The 10 Best Instagram Bots
| # | Instagram Bot | Get Started |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Social Captain | |
| 2 | Instazood | |
| 3 | Jarvee | |
| 4 | Robolike | |
| 5 | Combin | |
| 6 | Gramista | |
| 7 | Follow Adder | |
| 8 | Kicksta | |
| 9 | Social Sensei | |
| 10 | Bigbangram |
Table of Contents
- 1.Introduction
- 2.What is an Instagram Bot?
- 3.The Different Types of Instagram Bots
- 4.Why Do People Use Instagram Bots and Should You Use One?
- 5.Instagram Automation Pros and Cons
- 6.Instagram Bot Features To Look For
- 7.The 10 Best Instagram Bots for Growing Your Likes and Followers
- 8.How NOT to Use an Instagram Bot or Growth Service
- 9.How To Effectively Use Instagram Bots and Automation
Instagram can be an astonishingly valuable tool for business owners and influencers from growing their brands and incomes.
So, of course you want in on the Instagram game and a near limitless upside for your brand an income.
But Instagram is a complex platform, and with all those users you’re far from the only one competing for attention.
How are you supposed to set yourself apart from the crowd?
It requires more than posting great content and hoping for the best, but you already know that.
Getting more Instagram likes and followers requires a lot of work, including:
- Liking and Commenting on other posts
- Responding to questions
- Publishing at the right times
- Strategically following other accounts
It can all be loads of time-consuming, tedious work.
Which is why you’re looking for the best Instagram bots – a little robotic friend that can take care of some of the manual labor for you to help you grow your brand by focusing on what you’re really good at (creating great content).
With the right Instagram bot by your side, you can expand your reach and gain the attention of real users that wouldn’t otherwise see you.
That being said, you’ve probably heard that Instagram bots have gotten a bit of a bad rap (Instagram’s had a bit of a crackdown on them recently).
But there’s no need to fret!
There are still quite a few IG bots out there doing things the right way – helping users gain real Instagram likes and followers while taking the necessary steps to protect your account from getting into trouble with the social media giant.
The hardest part is really knowing which Instagram growth services are worth paying for and which aren’t.
Which is why we’ve put together this complete guide to the Instagram bot, packed with everything you need to know about the best bots, features to look for, why you might want to consider using one, and how to use one to automatically (and safely) grow your Instagram presence.
We’ve got a lot of ground to cover so without further adieu, let’s get into it!
What is an Instagram Bot?
An “Instagram bot” (or “growth service”) is a way of automating interactions on your account – things like follows, likes, comments, DMs, etc; basically anything besides creating posts (you should still do that yourself, technology can’t do it all for you)!
All of which helps you appear on more people’s activity feeds, increasing the number of times your username is seen and thus your profile visits, followers, likes/comments, and website clicks.
The best Instagram bots let you delegate repetitive, mind-numbing social media tasks to a tireless, super intelligent application; just as you have a washer/drier because you can’t be bothered to wash your clothes by hand, so too can Instagram automation with bots make the “chores” of running a successful account that much easier.
At least, that’s the idea.
Unfortunately, being successful on Instagram requires more than finding just any bot, setting it up, and watching your likes and followers grow.
If you’ve got an account with great content and the right automation targets and guidelines, an Instagram bot can generate interactions that look completely organic and won’t get you flagged by Instagram.
BUT, if your account has unoriginal, uninspiring content that real users couldn’t care less about, paired with badly set automation targets, a bot will interact with people in a spammy way that will get you reported – fast (if you’ve been on Instagram a while you know exactly the kinds of interactions we’re talking about, and how much spam sucks).
Because so many brands, businesses, and wannabe influencers have relied on badly automated bots to try to sell Instagram fools gold, the platform has made headlines over the last few years for striking back, including shutting down well-known Instagram automation services like Instagress in an attempt to reduce inauthentic activity on the app.
This means you should tread lightly when entering the Instagram automation arena to avoid being struck by the banhammer yourself.
BUT, if done correctly, there’s definitely still room for using Instagram bots for growth.
More on that later, first, let’s look at the main types of Instagram bot.
The Different Types of Instagram Bots
Bots can do a number of things to help you automate your Instagram growth, namely:
-
Automatically Follow People (“Follow Bots”)
The idea here is that if you follow people relevant to your brand or company’s niche, some of them will follow you back to help you massively increase your visibility.
-
Like and Comment on External Posts (“Like/Comment Bots”)
Likes and Comments on posts from influencers in your industry has a few benefits, including opening the door to collaborations, increasing your visibility to relevant audiences (people who like work similar to yours), and helps your account feel more active online.
-
Like and Comment on Your Posts (“Follower Bots”)
These bots leverage the concept of “social proof” to help your account grow by leveraging crowd mentality. If people see you have a lot of followers (fake or not), they’ll be more inclined to follow you. Likewise, if they see your posts already have likes and comments, they’ll be more likely to engage themselves.
-
Automatically Queue Up and Publish Posts (“Publishing Bots”)
Compared to the above types of bot (all of which can put your account at risk if used improperly), this type of bot is fairly safe. They’re not designed to grow your following or generate likes, instead they just automate the druge work of scheduling and publishing posts so you can crank out a batch of great content and get on with the rest of your day while remaining consistent with your publishing presence.
Why Do People Use Instagram Bots and Should You Use One?
With 1 billion monthly active users, there’s nearly endless opportunity for you to grow your brand and business using the platform – if you can find the time to interact with everyone who might be interested.
But, if you’re a smaller company or solo influencer grinding to get ahead, you don’t have the kind of team that can handle all that work manually (please don’t try to do it all yourself, we’d hate to see you lose a thumb).
Which is why owners and influencers like you turn to bots – 95 million bots to be precise.
The plain and simple fact is, bot’s make people’s lives easier.
They don’t eat, sleep, or have to set aside time to call mom every so often.
They don’t complain if you make them work all day, they don’t get sick, and they don’t spread fear and doubt about your ability to achieve success around the water cooler (yes, we know what you’ve been saying about us Rick!).
They just do what you tell them, day and night, no need to thank them.
So if you’re a time-limited human being with grand visions of Instagram fame, bots can be a great companion.
IF used in a non-spammy way (bad for your fellow Insta users, bad for you when your account gets banned).
Ultimately we’re not here to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do for your business or brand.
The right Instagram bot used effectively can speed up your path to success in demanding, complex social media world.
The fact that giant companies like Google rely on artificial intelligence and automated processes is testament to the power of the bot.
But bot’s just can’t replace a fully-functioning social media team working to execute a well-definied strategy and make meaningful, genuine connections with your audience.
With that in mind, let’s look at a some pros and cons to help you figure out if your next “teammate” should be an Instagram bot.
Instagram Automation Pros and Cons
We can’t stress the dichotomy enough: Instagram bots can save you time and simplify your social media management process, but automation-based marketing has it’s share of risks and costs as well.
When you’re thinking about signing up for an IG bot, you should know what you’re getting into.
For that, we’re here to help!
Instagram Bot Pros
Three top reasons to use a bot:
-
They absolutely save you time
There’s always money to be made in the online business world – if only you can find the time to get after it. While there are a ton of fantastic Instagram strategies for success, they all take time to perfect. You’ve got to figure out that magic mix of hashtags and accounts to use, follow, like, and comment on, as well as regularly engage your followers to make them feel valued. An Instagram bot can help do a lot of that for you.
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They (can) help you stay consistent
We firmly believe here at Growr that all success requires at least a dash of discipline. Building a successful brand and business is no exception! And consistently posting mind-blowing content will always take at least a bit of discipline. BUT, with a dash of Instagram automation thanks to your friendly neighborhood Insta bot, you’ll be able to free up more time for content creation and get help with automated publishing to keep you on track.
-
They let you focus on doing what you do best
Bots are there for you 24/7, handling the bulk of your Insteraction (insta + interaction, get it? We try so hard here :’( ). With a good bit of the repetitive work handled, you’re creative energies are that much more freed up to do what you do best – build an awesome Instagram strategy and create super fun content.
Instagram Bot Cons
While we all love our AI friends, automation isn’t without its downsides.
The main issue is that many Instagram bots might not technically be “legal.”
Not in the “get thrown in jail” sense – no worries there.
BUT they could land you in “Instagram Jail.”
Some bots are designed to access Instagram’s API without permission which, according to IG’s Terms of Use, is a violation.
In particular, bots aren’t allowed to:
- Store user or login information
- Display or back up user content
- Manage Instagram relationships
If you get caught violating Insta’s rules, you risk being shadowbanned or permanently suspended, and as we mentioned above the IG team have been cracking down on bots that generate fake likes and engagement lately.
That being said, with the best Instagram bots, used the right way, you’ll be safe (we’ve used them and have friends who do too, we’re all fine so far).
At this point, we definitely recommend avoiding “follower bots” – bots that pretend to be real followers on your account to inflate your follwer count and leave fake likes and comments.
They never were that helpful, since they’re basically just imaginary friends that can’t talk to anyone else, convince them how great you are, or buy anything from you.
And they’re pretty much exactly what Instagram doesn’t want in a bot.
As far as the other types of Insta bot, here are a few things you should look for.
Instagram Bot Features To Look For
Using a bot to automate your Instagram growth can be the answer you’re looking for – if you take steps to make sure the one you choose is safe, secure, and has everything you need.
Here are a few things to look for when choosing the best Instagram bot for you and your brand/business.
Complete Control
This should go without saying, but make sure the Instagram bot you choose keeps you in control of your account.
While the best bots put you in complete control of the content you post, hashtags and profiles you target, and the amount of liking, commenting, following, and DMing they do, some take over some or all of these things without any input from you.
That’s not only bad business (it’s not what you or anyone else wants, so they should improve their software to accommodate you), it’s a great way to fast track your account onto the banned list.
Automated Activity Speed
One of the biggest challenges when searching for a solid IG bot is finding a system intelligent enough to grow your following without garnering negative attention for feeling too artificial/disingenuous.
Or violating Insta’s account activity limits.
While it’s hard to resist the promises of rocket-speed propulsion to Instagram stardom, good things take time.
The more natural and loyal you want your community to be, the more gradual you need your automated actions to be.
Instagram has limits for the number of times accounts can perform certain activities including follows, likes, comments, and DMs within an hour (eg 200 follows/hr).
Unfortunately for the lowly user (that’s us), IG doesn’t publish these limits publicly.
The good news?
The teams behind the best Instagram automation software make it part of their job to figure out what those limits are and make sure customers (that’s us) don’t go over them because that makes us unhappy and unwilling to pay them.
So you should look for bots that have built-in activity speed limits that are automatically managed for you. It’s a solid sign of a good business partner and will keep your account safe..
Easy/Free VPN Setup
If Instagram decides to flag an account as spammy or inauthentic, they don’t stop with a precision strike of the banhammer on that account.
Nope, they’ll also identify the IP address used to manage that account and flag all the other accounts associated with that IP address.
The best Instagram growth services set your bot up under a unique VPN, which gives that bot its own IP address.
Still sucks for you if they screw up and your account gets banned, but this keeps everyone else safe.
And, of course, vice versa – you won’t ALSO get banned because another account using the same Instagram growth service as you.
Solid Customer Service
If you know what you’re doing, you could actually set up your own Instagram automation company.
That, plus the fact that “automation” has always attracted “black hat” marketers like flies to a honeypot (+1 if you get that reference), means there’s a constant churn of new Instagram bot companies sprouting up and going under – most of them shady af.
You definitely don’t want to put your account, financial information, and dreams of fame at risk by signing up for an Instagram growth service that’s just a scam or destined to shut down 2 months after you get started.
And, as is always the case with software, things break.
All of which are reasons why we highly recommend choosing an Instagram bot service that has a proven track record (of course) and responsive, helpful customer service team.
The later will not only help you get the most out of your bot, but companies that invest in customer support are the ones most likely in it for the long haul, to genuinely help you grow your account, not just looking to make a quick buck in a fly by night operation.
Free Trials
As we would with any software we use, we absolutely recommend you try before you buy in the case of Instagram bots.
This will obviously let you try them out, see how easy they are to use, and help you make sure you’ll get your money’s worth before committing to a monthly fee.
And just like customer service, solid companies that are looking to help you out and stick around for a while will be more than willing to sacrifice a couple of dollars they might get out of you by tricking you into paying before you try for the sake of building a solid, long term relationship with you.
The 10 Best Instagram Bots for Growing Your Likes and Followers
Instazood
Pricing
- 3-Day Free Trial
- The IG Bot Starts at $9.99/month
Features
- Hashtag and location targeting
- Automatic follow/unfollow, likes, and comments
- Automatic DMs (additional cost)
- Comment Management (additional cost)
- Post Scheduling (additional cost)
- Web Based
- Tutorials in multiple languages
Pros
- Easy to Set Up
- One of the least expensive Instagram automation services
- They’re the biggest at the moment (meaning you can trust they’ll stick around)
Cons
- Requires a bit more skill to manage (UX isn’t the greatest, doesn’t have as much automated targeting/activity management as other Instagram bots)
- No Unique VPN
Summary
Which is great, because any bot promising that is likely to land you in IG jail for TOS violations.
One of it’s big strengths is hashtag targeting.
The Full Lowdown
If you already know a few hashtags worth targeting for your brand or business, that’s a great start for you; if not, Instazood still has you covered.
That’s because they focus on helping you search for and target the best hashtags for connecting with your ideal audience and niche.
With those awesome hashtags on your list, you can then put their top Instagram bot to work automatically following/unfollowing, liking, commenting, or messaging your fellow Insta users and future fans.
Instazood also has one of the best support systems around, starting with a super easy to follow tutorial that takes you step-by-step through the initial setup so you can put their Instagram bot to work ASAP.
As you’d expect from top notch support, there’s a help center filled with quick answers to your most likely questions – but when that’s not enough you can reach out to a human and get a response within a day.
And the fact that it’s web based means it runs super smoothly, 24/7 without taking up any more precious hard drive space (much better used for storing photos you’re working on for upcoming posts!).
Downsides: they don’t offer a unique VPN and their UX isn’t the greatest.
But, pricing starts at $9.99 per month after a 3 day free trial (one of the least expensive plans around) and they’re the biggest Instagram automation company at the moment, so if you’re on a budget and want to trust your Insta bot will stick around awhile Instazood’s a great choice!
Jarvee
Pros
- Lot’s of control over how their IG bot works
- Get to Download it (can be safer if you set it up correctly)
- Also helps with social media automation on 7 other platforms
Cons
- Not as user-friendly (control comes at a cost)
- Have to Download it (uses your computer resources, doesn’t run while you’re offline UNLESS you set up a VPS)
Features
- Post scheduling
- Auto re-post
- Auto-follow/unfollow/follow back
- Auto like/comment/dm
- Hashtag targeting
- Comment management
- Proxy support (protects your IG account like VPNs do)
Pricing
- Starts at $29.95/month
- 5-day Free trial
Jarvee stands out from most of the other best Instagram bots on our list in a couple of ways.
For one, it’s software that you download, rather than an web based application.
This has its pros, namely in that you’re not trusting your IG login info to an Instagram growth service website that could get hacked.
And, if you set it up correctly (using proxies to hide your IP address/have separate IP addresses for the reasons we mentioned above [not getting all your IG accounts banned if one gets flagged]), it’s safer than some other bot services.
But, it will take up space on your hard drive and memory/CPU cycles so it might slow your computer down.
And if your computer isn’t on or connected to the internet (like our laptops are a lot of the time… definitely not paying those fees for super slow airplane wifi), Jarvee won’t be able to work for you.
One way around that, while also adding some ban-proofing is to get a Virtual Private Server (VPS) – basically you install Jarvee on someone else’s website server so it’s always on.
Jarvee does have instructions for how to do this for free (using Amazon – you can trust them).
But it’s a hassle you might not want to go through.
Jarvee also stands out from the other Instagram growth services on our list because it’s not just for Insta – you can use their social media growth platform on the top 8 social media services including:
- Google+
- Tumblr
- YouTube
So if you’re looking to build your brand outside of Instagram, they’re well worth checking out.
On the Instagram side, they have everything you’d expect from a member of our top Instagram bots list: a user-friendly dashboard, post scheduling, auto like/follow/comment and hashtag targeting.
Plus a few extras like auto re-posting, comment liking, and post saving (so you can save posts from top users in your niche to get more content ideas).
And on the plus side of using downloaded software, you’ve got a ton of control over what Jarvee’s IG bot does and doesn’t do – either through the settings or a good ol’ shutdown.
Jarvee is a bit harder to learn for Instagram automation noobies, but if you’re willing to go through a bit of a learning phase they’ve got a ton of tutorials to help you out!
Robolike
Pros
- Does one job and does it well: Instagram auto likes
- One of the easiest and safest Instagram growth services to use
- Relatively inexpensive
Cons
- Only does one job well: Instagram auto likes
Features
- Hashtag targeting
- Control how long it runs
- 60 or so likes per hour
Pricing
- $7.77/month
- 3-day free trial
Everyone loves to get likes on their posts, and Robolike helps them get exactly that!
And that’s all they do.
“But… Features!” you say?
You want more than just an Instagram liker bot?
Well, we hear you, that’s why we’ve got a ton of other bots for you on this list.
BUT, Robolike is one of the oldest Instagram bots around for a reason, two really:
- Automating Instagram Likes works
- Automating Instagram Likes is safe
When you set Robolike loose to like with not-so-reckless abandon, you’ll start to raise the chances that other users will see your profile, go to it, then tap out a quick “like, like, follow.”
So there’s definitely Instagram growth value to an Instagram liker bot.
While that growth might take a bit more time than other Instagram growth strategies, it’s also super safe.
Unlike automated comments and DMs (which can appear spammy and get you flagged by other users) and automated follows/unfollows (which can appear spammy and get you flagged by Instagram’s AI), there’s basically no way to tell a bot-powered like from a human-powered one.
And Robolike has their liker bot set at a nice safe speed, about 60 likes per hour, to keep you under the Instagram banhammer’s radar.
Plus you’re in control of how long it runs, and because it’s so simple it’s easy to get started with Robolike.
So if you’ve got a couple of ounces of patience and/or want to save a few bucks and some frustration trying to use other Instagram like bots, check out Robolike!
Combin
Pros
- Highly-focused on authentic engagement
- Some of the best search and targeting tools around
- Get to download it – see Jarvee above
Cons
- Not as automated as other Instagram growth services (they mostly help you find relevant users/posts and make it easy to like/follow/unfollow in batches)
- Have to download it – see Jarvee above
Features
- Advanced Instagram search and analysis
- Audience management (batch likes/follows/unfollows)
- Easy communication (easier to comment on posts en-masse using their tool, they also have comment templates)
- Stats on how many likes/follows/comments you make using Combin and how much engagement you get in return
Pricing
- Free (limited search results, 250 actions/day)
- Starts at $10/month for unlimited actions
Combin is an Instagram bot service that really takes pride in generating organic engagement and organic followers for your account.
Their team believes that simply farming one-off likes (from people who won’t ever follow you) or temporary follow backs (from other users looking to follow/unfollow to grow their following.. Say that five times fast) is pointless.
And it can lead to getting your account blocked.
So they’ve created a tool that helps you build up an engaged community, safely.
How?
Well, for starters, they’ve got a super advanced search tool that let’s you find your target audience through hashtags, locations, amoung your exsiting followers or followings and people who like and comment on your or your competitors posts.
With that info in hand, they make it easy to batch like, follow and unfollow and easily leave comments on other people’s posts (including handy comment templates).
While Combin makes this whole process fast and easy, they don’t fully automate all that outreach like other Instagram growth services do.
So that safety/authenticty comes at the cost of more of your time, though they are working on task automation.
But, if authenticity in your Instagram automation is important to you and you don’t mind being a bit more hands on (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, you’ll probably learn more about your target audience and be able to make better content this way), then be sure to check out Combin!
Gramista
Pros
- Simple and Easy to use
- Intelligent Algorithms to mimic real human behavior (and avoid the banhammer)
Cons
- Not as many features/as much control as other Instagram bots
- Relatively expensive for what you get
Features
- Like/Follow/Unfollow
- Smart Mode to keep your current followers safe from their auto-unfollow
- Blacklist to avoid interacting with certain accounts
Pricing
- 12-hour free trial
- Starts at $1.79/day or $39.99/month (they do their packages a bit differently)
Gramista brags on its website that it’s a simple, effective way to get real Instagram likes and followers that will love you.
And we tend to agree!
They don’t have some of the more complicated features that you’ll find in other Instagram bots as they want to make it super simple to launch a new Instagram growth campaign in just a couple of button clicks.
That’s great for Instagram automation noobies or those that want a quick following boost every now and then, but if you really want to dig in and ride the growth curve hard (with safety in mind – always wear your seatbelts kids!), they might not be for you.
They’ve got the standard Instagram liker bot/Instagram follower bot goodness baked in, as well as a special “Smart Mode” that ensures none of your current followers are unfollowed – just the people their bot adds.
Their blacklist also helps you avoid automatically interacting with certain accounts.
And they’ve taken the time to program their Instagram automation AI to mimic real human behavior rather than following/liking as many people/posts as possible to keep you off the spam radars.
The biggest downside beside the lack of features is the cost.
They let you buy one day packages for just $1.79 each (again, good if you just want a quick burst of growth), but that works out to $53.70/month.
Cool, I’ll just get a month-long package then!
You can, but it’s still $39.99 for that, which is definitely on the high side for an Instagram bot these days.
Follow Adder
Pros
- All the tools you need with lots of control over the automation
- Lets you manage multiple Insta accounts from one app
- One of the least expensive Instagram bots
- Get to download it – see Jarvee above
Cons
- Not as user-friendly as other Instagram growth services
- Have to download it – see Jarvee above
Features
- Post scheduling
- Automated like/follow/follow back/comment/DMs
- Hashtag, user, location and keyword searching/targeting
- Follow Whitelist (“don’t unfollow me bro!”) and Blacklists (“don’t follow me bro!”)
Pricing
- 7-Day Money Back Guarantee (you have to pay first, but you can get your money back if you don’t like it)
- Starts at $8.33/month (6-month plan)
Follower Adder’s website isn’t as pretty as some of the other Instagram growth services we recommend, but we’re okay with that.
Instead of making things nice and shiny, they’ve dedicated their time to working hard to quickly climb the best Instagram bot ranks!
Searching for relevant hashtags, users, keywords, and locations – of course.
Instagram liker bot? Yep.
Instagram follwer bot? For sure.
And you’ve got automated follow backs, comments, and DMs – everything you’d want from an all-purpose Instagram growth service.
Icing on the cake features include:
- The same batched account activity as Combin (so in addition to the Instagram bot, you can also manually like/follow/unfollow/comment, which is great if you want to play it safer for a while or try out new automation targets before letting the bots loose).
- Post scheduling to save time when managing your posting.
- Proxy support to keep your account(s) safe.
- Lets you run multiple Instagram accounts from their app at the same time.
Overall we’d say Follow Adder is a solid Instagram bot with all the tools you need, but it’s a bit less user-friendly (in how it looks, how hands-on it can be, and because of the lack of quality tutorials) than other bots.
But if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty to figure out the best Instagram growth strategies and/or want to manage multiple IG accounts in one place, definitely give them a shot!
Kicksta
Pros
- Sticks to just likes – the safest/most authentic Instagram growth tactic
- Proprietary filters that make sure they only target real users (not spam/bot accounts)
- Fairly easy to setup plus you get a dedicated “Customer Success Manager” (but…)
Cons
- You have to give them a list of accounts to target that you’ve already found on your own (something other Instagram growth tools do for you)
- Sticks to just likes – one of the slower Instagram growth tactics
- Fairly expensive for what you get
Features
- Instagram Auto Likes
- 24/7 Operation
- Smart Targeting AI
- Monthly Growth Reports
- Dedicated “Customer Success Manager”
Pricing
- 14-Day Money Back Guarantee (you have to pay first, but you can get your money back if you don’t like it)
- Starts at $49/month
Kicksta is a solid Instagram like bot with a proven track record, plain and simple.
They don’t have all the fancy bells and whistles that you might want or need in an Instagram bot, sure.
But they do Instagram auto liking damn well, and for some, that’s enough.
How?
Once you sign up, you’ll provide them with a list of Insta accounts to target; you’ll have to do that yourself, which isn’t so great – especially if you’re new to Instagram automation and don’t know how to generate a solid list of related and competitor accounts who have the followers you want to attract.
But they’ll team you up with a dedicated customer success manager to help you with this and any other challenges you might face using their platform – we like that kind of high-touch atmosphere in the “just get ‘em signed up and let them fend for themselves” world a lot of Instagram liker bots try to live in.
Once you get them the list, they’ll then automatically like 1-2 photos from each user following those target accounts, up to 1,000 likes/day or 30k a month, with monthly growth reports to prove they’re delivering the growth you’re looking for.
It’s simple. It works. It’s safe.
And with some help from their Smart Targeting AI, they’ll have you resting easy at night, knowing you’re doing your Instagram automation due-diligence – saving yourself some time and energy while protecting your account and growing in an authentic, organic way.
Social Sensei
Pros
- Dedicated Instagram Expert that manages the configuration of all your automation settings to make it super easy for Instagram automation noobies
- Unique VPN/IP address to keep your account safe from banning
- Created by young entrepreneurs who are dedicated to authentic growth and figured out what works and what doesn’t in the Instagram trenches – they learned the hard/slow way so you don’t have to!
Cons
- You have to give them a list of accounts to target that you’ve already found on your own (something other Instagram growth tools do for you)
- More expensive than more hands on/DIY alternatives
Features
- Automated likes/follows/comments
- Hashtag and username targeting
- Content filtering and blacklisting
- Reposting
- Automated Story viewing
- Automated DM drip campaigns to turn more followers into promoters and leads
Pricing
- 5-Day Free Trial
- Starts at $45/month
If you aren’t so confident in your ability to set up an Instagram bot…
Social Sensei’s got your back!
The founders of Social Sensei are a group of young entrepreneurs who spent their time in the Instagram trenches – learning the hard, long way what works and what doesn’t when it comes to Instagram growth, branding, and monetization.
From that personal experience, they know that learning how to effectively automate an Instagram bot can be hard and time-consuming for the average Insta user.
That’s why they’ve built their platform to give you complete control of all the Instagram bot basics like hashtag and user targeting, automated follows and likes, as well as some tasty bonuses like reposting, blacklisting, and automated story viewing.
BUT, they won’t just take your money, set you loose, and leave you hanging there – instead they’ll assign you a dedicated Instagram expert to manage every step of the automation process so you don’t have to!
All you need to get started is a list of hashtags and accounts to target, and they’ll take care of the rest; not ideal when other tools help you with this, but they’ll help you out with the research if you need it.
While growth results absolutely depend on how good your content and initial list of targets are, we’ve heard reports that average accounts are getting anywhere between 500-1k new followers a month with Social Sensei (possible but hard to do if you don’t know how to properly automate your IG bot).
Plus, that dedicated expert will manage your activity speed and they’ll set you up with a unique VPN to make sure you’re maximizing growth while staying safe from getting spam flagged.
So if you’re looking for the benefits of Instagram automation without spending a ton of time learning how to work that magic yourself: Social Sensei!
BigBangram
Pros
- A full set of Instagram growth services – including help with strategy and management!
- Can help you set up your account and strategy
- Activity limits and free proxy to protect your IP and keep your account safe
Cons
- Built by non-English speakers (so their website/knowledge base can be a bit confusing).
- No free trial (it’s only $1 but still, you have to give them your CC info)
- Charge extra for some things that other bots include (though if you just want a standard Insta bot, they’re definitely on the cheaper end).
Features
- Auto follow/unfollow/like/comment
- Scheduled Posting
- Username, location, hashtag targeting
- Free setup of your initial automation settings/targets
- Free proxy
- Support for as many Instagram accounts as you want
- 24/7 Customer Support
- Additional “modules” to help with comment management, advanced post editing/management, and social media strategy/content management
Pricing
- 3-Day $1 Trial
- Starts at $15/month
BigBangram offers you all the basics you’d expect in an Instagram bot: automatic likes/comments/follow and unfollow, hashtag and username targeting – all at a pretty great price compared to most of the other bots on our list.
Follow Adder is a bit cheaper but they make you pay for a full 6 months up front, and Instazood’s bot is $5/month cheaper but doesn’t include post scheduling, and their additional modules/features like Comment Tracking and DMs cost more than BigBangram’s.
Speaking of those additional modules/features, that’s definitely where BB stands apart; while other bots on our list include Direct Messaging and Comment Tracking/Management suport in their more basic packages, they’re more expensive than doing it all with BigBangram.
They also support multiple Instagram accounts through one of their accounts, offer free proxies to protect your IP address and accounts, and scheduled posting rounds out their gravy on top.
Where BigBangram really shines, though, is in their Social Media management service, which you can add to your bot starting at $75 a month.
We’d certainly caution you against hoping you’ll get an amazing Instagram account with a ravenous following of hundreds of thousands when you let someone else do all the creative work, but everyone needs a helping hand now and then coming up with strategies and content ideas.
If you’re just getting started and your more on the “now” than “then” side, the fine people of BigBangram could be a solid resource!
Plus, even if you just stick with their basic Instagram bot, they’ll help you with the initial setup on their platform.
Biggest downsides are that the site is created and run by non-native English speakers, so while they’ve got some good help docs and 24/7 support, you might run into some language barrier issues.
And they don’t have a free trial; it’s just a $1 for three days which is close enough, but still. We like free.
SocialCaptain
Pros
- Some of the best AI-powered automation optimization around
- Super helpful real-time reports and growth recommendations
- Focused on organic growth – not just new followers but also engagement and exposure
Cons
- Have to manually search Instagram to build your username and hashtag targets list
- The free trial could be longer (though they offer a demo so you can see how it works before you even start your trial)
Features
- 2-minute setup
- Username, location, hashtag, and language targeting
- Free VPN
- Competitor tracking
- AI-optimized activity speeds
- Personalized growth recommendations
- Detailed real-time reports including past and projected growth
- Automated DMs to new followers
- Thorough targeting and automation settings
Pricing
- 1-Day Free trial
- Starts at $15/wk or $29/month (when billed annually)
SocialCaptain’s a long time favorite here at Growr; while we stand behind all the Instagram bots on our best list, this is the one we’ve found to be most effective in our Instagram growth strategies.
And your love (like ours) can begin right from the start.
Unlike all the other best Instagram bots on our list, they offer a free demo; sure the 1-Day free trial could be longer, but before you even have to go through the trouble of signing up for that, you can take a peek at how it all works so you’ll be able to go into that 24 hours locked and loaded to grow.
Have questions while exploring the demo? No worries – search their Help articles or chat with a real person to get it all figured out (a level of customer support that continues if/when you get an account with them too).
After the super fast and simple 2 minute setup, you’ll be taken to one of the finest looking dashboards in the game (seriously, it’s simple and beautiful and we love it).
From there, we recommend checking out their Getting Started tutorial to get going fast.
Basically, you’ll just set up your initial hashtag, username, and location targets; if you really want to play you can get even more specific with a ton of additional targeting tweaks like:
- Gender
- Post Age
- Post Type
- # of Post likes and/or comments
- # of User followers and followings
But we don’t recommend you waste your time doing that.
Because what really sets SocialCaptain apart is their industry first and leading AI optimization, which really just takes Instagram automation to a whole other level.
With most IG bots, you set the initial targets and your bot buddy will automatically do the liking/commenting/following for you.
SocialCaptain, well they don’t stop their.
Using their advanced machine-learning algorithms, they’re bot learns from each interaction the bot makes as well as those of the users the bot interacts with to constantly refine it’s audience targeting 24/7.
Proper targeting is critical to the Instagram automation game (second only to great content) as the right or wrong targets will make or break your Instagram growth.
If you’re already set in the targeting strategy department, great!
SocialCaptain gives you a lot of targeting control settings you can tweak to optimize yourself.
If not, let the AI do it. You won’t be disappointed.
Add to that awesome conversion stats, real-time growth reports and projections, on top of the beautiful UX and outstanding customer support we already mentioned and you’ve got a real Instagram bot winner here.
How NOT to Use an Instagram Bot or Growth Service
As we mentioned above (and you might have heard), Instagram hasn’t been too kind to bots lately.
Starting in late 2018, the social media giant began putting more effort into reducing the amount of inauthentic and spammy activity going on.
And according to some official statements, if they think you’re getting a bit too automated with your growth tactics, they’ll send you an in-app message letting you know some of your likes and followers will be removed, theoretically some/all of those generated from your botting adventures.
The little bit of light in there: if you don’t use your bot well enough to stay off Instagram’s radar, you won’t necessarily get banned right away.
And there’s still room for bots if you do them right.
Which means not using them in a spammy way that sets off alarms at Instagram HQ or annoys your fellow users.
Along those lines, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Your content quality is key – if you consistently create fun, engaging posts, people will be less likely to flag your account when they get a “random” follow or like from you.
- Be careful with comments – automating comments can be effective, but since actual words are involved if the comments have poor grammar (for Instagram standards at least) or clearly indicate you didn’t actually view the post, your bot will get spotted faster than a Zebra in a herd of horses.
- Write your own bio and post captions – since comments will be on other people’s posts and exposed to a lot more strangers, you’re more likely to get called out for using a bot because of those. But the same grammar/writing rules apply to your bio and posts captions. Take the time write those yourself because, assuming you’re human, they’ll read that way.
- Actually use your account, yourself – if you happen to attract attention from an anti-bot crusader, they’ll likely look at your account history. Bot activity speeds will help you here (a few hundred, maybe a couple thousand likes a day, reasonable if you’re really dedicated; no one has time to like 7k cat photos in 24 hours). Regularly publishing content will help you here (especially if it’s good/great). And so will following, liking, and commenting on new users and posts yourself; if you only let your bot do that, on a few specific accounts you tell it to, you’re making yourself a target.
How To Effectively Use Instagram Bots and Automation
Warnings/caveats aside, there’s still a place for the friendly neighborhood IG bot.
There are definitely Instagram automation strategies that minimize the risk to your accounts.
One of the more hands on but pretty much 100% safe methods is to automate your post publishing.
A huge part of your Instagram success, really the essential part, is regularly creating and sharing amazing content real human beings like and comment on.
The timing of your posts matters too
But, as a human being, you won’t always be able to post at just the right time; there are meals to eat, flights to catch, moms to visit, and Tinder dates to go on.
And as an Instagram automation enthusiast, part of the dream is to not have to do so much manual labor to grow your Instagram account.
That’s why, though it’s not fully automatic, post scheduling can be so handy.
In addition to the couple of bots we mentioned above that let you do this, some other tools that are handy for this include:
Setting up your Instagram bot to automatically respond to DMs you receive, or DM new followers is also pretty safe; with the rise in popularity of chatbots, people are getting more familiar and okay with their use – a quick “thanks for following” or “I’ll get back to you soon” message won’t likely bother anyone.
That being said, we know.
It’s the likes and comments and follows you’re after. You’re tryin’ to grow and that’s at the heart of what makes an Instagram growth service work.
You want to leverage that kind of Instagram automation without getting reported, banned or ruining your brand’s reputation by coming off spammy.
So here are a few tips on how to do just that (we’ve got you fam!).
Content. Is. Key.
If done right, Instagram automation using bots is like pouring gas on a fire.
In this case, fire both being a metaphor and adjective describing your content.
Already have fire content? Pour some “Bot’s Best Gasoline” on it and you’ve got yourself an Instagram growth recipe for success.
Only have content as interesting as a puddle of water in the driveway (again)? Well, now you’ve just got a mess someone will have to clean up (if you care about the environment/not being a dirty redneck that is).
Literally speaking, if your content sucks adding a bot on top of it will basically guarantee your Insta looks spammy, as more people will get a terrible first impression, wonder why they’re even seeing you, and assume you’re up to some shady sh*t.
Of course, there are a ton of ways to setup your IG account and create content that’s fire.
The # one way to do that when it comes to a bot is with content that’s unique in your space, valueable, and arranged in an interesting visual grid.
Your account’s first glance look and feel is basically the only way you’ll be able to convince people to decide to smash that follow button after they find you from your bot’s activity.
When they’re just broswing around with enough time to kill that they’re looking at the accounts that like and comment on their posts (or posts from people they already like), they’re going to give you about .2367 seconds to convince them you’re worth spending 14.7633 more seconds with.
If you’ve got top-notch visuals both in your individual posts and in your grid layout, content that actually adds value to people’s day, the more growth you’ll get from your Instagram botting as you’ll convert more quick visits into followers.
Your Targeting Needs to Be On Point
Instagram growth is an audience-building game, and like all the others like it, you’ve got to know what those people like if you want them to like you.
That’s important for your content strategy and each post you make, yes.
In the Instagram bot game, that’s also important for your targeting.
Most bots let you target based on hashtags and usernames/accounts, so it’s critical that you build a list of hashtags and accounts that your target audience loves and pays the most attention to (either manually before getting a bot or using one of the bots that helps you search and find these).
Which people on Instagram will find your account/brand most entertaining and valuable?
What accounts do they already follow and actively engage with?
What hashtags do they search for/follow the most?
The more clearly you understand this, the more accurately you’ll be able to find the right accounts and hashtags your target audience uses.
And the more effective you’ll be able to target your Instagram bot for Instagram growth success!
Be VERY CAREFUL with Automated Comments and Follows (And Maybe Don’t)
The real power of Instagram comments lies in their ability to help you stand out and connect with users who would love seeing your work in their Insta feeds.
To do both, it’s critical that your comments are relevant to the content of the post – which is damn near impossible with a bot.
A good Instagram bot will interact with hundreds of posts, photos, and videos each day.
More than you can do. More than you want to do.
Even the best AI isn’t good enough to do that AND understand the content of each post enough to automatically create content-relevant comments.
This is the key to why, as we mentioned before, comments are one of the easiest ways to get your account flagged as spam; everyone knows you didn’t really see the post when your comment is just generic and vague like “what a beautiful photo” or “love your work.”
Even if no one cares enough to report you… no one cares. And that’s not good for getting visits to your profile and the follows and engaged audience you want to follow from that.
If you use a bot like Combin that let’s you create comment templates, you can attempt to find a middle ground – something that’s applicable for a variety of posts but not so generic it’s useless.
But that’s a trick and a half to pull off.
So test the waters here if you want, but tread with caution.
Follows can likewise be tricky territory to navigate, though they’re a bit safer than comments.
Follows only work when the person you followed to get a follow back feels it’s honest and organic.
Here, your hashtag/username targeting and content quality is the real difference maker.
If you target people that really would be interested in your account/brand if only they knew about you, and then they find content the really do like when they visit your profile, well you’ve got yourself a recipe for success there.
It’s really down to you to figure out the targeting game with your initial list and consistently refine from there.
SocialCaptain’s AI optimization is quite a help in this.
Like Automation is the Safest Way to Automate Instagram Growth
While it’s not as fast as hitting all the Instagram automation angles hard, automating Instagram likes is the safest yet still effective way to grow your Instagram following.
Compared to comments and follows, likes are pretty subtle.
People like likes, they don’t much care if they don’t know you or your account.
There’s no generic text to annoy them.
Instagram doesn’t so much mind likes automation as it increases engagement (so many times we’ve like a post we were on the fence about because we saw that hundreds/thousands of other people did the same).
And unless you’ve got tens of thousands of followers plus, you (like pretty much everyone else) probably still check your activity feed to see who likes your posts and find new accounts to follow that way.
So, feel comfortable and confident using a solid Instagram like bot we recommend above to grow your account.
It’s a safe and effective place to start and stay. The Instagram growth will follow in due time.