Comparison9 min readPublished September 5, 2026

IGDetective Alternatives: 6 Instagram Activity Trackers Compared (2026)

Looking for IGDetective alternatives? Compare six Instagram activity trackers on refresh frequency, notifications, profiles per plan, published pricing and refunds.

IGDetective Alternatives: 6 Instagram Activity Trackers Compared (2026)

IGDetective is a web-based Instagram activity tracker that works from a public username with no login. According to its site, it takes timed snapshots of a profile and compares them over time to show a chronological list of who the profile follows and who follows it, unfollows, stories with an archive, and likes and comments publicly attached to the profile's posts. Its free tier covers one profile with limited manual refreshes; Premium covers up to 5 profiles with one automatic refresh every 24 hours plus unlimited manual refreshes, at 30 per month.

People look for IGDetective alternatives for a few reasons. The most common is cadence: a daily automatic refresh means a follow that happens in the morning may not be noticed until the next day unless you refresh by hand. Others want a native mobile app, a yearly price, a bigger public rating history, or simply something narrower and cheaper that just does follows and unfollows well.

This guide compares six alternatives using only what each product states on its own site or store listing. For hourly follow and unfollow tracking with notifications and a published price, The Ick is the closest match. For engagement reports, Snoopreport and DolphinRadar cover more categories but on a weekly schedule.

What IGDetective states about itself

To compare fairly, here is what igdetective.com says, in its own terms:

Its methodology page also states a limit that applies to every snapshot tracker, including all the tools below: if a profile follows and unfollows the same account between two refreshes, that round-trip will not appear. The shorter the interval, the less you miss.

The six alternatives at a glance

ToolAutomatic refreshTracks likes/commentsProfiles per planPublished price (as stated)
The IckEvery hourNoUp to 58.99 USD/week or 34.99 USD/year (US)
LurkOnce per hour (FAQ)Not mentionedUnlimited1 USD first week; regular price at checkout
FollowSpyNot published (real-time claim)Not statedStarter: 2. Premium: unlimited30.00 or 35.00 USD/week
SnoopreportWeekly reportsLikes yes; comments not statedPersonal: 2, up to 100From 0.99/week; 4.99/month Personal (App Store)
DolphinRadarWeekly reportsYes, both14.49/month or 32.99/year
iFollowTrackerNone stated (per-search)Not mentionedMetered by searches3.99/month or 5.99 single-month pass

1. The Ick

The Ick is the natural alternative if you liked IGDetective's shape, up to 5 public profiles with no login and snapshot comparison, but want it faster and simpler. Each tracked profile is checked every hour, automatically, and a push notification is sent when something changes. It records new follows and unfollows in both directions: who the profile started or stopped following, and who started or stopped following them. The most recent follows are sorted by recency, follower and following counts are tracked, and every event sits in a history timeline. A gender breakdown of recent follows is included.

It does not track likes, comments or stories. If those were the reason you used IGDetective, The Ick will not replace them.

Platforms: a web app at theick.io that works in Safari on iPhone and can be added to the home screen, and an Android app on Google Play rated 4.6 with over 192,000 ratings. Not currently on the Apple App Store. Pricing is on the pricing page: 8.99 USD per week or 34.99 USD per year in the US, lower in many countries, payable by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, cancel anytime. You can type any public username into theick.io and see a 5-step analysis before subscribing. The instagram recent follow tracker page explains what the feed shows.

Best for: people who want to know within the hour, not the next day.

2. Lurk

Lurk is available on iOS, Android and the web. According to its FAQ it scans tracked profiles once per hour and shows follows sorted newest first, and a subscription covers an unlimited number of public accounts. It also bundles a free anonymous story viewer with story notifications. Unfollow tracking is not mentioned on its homepage, although its App Store description refers to a history of every change.

Its pricing page does not list numbers; it says prices vary by region and are shown at checkout, and that new users start at 1 USD for the first week. Its App Store listing shows Lurk Premium Weekly at 19.99 USD, Yearly at 119.99 USD and Lifetime at 249.99 USD. Ratings: 3.1 from 34 on the App Store and 4.3 from 531 on Google Play.

Best for: hourly checks on many accounts with a native iPhone app.

3. FollowSpy

FollowSpy is a web tool that shows follows and followers in chronological order, says it can tell you who unfollowed an account and when, sends notifications on new activity and includes an anonymous story viewer. It describes its data as real-time but does not publish a check interval, so it is hard to say whether it is faster or slower than IGDetective's daily refresh.

Plans are Starter (up to 2 accounts) at 30.00 USD per week and Premium (unlimited accounts) at 35.00 USD per week, with 12.00 and 14.00 USD shown on a quarterly toggle under a 60 percent off label. Refunds within 30 days only if the service failed to work as described; a single use disqualifies.

Best for: unlimited accounts with story viewing, if the weekly price suits you.

4. Snoopreport

Snoopreport is web-based with an iOS app and says it has been trusted by 500,000+ users since 2017. Like IGDetective it goes beyond follows: it tracks likes on photos and reels, follows and unfollows, activity timing and patterns, and offers AI summaries on its AI plans. Unlike IGDetective it is report-based: weekly and monthly reports, with the App Store listing saying reports arrive every Thursday following the week in which tracking begins. There is no manual refresh described.

The homepage advertises just 0.99 a week; App Store in-app purchases run from Personal at 4.99 per month (up to 2 accounts) to Professional plus AI at 69.99 per month (up to 100 accounts). Its full web pricing table could not be loaded. Private accounts cannot be tracked.

Best for: likes tracking and activity patterns on a weekly schedule.

5. DolphinRadar

DolphinRadar works entirely in a browser, never asks for your credentials, and tracks six categories: new follows, unfollows, post likes, comments, story engagement and follower count changes, plus a Stories and Highlights downloader. It is the most complete on engagement, but Activity Analytics reports refresh once per week, the first report takes about a week, and each subscription covers exactly one account.

Published prices: 4.49 per month, 10.99 per quarter or 32.99 per year, shown with a dollar sign. Reports are generally non-refundable once delivered, with limited exceptions.

Best for: a full engagement report on one account, when speed does not matter.

6. iFollowTracker

iFollowTracker is a web research tool with a Chrome extension linked from its navigation. It works without a login and offers recent follows and following lists, follower lists, an Unfollow Tracker that compares public follower snapshots over time, a public story viewer and follower export. There is no automatic monitoring or notification described; plans are metered at 30 successful searches per day and up to 1,000 operations per billing period. It also warns that follow ordering should be treated as directional rather than an official audit log.

Prices: Monthly Subscription 3.99 per month or Single-Month Pass 5.99 for 30 days, no renewal. Refunds cover duplicate charges, processor errors and failed lookups, not successful searches.

Best for: occasional cheap lookups where you do the comparing yourself.

Choosing between them

If the thing you want from IGDetective is the free tier, none of the alternatives here except iFollowTracker's low monthly price and The Ick's free preview come close on cost, and IGDetective's free tier remains a reasonable way to look at one profile occasionally.

If the thing you want is speed, the ranking by stated cadence is clear: The Ick and Lurk check hourly, IGDetective Premium checks daily (with manual refreshes), Snoopreport and DolphinRadar report weekly, and FollowSpy, RecentFollow-style tools and iFollowTracker publish no interval. For follows and unfollows specifically, an hourly check catches short-lived follows that a daily check misses, which is the whole point if you are watching for a follow-then-unfollow pattern. The instagram unfollow tracker page explains that side, and can you see who someone unfollowed on Instagram covers what is and is not possible.

If the thing you want is breadth, DolphinRadar and Snoopreport are the only tools here that state they track likes, and DolphinRadar is the only one that states comments and story engagement. IGDetective itself remains a strong middle option between them and the pure follow trackers.

Two limits apply to all of them. Private accounts cannot be tracked, because their lists are visible only to approved followers. And Instagram does not show following lists in a reliable order, which is why every tool here relies on snapshots and timestamps; see how Instagram follow trackers work and the wider best Instagram follower tracker apps roundup.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best IGDetective alternative?

For faster follow and unfollow tracking, The Ick is the closest alternative: it also covers up to 5 public profiles with no login, but checks every hour instead of every 24 hours and sends push notifications. If likes and comments tracking is why you chose IGDetective, Snoopreport and DolphinRadar offer that in weekly reports.

How often does IGDetective refresh?

According to its methodology page, free users can refresh manually on demand subject to fair-use limits, and Premium users get one automatic refresh per tracked profile every 24 hours plus unlimited manual refreshes. The Ick checks each profile every hour automatically.

How much does IGDetective cost?

Its subscribe page shows 30 per month, described as 1 per day, billed monthly with a 7-day refund and cancel anytime. A weekly option is shown but its price did not load in the content we could access. A free tier covers one profile with limited manual refreshes.

Which IGDetective alternatives track likes and comments?

Snoopreport states it tracks likes on photos and reels, and DolphinRadar states it tracks post likes, comments and story engagement. Both deliver weekly reports. The Ick, Lurk and FollowSpy focus on follows, unfollows and followers.

Can any IGDetective alternative see a private account?

No. IGDetective states it cannot access private accounts, and every alternative here works with public profiles only. A private account's lists are visible only to its approved followers.

See who they follow on Instagram

Type any public Instagram username to see their most recent follows, then get notified every time it changes.

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