What is the difference?

Followers vs Subscribers

Followers

Subscribers

What is it?

Followers is the number of users who have chosen to follow another user’s or company’s posts, such as via Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram. It is a quantitative metric used to gauge how well you are building an audience and community around your brand.

Subscribers counts the number of paid or non-paid users with active, periodic access to a product or service. The metric applies to subscription-based business models including SaaS, media, telecommunications, and entertainment, and captures total access holders at a point in time regardless of payment status.

Who is it for?

Social Media Marketer

Marketing Manager

Sales Manager

Formula

ƒ Count(Followers)

ƒ Count(Subscribers)

Example

Your launch a page for your business on LinkedIn. In the first six months from the launch of your page, you share content that attracts engagement and follows from users. Your page receives 5,000 follows. This means that your page's Followers count is 5,000.

A SaaS company ends the quarter with 4,200 paid subscribers and 1,800 freemium (non-paid) subscribers, for a total of 6,000 subscribers.

Formula: Count(Subscribers) = 4,200 + 1,800 = 6,000

The paid-to-freemium ratio (70/30) matters as much as the total. A high freemium proportion signals conversion opportunity; a high paid proportion signals stronger monetization.