Instagram Stories Engagement Benchmarks for 2025

When it comes to ephemeral content, Instagram Stories provide the best of both worlds, offering a quick and entertaining format for audiences to engage with, coupled with the ability for brands to highlight their best Stories to live indefinitely on their profiles. 

Instagram Stories are a great way to boost engagement, repurpose interesting video clips, and share quick updates that might not be suitable for your feed. And with half a billion people watching Stories each day, this medium is a perfect addition to your Instagram strategy (if you’re not already using it). 

Instagram benchmarks provide a realistic starting point to measure the impact of your content. Truly understanding the impact of Stories in your overall Instagram Stories analytics and strategy requires setting, measuring, and optimizing performance for specific goals, but you’ll never be able to set achievable goals without an understanding of which outcomes are practical.

Let’s explore some Instagram Story benchmarks you can use to set SMART goals, measure their impact, and make your content even better.

Benchmarks are the averages for Story metrics so you can see how you stack up. If beauty brands average 10% engagement on Stories and your brand averages 15%, your content is working. Treat that as progress.

Stretch goals are great, but set them with context. Targets should reflect your follower size, industry, content mix, and recent performance. Aiming for a metric like 90% engagement on every Story, for example, will mask wins and make it harder to see what to fix. Use benchmarks to set smart Instagram analytics targets, track what moves the number, and raise the bar as you grow.

Now, let's explore the particulars. What does “exited” mean on your Instagram Story? What does “completion rate” mean? We’ve defined every important metric marketers need to pay attention to when using Instagram Stories.

• Reach: the number of unique times a story frame or story is viewed by accounts on Instagram.
• Impressions: the total number of times people watched your story.
• ‍Exit Rate: the percentage of people who exited a frame. The inverse of Completion Rate.
• Completion Rate: the percentage of people who watched a frame until the end without exiting. The inverse of Exit Rate.
• Tap Forward: the total number of times a user taps forward on a story frame to view the next frame.‍
• Tap Back: the total number of times a user taps back to view the story frame again, or a previous story frame.

Instagram Story benchmarks give social media managers a realistic gauge of how content performs compared to others in their industry. These metrics highlight what strong engagement looks like across completion, reach, impressions, and other metrics, so you can identify where you lead, and where you might be lagging. Understanding averages helps you set achievable goals and strategically optimize  your content. Don’t just guess what ‘good’ look like, use benchmarks as a data-backed foundation to build stronger, more engaging Stories that help you achieve your goals. 

It’s also important to consider your follower count when setting goals. If you’re new to Instagram Stories and have fewer followers than larger, more established accounts, it doesn’t make sense to compare your performance against theirs. Here’s a glimpse at Instagram Story benchmarks based on following size.

Here’s an overview of overall Instagram Story averages to help you set, measure, and optimize your Story performance. Dive into the metrics in more depth below and learn how these metrics impact your strategy and which action you can take to help you meet and exceed your goals. 

To collect these Instagram Story benchmarks, Dash Social’s Senior Customer Insights Manager, Quinn Yung, sampled over 2K brands with at least 1K followers on Instagram, analyzing their activity from January 1, 2025-June 30, 2025.

Instagram Story Completion 

On average, Instagram Stories have a 70% completion rate. Brands with larger follower counts typically see higher post completion, with large accounts (1.1M followers or more) seeing a 70.5% completion rate, although mid-sized accounts (190K-1.1M followers) are right behind this with a 69.3% rate. Smaller accounts (up to 190K followers) often see an average 68.3% completion rate. 

Why it matters →  Completion rate measures how many viewers saw your last slide in a Story relative to the first slide. If your completion rate is 70 percent, that means you’re retaining 70 percent of your audience from start to finish. That’s a strong signal that your pacing, hooks, and content flow are working.

Key strategic takeaway → Use completion rates as a guardrail of sorts. Aim to keep completion around 60-70%, and if it slips, check that you’re trimming filler content and making the opening of your videos as enticing and eye-catching as possible.

Instagram Story Exit Rate 

There is a 5% average Instagram Story exit rate. Smaller accounts see the highest exit rates, which can be attributed to having less followers. Mid-sized accounts with 190K-1.1M followers see an average 5% average exit rate, while large accounts with over 1.1M followers have a 4.4% average exit rate. 

Why it matters→ Exit rate reveals where viewers lose interest completely. If your exits spike mid-story, something about your content or pacing isn’t landing. Use it to pinpoint problem content. Then, test reordering content, simplifying copy, or breaking longer stories into smaller daily segments. Remove friction where you see the most exits. 

Key strategic takeaway → Keep exits below 5–10 percent. If they climb higher, revisit slide sequencing or visuals to reengage your audience sooner.

Instagram Story Reach

On average, Instagram Stories reach 19,378 people. On average, large accounts with see 43.1K average reach, mid-sized accounts see about 4.7K followers, and small accounts experience far less reach, with just 1K on average.

Why it matters → Reach measures how many unique accounts saw your Story, and average reach gives a sense of your audience exposure. It’s a top-of-funnel metric, meaning it’s not always the most relevant for strategic measurement, but can tie effectiveness to frequency or reduced engagement signals. Use reach to pivot publishing times and discover your best time to post on Instagram, tease Stories in your feed, or test other formats, like Instagram or quizzes polls, that might drive more interaction.

Key strategic takeaway → Pay attention to reach weekly. If it drops, adjust your posting cadence and Story types before overhauling creative.

Instagram Story Impressions 

On average, each individual Instagram Story receives 15,004 impressions. As likely expected and similar to reach, large accounts see 33.4K average impressions, with mid-sized accounts seeing significantly lower average impressions at 3.6K. Smaller brands see the fewest average impressions at just 818. 

Why it matters → Impressions reveal how much depth your content gets. A big gap between impressions and reach suggests people are tapping through many slides. If impressions are low relative to reach, maybe users stop early. This helps you diagnose engagement quality.

Key strategic takeaway → Impressions reveal how much depth your content gets. A significant gap between impressions and reach suggests people are tapping through many slides. If impressions are low relative to reach, maybe users stop early. This helps you diagnose engagement quality.

Instagram Story Taps Forward

Instagram taps forward are the amount of times someone clicks ahead on your Story. On average, 13,696 people tap forward on Instagram Stories. Accounts with large followings see notably higher amounts of taps forward at 30K, with mid-sized accounts experiencing far more taps forward at 3.7K, particularly when compared with their average amount of taps backwards. Small accounts see just 793 average taps forward, although this is much higher than their average 170 taps backwards. 

Why it matters → A forward isn’t necessarily negative, at its core, it just means people are navigating through your content. However, if the taps forward are happening quickly or engagement is low, your pacing or the content itself could be off. 

Key strategic takeaway → Don’t just track the count, but the timing of taps forward. If you notice a large drop off in taps during a particular sequence, revisit the content and identify what’s causing people to swipe through. Fast, ultra- immediate taps forward can indicate that you have too many slides, or slides that ask too much of the viewer. Keep Story content light, entertaining, and easy to engage with.

Instagram Story Taps Backwards 

Instagram taps backwards are the amount of times someone goes back to previous content on your Story. On average, 13,696 people tap back on Instagram Stories to view what they previously missed. This is likely attributed to users who commonly quickly tap through Stories, deciding to take a closer look. Brands with large followings see 1.5K average taps backwards, with smaller brands seeing 37 average taps back. Mid-sized brands also experience far fewers taps back on average, with just 170. 

Why it matters → Taps backward indicate that someone revisited a previous slide, often because they missed something or something was compelling enough to go back. 

Key strategic takeaway → Don’t shy away from asking, “Why are people going back here?” Use that insight to replicate high-back-tap slides (strong visuals, cliffhangers, anticipation) and reduce filler. Tap-backs are your hidden key to which content earns attention.

Average Daily Instagram Story Posts 

On average, brands post just two Instagram Stories per day. Interestingly, this average is the same across follower count, indicating two Stories as a great starting point for all types of brands. 

Why it matters → Frequency matters, but more stories don’t guarantee more impact. Too many stories can fatigue your audience or quickly dilute attention across slides. At the same time, posting too little may cause your content to get lost in users’ Stories queues. The average of two per day is a good benchmark to test your capacity and audience tolerance.

Key strategic takeaway → Start with two Stories per day and see how engagement, reach, and completion move. If your metrics exceed your expectations, you can experiment with increasing or decreasing posting cadence, but monitor drop-off when you make changes. It’s better to post fewer highly-engaging Stories than more low-quality, ineffective content.

What is a ‘good’ Instagram Story completion rate? 

A ‘good’ Instagram Story completion rate falls between 60-70%. Any completion rate above this means your content is resonating with your audience, while a completion rate lower than this can indicate your team should take another look at your Story sequence.

How often should I benchmark my Instagram performance? 

It’s helpful to look at Story performance semi-regularly, especially if your team is putting forth a lot of effort to craft the perfect content. Here are some rough guidelines for periodically reviewing Instagram Story performance: 

• Weekly: Pay attention to reach, impressions, and completion rates regularly. Setting up an automated, custom reports can be helpful to navigate these metrics at a glance, without the need to dedicate a huge chunk of time to monitoring.
• Monthly: Review overall trends to identify patterns or shifts in audience behavior. 
• Quarterly: Compare against industry benchmarks to evaluate long-term performance and adjust strategy.

Can I combine Story benchmarks with Reels and Feed benchmarks to get a holistic view?

Yes, it’s important to look at total Instagram analytics performance to determine the success of your Instagram strategy. Looking at all formats together helps you understand where engagement happens in your funnel. Stories show loyalty and retention, while Reels and feed posts drive discovery and reach. Compare metrics like reach, engagement, and conversions across each to see what drives awareness versus deeper interaction.

How do I translate Story benchmarks into revenue or conversion benchmarks?

You can translate Story benchmarks into conversion or revenue conversion benchmarks by connecting engagement data to your next steps. Track link clicks, product tags, and even sticker interactions and connect them to web traffic or specific conversions. Over time, you can calculate conversion rates from Story views to actions, turning engagement metrics into measurable business impact.