When it comes to looking after your social media and scheduling Instagram posts you’re going to need a tool to get the job done. Thankfully, there is a large number of scheduling tools that will look after your Instagram account and let you schedule posts as well as offering a whole array of other valuable social media marketing features.
Tools like Sked Social, Buffer, Hootsuite, Tailwind, Sprout Social, OnlyPult, Iconosquare are the most popular ones but in this post, we’ll also look to review some of the lesser known tools that social media managers use on a daily basis for Instagram scheduling. I challenge you to find a more comprehensive post than this one, if I’ve missed a tool please let me know in the comments!
You’ll find a lot of these scheduling tools also allow you to schedule posts to other social networks besides Instagram such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr & Google.
1. Sked Social
Website: SkedSocial.com
Formerly known as Schedugram, Sked Social is one of the original Instagram scheduling tools.
This is the tool I use to schedule Instagram posts on a daily basis and I’m a very loyal customer which is why I’m putting them at the top of this list!
These are some of the features that make Sked Social my favourite Instagram scheduler:
Automatic Posting
Unlike most of the third party apps tools on this list, Sked Social enables direct publishing which is arguably what makes it the best Instagram tool in my humble opinion. I don’t like receiving post notifications every time a scheduled post needs to go live, I need to be able to post when I’m sleeping.
Visual Content Calendar
When you’re scheduling posts to your Instagram account you want to be able to see how they will look in your Instagram feed before hitting that schedule button. Sked Social has a beautiful visual planner that will ensure you maintain a beautiful aesthetic in your feed.
Hashtag Analytics & Optimal Time
One of my favourite features that Sked Social has is it’s suggestions on the best time to post as well as what hashtags I should use that will ensure I get the most engagement possible. I also like how Sked Social enables you to post the hashtags to the first comment rather than in the caption which looks much cleaner in my opinion.
Bulk Upload
Lots of people like to create their posts in Canva and then upload them from places like Dropbox – Sked Social allows you to bulk upload directly from both of these tools.
Upload Instagram Stories
Unlike most tools out there Sked Social enables you to upload, schedule and automatically post video content to your Insta story. Insta stories are one of the most powerful community engagement mechanisms avaialble to brands today making this a super valuable feature.
Instagram Analytics
If you’re responsible for doing reporting to a boss or you just want to know how well you’re doing then you’ll love the visual reports that clearly break down the growth and engagement your account is getting.
iOS & Android Mobile Apps
Like me, you probably manage your life through your smartphone. Thankfully, Sked Social comes with some great native apps that allow you to stay on top of your posting schedule and do social media work on the go.
Find & Repost Content
For those of us who can’t afford to hire photographers and influencers to create beautiful unique content for us then repost feature that Sked Social offers is fantastic. Simply pop in the handle of someone’s content that you like and schedule it to repost with a single click. You can automatically give that original poster a shout out in the comment.
Unlimited Team Members
If you’re part of a large team then you’ll be familiar with how costs can blow out when tools like to charge ‘per seat’. Thankfully this isn’t the case with Sked Social, you can have as many team members on the account as you like without the price increasing.
Bio Link
Overall, Sked Social is more than just an Instagram social media management tool for managing social profiles, it’s a specialist tool for Instagram marketing & Instagram content scheduling.
They have a great tutorial on how to schedule Instagram posts here.
Sked Social comes with a free 7-day trial so you can give them a go before committing. They’ve got a range of paid plans that are suitable for both large enterprises (such as Boots, BBC & Versace) as well as 10,000 small businesses. They got started 5 years ago and have a team of around 20 people so you know they’re not going anywhere!
Click here to check out Sked Social
2. Iconosquare
Website: Iconosquare.com
Iconosquare has been around since the dawn of Instagram time. They are best known for their advanced Instagram analytics tools and recently started offering to schedule posts as well.
They are a French company but they also have a team working out of Berlin & Brisbane.
Click here to check out Iconosquare
3. Crowdfire
Website: Crowdfire.com
Crowdfire has been in the social media management game since the beginning of social media. They’re an all-in-one app you can use to handle your whole social media strategy.
Click here to check out Crowdfire
4. Grum
Grum is a web-based Instagram scheduling tool that’s only available to people who hold valid coupon codes. I tried to find more information on their website but it is not much else aside from the homepage and the login page. They originally launched in 2015 but it looks like they stopped working on the product shortly thereafter.
Website: Grum.co
5. Rivuu
Rivuu enables you to create, approve and schedule your social media content across Instagram, Facebook & Twitter. They have customers such as Amway (ew). It doesn’t look like they let you schedule Instagram stories but you can post images, gifs and use other Facebook features.
It appears to be specially made for agency owners as there are various levels of approvals that you can set for each team member. You can also get email notifications for when new posts go live. It comes with a 14-day trial and costs $10 per profile per month.
Website: Rivuu.com
6. Tailwind
Tailwind is more focused on Pinterest than they are on Instagram. Historically they have been known as the best Pinterest scheduling tool and more recently have started to develop features for scheduling to Instagram as well.
Their features include: bulk uploading, drag & drop publishing, Pin looping and a browser extension that helps you save time by repinning. Their team is based in NYC and Oklahoma.
Their professional plans start at $799/m (billed annually) and they have a blogger plan at $9.95 per month.
Website: TailWindapp.com
7. OnlyPult
OnlyPult is a tool for social media posting that includes analytics.
They have 4 plans ranging from $10/m to $55/m and offer a 7-day free trial.
They also have an iOS & Android mobile app
Website: OnlyPult.com
8. HopperHQ
Hopper has over 10,000 brands using their Instagram scheduling tool, which is quite an impressive number. They have a really broad list of features as well that makes them quite comprehensive as a solution. They have an iOS app but not an Android one. Their plans start at $19/m and come with a free 14-day trial.
Website: HopperHQ.com
9. Sprout Social
I remember Sprout Social from back in the day, these guys have been around forever. When they started they were mainly focused on Facebook but now it seems they have Instagram as the focus. This makes sense as it’s the platform where brands can get the most organic engagement from social media nowadays.
They mostly cater to the enterprise market and seen as the go-to competitor to Hootsuite.
Website: SproutSocial.com
10. Bettr
Made especially for influencers who use Instagram as one of their social media profiles. They also offer an influencer network to tap into which is quite a smart offering I think. Their app is ‘invite only’ and their website has no information on pricing so I have no idea how much it costs.
Website: Bettrsocial.com
11. CoSchedule
CoSchedule started off as a content calendar tool and has slowly built more features over time that allow you to schedule posts directly to each of the social media platforms, including of course Instagram.
They bill themselves as the only ‘holistic marketing project management’ tool on the web. I think this is fair call.
Website: CoSchedule.com
12. TakeOff
TakeOff is exclusively an app but I’m not sure their still operating.
Website: takeoff.com
13. AutoGrammer
Autogrammer comes with a free 7-day trial and lets you schedule your Instagram, Facebook & Twitter posts. Their website is fairly light on the content so there’s not much more to report than that expect that also have a photo editing feature.
Website: Autogrammer.com
14. ViralTag
ViralTag focuses on being a visual planner for Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn & Tumblr. Similar to other tools in this post they also let you upload, edit & schedule posts in bulk. You can upload directly from Google Drive & Dropbox.
They also have a handy ‘post recycling’ feature. They lay claim to having the best Chrome Extension on the market which lets you pick images from any site and schedule them with a click.
Pricing ranges from $24/mo to $249/mo.
Website: ViralTag.com
15. Plann
Plann says they have a million Instagram users on their app which is probably because they have a free plan. Their paid plans start at $7/mo.
Website: Plannthat.com
16. Machinegram
Machinegram is the same as all these tools but targeting the Brazilian market.
Website: Machinegram.com
17. Buffer
Integrates directly with the Instagram app to allow image posts. Can handle posting to lots of different social media accounts. I’ve been following Buffer for many years and their ethos of transparency is very impressive.
Website: Buffer.com
18. Later
Later has a limited free plan and will help you plan a beautiful Instagram feed. They say they have over 1,000,000 brands, agencies & influencers.
Website: Later.com
19. Hootsuite
More known for managing your social profiles on other social media platforms. It integrates with WordPress and has a free account. Also works for posting tweets. They have over 16 million users. Paid plans start at $39/mo.
Website: Hootsuite.com
20. Sendible
Sendible has many thousands of users and offers a comprehensive set of social media planning features.
Website: Sendible.com
21. Loomly
Loomly is a new cat on the block. Offering much the same as everyone else on this post!
Website: Loomly.com
Planoly
As you can tell by their own palette Planoly is targeted towards brands in the beauty and fashion industries. Their main feature is the visual planning aspect and they’ve also recently released a stories design tool that works from within their app.
Planoly has been operating for 4 years. Their team plan costs $199/m.
Website: Planoly.com
Conclusion
To conclude, there are a whole ton of different tools available to you for the purpose of scheduling Instagram posts. You know by now that my favourite is Sked Social because of the comprehensive features it offers but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try out some of these others ones as well.
Thanks for reading this far! This post is over 1800 words so I’m really grateful for your time.
Did I miss one of the best Instagram scheduler tools that deserve to be on this list? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks! And please share this post if you found it useful.