[What Data Says] Premier League Social Media: 2026 Performance Data

Every club’s social team gets asked the same question at the end of a season: was that good?

It’s harder to answer than it sounds. A title win, a cup run or a big signing can lift every number on its own. So when engagement jumps, is that your content working, or just a busy month for football? And how much should you be posting to keep up with the clubs around you?

2026 made that question even harder. Arsenal won the league for the first time in 22 years. Three finals landed within two weeks of each other in May. Then the World Cup took over the summer, and the transfer window broke spending records. Fans had plenty to react to, and so did your numbers.

So what does “good” actually look like for a Premier League club on social? To find out, we tracked 24 clubs in our Premier League group from January to October 2026, on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X and YouTube. That window covers the title run-in, the cup finals, the World Cup break, the summer window and the first weeks of the 2026-27 season.

For every club, we measured average engagement rate by followers, reach, impressions or views per post, follower growth and posting frequency. Then we checked how those numbers moved around the season’s biggest moments, so you can tell a great month for your club from a great month for football.

The short version? The biggest clubs win on reach, the smaller ones win on engagement, and posting more rarely closes that gap.

Let’s get into the numbers.

Key takeaways

• Smaller clubs ruled TikTok, where Hull City posted about six times a week and still led the group with a 4.53% engagement rate.
• On Instagram, Coventry City topped engagement at 2.03% on fewer than seven posts a week, while Manchester United reached the most people per post.
• Coventry City also led Facebook, at 0.417%, in a year when clubs doubled their summer posting and each post reached fewer people.
• On X, AFC Bournemouth led with a 0.311% engagement rate, and the title race and May finals pushed the group’s engagement to more than double April’s level.
• On YouTube, Coventry City had the highest engagement rate (0.764%) and the fastest-growing channel (55.4%), while Arsenal drew the most views per video.

Premier League social media performance at a glance

Arsenal comes out on top overall on audience size per post, from January to October 2026. It ranks in the top three for reach, impressions or views on all five platforms, and first on YouTube.

Still, Arsenal doesn’t lead everywhere. On four of the five platforms, another club reaches the most people per post.

So the biggest clubs reach the most people. But who gets fans to actually react? That list looks very different: Hull City on TikTok, Coventry City on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, and AFC Bournemouth on X.

Did club engagement move with the season? Yes, in timing. The table shows the monthly average engagement rate by followers across all club accounts on each platform. April was the last month before May’s run of finals and the title decider.

Why May? Because it was the most packed month of the season.”

Because that’s when the season came to a head. Three cup finals and a title race all landed in the same few weeks, and fans had something to react to almost every day. Arsenal lifting the trophy on May 24 was just one of those moments.

Then the World Cup arrived in June, and attention moved to national teams. Club engagement dipped across the board. It only came back in August, once the new season got going.

Here’s the interesting part: all five platforms moved in step. So this wasn’t one platform having a good month. It was the football calendar setting the pace for everyone.

How did the season’s big moments show up for single clubs?

Arsenal had the kind of year most clubs only dream of. They won the title on May 24, lost the Champions League final on penalties six days later (Arab News), and finished the ten months with the most views per video on YouTube. On TikTok, only Manchester City got more plays per post.

Speaking of Manchester City: they beat Chelsea in the FA Cup final (Capital FM) and topped TikTok with 2,386,793 plays per post on average.

And the real surprise? Hull City and Coventry City. On TikTok, they’re two of the smallest accounts in the group. Yet they grew faster than anyone else on Instagram (53.1% and 48.2%), while Hull City led on Facebook (32.8%) and Coventry City on YouTube (55.4%).

Premier League performance on TikTok

Across January to October 2026, the average engagement rate by followers of Premier League club TikTok accounts peaked at 1.41% in May. Average plays per post then fell from 1,146,510 in May to 422,112 in October, even as monthly posts rose from 1,283 to 1,492.

Which Premier League club had the best TikTok engagement rate in 2026?

Hull City, at 4.53%, followed by Ipswich Town at 3.56%.

So, does posting more get you more engagement on TikTok? Not really. Hull City and Ipswich Town top the table, and they only posted about five or six times a week. Liverpool posted the most, around 27 times a week, and its engagement rate was 0.520%.

Posting more did help with reach, though. Manchester City and Manchester United both posted about 24 times a week, and they ended up first and third for plays per post.

You can see the same thing across the season. Clubs posted almost as much in late August as they did in mid-May, around 20 times a week each. But August posts got far fewer plays. August was also the busiest month of the year, with 1,776 posts, and its engagement rate (1.27%) still didn’t match May’s (1.41%).

How did TikTok engagement move with the season's big moments?

• May: TikTok engagement more than doubled, from 0.537% in April to 1.41%. Unsurprising, really, since May was packed with big moments: Manchester City beating Chelsea in the FA Cup final, Aston Villa winning the Europa League, and Arsenal lifting the title. Every other platform rose in May too, so this was the whole season peaking, not just TikTok.
• June: The World Cup started on June 11, and most fans’ attention shifted to national teams. Club TikTok accounts posted less and got less engagement. Clubs published only 711 posts, their lowest of any month, and the average engagement rate fell to 0.706%, down from 1.41% in May. The other four platforms also dropped in June.
• August: Engagement bounced back to 1.27%, up from 0.814% in July. The new season starting on August 21 is the obvious reason, but the summer transfer window was still open too, so new signings likely played a part.

Recommendations

If you’re checking your TikTok engagement rate, compare yourself with clubs that have a similar number of followers. The gap between small and large accounts is huge. Hull City, Ipswich Town and Coventry City, the three smallest accounts here, sit at 4.53%, 3.56% and 2.18%. Tottenham Hotspur, the largest, sits at 0.133%. So if your following is closer to Hull City’s than Arsenal’s, Hull City is the better benchmark.

Premier League Performance on Instagram

On Instagram, May was the standout month. Clubs hit their highest average engagement rate of the year (0.480%), and each post reached the most people, around 570,868 on average. Clubs didn’t post the most until August, though, when they published 6,723 posts.

Which Premier League club had the highest Instagram engagement rate in 2026?

Coventry City, at 2.03%, ahead of AFC Bournemouth at 1.13%.

Instagram followed the same rhythm as TikTok. Engagement climbed from 0.320% in April to 0.480% in May, a month with plenty for fans to react to: Arsenal’s title, emotional goodbyes from Pep Guardiola and Mohamed Salah on the final day, and Arsenal’s Champions League final loss. It dropped to 0.377% during the World Cup in June, then recovered to 0.455% in August, the second-best month of the year.

On Instagram, the clubs that posted a lot also tended to reach more people. Manchester United (about 87 posts a week) and Liverpool (about 84) lead on reach per post. Manchester City posted even more, around 122 times a week, yet its engagement rate was just 0.141%. Coventry City, the engagement leader, posted fewer than seven times a week.

Still, there’s a limit to what more posts can do. Clubs posted more in late August (about 78 times a week each) than in mid-May (about 69), yet August posts never reached as many people as May’s did.

And follower growth didn’t seem to depend on posting at all. Hull City grew its following by 53.1% while posting 40 times a week. Coventry City grew almost as much, 48.2%, on fewer than seven. Meanwhile, Manchester City, the busiest poster, grew by just 1.79%.

How did Instagram engagement move with the season’s big moments?

• May: Engagement on Instagram rose from 0.320% in April to 0.480%. It was an emotional month: Arsenal won the title, Pep Guardiola and Mohamed Salah said goodbye on the final day, and Arsenal lost the Champions League final on penalties. All five platforms peaked in May.
• June: When the World Cup kicked off on June 11, club accounts lost some of their audience’s attention. Engagement slipped to 0.377%, and every other platform dipped too.
• August: Engagement rose from 0.398% in July to 0.455% as the new season started on August 21, making August the second-best month of the year.

Recommendations

Decide what you’re optimizing for before you set your posting volume. If you want reach, the data points to posting more: Manchester United and Liverpool lead on reach per post while posting over 80 times a week. If you want engagement, the picture flips. Coventry City leads with fewer than seven posts a week.

Here’s what I recommend: pick one main goal for each month, set your volume to match, and check reach per post as you go. If more posts stop bringing more reach, as happened to clubs in August, that’s your sign to hold back and put the effort into fewer, stronger posts.

Premier League Performance on Facebook

On Facebook, May was the high point for engagement. The average engagement rate hit 0.160%, its best of the year. From there it slid, ending at 0.0728% in October, the lowest of the ten months.

Reach followed its own path. August was the busiest month for posting, yet each post reached the fewest people of the year, about 51,268 on average. So the month clubs posted the most was also the month each post did the least.

Which club has the highest engagement rate on Facebook?

Coventry City, at 0.427%, ahead of Fulham at 0.383%.

Facebook moved with the season like the other platforms. Engagement rose from 0.121% in April to 0.160% in May, the month Aston Villa won the Europa League and Arsenal won the title. It dipped to 0.113% during the June World Cup, then picked up to 0.139% in August.

The summer is where things got interesting. Clubs more than doubled their posting, from about 30 posts a week in early June to almost 79 by late August. But each post reached fewer people as the weeks went on. Engagement held up through August, then slipped, even though clubs kept posting at that pace into the autumn.

You see the same thing club by club. Manchester United reaches the most people per post, and it posts about 58 times a week. That’s less than Arsenal (about 81) and far less than Manchester City (102). Manchester City, the busiest club on Facebook, has an engagement rate of just 0.0431%.

Engagement and follower growth don’t always go together, either. Coventry City has the highest engagement rate, posting 37 times a week, yet its following barely moved (0.00678%). The clubs that grew the most were Hull City (32.8%), Fulham (26.4%) and AFC Bournemouth (25.5%).

How did Facebook engagement move with the season's big moments?

• May: Facebook engagement rose from 0.121% in April to 0.160%. Fans had plenty to react to, with Aston Villa winning the Europa League and Arsenal clinching the title. Every other platform rose in May too, so this was the whole season peaking, not just Facebook.
• June: Once the World Cup started on June 11, fans’ attention moved to national teams. Club engagement on Facebook dropped to 0.113%.
• August: Engagement climbed back, from 0.105% in July to 0.139%, as the new Premier League season kicked off on August 21.

Recommendations

On Facebook, more posts didn’t mean more reach. Over the summer, clubs more than doubled their weekly posting, and each post reached fewer people. Manchester United, meanwhile, reaches the most people per post while posting far less than Manchester City.

Here’s what I’d do: track your weekly post count and reach per post side by side. If posting goes up and reach per post goes down, cut back and test fewer, stronger posts for a few weeks.

Premier League Performance on X

On X, May was the outlier. The average engagement rate by followers jumped from 0.0794% in April to 0.204%, and impressions per post reached 774,416, roughly double January’s 372,680, on fewer posts.

Which Premier League club had the highest X engagement rate in 2026?

AFC Bournemouth, at 0.311%, ahead of Ipswich Town at 0.191%.

January was X’s busiest month, with 9,602 posts and a 0.0923% rate. It held Manchester United’s sacking of Ruben Amorim on January 5 and the January transfer window, according to a Premier League transfer-window report.

May then pulled far ahead of every other month, with Arsenal’s title on May 24 and its Champions League final on May 30. The rate eased to 0.123% in June and settled at 0.123% again in August.

Did posting more lift impressions? Only up to a point. Liverpool posted the most, 130 times a week, yet ranks fourth on impressions per post at 823,179. Manchester United posted 107 times and leads. AFC Bournemouth posted 52.8 times and leads on engagement.

Brentford grew its X following the most, by 16.4%, ahead of AFC Bournemouth (10.6%) and Nottingham Forest (9.12%).

How did X engagement move with the season's big moments?

• January: X's busiest month, with 9,602 posts and a rate of 0.0923%. It held Manchester United's sacking of Ruben Amorim on January 5 and the January transfer window, according to a Premier League January 2026 transfer-window report. That is timing only, as there is no earlier month to compare with.
• May: the rate went from 0.0794% in April to 0.204%, well above every other month. The month held Arsenal's title on May 24 (Premier League) and its Champions League final loss on May 30 (Arab News). The rise coincided with those events, and every other platform rose too.
• June and August: the rate fell to 0.123% in June as the World Cup began (Flashscore). It rose from 0.109% in July to 0.123% in August as the season started on August 21 (the "2026–27 Premier League" page).

Recommendations

Check your May numbers against the X spike before you set impression targets. X's rate went from 0.0794% in April to 0.204% in May, so treat May as a peak month, not a baseline.

Premier League Performance on YouTube

Across January to October 2026, the average engagement rate by followers of Premier League club YouTube channels peaked at 0.202% in May. It hit its low of 0.116% in June, when clubs also uploaded the fewest videos (586) and drew the fewest views per video (125,455).

Which Premier League club had the highest YouTube engagement rate in 2026?

Coventry City, at 0.764%, ahead of Hull City at 0.515%.

The rate rose from 0.161% in April to 0.202% in May, fell to 0.116% in June with the World Cup, and recovered to 0.192% in August as the new season began.

On YouTube, views and volume moved together. Arsenal uploaded 24.9 videos a week and leads on views per video. Manchester United uploaded the most, 34.5 a week, and ranks fourth.

Engagement went the other way. Coventry City uploaded 8.73 videos a week and leads on both engagement and growth. Hull City, second on engagement, uploaded just 2.90.

Coventry City grew its channel the most, by 55.4%, ahead of Sunderland (20.8%) and Hull City (20.3%).

How did YouTube engagement move with the season's big moments?

• May: YouTube engagement climbed from 0.161% in April to 0.202%. Aston Villa’s Europa League win and Arsenal’s title gave fans plenty to watch and rewatch. The other four platforms peaked in May as well.
• June: With the World Cup underway from June 11, club channels went quiet. Engagement fell to 0.116%, its lowest point of the year, and every platform dropped that month.
• August: The new season brought viewers back. Engagement jumped from 0.127% in July to 0.192% once the Premier League restarted on August 21.

Recommendations

Pair average views with engagement rate when you judge a video. Arsenal leads on views per video (619,657) with an engagement rate of 0.160%. Coventry City leads on engagement rate (0.764%) with 34,464 views per video. Each measure tells a different story.

Methodology on social media for the Premier League

All the data in this study comes from Socialinsider and covers Premier League club accounts from 1 January to 31 October 2026 (UTC). The dashboard was last updated on 11 November 2026.

Here’s how the accounts and posts break down by platform:

How each metric is calculated:

• Engagement rate by followers. For each post, we divided total interactions by the account’s follower count. We then averaged these post-level rates for each team, platform and month.
• Engagement rate by views, reach, impressions and views. Total interactions divided by total views, reach, impressions or views, multiplied by 100. Only posts with at least one play, view or impression are included.
• Average views, reach, impressions and views. The average per post (per video on YouTube). Reach and impressions are estimates.
• Posts per week. The number of posts published in a week, divided by the number of accounts that posted that week. Team figures are the average across all weeks. These numbers are approximate.
• Follower growth. The percentage increase from a team’s lowest to highest follower count during the ten months. This shows the largest gain within the period, so it can be higher than start-to-end growth if an account lost followers along the way. Combined follower growth uses the same calculation for all five platforms added together.

NOTE: The creation of this study included the usage of AI for data gathering and writing, and human checks for accuracy and landscape research.

---

FAQs on Premier League social media performance

Which Platform Had the Highest Engagement Rates?

TikTok. Its monthly average engagement rate by followers never dropped below 0.537% (April), which is higher than Instagram's best month at 0.480% (May). Facebook's best month was 0.160% and X's was 0.204%.

Does Posting More Often Raise Engagement Rate?

In this data, the clubs that post most often generally sit lower on engagement rate. On X, Arsenal posts 122 times a week with an engagement rate of 0.0635%, while AFC Bournemouth posts 52.8 times and reaches 0.311%. On TikTok, Ipswich Town posts 5.00 times a week and sits at 3.56%.