Lean in close, because we’re about to share (and answer) one of the most commonly asked questions from our Social Curator Community.

*Drum Roll Please*

“What’s the difference between a Personal, Business, and Creator account on Instagram, and which one should I use?”

Ready for the answer? Let’s get into it…

Since our recommendation differs depending on your unique situation, we'll walk you through who each kind of account is intended for, along with the pros and cons of switching accounts, so you can decide what’s best for you and your business.

There are currently two kinds of Instagram accounts:

Within the professional account type, you have two accounts to choose between:

When deciding on the best account for your needs, the first question you need to ask yourself is:

“Do I need a personal account or a professional account?”
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Let's break it down!

Description: with a Personal Account you can choose to make your account private or public, and publish posts, Stories, Reels, and videos.

Pros: They are an easy and fun way to stay connected with family, friends, businesses, and creators that you find entertaining, educational, and empowering.

Cons: The Professional Dashboard is not available for personal accounts and the direct message (DM) professional features are not available for personal accounts. This feature is only available for Instagram business and creator accounts on the Instagram mobile app.

Recommendation: If you want to increase your discoverability, engagement, and/or sales you should switch to a Professional account.

Before we go further, let’s take a look at what the Professional Dashboard is…

It’s an easy way to track your performance, access and discover professional tools, and explore educational information curated by Instagram. To access the professional dashboard, you must have a Professional (Business or Creator) account. You can access the dashboard by going to your Instagram profile and tapping "View Professional Dashboard" on the top as shown below.

Let’s take a look at the differences between Business and Creator accounts, and see which one is right for you!

Description: With a Business Account, you'll be able to access insights that can help you understand who is engaging with your business on Instagram.

Pros: You have access to the Professional Dashboard, where you can track your performance, access and discover professional tools, and explore educational information curated by Instagram. You also have the option to display or hide your business category and contact information on your profile. You’ll have access to an inbox with Primary and General tabs. You can use this inbox to organize your messages and control notifications.
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Cons: Music options: many accounts have access to Instagram’s licensed music library, but certain business accounts or types of posts do not. This is because their agreements with rights holders are intended to enable personal, non-commercial uses of music. Since music is a great way to increase your discoverability and engagement, you’ll want to consider how this impacts the videos, Reels, and Stories you create.

Description: the Creator Account on Instagram gives you a set of tools that makes it easier to control your online presence, understand your growth and manage your messages.
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Pros: A Professional Dashboard to track your performance, access and discover professional tools, and explore educational information curated by Instagram. Contact information and Category Labels (such as athlete, author, or blogger) are optional and can be turned on or off. Growth insights to understand what content helps grow your audience by mapping new and existing posts to net follower changes. Access to an inbox with Primary and General tabs. You can use this inbox to organize your messages and control notifications. Ranked Requests to sort your requests by received date or by top accounts, and Saved Replies to use shortcuts for common responses.
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Cons: No privacy option, and if you decide to switch to a personal or business account, your current insight data on Instagram will be erased.

Now, what if you or your business pivot, and your current Instagram account isn’t aligned with your needs? All you have to do is switch account types!

No matter which account you choose initially, it’s very easy to change if you decide a different kind of account would better serve your goals.

Important to note: each time you switch back to a personal account, your insights data on Instagram will be erased.

There you have it, friend! Now you know which Instagram account is best for you and your business.

Remember, no matter what kind of social media account you have, your success is and always will be rooted in your consistency. So, whether you decide to keep your Personal account, transition to a Business account, or switch to a Creator account, you MUST show up consistently to grow your business.

We’ll be over here cheering you on. We’re also available to answer any questions you may have in the Social Curator Messenger located in the lower right corner of this page!

Now that you know which Instagram account is best for you, we’ve got a game-changing challenge for you in The 30-Day Instagram Challenge. Everything you need to produce content and positive results for your business in just 30 days (and beyond) can be found in that Action Plan. What are you waiting for? Dive in!