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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.
How to automate Instagram in 2024
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:
- Growing a brand's audience more effectively
- Speeding up the content creation process
- Staying on top of a consistent posting schedule
- Getting back to followers and customers more quickly
- Streamlining tasks across multiple social channels (not just Instagram)
- Having ready access to better-quality data and analytics
Types of Instagram automations
Let's take a closer look at the wide range of tasks and activities that can be automated through Instagram automation tools:
- Planning and scheduling Instagram posts. Most Instagram automation software can be used to plan, schedule, and publish content. Some tools can even automate aspects of the content creation process by generating designs or captions for posts.
- Engaging with followers. Many automation solutions can be set up to take the hard work out of engaging with followers by liking other content and responding to Instagram comments automatically.
- Direct messages and auto-responses. If staying on top of DMs is proving time-consuming, you can set up automatic responses to acknowledge incoming messages and to answer frequently asked questions.
- Follows and unfollows. Some automation tools for Instagram can be set to follow and unfollow certain accounts automatically. Other solutions include functionality that can help brands grow their following.
- Instagram analytics and reporting. Reporting on Instagram performance can be a drain on time for many social media managers. Instagram analytics tools can pull the data automatically—often using AI to provide deep insights about the figure—to help managers create valuable and meaningful reports quickly.
Our picks for 2024's best Instagram automation tools
- Sked Social. Best all-around tool for automated Instagram marketing.
- Tailwind. Best tool for automated Instagram content creation.
- Inflact. Best automated tool for Instagram messaging.
- Kicksta. Best automated tool for Instagram follower growth.
Other tools to consider
Collaborate effortlessly, save time and spend less
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.
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1. Sked Social
Looking 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.
Best for
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.
Key features
- Auto-post any type of content—even Stories with link stickers
- Get AI-powered support with every stage of the workflow, not just caption writing
- Fast-track internal and external approvals with seamless workflows designed to simplify the process
- Access the same powerful features —including our Link-in-Bio tool and competitor tracking—at every subscription level
- Get 1:1 onboarding and ongoing support from our wonderful team of humans who typically respond within 4 minutes
Pros
- If Instagram's an important channel for your brand, Sked's Instagram-first platform's got your back.
- Instagram-first doesn't mean Instagram-only. Sked automates planning, scheduling, and publishing across all your socials.
- Sked offers robust Instagram automation functionality without the price tag of enterprise software
- Collaborate with an unlimited number of approvers and additional users at no extra cost
Cons
- Some enterprise platforms for social media management include more features
- Some automation tools for Instagram offer a longer free trial period than 7 days
Cost
Sked Social's "Professional" subscription—which includes 6 social media accounts—costs $199 US a month or $1,990 US a year.
2. Tailwind
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.
Best for
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.
Key features
- Automated social media designs help you create on Instagram with more confidence
- Customization options allow you to apply your brand's style to generated designs
- Automated behavior for publishing Instagram posts and videos saves time and hassle
Pros
- The platform's content creation tools make Instagram marketing easier for users with limited design skills
- Tailwind may offer the right functionality for social media managers who only run Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest channels
- Users on a tight budget may appreciate the "free forever" subscription, which includes tools for getting started.
Cons
- Tailwind's least expensive subscription levels only support 1 social account
- Auto-posting is only available for Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- The platform's most expensive subscription level only offers access for 5 users
Cost
Tailwind's Advanced subscription—which includes 2 social media accounts—costs $49.99 US a month or $299.88 US a year.
3. Inflact
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.
Best for
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.
Key features
- Inflact's auto-messaging functionality can save a lot of time, especially when it comes to replying to DMS
- The platform's follower growth features can help brands to expand their audience
- Automatic following and Story watching make it easy to engage with other accounts
Pros
- Inflact's focus on Instagram growth may be helpful for social media managers who prioritize this metric
- The platform's "hashtag generator" functionality is included at every subscription level
- Inflact's scheduling and posting automations offer additional support to busy social media managers
Cons
- Inflact can't guarantee the quality of the followers it generates
- Users run the risk of account suspension if the service violates Instagram's terms of service
- A 7-day trial of Inflact costs €3 (around $3.35 US) a day
Cost
Inflact's Advanced subscription currently costs €59 (around $66 US) a month or €496 (around $552 US) a year.
4. Kicksta
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.
Best for
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.
Key features
- Kicksta generates follows from "real" Instagram accounts with a genuine interest in a brand
- The platform's strong focus on follower growth could interest users who want to expand their brand's following
- Kicksta assures users they're safe from spamming, suspension, or being banned from Instagram because the service doesn't involve buying followers or likes
Pros
- Kicksta offers guaranteed numbers of new followers
- No minimum commitment period is required for new users
- A 7-day free trial period is available
Cons
- Kicksta focuses solely on follower growth and doesn't offer other automations
- Users on the platform's least expensive subscription levels can only expect "low" or "medium" growth speed
- Kicksta can't guarantee the quality of the followers it generates
Cost
Kicksta's "Advanced" subscription costs $129 US a month or $769 US a year.
5. Iconosquare
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.
Best for
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.
Key features
- Iconosquare delivers analytics and reporting on over 100 success metrics for the major social platforms
- Engagement insights, community analytics, and social listening are all available
- The platform also provides automations for content scheduling and posting, and for approver collaboration
Pros
- Iconosquare presents all its analytics in a single custom dashboard to provide an at-a-glance view of the data
- Users have access to all of Iconsquare's features no matter which plan they're on
- A 14-day free trial is available, with no credit card required
Cons
- There's no support for tagging content and analyzing trends
- Iconosquare doesn't provide support for YouTube, Pinterest, or Snapchat.
- For unlimited users and 50+ profiles, users must contact Iconosquare to discuss custom pricing
Cost
Iconosquare's "Teams" subscription—which includes 5 social profiles—costs £79 (around $104 US) a month or £708 (around $929 US) a year.
6. Nitreo
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.
Best for
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.
Key features
- Automated following and unfollowing activity can help to drive organic growth
- Instagram Story viewing functionality means that Nitreo can view hundreds of Stories on an account's behalf every day
- The platform's hashtag suggestion feature helps users identify new followers based on their interests
Pros
- The platform offers a guaranteed number of new followers for each subscription level
- Nitreo offers "organic growth as a service", positioning itself as an Instagram management service
- The platform generates insights and recommendations to help users improve their Instagram performance
Cons
- The platform can't guarantee the quality of the followers it generates
- There's no free trial available for the platform
- Nitreo only offers a "high" growth rate on its most expensive subscription level
Cost
Nitreo's "Speed" subscription costs $119 US a month or $990 US a year.
7. SocialPilot
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.
Best for
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.
Key features
- Bulk Scheduling allows users to create a publishing schedule for 500+ posts
- Collaborators can work together on posts from any device at any time, with on-the-go approvals
- The platform's analytics functionality includes follower analysis, post performance metrics, and hashtag analytics, all with actionable insights
Pros
- SocialPilot automates scheduling and posting for a wide range of social platforms, including TikTok and Threads
- The platform includes tools to streamline user engagement, like a unified social media inbox and automated behavior for responding to comments
- There are no contracts or commitments. Users can cancel at any time at every subscription level
Cons
- SocialPilot's customization options for reporting and post scheduling are limited
- The platform only provides analytics for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, and Google Business Profile
- The least expensive pricing options only provide support for 1-3 users
Cost
SocialPilot's "Agency" subscription—which includes 30 social media accounts and 6 users— costs $100 US a month or $1,020 US a year.
8. NapoleonCat
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.
Best for
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.
Key features
- NapoleanCat's Instagram automations include creating and publishing carousels and Stories, and scheduling first comments
- The platform's Social Inbox makes it easy to engage with followers and manage social customer service
- NapoleanCat's AI assistant provides prompt templates for each supported social channel
Pros
- The platform's automations support every area of Instagram management, from scheduling and posting to analytics and reporting
- NapoleanCat provides support for several social media channels, including Instagram, Facebook, and—most recently—TikTok
- A 14-day free trial is available, with no credit card required
Cons
- NapoleanCat doesn't offer support for X
- The platform's features aren't as sophisticated as those of some other products
- The smallest businesses or marketing teams may find the software's price point too high
Cost
NapoleanCat's "Pro" subscription—which includes 3 social profiles—costs £64 (around $84 US) a month or £636 (around $834) a year.
9. Sprout Social
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.
Best for
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.
Key features
- Sprout Social automates the planning, scheduling, and publishing of Instagram content
- The platform helps users engage with followers on Instagram and other channels through Sprout Social's Smart Inbox
- The platform uses AI to deliver deep social insights and detailed analytics like social listening and sentiment analysis
Pros
- Sprout Social provides a comprehensive range of automations for Instagram and other channels
- Some subscription levels offer support for an unlimited number of social profiles
- Sprout Social can integrate with other marketing platforms, including lead generation and CRM solutions
Cons
- Although there's a 30-day free trial, Sprout Social is one of the most expensive products
- Some functionality is limited. Auto-post is only available for image carousels and users can only publish story link stickers manually
- Many features—including approval workflows—are only available on Sprout Social's most expensive pricing plans
Cost
The "Professional" subscription—which includes unlimited social profiles— costs $399 US a month per user or $3,588 US a year per user.
Frequently asked questions
What types of automations are allowed on Instagram?
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:
- Content scheduling and publishing
- Account moderation (e.g. deleting and hiding comments)
- Audience interaction (e.g. replying to comments and DMs)
- Analytics and reporting
What types of automations are banned on Instagram?
It won't surprise you to hear that not every type of automation is allowed on Instagram. Examples of automations that are banned include:
- Posting, commenting, and following/unfollowing in bulk via Instagram bots or third-party services
- Sending DMs to users for marketing or promotional purposes without their consent
- Auto-posting through unauthorized third-party tools
- Re-posting other users' content in bulk without their permission
What are the best Instagram automation tools with free plans?
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.
What are the best tools to automate Instagram for small businesses?
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.
What are the best agency and enterprise Instagram automation tools?
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.