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Tired of doing the same tasks on Insta over and over again? Save time and get back to the fun stuff with one of these Instagram automation tools.
With 80% of global marketers now using Instagram, we probably don't need to introduce you to the platform's benefits. But, like many social channels, managing Instagram can take a lot of repetitive and time-consuming work. From posting Stories to scheduling grid content and answering common questions in the DMs, running a successful Instagram channel can sometimes feel a bit like Groundhog Day.
That's where Instagram automation tools come in, taking care of these tasks automatically to save you time and free you up to do more of the work that makes the biggest difference. Here are 9 of the best Instagram automation tools available.
Instagram automation is all about using software to take care of some of the most repetitive and tedious tasks on the platform. The tools can be set up to carry out these jobs with minimal–and sometimes zero–human input once the parameters or "rules" for each activity have been set.
For social media managers, this means a small investment of time in return for a huge reward: freedom to focus on work with more strategic value and confidence that the day-to-day activity is under control.
So what could these smart tools do for you? Depending on the areas where you stand to save the most time, automating Instagram could mean:
Let's take a closer look at the wide range of tasks and activities that can be automated through Instagram automation tools:
Why settle for a lackluster social media management tool when you could be using Sked Social? With unlimited collaborator access, streamlined approvals and advanced auto-post technology that lets you schedule to all major platforms, Sked Social offers everything you need.
Get Started for FREELooking for an Instagram automation platform that offers more functionality than basic social schedulers without the price tag of enterprise software? Sked Social could be the answer.
With a wide range of automation features for planning, scheduling, and publishing every type of content, Sked is a truly Instagram-first solution with multi-platform capabilities. Publish to every major social channel at once and use Sked's unified social inbox to manage all your DMs, comments, and mentions with your team.
Sked offers some of the most comprehensive Instagram automation on the market, with auto-posting available for every type of content, including Stories with link stickers. And with AI integrated into all the platform's core features, Sked can automate countless repetitive, manual workflows to save you and your team time and allow you to focus on the work that matters most.
Sked is all about collaboration. You'll never be charged for adding users or approvals to the platform, and its super-smooth workflows make working with internal and external approvers a breeze.
Sked Social is a true all-rounder for automated Instagram marketing. Schedule and auto-post every content type and publish to Instagram and all your other socials at once.
Sked Social's "Professional" subscription—which includes 6 social media accounts—costs $199 US a month or $1,990 US a year.
Tailwind is an automation tool for Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. It offers robust content creation features, along with other automations like auto-posting and smart scheduling.
If you struggle with designing Instagram posts, you may find Tailwind's content creation features extra helpful. The platform can generate hundreds of optimized posts with no human design skills required. One of the few Instagram automation tools to offer a "free forever" subscription option, Tailwind may interest users on a tight budget.
With automations for Facebook and Pinterest, as well as Instagram, Tailwind may not have enough features for those who manage a wider range of channels. The platform's least expensive subscription levels only provide support for 1 social media account.
Tailwind offers helpful automation functionality for users who manage social media activity on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest—especially those who want to save time on content creation.
Tailwind's Advanced subscription—which includes 2 social media accounts—costs $49.99 US a month or $299.88 US a year.
Inflact is part of a group of Instagram automation tools that offer to grow users' audiences. It also includes automations for activities like Instagram scheduling and posting, and managing DMS.
As an "Instagram bot", Inflact can follow and unfollow other accounts automatically. It can also be set up to engage with other accounts through automated likes, comments, and DMs. The platform also includes tools for content auto-scheduling and posting.
Like other "Instagram growth services", the tool carries a degree of risk. Instagram bots sometimes generate low-quality followers and users face the risk of account suspension if Instagram's terms of service are violated.
Inflact's focus on engaging with other accounts makes it best for small businesses and marketing teams who want to save time on activities like Instagram messaging.
Inflact's Advanced subscription currently costs €59 (around $66 US) a month or €496 (around $552 US) a year.
Like Inflact, Kicksta is an Instagram growth service that provides automations for expanding an audience and gaining new followers. It positions itself as a service for growth marketers and offers guaranteed numbers of new followers at each pricing level.
Kicksta promotes its ability to deliver organic Instagram growth and generate high-quality followers. It describes its AI-powered service as a "safe" and "secure" way of expanding a brand's reach.
As with other Instagram growth services, using Kicksta carries a degree of risk. The tool may generate low-quality followers, and users face the risk of account suspension if Instagram's terms of service are violated.
Kicksta is best for small businesses and marketing teams who are looking for an automation tool to help them achieve their goals for organic follower growth on Instagram.
Kicksta's "Advanced" subscription costs $129 US a month or $769 US a year.
With a focus on data and metrics, Iconosquare offers a wide range of analytics tools and reporting functionality, with a custom dashboard and over 100 KPIs.
The platform offers engagement insights, community analytics, and social listening, along with automations for scheduling, posting, and collaborating with approvers on the major social channels.
Iconosquare offers support for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, and TikTok, making its functionality limited for users who manage accounts on other platforms like Snapchat and Pinterest.
Iconosquare is best for small businesses and marketing teams who manage accounts on the major social channels and want a tool with a focus on analytics.
Iconosquare's "Teams" subscription—which includes 5 social profiles—costs £79 (around $104 US) a month or £708 (around $929 US) a year.
Another Instagram growth tool, Nitreo offers a wide range of automations to help users expand their following and engage with their target audience. It positions itself as a platform that can deliver "real and organic growth".
Nitreo focuses on two main automations for growing users' audiences: following and unfollowing, and Story viewing. The platform also offers automations for audience targeting and identifying similar users.
Although Nitreo uses advanced password encryption methods to safeguard account security, the tool still carries a degree of risk. Like other Instagram growth services, it may generate low-quality followers, and users face the risk of account suspension if Instagram's terms of service are violated.
The platform may be a good fit for small businesses and marketing teams who want to focus on building their Instagram following and automate certain growth and targeting activities to save time.
Nitreo's "Speed" subscription costs $119 US a month or $990 US a year.
SocialPilot's social media management software delivers automated behavior across a wide range of activities on Instagram, including scheduling and posting content, engaging with followers, and generating detailed analytics and reports.
The platform focuses on providing ease of use and delivering efficiencies with features like bulk scheduling and on-the-go approvals. For scheduling and posting automations, SocialPilot supports several social media channels.
But the same level of multi-channel support isn't available across all the software's features. SocialPilot's analytics functionality is only available for four other social media tools in addition to Instagram.
SocialPilot's features and functionality make it especially suitable for small marketing teams and agencies who have a limited number of social media accounts to manage.
SocialPilot's "Agency" subscription—which includes 30 social media accounts and 6 users— costs $100 US a month or $1,020 US a year.
NapoleanCat offers several core automations for Instagram, including scheduling and publishing posts, auto-responding to comments and DMS, and reporting. It also provides support for a number of other social channels, including Tiktok.
The platform's Instagram automations are designed to save social media managers time on tedious tasks. Users can set up automated responses to frequently asked questions, create rules to generate automatic replies to comments, and create detailed analytics reports.
NapoleonCat doesn't currently offer support for X, which may be a drawback for social media managers who use the channel. Although three subscription levels are available, businesses and marketing teams with small budgets may find the platform expensive.
NapoleanCat is best for small businesses, agencies, and marketing teams who manage Instagram along with a few other social channels and would benefit from the platform's automations.
NapoleanCat's "Pro" subscription—which includes 3 social profiles—costs £64 (around $84 US) a month or £636 (around $834) a year.
Sprout Social offers a robust set of automations for Instagram and a wide range of other social media channels, particularly for users on the platform's more advanced subscription levels.
From scheduling and posting to creating AI-generated captions and supporting user engagement, the platform can automate a wide range of Instagram tasks and activities. Established in 2010, Sprout Social is one of the most established social media management platforms on the market.
It's also one of the most expensive platforms available. Many of the software's most helpful automation features are only available on its advanced subscription plans. Additional users are charged at $199 per person, making it especially pricey for large teams or stakeholder groups.
As one of the most complex and expensive platforms on the market, Sprout Social is best for large companies or enterprise businesses with sophisticated requirements and a generous budget for social media management.
The "Professional" subscription—which includes unlimited social profiles— costs $399 US a month per user or $3,588 US a year per user.
Instagram allows automations that access its private API in ways it sets out in its terms of use. You can check out the policy to get into the details, but this essentially means that all of the following activities can be automated safely:
It won't surprise you to hear that not every type of automation is allowed on Instagram. Examples of automations that are banned include:
Although Tailwind is the only Instagram automation tool to offer a "free forever" plan with limited functionality, many platforms offer free trial periods. These include Sked Social, NapoleanCat, and SocialPilot, which all offer trial periods of 7-14 days.
Because small businesses are looking for Instagram automation tools with a specific level of functionality and access at a reasonable price point, NapoleanCat, Iconosquare, and SocialPilot may all appeal to smaller businesses and marketing teams.
Agencies and enterprise businesses are looking for robust functionality and support for multiple users. These customers want excellent value for money but often have a generous budget to work with. Sked Social, Tailwind, and—for customers with the deepest pockets—Sprout Social may be attractive options for agencies and enterprise businesses.
This article has been reviewed and updated to ensure the information provided is accurate and up to date.