The Follower Retention Study: What Actually Survives 30 Days
We spent $500+ buying followers and likes from 5 services across Instagram, TikTok, then tracked the exact count on every account for 30days. Here is the real data on which providers' followers stick — and which quietly drop off.
92.6%
Avg. 30-day retention
16 pts
Best-to-worst spread
30
Days tracked each
$500+
Real money spent
Key findings
- Retention is a provider problem, not a price problem. 30-day retention ranged from 82% (UseViral) to 98% (Growthoid) — a 16-point spread across the cohort.
- The cheapest order held up best among paid social proof. Twicsy at $3.49 retained 95% at 30 days, beating orders costing nearly 3× more.
- Organic targeting produced the stickiest followers. Growthoid's organic plan held 98% but delivered the lowest volume — quality over quantity.
- Most drop-off happens after the first two weeks. Cohort-average retention slipped from 96.4% at day 7 to 92.6% at day 30, so a one-week check is not enough to judge quality.
30-day retention by service
Share of delivered followers/likes still present after 30 days. Bars are colored by our overall verdict.
The full dataset
Every order in the cohort, ranked by 30-day retention. Each row links to the full hands-on review.
| Service | Ordered | Cost | Delivered | Day 7 | Day 14 | Day 30 | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 GrowthoidInstagram | 1-month organic growth plan | $49/mo | 30-day subscription | 100% | 99% | 98% | Mixed |
 Likes.ioInstagram | 1,000 Instagram followers | $12.99 | 2 days | 99% | 98% | 97% | Recommended |
 TwicsyInstagram | 1,000 Instagram likes | $3.49 | 6 hours | 98% | 96% | 95% | Recommended |
 BuzzoidInstagram | 500 Instagram followers | $6.99 | 1 day | 95% | 93% | 91% | Recommended |
| 500 TikTok followers | $8.99 | 3 days | 90% | 86% | 82% | Mixed |
How we measured this
We placed one paid order with each service from our own test accounts and recorded the follower or like count the moment delivery completed — that count is the 100% baseline (day 0). We then re-counted at day 7, day 14, and day 30 using the platform's native count, cross-checked against a third-party counter. Retention is simply the share of the delivered units still present at each checkpoint.
Definitions. “Delivered units” are the followers or likes credited by the provider at completion, not the quantity advertised. “Retention” counts only units still present at the checkpoint; it does not measure whether they engage.
Sample & limitations. This is a pilot cohort of 5 services with one observation each, conducted in early 2026. Results vary with account age, niche, platform enforcement waves, and provider quality over time, so treat these as directional, not guarantees. One entry (Twicsy) tracked likes rather than followers and is labeled accordingly. This page is research, not financial or account-safety advice.
We publish the larger, rolling quarter-over-quarter aggregates on our benchmarks hub, and the full testing protocol on our methodology page. For the industry-wide view (median retention, price spreads, and refill-guarantee rates aggregated across every service we review), see The State of Paid Social Media Growth 2026.
Cite or link to this study
Writing about follower retention? You're welcome to reference this data. Please credit HowSociable and link back to the study.
HowSociable (2026). The Follower Retention Study: What Actually Survives 30 Days. Retrieved from https://howsociable.com/case-studies/follower-retention-study-2026
Frequently asked questions
- How is follower retention measured in this study?
- Retention is the percentage of delivered units (followers or likes) still present on the account at a checkpoint, measured against the count recorded the moment delivery completed (day 0 = 100%). We recorded the count at day 7, day 14, and day 30 using each platform's native count cross-checked against a third-party counter.
- Do purchased followers really drop off?
- Yes, to varying degrees. Across the five orders we tracked, 30-day retention ranged from 82% to 98%. Some providers held nearly every follower while others lost almost one in five within a month, so the provider matters far more than the price.
- Does a higher price mean better follower retention?
- No. In this cohort the cheapest order — Twicsy at $3.49 — held 95% of its delivered engagement at 30 days, outperforming a service costing nearly three times more. Price was not a reliable predictor of retention.
- How large is the sample, and can I cite this study?
- This is a pilot cohort of 5 services, one paid order each, tracked over 30 days in early 2026. You are welcome to cite or link to it — please credit HowSociable and link to the study URL. We are expanding it into a larger rolling dataset; the quarterly aggregates live on our benchmarks hub.
Choosing a service? Start with the data.
Our buying guides and head-to-head reviews fold this retention data into every recommendation.