Sort Instagram Reels by Views, Likes & Engagement

The Problem: Instagram Doesn't Let You Sort Reels

If you've ever tried to figure out which of your Instagram Reels performed best, you know how frustrating it is. Instagram only shows your Reels in reverse chronological order—newest first. There's no way to sort by views, likes, or engagement rate.

This means:

• You can't quickly identify your top-performing content
• You have to manually scroll through dozens or hundreds of Reels to find your best ones
• You can't easily analyze competitor content to see what works in your niche
• You waste hours clicking through each Reel to check its view count
• You miss patterns in your viral content because you can't see them side-by-side

For content creators, this is more than an inconvenience. Without being able to sort and analyze your Reels, you're flying blind. You can't replicate your successes or identify what's underperforming.

The Solution: One-Click Sorting with IShort

IShort is a free Chrome extension that adds powerful sorting capabilities to Instagram. Once installed, you can sort any public Instagram profile's Reels by:

Sort Option	What It Shows	Use Case
Views	Reels with the most views at the top	Find your most viral content
Likes	Reels with the most likes at the top	Identify content your audience loved
Comments	Reels with the most comments at the top	Find discussion-worthy topics
Date	Reels in chronological order (newest or oldest)	Track performance over time

All sorting happens instantly—no waiting, no page reloads. Just click the sort button and your Reels are reorganized immediately.

How IShort's Sorting Works

When you visit any Instagram profile's Reels tab with IShort installed, the extension automatically collects data as you scroll. Here's what you see for each Reel:

Why Sorting Matters for Content Creators

Being able to sort your Reels isn't just a nice-to-have feature. It's essential for data-driven content strategy. Here's what you can do once you can sort your content:

1. Identify Your Best Content

Sort by views to instantly see your top 10 Reels. These are your proven winners—the content that resonated with your audience and got pushed by Instagram's algorithm. Study these Reels to understand what made them successful.

Look for patterns in:

• Video format (talking head, voiceover, text overlay, etc.)
• Topic or theme
• Hook in the first 3 seconds
• Video length (under 15 seconds vs. 30-60 seconds)
• Audio choice (original audio vs. trending sounds)
• Posting time and day of week

2. Replicate Your Success

Once you know what works, you can intentionally create more content in that style. If your top 5 Reels are all under 30 seconds with text overlays and trending audio, that's a clear signal to make more content like that.

IShort's analytics dashboard takes this further by showing you aggregated insights like:

• Best posting times based on your historical performance
• Average views by video duration (short vs. medium vs. long)
• Original audio vs. licensed music performance
• Top-performing hashtags by average views

3. Find Underperformers

Sorting by views in ascending order (lowest to highest) shows your worst-performing Reels. This is just as valuable as knowing your best content. Ask yourself:

• Did these Reels have weak hooks that caused people to scroll past?
• Were they posted at a bad time (late night, off-day)?
• Did they use unpopular or oversaturated hashtags?
• Was the topic outside your audience's core interests?

Understanding what doesn't work is critical to avoid repeating mistakes.

4. Analyze Competitor Content

IShort works on any public Instagram profile, not just your own. This means you can analyze your competitors' top Reels to see:

• What content formats work in your niche
• Which topics get the most engagement
• How their best content differs from their average content
• Gaps in their content strategy that you can fill

This competitive intelligence is invaluable for staying ahead in crowded niches like fitness, fashion, food, or business coaching.

How to Sort Instagram Reels with IShort (Step-by-Step)

1. Install the IShort Chrome Extension Visit the Chrome Web Store and click "Add to Chrome." The extension is free and installs in seconds.
2. Navigate to an Instagram Profile Go to any public Instagram profile (yours or a competitor's) and click on the Reels tab. You'll see the standard Instagram grid view.
3. Scroll to Load Reels Scroll down the page to load as many Reels as you want to analyze. IShort collects data as you scroll, so the more you scroll, the more Reels you can sort.
4. Open the IShort Extension Click the IShort icon in your Chrome toolbar (top-right corner). This opens the extension popup with all your collected Reels.
5. Choose Your Sort Option At the top of the popup, click the sort dropdown and select your preferred sorting method: Views, Likes, Comments, or Date. Your Reels are instantly reorganized.
6. Analyze Your Results Scroll through your sorted Reels. Click on any Reel for detailed insights, including performance score, rank, Outlier Score, and AI-generated tips (Premium plans only).

That's it. No configuration, no setup, no API keys. Just install, scroll, and sort.

IShort vs. Manual Sorting: Side-by-Side Comparison

Task	Manual Method	With IShort
Find your top 10 Reels by views	Click through 50+ Reels one by one, write down view counts, compare manually	Sort by views in 1 click
Identify outlier viral content	Calculate average views, manually compare each Reel	Outlier Score badges show 2x, 3x, 5x performers automatically
Analyze competitor's best content	Not possible without visiting each Reel individually	Sort any public profile by views or engagement
Track engagement rate trends	Manual spreadsheet tracking, time-consuming	Engagement % badge on every Reel
Export data for reporting	Copy/paste each Reel's stats manually	One-click CSV export with all metrics

The time savings are significant. What used to take 30-60 minutes now takes 30 seconds.

Advanced Sorting Features (Premium Plans)

IShort's free plan includes sorting by views, likes, comments, and date. If you upgrade to a Hobby, Creator, or Agency plan, you unlock additional sorting capabilities:

Viral Score (0-100)

Premium plans calculate a proprietary Viral Score for each Reel based on multiple factors:

• Views relative to follower count
• Engagement rate (likes + comments / views)
• Growth velocity (how quickly views accumulated)
• Reach multiplier (views from non-followers)

This single score makes it easy to compare Reels of different ages and follower counts. A Reel with 10K views and a 95 Viral Score likely performed better (relative to your account) than one with 50K views and a 60 score.

Multi-Metric Sorting

Premium users can sort by multiple metrics at once. For example, sort by views first, then by engagement rate as a tiebreaker. This surfaces Reels that are both viral and highly engaging—the perfect combination.

Custom Filters

Filter your Reels before sorting:

• Date range (e.g., only show Reels from the last 30 days)
• Duration range (e.g., only Reels under 30 seconds)
• Audio type (original audio vs. licensed music)
• Hashtag usage (Reels that used specific hashtags)

Combine filters and sorting to answer questions like: "What was my best-performing Reel under 15 seconds posted in January using original audio?"

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sort Instagram Reels by views natively?

No. Instagram does not provide any native sorting functionality for Reels. They are displayed in chronological order only. IShort adds one-click sorting by views, likes, comments, engagement rate, and post date.

Does IShort work on any Instagram profile?

Yes. IShort works on any public Instagram profile, including your own account and competitor accounts. This makes it ideal for competitive analysis and benchmarking. It does not work on private accounts unless you follow them and they approve your follow request.

How does the Outlier Score work?

The Outlier Score shows how much a Reel outperforms your average. IShort calculates your average views across all collected Reels, then compares each individual Reel to that average. For example, if your average Reel gets 5,000 views and one Reel has 15,000 views, it gets a 3x Outlier Score badge. This helps you quickly identify viral content that significantly exceeded your baseline performance.

Is IShort free to use?

Yes. IShort's Free plan includes sorting by views, likes, comments, and date. You can collect and sort unlimited Reels on any public profile. Premium plans (Hobby, Creator, Agency) unlock additional features like Viral Score, AI-generated insights, analytics dashboards, and CSV export.

Can I sort someone else's Reels (competitors)?

Absolutely. IShort works on any public Instagram profile. Simply navigate to a competitor's profile, scroll their Reels tab, and open IShort. You can sort their content just like your own. This is one of the most powerful features for competitive research.

Does IShort store my Instagram data?

IShort stores collected Reel data locally in your browser's storage (per Instagram account). Nothing is sent to external servers. All data processing happens locally on your device. You can clear stored data at any time from the extension settings.

How many Reels can I sort at once?

There's no limit. IShort collects data as you scroll. If you scroll through 100 Reels, you can sort all 100. If you scroll through 500, you can sort all 500. The more you scroll, the more data you collect for sorting.

Can I export sorted Reels data?

Yes. Premium plans include one-click CSV export. The exported file includes all collected metrics: URL, caption, views, likes, comments, engagement rate, duration, post date, hashtags, mentions, audio type, video dimensions, and more. Perfect for client reports or deeper analysis in Excel/Google Sheets.

Does sorting affect Instagram's algorithm?

No. IShort is read-only. It collects and displays data but doesn't interact with Instagram's platform (no likes, comments, follows, or posts). Your sorting activity is invisible to Instagram and has zero impact on your account or the algorithm.

What's the difference between sorting by views and sorting by engagement?

Sorting by views shows Reels with the highest reach—the content that got seen by the most people. Sorting by engagement rate (likes + comments / views) shows the content that resonated most with viewers. A Reel with 100K views and 2% engagement may be less valuable than one with 50K views and 5% engagement, depending on your goals. High views = broad reach. High engagement = strong connection.

Final Thoughts: Why Every Creator Needs Sorting

If you're serious about growing on Instagram, you need to understand what content works. And you can't understand what works if you can't see it sorted by performance.

IShort gives you that clarity. In 30 seconds, you can see your top 10 Reels. In 5 minutes, you can identify patterns in your viral content. In 10 minutes, you can analyze a competitor's strategy.

The extension is free, installs in seconds, and works on any public profile. There's no reason not to try it.