For non-celebrities, Instagram is a tool to stay connected, share memories, and make friends. But celebrities and influencers can make a living just by posting content or paid ads. NetCredit created an algorithm to estimate the highest-earning influencers on Instagram worldwide from various countries, where the company first built a list of the most followed stars from each country and used numbers from Hopper, an Instagram scheduling platform, to estimate the "fee per ad" for celebrities in each country. NetCredit then calculated the number of sponsored posts each influencer had in 2021 and multiplied it by the known or estimated ad fee. The local and global pop star Justin Bieber topped the list in Canada, earning $4.43 million USD from 13 Instagram posts in 2021. Wildlife photographer Paul Nicklen was the second highest Instagrammer in Canada, earning $2.3 million USD from the app in 2021. While Bieber is the highest-paid influencer in Canada, his earnings are just a drop in the bucket compared to the rest of the world. In the United States, Ellen DeGeneres sponsored nearly one Instagram post, totaling about $33.73 million USD annually. This makes her the highest-earning influencer in North America, but she ranks fourth globally, according to NetCredit. Also, the top two global Instagram influencers are not actors or musicians but play the most popular sport worldwide: football. Cristiano Ronaldo, from Portugal, earned $85.2 million USD in 2021 alone from sponsored Instagram ads. The second highest earner was Argentine Lionel Messi, who earned $71.96 million USD. Indian cricket star Virat Kohli came in third, far behind Messi, earning $36.66 million USD in 2021 from Instagram content.

Among the top 10 highest-earning Instagram influencers are Beyoncé with $33.7 million, then Jisoo, a Korean singer, with $18.89 million, then Anitta, a Brazilian singer, with $16 million, and Dua Lipa from the UK with $13 million.