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Understanding the difference between “Total Interactions” and the sum of post interactions

Why don't my Interactions metrics match?

If you’ve ever compared the Total Interactions metric on Instagram with the sum of your post interactions, you might notice they don’t always line up.

That’s not a bug—it’s just two different ways of calculating engagement.

What’s the difference?

  • Total Interactions is a single metric provided by Instagram. It includes all likes, comments, shares and saves that happened during your selected time range, regardless of when the post was published.

  • The sum of post interactions adds up those same types of interactions but only for posts published during the time range. And it includes all the interactions those posts received, even if some came in after the time period ended. 
    (Note that deleted posts are an additional edge case where the totals may not match)

So:
Total Interactions = interactions during the time window
Sum of post interactions = interactions on posts published in the time window

Here’s why we show both

Instagram doesn’t break down Total Interactions into individual interaction types (like separating likes from saves or shares). It’s just a single number.

That’s why we also show the sum of post interactions in Insights:
It gives you a more detailed breakdown by interaction type, so you can better understand what’s driving engagement, especially for campaign reporting or post-level analysis.

Example: how it works

Say you’re viewing data for June 1–7:

  • You published one post on May 30

  • You published another on June 3

Total Interactions (June 1–7)

  • Includes any likes, comments, saves, or shares that happened between June 1–7

  • Applies to both posts, because it’s based on the time of interaction, not post date

Sum of Post Interactions (for posts published June 1–7)

  • Includes only the post from June 3

  • Counts every interaction on that post, even if it happened on June 8 or later

TL;DR

  • Total Interactions tells you how engaging your account was during a specific time

  • Post-level sums tell you how engaging specific content was over time

  • We include both, so you can measure performance the way that works best for you

Need help unpacking your insights? Get in touch on the live chat, we’re always happy to help.