Millions of people have 1 million Instagram followers, ranging from mega-celebrities like Cristiano Ronaldo (670M+) and Selena Gomez (416M+) to rising stars like cricketer Lauren Bell (1M+) and various influencers, with the threshold of 1 million followers being a significant milestone crossed by countless creators across all niches, from fashion to gaming, in recent years.
Over 15 million people have over 1 million followers on Instagram. The idea that these are real people and connections is insane.
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates 1 billion social media followers.
Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano) is the number one highest paid influencer on Instagram. He has the most followers of any person in the world. As a global football star, his reach is massive. He often works with sports and health brands.
Top Social Media Influencers
Virat Kohli is the most-followed Asian on Instagram. Narendra Modi is the most-followed politician on Instagram.
Instagram offers multiple ways to turn your account into a money-making platform. You can earn through sponsored posts as an influencer, join Instagram's Creator programs like Live Badges and Bonuses, sell products via Instagram Shops, dropshipping or affiliate marketing and offer services like social media consulting.
An influencer with 1 million followers is considered a mega-influencer, and the earning potential per sponsored post ranges from $5,000 to $25,000 or even more. According to Hopper HQ's Instagram Rich List, most influencers with over a million followers charge between $10,000 and $15,000 per sponsored post.
Buying Instagram followers means paying for a number, which means most of your "followers" will be bots or inactive accounts who'll either spam (or never engage with) your posts. Plus, they can cause more harm than good (keep reading).
The most liked image post on Instagram has 75,471,947 likes, and was achieved by Lionel Messi (Argentina), as verified on 24 March 2023. It depicts Messi holding aloft the FIFA World Cup Trophy after his country beat France in the final, which was held in Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar.
The original founders of Instagram, Kevin Systrom & Mike Krieger agree that Snoop Dogg was the first celebrity on Instagram after the rapper made the claim at Drink Champ to counter Soulja Boy's earlier claim of being the first rapper on the platform.
To make money on Instagram with 500 followers, sign up for affiliate programs to share links and earn commissions. You can also set up an online store and a digital tip jar. Be sure to take advantage of sponsored posts and network with other local businesses.
What is the direct financial value of a million followers? Influencers with a million followers can charge anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 per sponsored post on Instagram, $5,000 to $50,000 per video on YouTube, and $5,000 to $30,000 per post on TikTok. These rates depend on engagement, niche, and ROI demonstration.
Average number of Instagram followers
The largest segment are users that have between 1,000 - 10,000 followers with 49.94% and together the two segments make up the majority of Instagram users with 76.37%. A further 15.21% have 10,000 - 50,000 followers and only a mere 3.15% have 50,000 - 100,000 followers.
Yes, you can get paid on Instagram. If you're looking for how to make money on Instagram, there are several ways to do so, including: Collaborating with brands on sponsored posts.
How to make $1,000 fast
When you'll be paid. Payouts for Instagram bonuses are released around the 7th and 21st of every month with earnings from 2-week periods the previous month. For example: Earnings from Jan 1 to Jan 14 will be paid out around February 7.
As of late 2024 and into 2025, Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo became the first person to reach 1 billion followers across all social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, Chinese platforms), a monumental figure that solidifies his status as the most followed individual globally, significantly ahead of other stars like Lionel Messi or Selena Gomez.
You can spot fake followers by looking for suspicious profiles (no photos, no posts, odd usernames) and by checking the quality of engagement on the account's posts. If likes and comments seem low compared to follower numbers, or if comments are generic and spammy, that's a red flag.
List of India's Richest Influencers (2026)
Here, we delve deeper into the complexities of the influencer world, exploring ten super minuses to being an influencer.