In the race to the best social platforms, Instagram has become a strong contender in the last couple of years. Which means there’s an Instagram tool for everything these days – but why do you need them?

With its 1.1 billion users, Instagram is also the third most popular advertising and content platform behind Facebook and Google Ads. To cash in on the 4.2 billion post likes per day and the 60% of users who discover products on Instagram first, you need to be organized and using the right Instagram tools for every aspect of your business to stay ahead of the pack.

We’ve put together this comprehensive collection of the best Instagram tools for scheduling Instagram posts, creating awesome content, managing your account, marketing, growing followers, finding influencers, hashtag research, selling on Instagram, editing photos and videos, and more. Here are the chapters we will be covering:

Best Tools for Scheduling Instagram Posts

Content Creation Tools for Instagram Marketing

All-in-One Multichannel Management Tools

Growth Hacking Instagram Tools

Instagram Tools for Finding Influencers

Instagram Hashtag Research Tools

Linking Tools for Instagram

Market Assessment Tools for Instagram

Photo Editing Tools for Instagram

Selling Tools for Instagram

Let’s dive in.

Best Tools for Scheduling Instagram Posts

1. Buffer

Perfect for: Social scheduling

Price: Free version, pro upgrades from $15

Type: Web platform, iOS and Android

Earlier this year, social scheduling and management platform Buffer added Instagram to their list of platforms you can schedule to. Buffer users can schedule their single-image posts from their desktops or their Buffer mobile apps, making it easier to schedule all your social ahead of time with one platform.

2. Hootsuite

Perfect for: Social scheduling and monitoring

Price: Plans start at $19 per month and include a 30-day free trial

Type: Web platform

hootsuite scheduling for Instagram

Another popular multi-platform scheduler is Hootsuite. With this platform, you can schedule Instagram (and other social account posts) ahead of time, get post notifications and track

3. Hopper

Perfect for: Scheduling & stats

Price: From $16 per month on the annual plan

Type: Web platform

scheduling software for Instagram by hopper

If you’re looking for an Instagram scheduling tool that is exclusive to Instagram accounts, then Hopper could be it. It offers scheduling, Instagram content calendars, phone preview to make sure you can see how posts look on mobile before scheduling, and has space for draft posts.

4. Later

Perfect for: Scheduling

Price: Free, with paid plans starting at $9 per month

Type: Web platform

online Instagram scheduling calendar

One of the most popular schedulers out there – according to a lot of eCommerce Facebook group members’ recommendations – is Later. It is known for its visual calendar and easy scheduler, as well as its link.bio feature that turns bio links to shoppable URLs.

5. Schedugram

Perfect for: Scheduling all post types

Price: From $20 per month

Type: Web platform and iOS

screenshots of Schedugram instagram tools

A little pricier than the other scheduling tools we’ve mentioned, Schedugram is a little more than a scheduler as it also includes content creation features designed explicitly for Instagram. Some highlight features include their visual planner, built-in photo editing, drag & drop calendar, location, shopping and mention tagging, and a variety of post type options such as carousels, videos and stories.

Content Creation Tools for Instagram Marketing

6. Boomerang

Perfect for: Creating short video loops

Price: Free

Type: iOS and Android

Boomerang for iOS and Android

Boomerang is an easy-to-use app for creating short, fun videos for Instagram. This audio-free app is the perfect Instagram tool to create content anywhere, making it great for behind the movement shots and product-use videos.

7. Canva

Perfect for: Content creation

Price: Free, with free and paid template options

Type: Web platform, iOS and Android

free online design tools

Canva is a great online content creation tool for designing anything from Instagram posts to email headers. There are tons of free and paid templates and images to choose from and you’re able to upload finished designs directly to your Instagram account.

8. Kapwing

Perfect for: Video and meme creation

Price: Free, with an additional $6 to remove watermark

Type: Web platform

online video editor to make loop videos

Kapwing is a free online Instagram content creation tool specializing in video creation and editing. With Kapwing you can make memes, add subtitles to your videos, create video collages, add music and text, trim and resize videos, create slow-motion videos and much more.

9. PicFlow

Perfect for: Content creation

Price: Free, with in-app purchases

Type: iOS

app to make video slideshows for iphone

PicFlow is a great tool for turning photos into a video slideshow. Free for iOS and Android app users, with PicFlow you can add music and remove watermarks with a paid upgrade.

10. Repost

Perfect for: Curating and sharing content

Price: Free

Type: iOS and Android

apps to repost Instagram posts

The Repost app makes it possible for you to repost your favorite photos & videos on Instagram while giving credit to the original Instagrammer. The big advantage is that it’s free and easy to use, allowing you to share your UGC to your Instagram account while on the go.

11. VSCO

Perfect for: Editing photos and videos

Price: Free, with in-app purchases

Type: iOS and Android

VSCO app on ipos and android

If you’re looking for striking visual content for your Instagram campaigns, VSCO is waiting to help. With powerful image and video editing capabilities, users can replicate settings to make their photos look like they’ve been professionally shot. They also have preset options serious creators can use with Lightroom and Photoshop.

All-in-One Multichannel Management Tools

12. Crowdfire

Perfect for: Social account management

Price: Free, and paid plans from $7.48 per month on annual plan

Type: Web platform

 Social account management crowdfire

Crowdfire is an all-in-one social and blog content management tool that allows you to schedule and publish posts, curate content, track social mentions, and monitor account and post analytics. This includes your Instagram account, and is a good tool for those wanting an Instagram management tool that works with most platforms.

13. Sendible

Perfect for: Social account management

Price: From $29 per month

Type: Web platform

example of full business and social management tool

Another all-in-one social media management tool to consider is Sendible. However, as it is designed for agencies or business owners who manage a host of social accounts, it can seem a little expensive for newbie small business – but it has robust features. It includes post scheduling and social account management as well as CRM and team collaboration features. Plus, its easy Canva integration makes creating Instagram and other social posts a breeze.

14. Status Rew

Perfect for: Social account management

Price: $125 per month

Type: Web platform

Top multi-channel measurement tool Status Rew

Similar to Crowdfire and Sendible, Status Rew gives you 10 social profiles, 10 twitter sources, three team members, 2,000 scheduled posts per profile, comprehensive reporting and social listening. For those who aren’t familiar with the term, social listening features generally enable you to sync your social engagement to the platform, monitor and moderate comments, draft replies and keyword monitoring.

Growth Hacking Instagram Tools

15. Combin

Perfect for: Growing Instagram following

Price: Free, with upgraded plans from $10 per month

Type: Windows, OS and Linux

instagram tool software for mac and windows

The Combin platform is marketed as the ideal tool for growing genuine followers and engagement – getting comments and likes. It also helps you find influencers and engage back with followers in a user-friendly way.

16. Coupon Pop

Perfect for: Converting web traffic to Instagram followers

Price: From $10 per month

Type: Web platform and Shopify app

instagram tools to turn web traffic to social followers

This web tool enables you to create popups that are designed to turn your website traffic into social followers by offering an incentive.

17. Instagram Feed WD

Perfect for: Displaying Instagram posts on your site

Price: Free, with premium upgrades from $75 (once-off)

Type: WP plugin

Another way to turn your site traffic into Instagram followers is to integrate your Instagram content into your store. If you’re using WordPress, then 10Web Instagram Feed is a good solution. From displaying hashtag feeds to highlighting specific posts, this tool is an excellent way to introduce your web traffic to your Instagram content.

18. Juicer

Perfect for: Site integration and feed management

Price: Free, with upgraded plans from $19 per month

Type: Online platform and WP plugin

Juicer lets you display your Instagram posts onto your website to help you turn your web traffic into engaged Instagram followers. Their only dashboard also allows you to view and delete your posts.

19. SocialDrift

Perfect for: Increasing followers though auto-engagement

Price: $13 per week

Type: Web platform

If you’re looking for automated likes, comments and follows to help you engage with Instagram users, then SocialDrift’s algorithm can help. Based on specific parameters you set, it then learns the best times for engagement and acts accordingly.

Cautionary Tip: If you decide that this kind of tool is the way to go, use it strategically. There is nothing more annoying to an Instagram user than an engagement that one can clearly see is a bot. Instead, make sure you use more segmented hashtags/permissions (to keep the chance of relevancy higher) and be extra cautious with your comment text.

20. Upleap

Perfect for: Increasing followers

Price: From $39 per month with a free trial

Type: Web platform agency

tools to grow Instagram followers that arent bots

Upleap takes over your Instagram engagement management to grow your Instagram following. Marketed as a tool to save you a ton of time by managing your search for engaged followers for you while helping your brand gain more social influence.

Instagram Tools for Finding Influencers

21. UserGems

Perfect for: Finding influencers and micro-influencers among your own customers

Price: Free for up to 100 customers, then $19 per month

Type: Shopify app

Finding influencers and micro-influencers

If you’re looking for the best influencers for your brand, then the UserGems Shopify app is here to help. Using real-time customer intelligence, this tool uses social media data from your customers to help you find influencers with over 10k followers and bloggers who are popular in your niche.

Instagram Hashtag Research Tools

22. Autohash

Perfect for: Finding hashtags

Price: Free, with in-app purchases

Type: Android app

app to help find intagram hashtags

Autohash is an Android app that helps you find relevant Instagram hashtags more easily. It uses AI to review your images and the objects in them, to suggest the most relevant hashtags for your Instagram content. It will also add your popular hashtags to your clipboard for future use.

23. Display Purposes

Perfect for: Finding hashtags

Price: Free

Type: Web platform

web-based platform that helps you research popular and relevant hashtags

Display Purposes is a web-based platform that helps you research popular and relevant hashtags for your Instagram posts. You start by inputting a hashtag or keyword, and it will suggest more hashtags you can choose from (in manual mode) or give you a list of hashtags to use (in automatic mode.)

24. Focalmark

Perfect for: Finding hashtags

Price: Free, with in-app purchases

Type: Android and iOS

focal hashtag research app

Focalmark is an Android/iPhone app that helps you choose hashtags for your Instagram image posts. Its algorithm takes the photo subject, location and the camera used, to help you find the most popular hashtags that are relevant to your image.

25. Toptager

Perfect for: Hashtag research

Price: Free

Type: Web platform

most popular Instagram hashtags

Toptager is an online tool that not only displays the most popular hashtags in real-time but helps you find the best hashtags for your keywords. Its copy-and-paste function offers a simple way for you to cut and paste these popular hashtags into your posts.

26. Websta

Perfect for: Hashtag ideas

Price: Free

Type: Web platform

most popular Instagram accounts by hashtags

Linking Tools for Instagram

27. Linktree

Perfect for: Bio link strategies

Price: Free, or $6 per month for pro version

Type: Web platform

how to use instagram bio link strategically

Linktree is a tool that manages your Instagram bio link for you. As you know, you are only able to put one link in your Instagram bio, and changing it regularly depending on specials, blog posts, or product promotions can be tedious. Linktree fixes that by providing you a link to use that leads clickers to a landing page with different sections they can click.

28. Soldsie

Perfect for: Bio link strategies

Price: From free to $300, depending on the number of clicks your link receives

Type: Web platform

 instagram bio link strategy tools

Another bio link optimizing tool is Soldsie, catering to online stores and publications. Utilizing the link “have2have.it/brand,” it’s a favorite bio link tool for some of the biggest brands including OPI, Dailylook and Lulu Frost.

Market Assessment Tools for Instagram

29. Ink361

Perfect for: Competitor analysis and account management

Price: Free, with a pro version in the works

Type: Web platform

Competitor analysis and account management

Ink361 is an all-in-one Instagram account management tool, but with one key feature difference: its competitor analysis tool. With Ink361 you can monitor and compare your competitors, analyze the competition in general and see how you compare to your biggest competition.

Photo Editing Tools for Instagram

30. Afterlight 2

Perfect for: Photo editing

Price: $2.99

Type: iOS (and Android for previous version)

best editing functions afterlight

Afterlight 2 is another favorite all-in-one photo editing tool. It includes a variety of frames, filters, typography options and textures to help you visually optimize your Instagram images. Additionally, there is an option to create your own filters. Its previous version, Afterlight, is available for Android.

31. Enlight

Perfect for: Photo editing

Price: $3.99

Type: iOS App

enlight photo editing software

Another iOS photo editing tool is Enlight. Enlight is super creative and helps turn your images into original works of art.

32. Facetune

Perfect for: Retouching images

Price: Free, with in-app purchases

Type: iOS app

retouching apps for iphone

Facetune is a retouching app that helps you do things like whiten teeth, widen eyes, cover blemishes, etc. without the need for fancy editing programs such as Photoshop. Good for images of people or apparel product photos with models on lower budgets.

32. Photoshop Express

Perfect for: Image editing

Price: Free

Type: Windows, Android and iOS app

free photo editing software photoshop

Photoshop has brought out a free photo editing app called Photoshop Express. It offers a host of photo editing features including cropping, blemish removal, text tools, contrast and exposure corrections, filters, perspective corrections and border additions.

33. Snapseed

Perfect for: Photo editing

Price: Free

Type: iOS and Android app

free photo editing software android Snapseed

Another free, popular photo editing app is Snapseed, which has comprehensive editing tools and allows you to upload images directly to certain platforms. Its ‘Stacks’ feature allows you to group filters you have used to create a template that you can use for future Instagram images.

Selling Tools for Instagram

34. Foursixty

Perfect for: Selling with Instagram posts

Price: From $50 per month

Type: Web integration and Shopify app

Foursixty is a comprehensive Instagram selling tool that allows you to display UGC in your checkout pages, use powerful customization tools, get rights to photos and videos, and schedule your posts. Its most important feature, though, is its shoppable gallery tool, which turns your UGC and content into shoppable galleries for your site, blog, emails and ad campaigns.

35. Shopping on Instagram

Perfect for: Selling with Instagram

Price: Free

Type: Shopify app

stoppable posts on shopify

Shopping for Instagram is a Shopify store feature that helps you link to Instagram shopping, to create shoppable Instagram posts. You need to be located in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Germany, France, Spain or Italy to use the feature; make sure you’ve got an approved Facebook Shop and Instagram Business account.

36. Instagram Shoppable Feed

Perfect for: Adding shoppable Instagram feeds to your site

Price: $4.95 per month

Type: Shopify app

shobabble instagram posts on website

Like the previous Instagram post display apps we discussed, the Instagram Shoppable Feed Shopify app allows you to display your posts on your site. However, unlike previously-mentioned tools, this app enables to make those Instagram images shoppable, designed to help push online sales.

37. Woobox

Perfect for: Running Instagram contests

Price: Free, with paid plans from $37 per month

Type: Web platform

Running Instagram contests woobox

UGC contests on Instagram with woobox

If you’re looking for an app to help run Instagram (and Facebook) contests, then Woobox is a handy Instagram marketing tool to have. Used by big brands such as Spotify and Fossil, Woobox helps you create posts, landing pages, forms. Collect hashtag submissions, etc. to launch Instagram competitions to drive sales and grow followers.

There you have it – all the Instagram tools you need for anything from scheduling to marketing and selling. Before investing in a new Instagram tool, I suggest that you make use of their free trials, plans and versions first. This will ensure you’re not throwing away unnecessary budget on tools, apps and plugins that don’t work for your brand, niche or marketing objectives.

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