Collingwood leads the competition as the most followed club in the AFL, ranking first among the four key platforms - Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and TikTok.

The Pies boast nearly 1.4 million followers across the quartet of sites, with the next best in Hawthorn recording 1.15 million.

Understandably, the newer clubs, GWS and Gold Coast, are listed toward the bottom of the social media ladder due to their lack of fan base.

The Giants have taken a lead over their counterpart largely thanks to social media wiz Jacob Gaynor, who is the head of content at the club. As a result, the incoming AFL side, Tasmania Devils, has enlisted Gaynor's help from 2026 onwards, as they work toward their inception.

Along with Collingwood, fellow Victorian powerhouses Essendon, Richmond and Carlton rank the next best, while Geelong follows suit.

Sydney is the most followed non-Victorian club in the AFL, displaying 826,700 across all four channels.

The most popular AFL clubs, according to the social media channels

  X (formerly Twitter) Instagram TikTok Facebook Total
AFL 908,400 1,400,000 658,100 1,500,000 4,466,500
Collingwood 161,500 436,000 348,600 441,000 1,387,100
Hawthorn 105,300 333,000 332,800 383,000 1,154,100
Essendon 143,800 278,000 168,800 362,000 952,600
Richmond 113,000 324,000 193,500 316,000 946,500
Carlton 129,000 312,000 127,400 326,000 894,400
Geelong 95,700 273,000 248,400 265,000 882,100
Adelaide 160,100 216,000 149,000 306,000 831,100
Sydney 104,600 260,000 177,100 285,000 826,700
Brisbane 101,100 274,000 158,600 268,000 801,700
West Coast 102,400 273,000 71,800 343,000 790,200
St Kilda 88,500 166,000 231,400 214,000 699,900
Western Bulldogs 74,800 212,000 143,600 222,000 652,400
Fremantle 91,900 201,000 93,200 251,000 637,100
Port Adelaide 112,600 177,000 97,000 222,000 608,600
Melbourne 73,400 156,000 108,400 199,000 536,800
GWS 70,500 172,000 117,300 162,000 521,800
North Melbourne 78,600 149,000 98,800 166,000 492,400
Gold Coast 61,900 138,000 87,400 132,000 419,300

Correct as of October 30, 2025.

Not surprisingly, the social media following almost identically reflects the membership ladder in 2025.

  CLUB TOTAL
1 Collingwood* 112,491
2 West Coast* 107,079
3 Carlton 100,743
4 Richmond 92,531
5 Geelong* 92,379
6 Hawthorn* 87,204
7 Essendon 85,568
8 Adelaide* 81,067
9 Sydney* 76,674
10 Brisbane* 75,115
11 Port Adelaide* 72,656
12 Fremantle* 66,179
13 Western Bulldogs* 65,584
14 St Kilda* 65,509
15 Melbourne 58,563
16 North Melbourne* 56,283
17 GWS GIANTS* 37,705
18 Gold Coast SUNS* 30,107
* Club Membership Record in 2025

 

As for the Devils, they have built a strong following on Instagram, gaining 95,800 fans, while also finding their feet on X with 8,000 enthusiasts.

However, they boast over 200,000 paying members as they continue to funnel much-needed funds into the club, albeit for a small membership fee.