Troubleshooting Metric Discrepancies Between Sprout Social and Native Network Reports

This article is designed to walk you through steps to identify and resolve differences between the data displayed in Sprout Social and what appears on native social platforms. It covers common causes for missing or delayed metrics and offers best practices to ensure your reports are accurate and complete.

What are the most common causes for data discrepancies between Sprout Social reporting and Native Network reports?

When you notice a difference between the metrics in your Sprout Social reports and the native analytics of a social network (e.g., Facebook Insights, Instagram Insights, X Analytics), it's often due to one or more of the following factors:

• Data Collection Methodologies
  • Sprout collects data in two different ways. The Lifetime methodology and the Reporting Period Methodology.
  • The Lifetime methodology displays information based on posts published during the selected date range and is a rolling total. This reflects the lifetime performance of the post and includes all activities that occurred during or outside of the selected date range
  • The Reporting Period methodology displays information about activities that took place during the selected date range.
  • For more detailed information on our Data Collection Methodologies, please refer to our Help Center article here: ‭Lifetime vs. Reporting Period
• API Limitations and Data Availability
  • Sprout retrieves data from each Network via their API. Each social network dictates the type of data available to third parties via its network. As an example, some networks provide demographic data, whilst others will not. Some networks send paid and organic data, while other networks only send organic data.
  • To learn more about Paid vs Organic data, review the Help Center article here: Which network Reports include organic vs. paid data?
• Data Ingestion and Collection Frequency
  • Each network has its own conditions on the frequency of updates and the amount of data that can be pulled into Sprout during each update.
  • Review our article What data is available in Reports?  for a breakdown of data ingestion and collection frequency.
• Backfill Capabilities and Limitations
  • Each network has its own conditions on the amount of time or amount of data from which Sprout can pull historical data.
  • Review our article What data is available in Reports? for a breakdown of the backfill capabilities and limitations.
• Profile Disconnections
  • If a social profile disconnects from Sprout for any reason (e.g., a password change), the platform can't collect data during the period of disconnection. This can lead to gaps in your reports and discrepancies with native analytics, which continue to track data uninterrupted.
  • Reconnecting your profile will automatically backfill data based on the network’s backfill capabilities listed in the article What data is available in Reports?
  • If you see you're still missing data based on what’s available in the article above, please reach out to our Support team, who can assist with troubleshooting your missing data and prompting a manual data backfill for you.
• Time Zone Differences
  • Sprout provides reporting in the time zone you select in Settings, wherever possible. Certain reports, however, are only available in specific time zones and don’t reflect the time zone in your Settings. Review this article Reporting Time Zones for a breakdown of what reports reflect specific time zones.

What steps can I take to troubleshoot metric discrepancies between Sprout Social reports and Native Network reports?

• Verify profile connection status
  • Make sure all your profiles are successfully connected.
  • To verify if you are experiencing any profile connection issues, click on the notification icon (bell or triangle icon) on the top right corner of Sprout > select the box ‘Profile Issues’. This provides you a list of any profiles that need reauthorizing.
  • If you are experiencing an issue reauthorizing your profile or looking for potential reasons why your profiles are disconnecting, take a look at the article How do I troubleshoot profile disconnections?.
  • Make sure to have notifications enabled for Profile Disconnections in your Notifications Settings. For more information on configuring notifications, take a look at the article How do I configure my notification settings?.
• Confirm time zone alignment
  • As certain reports are only available in specific time zones, use the chart in the article Reporting Time Zones to verify which time zone you are reading your report in compared to your native network reports.
  • Check the top-left corner of each report to see what time zone is used.
  • For the reports that are in your own account’s time zone, you can confirm or adjust your timezone by going to your Account and Settings > Settings > Personal Settings.
• Understand the metrics being compared
  • At times, you may notice a difference in native network reporting metrics vs. metrics in Sprout due to how metrics are calculated or defined.
  • To confirm how metrics are calculated per network, use our in-app built reporting resource by clicking on the overflow menu in any report (shown by the … on the top bar) and selecting Reporting Resources. You can also hover over any metric to learn more about how they are defined and calculated.
  • Compare how Sprout is calculating the metric vs how the native network is calculating the metric.
• Consider the Data Collection Method
  • When comparing Sprout reports to Native reports, ensure you are aware if the report is using Lifetime or Reporting period data. This is often indicated in the report's description or by hovering over the metric. This will help you understand if you're looking at all-time data for posts within a period or activity that occurred only within that period.
  • Want more information on Lifetime vs Reporting period data? Check out the article Lifetime vs. Reporting Period.
• Check for Data Backfill Limitations
  • If you're analyzing data for a recently connected or reconnected profile, be mindful of the backfill limitations for that specific network. Data before the connection date may be incomplete in Sprout.
  • Refer to What data is available in Reports? to confirm backfill limitations and historical data availability. 

If you've confirmed the information above and are still seeing a discrepancy or missing data, please open a Support Ticket with our team.

Best practices for accurate and complete reporting 

• Keep profiles connected: Regularly check profile connection status to avoid data gaps.
• Report consistently: Set a weekly or monthly reporting cadence to track trends over time.
• Prioritize trends: Focus on patterns and changes rather than just individual numbers.
• Set expectations: Explain potential data discrepancies to stakeholders for clarity and trust.
• Use tagging: Tag posts by campaign or theme to unlock deeper reporting insights.
• Build custom reports: Align custom reports with your KPIs for focused, consistent analysis.

FAQs

Why are my engagement numbers in Sprout different from what I see on Facebook Insights?

The Total Engagements metric in Sprout refer to the total number of reactions, comments, shares, post link clicks, and other post clicks received across your entire page on that date. 

To compare this data to your Facebook Insights, you want to sum Link Clicks + Other Clicks + Photo View + Video Play found on the "Daily Page Consumptions by type" and then Comment + Like + Link on the "Daily Positive Feedback from..." sheet.

I just connected my Instagram profile to Sprout. Why is my historical data incomplete?

Sprout starts collecting full Instagram data from the day your Business Profile is connected. Reports may appear incomplete for dates before that connection. We pull data from both Facebook and Instagram APIs, which affects how much historical data we can retrieve.

Most metrics in the Instagram Business Profiles Report can be backfilled up to 2 years, except:

• Followers / Net Follower Growth
• Following (CSV only)
• Audience Demographics
• Published Stories

In the Post Performance Report, you can see up to 10,000 posts from the last 5 years, or from when your profile became a Business Profile—whichever is later.
Stories can’t be backfilled and require an active connection on the day they’re published.

Why don’t my video views in Sprout don't match YouTube Analytics?

The data that we obtained from our network partner was reorganized in such a way that the existing method Sprout was using to gather the views metric has been retired.  The new method required by our partner will take time for it to match the native calculation; we anticipate that the data provided to Sprout will be in sync with the native network value within the next 24 to 72 hours.

A post was deleted from a social network, but it's still appearing in my Sprout report. Why?

By default, deleted posts may still appear in your reports. However, with the unified Post Performance Report, you can now use the “Hide deleted posts” toggle to remove:

• Posts deleted natively from X (Twitter)
• Posts deleted from Sprout for LinkedIn, Facebook, and Pinterest
• Instagram limitation: Due to restrictions from Instagram’s API, Instagram Business Profile posts and Stories will always appear, even if they’ve been deleted.

How can I ensure my reports are as accurate as possible?

To ensure your reports are as accurate as possible, make sure all your profiles are successfully connected. Use the filter menu and date picker in your reports to focus on specific profiles, campaigns, or time periods for more granular and relevant insights.

If I fix a profile disconnection, will Sprout backfill the data that was missed?

If you reconnect a disconnected profile, Sprout will automatically backfill any missed data, based on what the social network’s API allows.

If you’re still seeing missing data and it falls within the supported historical range, please submit a ticket so our support team can take a closer look.

To better understand what data is included in each report and how far back we can pull historical data, review the article What data is available in Reports?.

Why are my paid metrics in the Facebook Pages Report different from the Facebook & Instagram Paid Performance Report?

Sprout pulls data from two separate Facebook sources:

• Facebook Pages Report → Facebook API
• Facebook & Instagram Paid Performance Report → Facebook Marketing API

Although both come from Facebook, each API calculates metrics differently, so discrepancies between the two reports are expected. While the Facebook Pages Report includes both organic and paid activity, it only reflects interactions that occur directly on your Page. In contrast, the Paid Performance Report captures all paid activity—regardless of where it happens, even off your Page—so its metrics are often higher.

I edited a post on Facebook after it was published. Will Sprout's reports show the updated content and metrics?

Yes. If a post is edited after it was published, the post in Sprout will update to the edited content. 

Why do my Instagram Story metrics seem incomplete or different in Sprout?

There are a few reasons why your Instagram Story data may appear limited in Sprout:

• EU Privacy Regulations: In line with the EU’s ePrivacy Directive, Story Reply metrics no longer include activity from users in the European Economic Area (EEA), which may reduce reported totals.
• Minimum Reach Requirement: Instagram only provides Story data if the Story reaches at least 5 unique users.
• Reels Impressions Clarification:
  • Reels posted before Jan 1, 2024: Impressions include only initial plays.
  • Reels posted on or after Jan 1, 2024: Impressions include initial plays and replays.
• Organic Data Only: Sprout reports organic-only Instagram Story data; paid Story performance is not included.

What is the difference between Reach and Impressions in Sprout, and why do they vary from native reports?

Reach: The number of unique users who were shown your posts.

Impressions: The number of times your content was displayed to users.

They vary from native networks as not all networks provide reach to us, and most networks have different time frames for reach. For example, some networks provide it in 1-day increments, 30-day increments, and so on.

My follower count in Sprout is slightly different from what I see on the native network. Why?

Some native networks may only be pulling in Organic data, while Sprout may be pulling in Total data. For a breakdown of what data is pulling in organic vs paid, check out our Help Center article Which network Reports include organic vs. paid data?.

Why does it say I gained X amount of followers in Sprout, but when I look at the native network it says we gained Y followers?

While such discrepancies may be caused due to Data Latency or API call frequency, the way follower growth is calculated can also contribute to the perceived discrepancy. Sprout Social's reporting primarily emphasizes Net Follower Growth. This metric provides a holistic view of your audience change by calculating Net Followers minus Unfollowers. Other networks' native analytics can present follower data in multiple ways, so you might be viewing the gross number of new followers you've gained in a specific period, without the number of unfollows being subtracted.

I boosted a post on Instagram, but the paid data isn't showing up in my Sprout reports. What's wrong?

For Instagram posts in the Post Performance Report, only organic data is available. Instagram doesn't provide paid data at the post level.

To view your Instagram paid performance, go to: Reports > Paid by Network > Facebook & Instagram Paid Performance, then filter for your Instagram-related campaigns. Make sure your Facebook Ad Account is connected to access this data.

Why are my Competitor Report metrics different from what I see when I visit their public page?

There are a few reasons why you may see different metrics in your Competitor report compared to their public page. These include: 

1. Data Collection Limitations: Sprout can only track public activity and metrics that are available via the social network’s API. Some post types (like Facebook album posts, multi-image posts, and Reels) may be excluded due to API limitations, so the numbers may not match what you see on the public page.
2. Ads and Boosted Posts: Ads aren't counted in Competitor Reports, but boosted posts are included. This can cause differences if the public page displays metrics that include ad activity.
3. Timing and Update Frequency: Sprout starts gathering data for a competitor only after you add them, and it may take a few hours to a few days for metrics to appear. Metrics are not retroactively backfilled for all periods, so you may see less historical data than what’s visible on the public page.
4. Metric Definitions: Metrics in Sprout may be calculated differently than what is shown natively. For example, Sprout may use different definitions for engagement or may only include organic data, while the public page may show a combined total.
5. Time Zone Differences: Metrics may be attributed to different dates depending on the time zone used in the report versus the public page.
6. Privacy Settings and Data Availability: Some competitor profiles with high privacy settings may not be fully discoverable or trackable by Sprout, leading to incomplete or missing data.

Why don’t I see any past data in my Competitor Reports?

For most Competitor Report data, we can't backfill historical data based on network limitations. You may see some Facebook and Instagram "Top Posts" on your report, but for all other data, we'll generally only show data from the point of tracking forward.

What happens to my data reporting if a social network's API has a major outage?

If the social network’s API goes down, Sprout is unable to collect data during that time. Once the API is restored, Sprout automatically attempts to backfill the missing data.
The success of this backfill depends entirely on the network’s API capabilities and limitations.
There are limits to what can be recovered.  Some networks, like YouTube, only allow backfilling for a limited time window (e.g., 30 days for certain metrics).

If the API doesn't allow historical retrieval, some data may be permanently lost.
In some cases, reconnecting your profile after an outage may help restore data, but this still depends on what the network allows.

I archived an old post. Will its data disappear from my Sprout reports?

Data from archived posts will still show in your Sprout reports as well as display the metrics that were pulled in while the post was active.