The Most Liked Instagram Post, and the Most Followed Accounts
Messi's World Cup post leads with 74.5 million likes. The top 10, why creator Reels now fill the list, and the most followed accounts, with dates.
The most liked Instagram post is Lionel Messi's photo set from Argentina's 2022 World Cup win, posted on December 18, 2022. Wikipedia's 2026 list puts it at 74.5 million likes. When Guinness World Records verified it on March 24, 2023, the count was 75,471,947. The egg that held the record before it now sits second, with 60.5 million. The most followed account is Instagram's own, with 686 million followers, and the most followed person is Cristiano Ronaldo, with 679 million.
We read Wikipedia's two lists and Guinness's record page on October 23, 2026. Like counts change every day, so we've kept the date each source looked.
What are the most liked Instagram posts?
| Rank | Post | Likes (millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Messi's World Cup win | 74.5 |
| 2 | The world record egg | 60.5 |
| 3 | Justin Flom's Fun House Reel | 54.0 |
| 4 | Messi in bed with the trophy | 53.2 |
| 5 | Kishore Mondal's song Reel | 51.4 |
| 6 | Insta360's toddler video | 47.0 |
| 7 | Isabella Strickland's POV video | 46.5 |
| 8 | Bredy e Guci's dogs Reel | 45.0 |
| 9 | A bottle flip Reel | 44.2 |
| 10 | Messi and Ronaldo's chess ad | 41.1 |
Wikipedia, "List of most-liked Instagram posts," as of July 2026, page updated October 10, 2026, read October 23, 2026.
Messi has five posts in the top 20, and Ronaldo has four. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's engagement post sits 14th, at 37.5 million. Ronaldo's wedding post from August 11, 2026 is 18th, at 34 million.
How did Messi's post beat the egg?
It didn't take long. Wikipedia says it "reached 10 million likes within the first 39 minutes" after Messi shared it. Within two days it passed the egg, the photo @world_record_egg posted on January 4, 2019 to beat a post by Kylie Jenner. Forbes reported that day that "Guinness World Records confirmed" the new record. By then it was also the most liked post on any platform, past YouTube's "Despacito" video and TikTok's top video, Wikipedia says.
Messi's post has lost about a million likes since Guinness's check. It's gone from 75,471,947 in March 2023 to 74.7 million on Quartz's October 2025 list, and 74.5 million in 2026.
What does the top 20 say about getting likes?
It's now full of Reels from creators. Eight of the top 20 are Reels or videos from creators and a camera brand: Justin Flom, Kishore Mondal, Insta360, Isabella Strickland, Bredy e Guci, EpicFlipzAndKickz, and Emil Reinert twice. Seven of those eight went up in 2025 or 2026. Most are short videos of kids, pets, a song or a house tour.
So the biggest like counts on Instagram aren't only for stars anymore. A video that people share widely can climb past posts from accounts with hundreds of millions of followers.
Who has the most followers on Instagram?
| Account | Followers (millions) |
|---|---|
| 686 | |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 679 |
| Lionel Messi | 517 |
| Selena Gomez | 403 |
| Dwayne Johnson | 381 |
| Kylie Jenner | 380 |
| Ariana Grande | 362 |
| Kim Kardashian | 343 |
| Beyoncé | 299 |
| Nike | 291 |
Wikipedia, "List of most-followed Instagram accounts," as of September 2026, updated October 6, 2026, read October 23, 2026.
Selena Gomez is the most followed woman on the list, and Nike is the most followed brand after Instagram itself.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the most liked post on Instagram?
Lionel Messi's 2022 World Cup photo set. It had 74.5 million likes on Wikipedia's 2026 list and 75,471,947 when Guinness verified it in March 2023.
Who is the most followed person on Instagram?
Cristiano Ronaldo, with 679 million followers as of September 2026. Only Instagram's own account has more, at 686 million.
What happened to the world record egg?
It's still there, now second with 60.5 million likes. It held the record from January 2019 until Messi's post passed it in December 2022.
What is the most liked Reel on Instagram?
On Wikipedia's 2026 list, Justin Flom's Vegas Fun House Reel, posted February 1, 2026, with 54.0 million likes.
Is Messi's post the most liked post on any platform?
Yes. Wikipedia says it passed YouTube's "Despacito" video and TikTok's most liked video in December 2022.
Sources
- Wikipedia, "List of most-liked Instagram posts," updated October 10, 2026, read October 23, 2026
- Guinness World Records, "Most liked image post on Instagram," verified March 24, 2023, read October 23, 2026
- Wikipedia, "List of most-followed Instagram accounts," updated October 6, 2026, read October 23, 2026
- Quartz, October 6, 2025, and Forbes, December 20, 2022, as Google showed them on October 23, 2026
- @world_record_egg's post of January 4, 2019, as Google showed it on October 23, 2026
- Google results for "most liked instagram post," US, October 23, 2026 (our read)
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