---
title: "Competitor tracking"
description: "Track Instagram competitors in Pallyy, compare follower growth, engagement, posting activity, and hashtags, and see how many competitors your plan allows."
category: "features"
subcategory: "analytics"
emoji: "🔍"
order: 3
datePublished: "2026-08-20"
dateUpdated: "2026-08-20"
---

[Competitor tracking](/features/competitor-tracking) in Pallyy compares other Instagram accounts against your own, using public account data. You'll find it under **[Analytics > Instagram > Competitors](https://app.pallyy.com/dashboard/analytics/instagram/competitors)**, and it works on every plan, with the number of competitors depending on which plan you're on.

## Add competitors by username

Adding a competitor in Pallyy just takes their Instagram username. Head to **[Analytics > Instagram > Competitors](https://app.pallyy.com/dashboard/analytics/instagram/competitors)**, open the manage competitors screen, and add the usernames of the accounts you want to watch. A counter shows how many competitors you've added against your plan's limit, so you always know how many slots you've got left.

Because the data comes from public account metrics, you don't need access to anyone's account. If a brand posts publicly on Instagram, you can track it.

## What gets compared

Competitor tracking compares your account and your competitors across the numbers that show who's actually growing:

- **Follower growth**, so you can see who's gaining fastest.
- **Engagement and engagement rate**, which often tell a truer story than raw follower counts.
- **Post counts and posts over time**, revealing how often each account publishes.
- **Top posts**, so you can see which of their content lands best.
- **Hashtag performance**, showing which hashtags competitor accounts lean on.

A smaller account with a higher engagement rate is usually the one worth studying. For a refresher on what these metrics mean, see [understanding your analytics](/help/understanding-your-analytics).

## How many competitors you can track

How many competitors you can track depends on your Pallyy plan: the Free plan includes 1 Instagram competitor, and every paid plan tracks up to 10 per social set. The counter on the manage competitors screen keeps you honest about where you stand. Plan details are on the [pricing](/pricing) page.

::help-callout{type="tip"}
Pick competitors of a similar size to your account where you can. Benchmarking against an account fifty times bigger tells you less than watching a rival growing from the same starting point.
::

## Frequently asked questions

### Do I need my competitor's permission to track them?

No. Pallyy's competitor tracking uses public Instagram account metrics, so you can add any public account by username without access to it.

### How many competitors can I track?

The Free plan tracks 1 Instagram competitor, and paid plans track up to 10 per social set. The competitors screen shows a counter of how many you've added against your limit.

### Can I track competitors on Facebook or LinkedIn?

Competitor tracking in Pallyy is Instagram-only for now. It lives under **[Analytics > Instagram > Competitors](https://app.pallyy.com/dashboard/analytics/instagram/competitors)** and compares public Instagram accounts against your own.