13 Best Instagram Automation Tools for Engagement & Followers

Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. So no wonder marketers, influencers, and self-starters are trying to use Instagram marketing to get new followers and grow their social presence.

No matter how long you’ve been in the Instagram game, though, you know by now that social media management is a time-consuming process. To boost your number of followers and your Instagram engagement, you need to:

• Post regularly.
• Schedule posts.
• Repost from relevant accounts.
• Create the right mix of hashtags using a hashtag generator.
• Communicate with your Instagram followers.
• Engage with and acknowledge your active followers.
• Unfollow the spammy accounts and follow the authorities in your niche.
• Come up with diverse, high-quality content.
• Know how to leverage the full potential of your business account.
• The list goes on.

All of this requires time and financial resources you might have or be willing to spend on Instagram marketing, and nobody would blame you. So you start looking into the best Instagram automation tools out there.

Mind you, there are many tools on the market right now to get new Instagram users and engagement. Before we get into the specific Instagram automation software and the best automation features, though, we have to talk about whether you should use Instagram automation in the first place.

Is it legal to automate your Insta account to what degree? Does Instagram approve, and should you care for that matter? Let’s cover all of this today and talk about the best Instagram automation software you should try.

Here’s what you need to know.

Disclaimer: The information below is accurate as of today {13/01.2022}.

Table of Contents

What is Instagram automation?

1. Postoplan
2. Instavast
3. Kicksta
4. Inflact
5. Instazood
6. SocialCaptain
7. Tailwind
8. Upleap
9. Jarvee
10. HashtagsForLikes
11. Instamber
12. Nitreo
13. Phantombuster

What is Instagram Automation?

Instagram automation is the term used to describe the practices and third-party automation tools you can use to manage your Instagram account. 

Like we mentioned before, there are plenty of Instagram automation tools out there, from analytics all the way to like/dislike automation. You can also use something as functional as a scheduling tool but also something as dubious as an Instagram comment bot.

Spoiler: don’t use the last one.

But let’s put things into perspective and talk about what you can potentially use Instagram automation for.

Schedule and Publish Posts

One of the top Instagram automation software solutions used right now is, of course, post scheduling and publishing. You can use a scheduling tool without worrying about Instagram’s automation policies and automate your posting to save time and effort.

This is a popular way to use Instagram automation safely. You can use the tool to find the best time to post on Instagram as well. In combination with other growth tools, this will help grow your follower count and improve engagement.

Automate Likes

Another safe way to leverage an Instagram bot is to automate likes. Likes on Instagram are a powerful way to acknowledge high-quality content and profiles. It’s also important that you’re active on the platform and like posts regularly to feed the Insta algorithm to get new Instagram users.

That said, you have to use auto likes carefully. Automated Instagram likes are not bad per se, and you won’t get in trouble so long as you keep your engagement in the right range. Instagram has an activity threshold for every user - you can’t know what yours is, sorry.

If you go over the threshold, you will start pushing the lines of Instagram’s terms and conditions, and you will get banned. Essentially, Instagram will know that something is going on, something that’s definitely not organic activity.

Find Real Followers

Getting new, and more importantly, real Instagram followers is not an easy task. People won’t just start following you because you post great content, as you also have to be active with likes and comments to get a follow back.

There are many ways to reach out to people and boost your visibility on the Insta discovery page, but you also need to know who to follow and contact. This is where things get tricky because you want real people to follow you while staying away from fake followers and accounts.

In that sense, you can grow your follower account by using a tool that will suggest a good Instagram account that’s relevant to you and your audience. You can use the tool to start following quality social media accounts on Insta that will, in turn, boost your visibility and engagement over time.

Automate Reporting

Another great way to use Instagram automation software is to automate your Instagram analytics and reporting. Gathering meaningful insights and user data surrounding your Instagram profile is crucial to your growth and success.

Why? Because you can use this information to make better Instagram content, better manage your activity, and just make better strategic decisions. This will lead to organic growth, boost genuine engagement, and it will be a huge time saver.

After all, generating detailed reports is a lot of work, and typically you would need to pay for a professional growth service to make sense of all the data. Instead of doing that, you can simply automate the process.

Automatic Follows and Unfollows

The idea behind follows and unfollows on Insta is: the more real people and accounts you follow, the more people will follow you back. That’s why using a follow/unfollow bot is a good way to grow your follower count.

That said, you have to be mindful of Instagram’s community guidelines, which clearly state:

Source: Instagram

This is a good piece of Instagram automation software, but make sure to use it to maintain a balanced follow/unfollow ratio.

Automatic Comments

This is where we’re entering some hazardous terrain. We mentioned that if you want to boost your engagement rates, you have to be active on Insta. You know, post regularly by scheduling posts, tagging a relevant business account here and relevant people, and of course, commenting on posts.

Now, commenting is something that takes a lot of time out of your day, so you might be thinking of getting an Instagram comment bot. Sure, doing that will save you time, but think about it for a moment.

Say someone posts that their beloved pet just passed away. Say you’re using an Instagram comment bot that automatically slaps a comment on their post saying something like “Way to go!” with a bunch of emojis.

Yes, this is how an inexperienced account manager can drive an Instagram profile straight into the ground. Be careful, and use this type of Instagram automation software wisely, or risk coming off as spammy or worse.

Automatic DMs

Just like with the Instagram comment bot, you can (but shouldn’t) use a bot to automate your direct messages. Now, automating your DMs is, by all accounts, a bad idea, and here’s why.

First of all, the technology is not sophisticated and conversational enough to pass off as human interaction. This means that people can spot fake or automated DMs very easily, which will lead to you getting reported and banned - at least temporarily.

With that in mind, putting your DMs on autopilot is a bad idea, plus it’s not allowed per Insta community guidelines.

Is Instagram automation allowed?

So, with all of that being said, is using Instagram automation software allowed? Yes and no.

You can use, theoretically, any Instagram bot out there, but that doesn’t mean that you should. The best Instagram bots are not the ones that will automate repetitive tasks but are the all-in-one tools that will help you safely grow your number of followers and better manage your Instagram profile.

Now that we have got that out of the way, here are the best Instagram automation tools you can and should have in your social media marketing strategy.

1. Postoplan

Starting with scheduling posts on Instagram, this is one of the essential ways to use Instagram automation to get new followers and boost your engagement. If you are haphazardly publishing posts on Insta when you feel like it instead of following a strict posting schedule, rest assured that you won’t be able to maximize the potential of your Instagram profile.

You need to have a content schedule that will ensure you dish out high-quality content on a regular basis, at a time that will maximize your engagement rates.

To do this, you should consider using an all-in-one social media management tool like our very own Postoplan.

Postoplan is an easy-to-use scheduler that integrates seamlessly into your Instagram account and allows you to plan your posts days, weeks, and months in advance. What’s more, this scheduling tool will also publish posts automatically at the date and time you choose.

It’s a real time saver, and it will help you shift your focus from time-consuming tasks to the more complex challenges - like creating high-quality content.

Postoplan Features

This piece of Instagram automation software is also a comprehensive social media marketing tool that you can use for various social networks and apps:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• WordPress
• Telegram
• Slack
• Google My Business

When it comes to Instagram marketing and scheduling Instagram posts specifically, Postoplan is a user-friendly tool that you can employ to create detailed content calendars, automate Instagram posts, and even manage everything from your smartphone.

Credit: Postoplan

Of course, you can tailor your schedule and micro-manage every piece of content, setting it as a one-off post or a recurring thing. This is a great tool for long-term planning because you can schedule posts weeks and months in advance.

Postoplan Pricing

There are two subscription plans available in Postoplan: Start and Business. The Business plan allows you to get access to Instagram's automation features that will help you get new followers and increase engagement.

Credit: Postoplan

The Start plan allows you to connect only one account for each available social networks, while you can use the Business plan to connect more accounts for each social network, including Instagram, and get the automation tools for easy Instagram management.

2. Instavast

Instavast is another one of those all-in-one Instagram automation tools you can use to better manage your presence on the platform. That said, Instavast is more geared towards auto likes, auto follow/unfollow, auto direct messages, or DMs, and it’s a good Instagram comment bot.

This Instagram automation software has a bunch of supporting features aimed at automating almost all of your activities. When used wisely, it can be a powerful tool in your arsenal, and it can help you stay active and boost your engagement even when you’re offline.

Here are the features you can expect to get.

Instavast Features

Instavast markets itself as an all-in-one Instagram automation software with the toolkit you need to manage your Insta account with minimal effort. Here are some main benefits they outline for their tools:

Credit: Instavast

As for the key automation features you can expect to get, Instavast offers:

• Automatically like Instagram photos and other high-quality content.
• Get an Instagram comment bot to eliminate manual commenting on posts.
• Automate your welcome DMs and manage your direct messaging campaigns.
• Get an automated scheduler and post to Insta automatically.
• Automate likes and even buy likes from real Instagram followers.

Instavast Pricing

When it comes to pricing, everything on Instavast is broken down into separate tiers and tools so that you can pick and choose what you need. With that in mind, this Instagram automation software is broken into:

• Instagram Bot: $15/month
• Auto DMs: $10/month
• Comment Tracker: $10/month
• Post Scheduler: $10/month
  
  
  

Credit: Instavast

Let’s move on and take a look at some other handy Instagram automation tools.

3. Kicksta

Kicksta, on the other hand, is all about acquiring real Instagram followers without buying them or risking ending up with fake followers. The tool allows you to boost your engagement and gain new followers by finding and adding social media accounts on Insta that are similar to yours.

The tool will then auto-engage with their followers and automatically like their posts. This builds engagement through one of the best Instagram bots out there and improves your visibility. In turn, it inspires people to follow back your Instagram profile.

The proven logic behind this is that the more relevant people you follow, the more of their followers will give you a follow back, so the key is to keep adding relevant accounts.

Kicksta Features

Kicksta’s features are pretty simple and straightforward, as the tool aims to be as user-friendly as possible. 

The features for this Instagram automation software include:

• List influencers, competitors, and brands that are relevant in your niche.
• Start following their social media accounts on Instagram.
• Automatically interact with their followers.
• Get a follow back from people who care about your brand.
  
  
  

Credit: Kicksta

Kicksta Pricing

As far as Kicksta’s pricing goes, there is no free version, and the tool offers two basic pricing models per user and per month.

Credit: Kicksta

With $49 for their standard plan, you can get the basic features that are optimized for moderate growth with limited support. The $99 premium plan, on the other hand, is more optimized and you can use these automation features to boost organic Instagram growth.

4. Inflact

Inflact, formerly Ingramer, positions itself as another all-in-one Instagram automation software. This tool focuses on building your target audience and genuine engagement with clients and planning Instagram content to boost active followers. 

If you are serious about selling on Instagram and growing your business account, then Inflact probably has the automation features you need. It’s also one of the rare Instagram analytics tools with smart features and profile analyzers.

Let’s take a look at the features you can get with Inflact.

Inflact Features

It should come as no surprise that such an all-in-one tool comes with a variety of solutions you can use for organic growth. As you can see in the image below, Inflact (Ingramer to some) gives you a wide array of automation features depending on the plans and addons you choose.

Credit: Inflact

You can customize your plan to fit your exact needs and add or remove the tools the way you see fit.

Ingramer’s key automation features include:

• An intuitive, user-friendly dashboard.
• Smart Instagram analytics tools.
• Bulk direct messaging.
• A hashtag generator.
• Follow-up auto responses.
• Auto reactions and auto likes.
• Smart follow/unfollow to keep your Instagram profile clean.

Inflact Pricing

The pricing is completely customizable on Inflact, and you can tailor your automation tools and various features to suit your budget capabilities. On the low end, you can choose a single tool like the first one, Promo, which will give you a base set of features such as a personal manager, Instagram analytics, and tagging functionalities.

Credit: Inflact

 

On the other hand, you can choose a full set of features for a higher price tag, making Inflact one of the best Instagram automation tools on the market.

Let’s take a look at some more Instagram automation services you might want to consider for your social media marketing strategy on Insta.

5. Instazood

Instazood is one of the best Instagram bots out there for auto likes, and a solid automated follow/unfollow tool for your Instagram profile. This is a purpose-built Insta account manager that focuses on automating Instagram likes to boost target audience engagement from real people.

Instazood doesn’t promise overnight success like so many other Instagram automation services on the market. Instead, the tool focuses on steadily growing your follower count by scaling your activity so that you’re always gliding slightly below the limit for your Instagram account.

This tool also offers complete Instagram automation services, allowing you to automate almost everything on your Insta profile.

Here’s what you get through Instazood.

Instazood Features

Instazood has a streamlined set of features to keep you focused on growing your follower count and your Instagram profile. From automatically viewing Instagram stories from real people all the way to auto likes and auto unfollow to keep your Insta clean of spammy content and social media accounts.

Credit: Instazood

The tool is also a good Instagram comment bot, which automatically comments on people’s posts for genuine engagement and to get you some much-needed follow back from relevant profiles.

Instazood Pricing

The pricing on Instazood is fairly straightforward, albeit divided into monthly and annual plans. The annual plans are, of course, cheaper to get you a better deal and inspire you to use this Instagram automation software to its full extent.

The prices are as follows for the monthly plan:

• Instagram bot: 14.99$/month
• TikTok bot: 14.99$/month
• Auto direct messages: 14.99$/month
• Schedule posts: 9.99$/mon

On the other hand, here’s the price list for the yearly plan:

Credit: Instazood

Aside from Instazood, here are some other Instagram growth tools to keep in mind.

6. SocialCaptain

SocialCaptain is another Instagram bot that offers auto likes and doubles as an Instagram comment bot with a built-in follow/unfollow tool as well. You can use it via ф browser or download the app on their website.

The app boasts a solid UI and is intuitive to use - you can switch the features on and off as you please. You can also try out the tool’s many filters to help you find the social media accounts you want to interact with on Insta, including gender, age, location, and more.

SocialCaptain Features

As far as the features go for SocialCaptain, it’s what you would generally expect from an Instagram comment bot that has some added functionalities thrown into the mix. 

SocialCaptain features include:

• Automated Instagram likes.
• Automated Instagram comment bot.
• Targeting based on location, hashtags, and various other parameters.
• A selection of automation speeds to keep you under the Insta activity threshold.
• An FAQ page that gives you more insight into the features of this tool.

SocialCaptain Pricing

Pricing-wise, there is no free version, just a 24-hour free trial. You can choose between their three pricing plans, Growth, Turbo, and a custom plan that the SocialCaptain team will tailor to your needs.

Credit: SocialCaptain

These plans are created for small Insta businesses, influencers, but also big e-commerce stores looking to maximize sales on social media platforms.

7. Tailwind

Tailwind is an official Instagram Partner and is, therefore, one of the most trustworthy Instagram automation services on the online marketplace. This tool is a smart assistant for your Instagram profile that you can use to create high-quality content, schedule posts and automate posting, and use a hashtag generator to identify the best hashtags for your needs.

This is one of the best Instagram automation tools out there right now, as it gives you a comprehensive overview of your posting schedule. It also allows you to visualize your Instagram profile and feed with new posts and use the right hashtags to boost engagement and visibility.

Tailwind Features

The list of automation features goes on and on for Tailwind, and you are probably going to find something for your needs. The tool is built for social media marketers, small businesses, influencers, and agencies alike. 

The key features include:

• An Instagram posts scheduler.
• A visual planner for your Instagram profile and feed.
• Hashtags and a hashtag generator.
• A smart bio generator to grow your follower count and drive traffic to your content.
  
  
  

Credit: Tailwind

As you can see in the image above, this piece of Instagram automation software also has a myriad of complementary tools to help you manage your Instagram account efficiently and effectively.

Tailwind Pricing

Tailwind’s pricing is tailored to fit every type of user. You have your free plan (it’s actually free forever) that boasts limited capabilities and is a good choice if you’re just starting out with social media management.

The other three pricing plans are geared towards professionals like influencers and marketers, as well as those who manage more than one business account. If you're an account manager, for example, this is a good tool to consider.

Credit: Tailwind

Now let’s take a look at one of the most niche Instagram automation tools.

8. Upleap

Upleap is dedicated to one thing and one thing only - selling you real Instagram followers. The website boasts high ratings and has been in business since 2015, so what they’re selling is considered to be safe and reliable.

Upleap promises to deliver genuine engagement by giving you access to real people on Instagram that will follow your business account or your personal profile, like, comment, and more. It’s definitely one of the easier ways to get new followers on Instagram quickly, and the good thing is that the service is relatively cheap.

Upleap Features

There is really only one feature to use on Upleap, and that is to buy Instagram followers. You need to choose the number of followers you wish to buy, and the Upleap team will deliver them to you in a matter of minutes.

Credit: Upleap

Another good feature is 24/7 support and a replacement guarantee no matter the pricing option you choose.

And speaking of pricing, here’s what it looks like.

Upleap Pricing

Upleap regularly runs time-limited discounts on their offers, so the prices can vary on occasion. At the time we published this article, the pricing was discounted for all three options, making the price of new followers very cheap.

Credit: Upleap

That said, even with their regular pricing, Upleap is a relatively affordable solution to getting active followers for your account.

9. Jarvee

Jarvee is another all-in-one Instagram automation software that you can use for all your social media management needs. This software offers various tools for different social media platforms, including a myriad of features for comprehensive Instagram management.

You can use the tool to automate your Insta activity and boost traffic to your website, generate leads, and boost sales on the platform. 

Jarve is a time saver for marketers and influencers alike, and it can help streamline your workflows and various social media processes. That said, it also comes with a variety of supplementary Instagram automation services to help you grow your follower count.

Jarvee Features

There are many features that this Instagram bot brings to the table. 

Jarvee’s Instagram automation tools include:

• Scheduling posts.
• Auto repost.
• Auto-follow/unfollow.
• Auto-follow back.
• Unfollow and curate your following.
• Auto likes.
• Get a built-in Instagram comment bot.
• Delete posts with poor engagement.
• Auto reply to messages and set welcome DMs.
• Hashtag research and hashtag generator.
• Block followers.

Credit: Jarvee

With a wide array of features, you can take full control of your Instagram profile.

Jarvee Pricing

Jarvee doesn’t have a free plan, but it does have a free five-day trial for all new users. 

Credit: Jarvee

You can choose between the Starter, Regular, and Professional plans, which are tailored to different types of influencers, marketers, and business accounts. 

 

10. HashtagsForLikes

When it comes to HashTagsForLikes, the name is pretty self-explanatory. This tool is all about giving you access to the right hashtags so that you can grow your exposure, inspire genuine engagement on your posts, and grow your Instagram followers.

The tool provides you with the right hashtags according to your industry and niche, your followers, and various other key parameters. This Instagram is simple to use, as you just need to enter your profile to analyze it or enter a hashtag you want to check for engagement and reach.

HashtagsForLikes Features

When it comes to its features, HashtagsForLikes offers solutions for Instagram and TikTok, which is a nice way to expand your reach onto other social networks. 

Credit: HashtagsForLikes

The main features of this tool include:

• Hashtags and a hashtag generator.
• Instagram analytics tools that allow you to analyze profiles, including your own.
• An intuitive dashboard with video tutorials and media downloaders.
• A TikTok hashtags tool for when you’re ready to expand.

HashtagsForLikes Pricing

HashtagsForLikes has a weekly and a monthly pricing option, and there is no free plan. The tool offers a 14-day money-back guarantee, though, so you can back out easily if you’re not satisfied.

Credit: HashtagsForLikes

As you can see from the pricing list above, HashtagsForLikes is geared towards newcomers and Insta professionals, with the monthly plan being the obvious cost-effective choice.

11. Instamber

Instamber is a good all-in-one tool for automating DMs, scheduling posts and automating posting in general. That said, the tool comes with a variety of complementary features that give it a place among the best Instagram automation tools out there. 

This Instagram automation software does cater to Isnta and TikTok influencers and marketers, which is a good way to create genuine engagement on both social media platforms. Instamber is focused on delivering a sustainable growth service over time, not quick fixes.

Instamber Features

With Instamber, you can get a bunch of cool features in a single tool.

Credit: Instamber

The main tools you get here are:

• Auto likes.
• Auto-follow/unfollow functionalities.
• An Instagram comment bot.
• Auto direct messages. 
• Instagram post manager for scheduling posts.
• Instagram search tool and profile analytics.

Interestingly, you can also use Instamber to buy real followers for your Insta profile.

Instamber Pricing

This tool has a lot of pricing options, which should come as no surprise considering how many features and services it offers.

Credit: Instamber

The regular pricing for Instamber is:

• Instagram bot: $30 for two months
• Direct message: $25 per month
• Comment manager: $10 per month
• Post manager: $10 per month
• Hot clients: $10 per month
• Instagram auto likes: $7 per month
• Instagram post and story views: $0.22 per 100 views

Now let's take a look at a popular tool you may already know.

12. Nitreo

Nitreo is a popular tool in the Insta circles because it’s purpose-built to boost organic growth by engaging with real followers on Instagram on your behalf. Essentially, the tool does what you would expect it to do - auto likes, comments, follow/unfollow, etc.

It claims to use advanced AI features to generate better faster results, better analytics, and better hashtags for you to leverage growth and reach. On the Nitreo site, you can also find tutorials and explainers on how to start using the tool, so getting into Instagram automation this way is a straightforward process.

Nitreo Features

Nitreo has the core features of the best Instagram automation tools that include:

• Follow/unfollow accounts.
• Instagram story views.
• Various filters to target the right audience.
• Smart hashtag generator and relevant niche hashtags.
• Improvements, analytics, and suggestions from the tool.

But of course, the image below will tell you that there’s more to the story.

Credit: Nitreo

As you can see, Nitreo will also like relevant comments and filter them accordingly, post live reactions on videos, and provide you with whitelisting and auto blacklisting capabilities.

Nitreo Pricing

When it comes to pricing their services and software, Nitreo is as simple and straightforward as it gets. 

The Essential plan will set you back $49 a month, while the Speed plan will cost you $79 a month. The Essential plan is useful on its own, but it does have a speed cap, standard support, and essential targeting features.

The Speed plan, on the other hand, has max speed, priority support, and all targeting features.

Credit: Nitreo

We’re almost done with our list so let’s take a look at the final tool you should consider for social media management, and specifically Instagram.

13. Phantombuster

Last but not least, Phantombuster is one of the best Instagram automation tools for data extraction and gathering meaningful insights. The tool is filled to the brim with useful features for all social media platforms, including Insta.

The software calls these various tools Phantoms; each of them represents a tool that can extract valuable data across Instagram and even perform actions for you. Needless to say, Phantombuster is a solid time saver for influencers, companies, and marketers.

Here’s what you can expect from this tool.

Phantombuster features

Phantombuster has an extensive list of automation tools that you can use to grow your follower count and engagement.

With Phantombuster, you will get:

• A hashtag collector and hashtag generator.
• Follower collector.
• An Instagram comment bot.
• Auto-follow/unfollow.
• Auto-like on Instagram.
• Manage workflows with a post data extractor.
• A profile URL finder.
• View Instagram stories.
• Instagram tagged post extractor.

Credit: Phantombuster

With so many features on deck, this tool is a great way to amass tons of data that you can use for smart decision-making and strategizing.

Phantombuster pricing

Phantombuster has several pricing tiers to suit different influencers and marketers, but also social media marketing teams and enterprises.

Credit: Phantombuster

As you can see, the business plan is the one that’s most popular on their website, as it’s optimized for most teams and individuals.

 

Okay, now that we have reached the end of our list, let’s answer one last, very important question.

What is the Best Instagram Automation Tool?

Obviously, there is no definitive answer because the best Instagram automation tools are the ones that fit your unique needs, goals, and budget capabilities. There is also no objective winner here because every piece of Instagram automation software brings something to the table that you could use to grow your follower count.

Some tools are more intuitive than others, and some are dirt cheap. Some will help you schedule your posts and automate posting in general; others will let you buy followers to boost your Instagram profile. 

The uses cases are numerous, and the tools are versatile, but if you’re going to use an automation tool, be sure to:

• Consider your biggest pain points and time wasters.
• Consider your budget capabilities and financial projections.
• Consider Instagram’s community guidelines and if you should use certain bots.
• Consider the trustworthiness of the tool and always look for honest reviews.
• Consider how well the tool can integrate into the tools and platforms you already use.

With all of that in mind, let’s wrap up today’s topic.

Now Over to You

There is no denying that the best Instagram automation tools out there will help you grow your following and improve engagement over time. That said, it’s important to use the right tools for your needs and adhere to Instagram's rules and policies.

When you’re using a tool like a scheduler for your posts or when you’re automating your posting, you can rest assured that your IG account will grow safely. But no matter which tool you choose, always make sure to find honest reviews and ask to try out the tool first to see if it’s a good fit for your needs.

So, which tool caught your eye today and inspired you to give it a go?