LinkedIn post format: which one gets reach (958 posts)
You want to know which LinkedIn post format gets the most engagement. Most advice out there relies on informal observations or LinkedIn's own publications, and LinkedIn has every reason to push video. Here's what the actual numbers look like across 958 posts measured on 5 active LinkedIn accounts from December 2020 to September 2026.
Methodology: what do these numbers measure?
The data comes from 958 LinkedIn posts with full stats, on 5 active accounts tracked in Never Boring AI between December 2020 and September 2026 (Never Boring AI internal data, September 2026). Each post is classified by format as declared by LinkedIn: text, image, document (carousel), video. The metrics used are reactions (likes and others), comments and impressions. Reposts are excluded. Impressions are those declared by LinkedIn Analytics, not estimates.
LinkedIn post formats compared, with the numbers
Here are the averages across the full period: → Video (75 posts): 124 reactions, 31 comments, 3,254 impressions on average. → Image (662 posts): 70 reactions, 20 comments, 3,975 impressions on average. → Document / carousel (89 posts): 58 reactions, 14 comments, 3,462 impressions on average. → Text only (132 posts): 36 reactions, 7 comments, 2,430 impressions on average. Source: linkedin_stats_posts, Never Boring AI, 958 posts measured on 5 active accounts, December 2020 - September 2026.
Which LinkedIn post format gets the most impressions?
Video wins on reactions, but image wins on impressions. An image post is seen by more people on average (3,975 vs 3,254 for video). This is partly explained by 662 image posts vs 75 videos: the 5 tracked accounts publish far more in image format, and their most active audiences are used to it. Video gets more reactions because it creates more engagement when it lands, not necessarily because it gets wider distribution.
Carousel (document) is also more nuanced than it looks. It gets 58 reactions and 3,462 impressions, lower than image on both metrics. Guides presenting carousel as LinkedIn's king format rely on data from 2021-2023, when the algorithm actively boosted it. In 2026, across these 5 accounts, image leads carousel.
Which format to choose when you post on your own
For a solopreneur or freelance publishing alone, the useful hierarchy is: image is the format to master first (volume, impressions, decent reactions, solo-produceable). Video is worth the investment if you make it regularly and your audience responds to it. Carousel justifies its production time only when the content cannot be said in one image or text. Text only remains valid for posts with strong narrative anchoring, where a visual adds nothing.
Tracking your own numbers by format
When you activate results tracking in Never Boring AI, the tool pulls your LinkedIn stats post by post. You see your own averages by format, not just general benchmarks. If your text-only posts outperform your images, it's your profile that matters, not the 5-account average above. The stats are there to calibrate your strategy on your audience, not to replicate what works in general.
Put a word in bold in your post
After the format, the formatting: this free tool puts your words in bold or italics and shows you the preview before "… more", on desktop and on mobile.
What about emojis in the post?
How many to use, which ones show up most in real posts, and the copy-paste list.
Reading your LinkedIn numbers the right way
Impressions, members reached, engagement rate: our LinkedIn analytics guide explains what each number means and how to calculate your engagement rate, with a reference point and its data base.
The LinkedIn numbers worth knowing in 2026
Members, company figures, and 1,370 measured posts: impressions, engagement, length, with their method and limits.
Track your LinkedIn results in Never Boring AI
Results tracking is included in the Creator plan. Connect your LinkedIn account once, and Never Boring AI pulls impressions, reactions and comments for each post. You see what works on your audience, not a general average.
What questions come up most often?
The questions that keep coming up on this topic, and how we answer them.
Video leads with 124 reactions on average, ahead of image (70), document (58) and text (36). These figures come from 958 posts measured on 5 active accounts between 2020 and 2026 (Never Boring AI internal data).
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