A post can look exceptional when compared with the wrong baseline. Mixing several accounts or combining images with reels creates a number that is easy to calculate and hard to interpret. A useful benchmark defines the comparable cohort before it produces a percentile.
Instagram Campaign Performance Benchmark reads an existing post export. It compares each usable post within the same account and exact format, using the metrics that are actually available. The output keeps cohort size, metric basis and evidence beside its relative measures.
Start with a comparable historical sample
The example below selects three comparable records from the installed public historical snapshot. Their likes and comments are saved observations, not current counts. The small sample is useful for inspecting cohort behavior; it is not representative of the account's entire publishing history.
{
"items": [
{
"id": "3991274049559765207",
"type": "Image",
"shortCode": "Ddj2pn1PqDX",
"ownerUsername": "nasa",
"likesCount": 171442,
"commentsCount": 625,
"timestamp": "2026-09-21T18:56:33.000Z"
},
{
"id": "3988961919403244082",
"type": "Image",
"shortCode": "Ddbo7s0lzoy",
"ownerUsername": "nasa",
"likesCount": 401824,
"commentsCount": 1187,
"timestamp": "2026-09-18T14:22:23.000Z"
},
{
"id": "3986255392669277466",
"type": "Image",
"shortCode": "DdSBijYCZ0a",
"ownerUsername": "nasa",
"likesCount": 448527,
"commentsCount": 1091,
"timestamp": "2026-09-14T20:45:06.000Z"
}
],
"maxInputRows": 100,
"maxResults": 10
}
Keep ownerUsername, type and stable post identity. The transformation normalizes account-name casing and uses the source's exact format value. An Image, Sidecar and video format should not become one cohort merely because they appeared in the same export file.
Preserve the metric basis
The strongest supported basis combines known likes and comments. When only one metric can be used, the result discloses likes_only or comments_only and marks the output partial. A missing or hidden count should not be converted into zero to create an apparently complete engagement total.
The installed contract requires at least three comparable posts for a computable benchmark. A smaller cohort becomes a diagnostic. Keep that outcome visible so a dashboard does not silently omit a new format and make the remaining output look like complete campaign coverage.
Read percentiles together with the cohort size
The percentile uses a tie-safe middle rank. An all-tied cohort reads fifty, which expresses a common position rather than inventing a weakest post. Preserve comparableCohortSize whenever a percentile is shown, especially when a user compares small and large exports.
Relative indices compare a post's value with its cohort median. They describe the observed sample and basis. A combined relative index is not an engagement rate against followers, and it cannot establish reach, conversions or paid campaign return. Keep the source counts available for a reviewer who needs to understand an unusual ratio.
Resolve duplicate identity before interpreting performance
Rows connected by supported ID or short-code aliases are consolidated into a post entity. Conflicting duplicate metric evidence can make a post unsuitable for the benchmark. Preserve diagnostics rather than selecting the more flattering observation.
When refreshing the workflow, keep accepted snapshots and compare equivalent cohorts. A different mix of formats or a changed historical window can alter the median without any new post receiving another interaction. Record the source batch and observation context with the output.
For the human handoff, export the action label, basis, cohort size and evidence. Ask the campaign analyst to inspect creative context and the business result in its own systems. The transformation supplies an explainable relative comparison from saved public counts. It does not infer audience quality, detect fraud, collect commenter identities or establish that a campaign achieved its commercial goal.
Price and verification scope
Listing pricing read on 23 October 2026 is $0.012 per result-found event on the FREE tier. The documented unit is: One useful post benchmark delivered with source evidence and a recommended next step. Source errors, invalid rows and budget diagnostics request no result event. Other platform tiers have their own rates. This pricing record has no separate start event. A usable result from an illustrative input can still be billable; inspect the applicable listing and run spending limit before executing it. maxResults is an output cap, separate from the platform's Max total charge option.
This article uses the installed source contract from build 0.1.3 (WtEKJ35s0lsBcBtK2). The example is a shortened historical source projection, with local pure-transform validation only. No new Apify cloud build or run was started for this article. Local output does not establish cloud delivery, customer acceptance or commercial results.
Inspect the Actor's current input and pricing.
AI-assisted draft; independent technical and cover review is required before publication.
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