Who Is the Most Followed Person on Instagram

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Karen Lin

Instagram 101 | Aug 02, 2024

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While the rest of us clamor for more Instagram followers, there are gods among men who don’t have to try. Actors, athletes, musicians, and celebrities amass thousands of followers on a daily basis and rack up millions in their fanbase. But who is the most followed person on Instagram—otherwise known as the reigning monarch of the social media platform today?

In this post, we’re exploring the Instagram users with the highest follower count and what makes their page tick. Stick around to learn a thing or two from those who have mastered the art of getting millions of followers.

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Top 10 Most Followed Celebs: Who Has the Most Followers on Instagram Today?

The celebs who have the biggest Instagram fanbases today range from football hall-of-famers to music industry icons. But they have one thing in common—they’ve captivated people around the world with their talents and marketing genius.

So, who has the most followers on Instagram today, and what did they do to get this far on IG? Check out the top 10 celebrities with the highest follower counts on the social media platform.

A large crowd of people holding up their phones to take photos of a celebrity.

1. Most Followed Person on Instagram: Cristiano Ronaldo

The person with the most followers on Instagram is none other than the GOAT himself, football star Cristiano Ronaldo. He currently has 633 million followers, most likely from all around the world since football has a global fanbase.

Most of Cristiano’s Instagram content is centered on his life as a football player for the Portuguese national team. Once in a while, he’ll give his fans a snippet of his personal life, sharing photos with family and friends.

A Cristiano Ronaldo T-shirt on display at a street market.

2. Lionel Messi

Coming in at second place is Leo Messi, another footballer thought to be Cristiano’s rival for the title of GOAT. He currently has 503 million followers on Instagram, no doubt thanks to his phenomenal career on the field.

Like Cristiano, Leo’s content is focused on football. Sometimes, he also posts collaborations and campaigns he’s done for major brands. On good days, his fanbase is blessed with the rare personal photo with his wife and three sons.

3. Woman With the Highest Instagram Followers: Selena Gomez

Now, at this point, you might be asking, who has the most Instagram followers outside of football? The answer to that is none other than singer, actress, and businesswoman Selena Gomez. Not only is she the person with the highest Instagram follower number in Hollywood. She’s also the most followed woman in the world. Today, she has about 426 million followers.

Selena uses her Instagram account to share news about her projects. These include music promotions and launches by Rare Beauty, her cosmetics line. She also uses her voice to raise awareness for advocacies she’s passionate about, from mental health to social issues. After every couple of posts, she’ll also share updates about her personal and romantic life.

4. Kylie Jenner

Next up, we have Kylie Jenner, another celebrity-turned-entrepreneur. Kylie is one of the famous Kardashian sisters, making her an obvious candidate for Instagram royalty. Today, the youngest sister in the bunch has 398 million IG followers and counting.

Kylie loves to post sultry fashion and beauty content—sometimes for fun, sometimes to promote her businesses and collections. Among these brands are Kylie Cosmetics, Kylie Swim and most recently, her clothing line called Khy. Once in a while, she’ll post content with members of her famous family (usually Kendall Jenner).

5. Dwayne Johnson

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson rose to fame during his wrestling career. But today, he has gained even more fans and social media followers after concentrating on his acting career. Dwayne currently has 396 million followers.

Dwayne’s content is centered on acting and fitness. He has tons of Reels and talking videos where he shares his thoughts on working out and holistic health. He also has plenty of branded content, whether it’s featuring a brand he’s an ambassador for or his own business.

6. Ariana Grande

Siren and main pop girlie Ariana Grande also makes the list with a whopping 378 million followers on Instagram. On her platform, Ari shares a mix of personal photos and videos and snippets of her life as a musician. She’s known to share bits and pieces of her songwriting and studio recording process with her fans through social media.

Ari is also known for her Gen Z aesthetic, which has led to many candid photo dumps and teasers for her projects. It may be one of the reasons so many young people flock to her page and follow her!

A framed Ariana Grande photo and album CD on a wall next to prints of motivational quotes.

7. Kim Kardashian

Social media personality and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian is seventh on the list with 361 million Instagram fans. Like the rest of her sisters, she posts content centered on fashion, beauty, and her many businesses. She also uses her platform to share photos of her family, from her sisters to her cute kids.

For a while, Kim was known to break the internet with scandalous posts and trends. But today, she’s a little more chill on Instagram, focusing her energy on her life as a mom and entrepreneur.

8. Beyonce

Queen Bey has over 317 million followers today, likely from a global audience enamored with her powerful voice and performances. This diva’s Instagram page is filled with carefully curated photos showing off her style.

Right now, she has a bit of a country aesthetic going on, so she posts many outfits in that style. She’ll also sometimes post photos from editorial shoots and magazine covers—a testament to her impact in music and style.

9. Khloé Kardashian

Khloe is the third Kardashian on the list, with about 308 million Instagram followers. While Khloe has that same sultry aura every Kardashian exudes, her content is a bit more personal. She posts casual content with her family, as well as fashion shots, vacation pics, and the occasional brand deal.

10. Justin Bieber

Closing off the list is Justin Bieber, who currently has 293 million followers on Instagram. Having amassed a huge fanbase as a teenage singer, it’s no surprise that Justin has plenty of IG followers today.

The singer uses his page to give fans a look into his personal life. He posts content about his interests, from music to hockey. He also has tons of content with his closest friends and his wife, Hailey.

Are These Celebrities’ Followers All Real?

We’ll be honest—there’s probably little to no chance that all of these celebrities’ followers are 100% real. It simply comes with the territory. The bigger your fanbase, the more likely there are to be low-quality followers in there.

In fact, Fasthosts conducted an audit using Hype Auditor in 2021 to see how many fake followers celebs had. And trust us when we say the results were super interesting.

The study found that some of the most popular people on Instagram had tons of potentially fake followers. Kylie Jenner had the highest percentage of possible fake fans, at 40%. Justin Bieber, on the other hand, looks like 37% of his fans might be fake, too. Other celebs who scored high in the audit include Zayn Malik, Rihanna, Blake Lively, and the Kardashian sisters.

When this study came out, many of these celebs were accused of buying followers. However, these numbers might just be a result of having millions of followers. The sheer volume of fans makes it incredibly challenging to filter out ghost followers and spam accounts.

That said, the speculation that some celebs artificially inflate their follower count is quite understandable, too. Having millions of followers is great for social media marketing and landing brand collaborations on IG, after all. But that’s a secret most celebs will probably take with them to the grave.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the top 10 most followed on Instagram?

The top 10 most followed people on Instagram are the following:

  1. Kendall Jenner
  2. Taylor Swift
  3. Virat Kohli
  4. Jennifer Lopez
  5. Nicki Minaj
  6. Kourtney Kardashian
  7. Neymar
  8. Miley Cyrus
  9. Katy Perry
  10. Zendaya

Who is the most followed Indian on Instagram?

The most followed Indian today is Virat Kohli, a cricket player and former captain of the Indian national cricket team. He currently has 270 million Instagram followers. On his platform, he posts content about football, his happy life with his wife, and branded content.

Who has the highest number of followers on TikTok?

On TikTok, the influencer with the most followers is Khaby Lame, who posts funny videos on the platform. He surpassed TikTok sweetheart Charli D’Amelio in terms of followers back in 2022.

Want To Have the Most IG Followers in Your Niche? Work With Path Social!

These mega-celebrities are experts at what they do, whether it’s acting, music, or entrepreneurship. But if there’s another thing they have a knack for, it’s attracting the most IG followers the world has seen.

Do you have big dreams of being the most followed person on Instagram, at least in your niche? You might not get celebrity-level fanbases, but you can try to pull in thousands of followers. One way to do that fast is by working with Path Social.

At Path Social, we employ tried-and-tested promotion strategies to push out your content to a wider audience. You tell us who your target market is and make sure they see your page on Instagram. In a matter of days, you’ll see thousands of new followers joining your community. Can’t wait to get famous? Get more followers and grow with Path Social today!