Instagram remains one of the most important platforms for businesses, influencers, and creators to build an audience and promote themselves online. With over 1 billion monthly active users, mastering Instagram marketing provides immense opportunities to grow your brand and earn income.
However, organically growing a large, engaged following takes an enormous amount of time and strategy. This led to the rise of Instagram growth services that automate actions like liking posts, following users, and commenting to quickly grow accounts.
While services like INS Grow boast that they can rapidly grow your followers, many have been banned or penalized for violating Instagram‘s terms of service with spammy tactics. Identifying legitimate services that use authentic growth methods is key.
In this comprehensive guide, we analyze INS Grow and the top alternatives to reveal the best options for safely and effectively growing your Instagram in 2023.
Overview of Instagram Growth Services
Instagram growth services work by automating various actions like liking posts, commenting, following users, and unfollowing those who don‘t follow back. The goal is to increase visibility and gain more followers organically through engagement.
Some key factors when evaluating an Instagram growth service:
- Growth Method – Services use different strategies like follow/unfollow, targeted hashtags, engagement pods, and more. The method impacts growth speed and how safe it is.
- Reputation – A service with many bans, penalties, and negative reviews likely uses spammy tactics that could get your account banned. Vetted services have better reputations.
- Features – Look for robust analytics, detailed targeting options, schedule flexibility, and responsive customer support.
- Safety – Ensure the service complies with Instagram‘s terms of service and builds followers through authentic engagement, not fake bot accounts.
- Cost – Prices range from $10 to $100+ per month. Balance cost with features and reputation when choosing a service.
We compared over 25 top Instagram growth companies based on these criteria to identify the best options.
INS Grow Review
INS Grow is a longstanding Instagram growth service that claims to grow accounts organically through targeted likes, comments, and follows.
According to the website, INS Grow has helped over 10,000 users gain real Instagram followers and engagement. They boast never having accounts penalized.
Some key facts about INS Grow:
- Pricing – Plans range from $39 to $69 per month based on desired growth speed
- Targeting – Target followers by username, followers of other accounts, posts with specific hashtags or locations
- Growth Method – Appears to use follow/unfollow along with targeted actions to grow accounts
- Reputation – Mixed reviews, some complain about spammy engagement and sudden growth stalling
- Safety – Explicitly states they comply with Instagram‘s terms, but some bans reported
- Support – Email and chat support available, but some reviews say it is slow and unhelpful
While INS Grow markets themselves as a safe way to grow your Instagram account, they seem to use aggressive follow/unfollow and spam tactics based on the many negative reviews online.
Users complain of quick growth through fake-looking engagement, followed by sudden stagnation or account bans when Instagram detects the inauthentic activity. For example:
"INS Grow did help me get a lot of followers quickly at first, but then after a couple weeks the growth just stopped completely. I also got some warnings from Instagram about "inauthentic activity" on my account. I asked INS Grow for help and they just said to try a different plan. Stay away from this one!"
In general, INS Grow appears risky based on the short-term growth, questionable tactics, and multiple reports of accounts being penalized or banned. There seem to be much better and safer options for growing your Instagram.
Top INS Grow Alternatives
After extensive research comparing over 25 top competitors, we identified the top alternative Instagram growth services to consider instead of INS Grow:
1. Stellation Media – Best Overall Instagram Growth Service
Stellation Media is my top recommendation for safely and effectively growing your Instagram following in 2023.
They are an industry leader used by over 10,000 clients including major brands and influencers. Stellation sets themselves apart by leveraging advanced AI that engages with targeted users based on audience interests, habits, and responsive behavior.
Key features include:
- Targeting – Detailed targeting of followers by location, gender, interests, behaviors, and more
- Growth Method – Proprietary AI that engages with the right users at the optimal times. Much more effective than crude follow/unfollow.
- Reputation – Extremely positive reputation with no issues of bans or other penalties for clients
- Analytics – Robust analytics dashboard to track growth and engagement metrics
- Safety – Completely compliant with Instagram‘s terms through authentic engagement
- Support – Very responsive support via email, chat, and phone
I‘m impressed by Stellation‘s use of advanced technology to target users that will authentically engage with your brand rather than spamming irrelevant accounts. This leads to stable, long-term growth compared to many competitors.
With pricing starting at $99 per month, Stellation is more expensive than most services but delivers an unparalleled combination of steady, targeted growth and stellar customer support. They offer a free trial to experience the platform.
2. Growthoid – Quality Instagram Growth for Any Budget
Growthoid is a cost-effective Instagram growth service ideal for any budget. Plans start at just $15 per month, making professional account management achievable even if you are just starting out on Instagram.
Growthoid focuses on accounts in your niche to drive authentic engagement. Some key features:
- Targeting – Target competitors‘ followers and users engaging with relevant hashtags
- Growth Method – Follow/unfollow method with heavy emphasis on relevant engagement
- Reputation – Generally positive reputation as a budget-friendly service
- Analytics – Dashboard for tracking growth and top posts
- Safety – No indications of being overly spammy, but Instagram limits still possible
- Support – Decent support via email tickets
The main downside is inconsistent speed due to Instagram limiting their actions. But overall Growthoid is great bang for your buck for getting started with professional Instagram growth.
3. Nitreo – Powerful Analytics for Instagram Strategy
If you manage multiple Instagram accounts professionally, Nitreo stands out with their robust analytics capabilities for optimizing your Instagram marketing strategy.
Nitreo specializes in in-depth analytics rather than aggressive automated growth. Key features:
- Analytics – Track impressions, engagement, best times to post, ideal hashtags, audience demographics, and more
- Targeting – Decent targeting by username, hashtags, keywords
- Growth Method – Light automation focused mainly on analytics
- Reputation – Compliant growth service with positive reputation
- Safety – Very safe approach but slower growth overall
- Support – Helpful email support and extensive self-serve knowledge base
The dashboard provides powerful competitive benchmarking, ideal posting times, hashtag research, and audience demographics – perfect for professional marketers. However, those seeking primarily fast growth may need to look elsewhere.
Plans start at $99 per month for up to 10 Instagram accounts. Nitreo is ideal for social media managers and marketers taking a strategic, data-driven approach to Instagram.
4. Social Sensei – Safe Instagram Automation
With Social Sensei, you get access to advanced automation for Instagram growth paired with complete safety. This newer service caught our eye for its combination of legitimate growth tactics and stellar support.
Here‘s an overview:
- Targeting – Target by posts, hashtags, locations, followers, interests
- Growth Method – Automated following, commenting and liking in your niche
- Reputation – Positive so far with excellent client retention
- Analytics – Key metrics like followers gained, engagement rate, best times to post
- Safety – Never had an account penalized, very safe approach
- Support – Excellent support via email, chat, and Facebook group
Social Sensei is on the pricier side with plans starting at $150 per month. However, you get rock-solid safety, great support, and the most legitimate automation available. The company clearly takes compliance seriously.
5. Kenji – Powerful AI for Instagram Domination
Kenji is a uniquely advanced Instagram growth service leveraging sophisticated artificial intelligence to engage ideal followers. They claim to have spent over $500k developing their AI technology.
Here is an overview:
- Targeting – Import competitors to find their engaged followers
- Growth Method – Complex AI engages ideal users based on their interests and habits
- Reputation – Very new but positive initial reception
- Analytics – All key metrics with visualizations
- Safety – Compliant and low risk approach
- Support – Helpful support via live chat
Pricing starts at $49 per month for up to 5,000 followers gained. While unproven compared to more established services, Kenji has immense potential to dominate Instagram growth through advanced AI. One to keep an eye on.
Choosing the Right Instagram Growth Service
When choosing an Instagram growth service, you must balance your budget with how quickly and safely you want to grow.
Stellation Media is the best premium option for long-term, stable growth thanks to their advanced targeting and authentic engagement tactics. The price is justfied by stellar support and avoiding any risk of limits or bans.
Growthoid is the best budget-friendly service starting at just $15 per month. You get decent automation and targeting without breaking the bank. Just don‘t expect incredibly fast growth.
Nitreo stands out for data-driven marketers who want to analyze performance and optimize strategy. The analytics capabilities are immense.
Social Sensei is ideal if you want reliable automation and complete peace of mind that your account will stay safe. Their stellar support also makes them a great option.
Kenji has huge potential leveraging cutting-edge AI, but the unproven reputation means some risk. One to watch in the industry.
Stay far away from services like INS Grow that use shady tactics and spam. Focus only on legitimate companies driving authentic engagement with real users.
Always start with a free trial to test out a service before investing significant budget. Be wary of any service promising unrealistic follower counts. Consistent, compliant growth takes time.
Use this guide to find the ideal Instagram growth service that fits your brand‘s budget and needs in 2023. Let me know if you have any other questions!
