The Ick vs Lurk: Which Instagram Follow Tracker Is Better? (2026)

How each one works

Both tools work the same way at the core. You enter a public Instagram username, the service reads that profile's public following and follower lists on a schedule, and it compares each new snapshot to the previous one. Anything that appears or disappears between two snapshots becomes an event: a new follow, an unfollow, a new follower or a lost follower. Neither tool asks for your Instagram password and neither one notifies the person being tracked.

The Ick checks each tracked profile every hour and records changes in both directions. You can see who the profile started following, who they stopped following, who started following them and who unfollowed them. Every event has a timestamp, the most recent follows are sorted by recency, and you get a push notification when something changes. There is also a gender breakdown of the profile's recent follows, which is a quick way to spot a pattern.

Lurk, according to its FAQ, also scans tracked profiles once per hour and shows follows sorted newest first. Its homepage focuses on recent follows and on an anonymous story viewer, and its comparison page lists story notifications as a feature. Unfollow tracking, likes and comments are not mentioned on its homepage, so treat those as unknown rather than absent.

If you want the background on how snapshot-based trackers work, read how Instagram follow trackers work.

Pricing in detail

The Ick publishes its prices on the pricing page: 8.99 USD per week or 34.99 USD per year in the US, with lower prices in many countries. You can pay on the web by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, and cancel at any time. The yearly plan works out to well under 1 USD per week, which matters if you plan to keep tracking for more than a couple of months.

Lurk's pricing page does not list numbers. It says prices vary by region and are displayed in your local currency at checkout, and offers a weekly plan and an annual plan. Its homepage and FAQ say Lurk starts at just 1 USD for your first week. What you pay after that first week is not stated on the site. Its App Store listing does show in-app purchases of 19.99 USD for Lurk Premium Weekly, 119.99 USD for Lurk Premium Yearly and 249.99 USD for Premium Lifetime Access. Web and app prices may differ, so check the checkout screen before you commit.

Refund terms also differ. Lurk's refund page says web purchases can be refunded within 14 days of the initial purchase provided you have not made extensive use of the service, decided case by case, and that cancelling stops the next cycle without refunding the current one. With The Ick you cancel from Settings whenever you like and keep access until the end of the period you already paid for.

Who each one is best for

The Ick is a good fit if you want to watch a few specific people closely. It is built around a small number of profiles, hourly checks, both-direction follow and unfollow detection, and notifications, and it tells you the price before you start. iPhone users use the web app at theick.io, which works in Safari and can be added to the home screen; Android users can use the Google Play app or the web.

Lurk is a better fit if the number of accounts matters more than depth. Its subscription covers an unlimited number of public accounts, and it has a native iOS app in the App Store. It also bundles an anonymous story viewer, which The Ick does not offer.

For a broader look at the category, see the best Instagram follower tracker apps and the Lurk alternatives roundup.

What Lurk does that The Ick does not, and the reverse

In Lurk's favour: unlimited tracked accounts on one subscription, an anonymous story viewer, story notifications and a native iOS app. If you need any of those, The Ick will not replace it.

In The Ick's favour: a published price you can see before checkout, tracking of unfollows as well as follows, and follower-side changes (who started or stopped following the profile) as well as following-side changes, a gender breakdown of recent follows, and a much larger base of public ratings on Google Play. Tracking history is kept for as long as your subscription is active.

One note on Lurk's marketing. Its comparison pages describe The Ick as iOS-only or mobile-only with no web app. That is not accurate today: The Ick's full app runs on the web at theick.io, has an Android app on Google Play, and is not currently on the Apple App Store. If you land on a page that says otherwise, the official app page explains where The Ick is actually available.