Fans of this list also checked out the top 10 most popular brands on TikTok
Marketers are asking: what time zone does Instagram Insights use?
Fans of this list also checked out the top 10 most popular brands on TikTok
Continue: the top 20 most-followed brands on Instagram
Have your say! 🗣
💬 Users’ comments about this exclusive and most up-to-date list of the top 10 most popular brands on Instagram:
- “Marketers obsess over the top 10 most-followed brands on Instagram like it’s the secret sauce to instant success. 🤔 🚀 You – sooner rather than later – will figure out that copying Nike’s videos 💡🎥 won’t do anything to your quarterly targets” 📊 Chris Mosseri
Send us your comment and get your opinion published!
🎬 Conclusion
So, you’re about to check some of this top 10 most popular brands on Instagram to see how they win so many followers. Smart move. 👍🏼
But just following some of these top 10 most-followed brands on Instagram isn’t going to get you the sales you’re dreaming of. 🙄
If you want your content to actually work its magic and not just sit there like a sad afterthought, you need a professional digital marketing and content strategy that stands out. 💥
Contact us to help you turn your content into a powerful marketing channel that gets the attention your brand deserves and brings new sales for your business.
Don’t just recite this top 10 brand on Instagram; make your entire marketing and content unique, relevant and unforgettable.
Email us, and let’s make sure Instagram actually works for you. 💪🏼
Final note: Are your marketing costs through the roof? 🚀💸
If your customer acquisition costs are climbing faster than a startup founder’s ego 📈😎 (post‑IPO champagne still in hand 🍾), and you’re hooked on paid ads like a reality TV star or a Tinder date who keeps accepting your dinner invites 🍝🍷 but never calls you back 📵💔…
If that sounds like you 👀👂🏼, you should definitely contact us 🧠💬📞
Our exclusive digital marketing strategy workshops will mercilessly dissect your marketing🔥 💀, expose all the weak spots and show you how to ditch the algorithm chokehold to build a marketing engine you actually own. 🔧🚀
We’ll shake up your team’s thinking 🧠⚡, drop fresh ideas 💡🍉, and turn your marketing from “meh” 😐 to a money-making machine. 🤑💸
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We offer:
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✔ Influencer & Celebrity Marketing. Get people with clout to talk about you 💅📢
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✔ Consumer Giveaways & Competitions. Because people will do anything for free stuff 🎁
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Ready to start marketing like a boss? Let’s talk 🚀👊
THE TOP 10 MOST-FOLLOWED BRANDS ON INSTAGRAM IN 2026
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