TikTok photo carousels vs. videos: what the data says about engagement
By Harmony Crafted · · 6 min read
Is it worth posting photo carousels on a video-first platform? Two independent analytics companies have looked at large samples of TikTok posts. Their findings point the same way on engagement rate, with important caveats.
Fanpage Karma (2025): ~700,000 posts
Fanpage Karma analysed almost 700,000 TikTok and Instagram posts published between January 1 and May 31, 2025, comparing reach, engagement, likes and shares (source). On TikTok it found:
- Carousel reach was only about 3% higher than video reach — roughly the same.
- Carousel engagement rate was more than 81% higher, i.e. about 1.81× the interactions of video content.
- Carousels received almost 82% more likes.
- Shares were about a third lower for carousels than for videos.
Metricool (2024): 87,600 accounts
Metricool's third annual TikTok Benchmark Study analysed 87,600 personal and professional accounts, 1,001,817 videos and 73,388 images and carousels posted between May and October 2024 (source). It reported:
- Videos receive almost 60% more interactions than images and carousels.
- But images and carousels surpass videos' engagement ratio by more than 25%: they reach a smaller audience, and that audience interacts more.
- Accounts post images and carousels far less often than videos — on average barely once a week.
How to read these numbers
- Engagement rate ≠ total reach. Both studies show carousels converting viewers into likes at a higher rate; neither shows carousels reaching dramatically more people.
- Videos still lead on shares (Fanpage Karma) and on raw interaction count (Metricool). If distribution via shares is your goal, video remains strong.
- Selection effects. Fewer carousels are posted, and the accounts that post them may differ from typical video posters. These are observational comparisons, not controlled experiments.
- Your audience is the real test. Compare your own carousels with your own videos over the same period.
Measure it on your own account
CarouselStats' carousel analytics takes a TikTok username and reports views, likes, comments, saves and engagement rate per carousel, highlights posts above the creator's median, and extracts on-slide text with OCR so you can see which hooks perform. You can also download carousels you want to study.
Related: carousel design tips.