10 Most-Followed People on Instagram

People want to know who are the most-followed people on Instagram. It’s such a pressing topic that there’s even a separate Wikipedia page for this. While you would expect humanity to give what it’s due to the many amazing scientists, doctors, Human Rights lawyers, writers, journalists, and maybe firefighters, a quick glance at the list paints a quite different picture. The list of the top 10 most-followed people on Instagram includes not 1 but 3 Kardashians, 2 football players, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and 3 American pop stars. So long with the faith in mankind.

But we’d like to take a closer look at these accounts and see what kind of content these global Instagram stars are putting out there. Maybe it will inspire you, maybe not. Because, at the end of the day, you will probably never become the second Messi. Still, it’s a curious thing to do so say hello to the most-followed people on Instagram.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo

https://www.instagram.com/p/CnU5E1DromG/

Handle: @cristiano

Follower count: 537M

Content: you gotta give it to Cr7, he is a true Instagram expert. Officially the most-followed person on the platform with a whopping 537M followers, Cristiano is there to give lots of content. The truth is the majority of posts are sponsored in one way or another. But when the famous player gets real, you can feel that he cares. There are pictures with family,  Alex Ferguson's appreciation content, and lots of love for his country and the national team.

But Ronaldo is a business-oriented guy, don’t look for too much honesty here. His bio at the moment of writing reads “Join my NFT journey on @Binance” but we really doubt Cristiano has any kind of journey of his own in the world of cryptocurrency. He’s not a social media marketer, he’s one of the greatest football players of all time. And he is focused on that most of the time. His Instagram is a pure branding machine and it’s good too. But thanks for that Alex Ferguson post, Cristiano, that one was heartfelt.

2. Lionel Messi

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn1XcUAtiSP/

Handle: @leomessi

Follower count: 422M

Content: although they are bitter rivals in the football world, Messi’s Instagram page is not very much different from Ronaldo’s. The approach is basically the same. Lots of paid promotions, a couple of family pictures (including a cute profile one), and an occasional bizarre post with a hotel in the mountains of Spain. But Messi is busy playing world-class football, he doesn’t have time to get personal on Instagram. Even his bio acknowledges that by saying “Welcome to the official Leo Messi Instagram account”.

3. Kylie Jenner

Handle: @kyliejenner

Follower count: 378M

Content: Kylie is a pro. Only she can have a post caption like “highlights” and amass more than 12M likes. Her content mostly highlights her looks, her family, her businesses, and her children. Her profile is Instagram in a nutshell, the ideal influencer account that many want to replicate and use as an example. She’s not very much concerned with staying on any social media trends (although she did some Avatar-inspired makeup recently), she creates the trends herself.

4. Selena Gomez

https://www.instagram.com/p/CnmPWvCOROL/

Handle: @selenagomez

Follower count: 372M 

Content: going shoulder to shoulder with Kylie Jenner in the list of the most-followed people on Instagram (lacking “only” 6M followers to top the latter), Selena is not that concerned about doing it “right” on the platform. Her brand is that of sincerity and being real on social. Only Selena Gomez can step away from the platform for 5 years, return, and still be one of the most-followed people on Instagram. That’s pure magic right there and an indicator that personal charisma is the most powerful “secret ingredient” to popularity. 

As for Selena’s content, it’s a mix of personal photos and videos, promotional posts, and professional photoshoots.

5. Dwayne Johnson

https://www.instagram.com/p/CnIMTbgOkoH/

Handle: @therock

Follower count: 359M

Content: The Rock is there to motivate. Also, Dwayne Johnson is there to heavily promote his brands. And he has some. His bio simply says “founder” and his posts always have a word or two about the Zoa Energy and Teremana Tequila ventures he has created. What’s special about Johnson’s Instagram is how real it feels.

The star records videos himself, writes captions himself, and makes an impression to be a really decent and down-to-earth human being. That is there to motivate, of course. These factors were definitely hugely responsible for making him one of the most-followed people on Instagram.

6. Ariana Grande

https://www.instagram.com/p/ChzrLrjsAFK/

Handle: @arianagrande

Follower count: 352M 

Content: people love following pop stars it seems. First Selena, now Ariana. Cudos to Grande, her Instagram is quite unique. It follows a certain style, the posts are curated to be in a unified aesthetics and it all is beautiful to look at. The singer-founded brand r.e.m. beauty is heavily featured in the posts but there are many photos and videos celebrating Ariana herself. She decided to do it in a minimalist fashion and we’re all for it.

7. Kim Kardashian

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cmj0liDptN5/

Handle: @kimkardashian

Follower count: 342M 

Content: it’s quite of a mystery to us how the omnipresent Kim K that is not shy of breaking the internet once in a while is lower on the list of most-followed people on Instagram than her sis Kylie Jenner. But it’s the will of the people we guess, Kylie probably knows a secret to amassing a bigger fanbase. What the most famous Kardashian offers us on her Instagram page? She has varied content that ranges from intimate family shots and promotional campaigns for her products to communicating the important milestones of her life and throwing occasional shade on Kanye.

8. Beyoncé

https://www.instagram.com/p/CkNB1alOvkP/

Handle: @beyonce

Follower count: 292M

Content: the eighth place on the list of the most-followed people on Instagram shows us a huge difference in followers. But Queen B still has 292M fans and puts out stunning (but quite irregular content). Her last post was in November 2022. But it seems that people don’t mind that fact and follow Yonce just for her, not for her content.

9. Khloé Kardashian

https://www.instagram.com/p/CmpFW0nPp1L/

Handle: @khloekardashian

Followers count: 291M

Content: when it’s the third representative of the Kardashian-Jenner clan on the list, you know that this family embodies Instagram. Khloe’s deal is quite similar to that of her sisters. She loves to post stunning photo sessions, family pics, and promotional materials. We especially love her Highlights aesthetics.

10. Justin Bieber

https://www.instagram.com/p/ClSS1XJJ6OI/

Handle: @justinbieber

Followers count: 274M

Content: proudly representing Canada on the list of the most-followed people on Instagram, Justin Bieber loves the platform and it shows. He has a kaleidoscope of posts featuring all aspects of his life. Here’s Justin eating ramen, here’s Justin partying, and here’s Justin giving a concert. Also, he devotes a large chunk of the content space to the Gen-Z clothing brand drew house he co-founded.