Metricool published a short-video report on August 26, 2026, covering 6,177,375 videos from 375,462 Instagram, TikTok and YouTube accounts. The preview says TikTok generates up to 42% more views than Reels and more than six times Shorts, while Reels receive more redistribution. It gives neither exact fieldwork dates nor the subgroup underlying “up to.”
The production implication is not automatically moving a file to the platform reporting most views. The panel describes selected accounts and videos; businesses fund work that helps pertinent audiences understand offers and continue. Exposure definitions, audience context and adaptation costs must survive comparison.
Platform use does not measure a video’s reach
GWI and DataReportal, recorded by Statista, report monthly Instagram use at 73.5%, TikTok at 50.5% and YouTube at 49.3% among Spanish internet users aged 16–64 in Q3 2025. Application presence offers national context separate from an international publishing panel. It measures neither Shorts, Reels nor campaign exposure.
Spain: monthly use of platforms in the study
GWI, internet users aged 16–64, third quarter of 2025.
Tap or hover for details. All values are also available in the data table.
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Statista / GWI / DataReportal Digital 2026 Spain p. 89. Online panel, N unpublished in statistic details. Whole-platform use and overlapping responses, neither added nor interpreted as short-video viewing or brand inventory. Not applied to the Metricool panel or used to estimate a piece’s distribution.
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| Category | Monthly use |
|---|---|
| 73.5% | |
| TikTok | 50.5% |
| YouTube | 49.3% |
Comparison reveals differing units: a share of people uses a platform while average publications receive views. Neither converts into the other without further records. Small and established channels differ in history, language and promotion; panel volume does not guarantee equivalent conditions.
YouTube says that since March 31, 2025, a Shorts view counts a start or replay without minimum watch time . Engaged views remain for continued watching. Starts, distinct people and sustained attention are not interchangeable observations; exports retain indicator, definition and date.
Preference and availability create another choice
GWI’s favorite-platform question for Q3 2025, recorded by Statista, places Instagram at 20.7% and TikTok at 11.3%. YouTube was not offered as an answer. It cannot be assigned zero or this list treated as a ranking of all three study platforms.
Spain: stated preference for Instagram and TikTok
Two answers to the favorite-platform question, third quarter of 2025.
Tap or hover for details. All values are also available in the data table.
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Statista / GWI / DataReportal Digital 2026 Spain p. 91. Internet users aged 16–64, online panel, N unpublished. YouTube was not among options: absence does not mean 0% or inferiority. Preference measures neither intensity, buying nor video views, and is not combined with monthly use to calculate conversion or a typical audience.
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| Category | Names as favorite |
|---|---|
| 20.7% | |
| TikTok | 11.3% |
Preference can describe an application relationship without establishing understanding of a particular product. Distribution choice identifies what viewers should recognize and which information they need next. Demonstrations and entertainment pieces can receive similar figures while performing different functions.
Sharing leaves recipients partly unknown
Statista Consumer Insights supplies a third question. In Spain, 30% reported sharing other users’ posts, 17% creator posts and 12% company posts during the four weeks before each interview. Fieldwork ran from July 2024 to June 2025. These are people’s reported actions, rather than shares-per-view rates.
Spain: three ways of redistributing social content
Last four weeks of each interview, July 2024–June 2025.
Tap or hover for details. All values are also available in the data table.
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Statista Consumer Insights, N 13,006 internet users aged 18–64, multiple answers, observed series. Neither platform logs nor exclusively short video. Population and fieldwork differ from GWI 16–64 Q3 2025, without adding, dividing or constructing a common funnel. Sharing identifies neither recipients, intent nor purchases.
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| Category | Reports sharing |
|---|---|
| Other users’ posts | 30.0% |
| Creator posts | 17.0% |
| Company posts | 12.0% |
The distinction leaves content continuation open. Pieces can circulate among buyers, colleagues or people enjoying them. Visible fit or availability questions can orient responses; private sharing stays unknown. Order complaints require service rather than new-lead labels.
Adaptations are judged by explanation and continuation
Commercial ideas preserve evidence and conditions while openings, pace, text and framing change. Hiding limitations to shorten a file can improve metrics while weakening information. Legible captions, visible demonstrations and meaning without sound are practical delivery conditions rather than study findings.
Destinations continue video questions through product details, relevant answers or clearly defined enquiries. Platform clicks, actual arrivals, valid requests and paid orders differ. Own records reconcile them with appropriate permissions, without converting anonymous viewers into identified prospects or assigning causality to each link.
Recording is only part of cost. Adaptation, validation, publication, responses and updates belong in comparisons. Equivalent windows avoid favoring old videos’ lifetime activity; paid support and external events remain recorded. Changed views after edits describe development without automatically isolating script effects.
Useful decisions retain unsuccessful versions, commercial questions and continuation criteria before selecting winners. A channel resolving uncertainty can remain valuable without leading international averages. Benchmarks gain value by opening specific distribution investigations; further investment needs explanations remaining true and useful when delivered to intended audiences.
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Marian Vasile
Marian Vasile is a MarTech and growth professional. His work spans product marketing, SEO, paid advertising and deep online tracking, including behavioral analytics and attribution.