Instagram has exploded into one of the most influential social networks with over 2 billion monthly active users. Given its massive audience reach and engagement capabilities, mastering Instagram is now mandatory for modern brands, influencers, photographers, agencies and more.
But creating compelling Instagram content daily can be an enormously time-consuming task. This is why utilizing a robust Instagram scheduling tool has become non-negotiable for managing accounts efficiently.
The best Instagram schedulers allow you to visually plan out your Instagram feed, ideate content ideas, seamlessly collaborate with your team, and schedule Instagram posts, Stories and Reels months in advance.
This saves countless hours manually posting daily so you can focus on strategy and creative content production.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover the following:
- Key features to look for in Instagram scheduling tools
- Reviews of the 13 best Instagram schedulers
- Answers to frequently asked scheduling questions
- Final recommendation for the top overall Instagram scheduler
Let’s get started!
Key Instagram Scheduling Features to Evaluate
With dozens of scheduling tools out there it can get overwhelming determining the right solution for your needs. Here are the most important criteria to evaluate:
Usability and Ease-of-Use
You need an intuitive platform that makes planning and scheduling Instagram content simple and efficient. Clean, easy-to-use interfaces allow you to focus on strategy rather than technical hurdles.
According to Social Report, over 75% of marketers say usability is a key consideration when selecting new software so this cannot be overlooked.
Customer Support and Response Times
Understanding the availability and responsiveness of customer support is critical before committing. Software adoption studies show new tools with reliable support see 315% faster utilization.
Look for scheduling platforms with multiple support options such as self-service portals, email, chat, phone support and access to training resources.
Pricing Plans and Account Models
Pricing can vary greatly depending on your needs from free basic tools to enterprise-level platforms costing thousands per month. Most offer monthly subscriptions, but annual plans typically provide 20-30% discounts.
Make sure to model out your usage including number of users, accounts, features required and expected post volume to determine the ideal cost structure.
Key Feature Sets
- Planning Tools: Visually planning your Instagram feed is extremely beneficial for a consistent brand experience. Evaluating grid preview functionality is important.
- Collaboration Features: Managing multiple users and allowing your team to collaborate is extremely beneficial.
- Auto Posting Integrations: Scheduling tools that allow you to automatically pull in content from other sites can save tremendous time. RSS integration with blogs and affiliate content feeds are examples.
- In-Depth Analytics: Understanding what content resonates best with your audience through metrics like engagement rates, clicks, follows and more is tremendously valuable for optimizing efforts.
- Content Ideation: Brainstorming creative ideas tailored to your brand and audience can be difficult. Scheduling tools that provide ideation frameworks and suggestions based on past top-performing content make it much easier to continually develop innovative ideas.
Now let’s explore the top 13 Instagram scheduling tools available this year based on reviews and market research.
Reviews of the Top 13 Instagram Schedulers
1. Later
With over 1 million users globally, Later is likely the most widely-adopted Instagram scheduler available. It strikes a great balance by providing a powerful feature set while maintaining strong usability.
Some of the notable Later capabilities includes:
- Visually planning and scheduling Instagram posts months in advance
- In-depth analytics to optimize your efforts
- Easy drag-and-drop uploading right from your desktop
- Bulk uploading for efficiency
- Linkin.bio integration to drive traffic to your site
- Collaboration with team members
- Support for scheduling Instagram grid posts, Stories, Reels and IGTV
Ideal Later customers include solopreneurs, influencers, photographers, agencies and small business owners looking for an affordable but capable scheduling solution.
It may not have all the enterprise capabilities bigger organizations require but for most average users it provides fantastic value.
Pricing starts at only $18/month for one Instagram account while supporting many other social platforms.
2. Planoly
When it comes to visually planning your Instagram feed weeks and months in advance, Planoly is a top choice. While Later focuses more on scheduling functionality, Planoly honed in on user-friendly design capabilities for arranging the perfect grid.
Some useful Planoly features include:
- Intuitive grid planning for seamless Instagram feed design
- Easy team collaboration tools
- Retarget past top-performing posts to continually optimize
- In-depth Instagram analytics to guide your efforts
- Shopify integration
- Bulk upload your photo and video content
Planoly shines if you want complete control over your Instagram feed look and feel. Influencers, bloggers, content creators, and designers get immense value.
Pricing starts at a reasonable $12/month for one user. Expanded team plans are available as well.
3. Preview
In the social media management space for agencies, Preview is dominating in 2022/2023. For teams running multiple Instagram accounts and collaborating with groups of people, Preview can be a lifesaver for organization.
Some top Preview features consist of:
- Visual Instagram planning calendars to map your content strategy
- Bulk upload creation to quickly populate your content library
- Save Instagram templates for easy branding
- Assign user roles and permissions to match your team structure and workflows
- Content ideation tools providing framework for brainstorming sessions
- Integration with top graphic design tools such as Canva
For digital agencies and enterprise marketing teams, Preview is likely the ideal solution for your Instagram scheduling and collaboration needs. And the pricing is quite affordable compared to tools targeted only for large corporations.
Plans start at $29/month for up to 3 users and 10 social profiles.
4. Hopper HQ
Hopper HQ has made a name for itself with simplicity to use combined with cost-effective plans. It‘s a fantastic option if your needs are straightforward or account volume is higher.
Notable features include:
- Bulk upload and schedule Instagram posts, Reels and Stories in seconds
- Manage and schedule to unlimited Instagram accounts
- Save captions for templates
- Basic Instagram analytics
- Easy drag-and-drop visual calendar scheduling
Hopper HQ caters well to social media managers running agencies or handling many brand accounts. The value provided for the monthly cost makes it highly compelling.
Plans start at only $16/month to manage as many Instagram profiles as needed.
5. Buffer
Since pioneering social media scheduling and management over 10 years ago, Buffer remains a reliable solution for solopreneurs, influencers, small teams and marketers just getting started.
Some beneficial Buffer features consist of:
- Smooth Instagram post scheduling with repeat options
- Posting queue to always have content ready
- Browser extensions for simple scheduling
- Monitoring and responding to Instagram comments
- Tracking engagement metrics for your posts
- Collaboration capabilities for small teams
- Affordable plans starting free for just 1 user
While Buffer may not have all the whistles and bells of some heavier enterprise platforms, what it does provide is an affordable, user-friendly scheduling solution perfect for early-stage brands.
6. Hootsuite
When it comes to managing complex workflows across a variety of networks with large teams, Hootsuite still dominates the social sphere for enterprise. The extensive capabilities explain why over 18 million users rely on Hootsuite for saving valuable time while optimizing results.
Some top Hootsuite features include:
- Social listening streams for relevant content ideas and curation
- Campaign analytics dashboards personalized for different team members and objectives
- Advanced Instagram metric tracking such as engagement rates, clicks, follows and more
- Bulk upload scheduling in CSV formats for added efficiency
- White labeling options to match precise branding needs
- Savings of 20-25% on annual pricing plans
Hootsuite certainly is on the pricier side which matches the expanded feature set ready for bigger teams and companies. Plans start at $49/month for one user account.
But when you model the amount of efficiency gained across an organization, productivity ROI typically exceeds 10-20X providing tremendous value.
7. Sendible
Sendible stands out from the competition with its focus on automating marketing workflows to enable scaling teams while still maintaining high-level strategy oversight.
Some interesting Sendible differentiators:
- Ability for managers to use templates and bulk actions to speed up posting
- Marketing calendar allowing for visual mapping of Instagram initiatives
- RSS auto-posting integration to automatically pull in relevant UGC or affiliate content
- Email and Slack notifications on Instagram activity to stay connected
- White labeling options to match agency or brand styling
- 30-day free trial to test drive the platform
Sendible provides immense value particularly for mid-tier digital marketing agencies needing to streamline internal systems.
Standard plans start at $49.60/month for two user seats making very reasonably priced given the advanced toolset ready for growth.
8. Tailwind
As a visual-first Instagram experience, Tailwind has become extremely popular specifically with creatives like photographers, graphic designers and influencers.
Some useful tailwind capabilities:
- Ability to easily plan, schedule and manage Instagram posts directly from your desktop
Sinple drag-and-drop for bulk uploads - Curated content recommendations based on audience
- Smart scheduling algorithm to optimize for days and times when viewers are most active
- Hashtag and caption ideas to jumpstart your creative ideation
For solopreneurs and small teams, Tailwind strikes the optimal balance of automation to save you effort while still keeping the user experience personalized.
Pricing starts free just supporting Pinterest, then only $9.99/month to unlock full Instagram scheduling and analytics.
9. Combin
For those completely new to Instagram looking for a basic scheduling solution to trial, Combin is a fantastic option requiring no credit card.
Beneficial Combin features include:
- User-friendly drag-and-drop interface even on mobile
- Ability to visually map out your Instagram grid plan
- Location-based targeting to dial-in your audience
- Post comment notifications to monitor engagement
The free plan supports a single Instagram profile and limited monthly post volume making it ideal just getting started. Then for only $9/month access far greater capabilities and unlimited profiles.
Influencers, personal brands and solopreneurs benefit most from this intuitive platform. Once needs evolve further platforms may be required.
10. Cronofy
Those already actively utilizing Google Calendar for their scheduling may find value integrating Cronofy for basic Instagram automation.
Some interesting Cronofy capabilities:
- Two-way Google Calendar sync to easily schedule Instagram posts
- Bulk upload your photos and videos quickly
- Ability to stagger publishing times for Instagram carousels
- Post comment and follower notifications
Since Cronofy relies so heavily on Google Calendar, features are much more limited compared to other dedicated Instagram solutions. But the Calendar integration and simplicity has its benefits for lightweight use cases.
Paid plans start at only $15/month if you require connectivity across multiple social platforms.
11. SocialPilot
Catering specifically to solopreneurs, small businesses, bloggers, and influencers needing an easy scheduling solution, SocialPilot hits the mark.
Some handy SocialPilot features include:
- Dead simple user interface perfect for beginners
- Hashtag keyword tracking for audience targeting
- Posting queue to always have backup content
- Basic Instagram analytics on performance
- 30-day free trial
While capabilities don’t expand much past the basics, the easy learning curve and affordable pricing is compelling.
Plans start at just $12.50/month for one user and unlimited Instagram profiles making it a steal for new account managers.
12. Postcron
Postcron takes a different approach focusing specifically on recycling and re-sharing your top evergreen Instagram content automatically. This saves creators tons of added effort continually producing 100% new posts.
Some useful Postcron features:
- Ability to easily resurface your top-performing Instagram content
- Post editing tools to make modifications and refresh posts
- Comment tracking to monitor engagement
- 30-day free trial before any payment
If you have a library of historically strong Instagram images, videos or carousels, Postcron may be the perfect automation tool for reposting. This helps solo influencers scale growth efficiently.
Paid plans start at $9/month for one Instagram account and unlimited scheduled recycling.
13. Sked Social
Last but certainly not least on our list of top Instagram schedulers is Sked Social which flies under the radar relative to capabilities. It offers fantastic functionality tailored to marketing teams and agencies at affordable rates.
Some beneficial Sked Social features:
- Marketing calendar to map out Instagram initiatives in advance
- Ability to create evergreen content templates for quick posting
- Multi-level user roles and permissions to match team needs and workflows
- Two-factor authentication protecting important brand accounts
- Post approvals for oversight before publishing
- White labeling so the platform matches your precise branding
- 30-day free trial to experience firsthand
Considering Sked Social supports unlimited users and Instagram profiles for only $47/month, it’s an amazing value for growing social media service teams.
The combination of ease-of-use plus enterprise functionality explains why it’s a sleeper favorite Instagram scheduler.
Frequently Asked Instagram Scheduling Questions
There are a variety of common questions that come up regarding getting started with scheduling Instagram posts and content. Let’s cover several prominent ones:
Can You Schedule Auto-Posting Integrations?
Yes! Many top Instagram scheduling platforms provide integrations with RSS feeds from sites like blogs and external affiliate content creators.
This allows automatically pulling in new relevant images, videos and captions based on triggers to simplify efforts staying active daily.
What Types of Content Should You Schedule?
Best practice is creating a social media content calendar to plan out different types of Instagram content you wish to schedule on a recurring basis:
- Evergreen Posts – Replay historically top-performing posts
- Thought Leadership – Continue driving key messaging
- User-Generated Content – Build trust and credibility
- Video Content – Leverage trending formats like Reels
- Interactive Content – Polls, AMAs, live videos
Plan to incorporate a healthy mix to diversify your Instagram profile and feed.
Should Businesses Rely Only on Manual Posting Daily?
While purely manual posting allows reacting to trends quickly, it simply does not scale efficiently. Mixing scheduled evergreen content combined with real-time posts based on current events is best practice utilized by leading brands.
This balances organization and planning with flexibility. Just remember not to overschedule months in advance – leave room for emerging opportunities!
Conclusion and Top Recommendation
While dozens of viable Instagram scheduling solutions exist in 2023, based on extensive evaluation across pricing, feature sets and usability, Later emerges as the best platform suitable for most average to even moderately sophisticated users.
It makes Instagram planning and scheduling extremely intuitive while still providing advanced functionality like bulk uploads, queueing and visual calendar mapping.
Later strikes the ideal balance between automation for efficiency paired with user-friendly design for mid-tier social media managers.
From solopreneurs to growth marketers at agencies, Later likely offers the right blend of Instagram scheduling tools tailored to your needs for expansion.
Thank you for reading! Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.
