Erica
Instagress alternatives are what people search for because Instagress, the Instagram bot that liked and commented for you, no longer exists. This page explains what happened to it, what the closest replacements are, and why no replacement is risk-free for your Instagram account.
We do desk research only. We did not sign up for, pay for or run any tool mentioned here, and nothing was tested on a live Instagram account. Everything below comes from the providers’ own pages and independent reporting, read on 21 October 2026.
Quick answer: Instagress shut down in April 2017, according to Fstoppers, which reported that it closed at Instagram’s request. The closest living options we reviewed are Nitreo, Kicksta and Upleap, all paid and all offering a 7-day free trial on their own pages. None is an official Instagram product, and Instagram says services of this type break its rules.
Status of Instagress: shut down. Price of the alternatives: see each review, plans change. Safety: some alternatives need your Instagram password; action blocks and restrictions are possible.
What Instagress was
Instagress was a web-based Instagram bot. Based on press coverage from 2017, it automatically liked and commented on photos on your behalf, aiming to make other users notice your account and follow back. It was popular enough that its closure made news in tech and photography outlets.
Instagress no longer operates, so there is no current pricing, trial or support to describe. How it worked is known only from the coverage of the time, and we cannot check it against the original service, which is gone.
Why Instagress shut down
On 21 April 2017, Fstoppers reported that Instagress had closed after being asked to by Instagram. The report rests on a notice shown to visitors of the Instagress site, which said the service was shut down at Instagram’s request and offered subscribers a refund. The Fstoppers article does not include an official Instagram statement, so the wording “at Instagram’s request” comes from Instagress’s own notice.
It was not the last service to go. On 13 May 2017, Fstoppers wrote that Mass Planner had also been shut down, calling it the most used service after Instagress. The author read both closures as a sign that Instagram does not want automated interaction, though that is his interpretation, not an Instagram announcement. We cover the aftermath on our Mass Planner alternatives page.
Older versions of this page speculated about trademark action over the “Insta” name. We could not find a source for that and have removed it.
What to look for in a replacement
“Instagress alternative” can mean two different things, and it helps to decide which you want before comparing services.
- A bot that acts on your account. You connect your account, set targets such as hashtags or accounts, and the service follows, unfollows and likes. This is the closest match to Instagress and carries the most risk.
- A tool that does not touch your account that way. Scheduling and analytics tools that work through Instagram’s official tools. They will not grow your following by themselves, but they do not run against Instagram’s rules in the same way. See our guide to Instagram automation or the Instagram manager tools roundup for the difference.
Questions worth answering for any service: does it ask for your Instagram password, is there a free trial, what does cancelling look like, and does the company say plainly that Instagram may limit your account.
Instagress alternatives we reviewed
These are the live services in our Growth Services and Automation and Bots reviews that most resemble Instagress. Prices on provider pages change often, so we leave exact prices to each review, which carries its own reading date.
Nitreo
- What it is: a hosted growth service, which means it runs on the company’s servers instead of your computer.
- Status: its website loaded and showed paid plans with a 7-day free trial when read on 21 October 2026.
- Password: the homepage does not say. Our Nitreo review sets out what its terms and pricing pages state.
Kicksta
- What it is: a paid Instagram growth service built around targeted engagement.
- Status: its website loaded on 21 October 2026. It lists a Growth and an Advanced plan, with a 7-day free trial on monthly and quarterly billing.
- Password: Kicksta‘s own FAQ says it needs your Instagram password and stores it encrypted. Details are in our Kicksta review.
Upleap
- What it is: a service that advertises targeted organic growth through automated interactions.
- Status: its website loaded on 21 October 2026 and advertises a 7-day free trial.
- Password: its homepage does not explain how logins work. Our Upleap review covers the service, though some older details in it need a fresh check.
The original version of this post also listed Kenji, Riotly Social Media, Instato and JARVEE. Kenji’s own site loads, but we could not confirm that Riotly or Instato are open for business, and none of the three has a review on this site, so they are no longer recommended here. Our JARVEE review remains for readers who still come across the name.
Also see what happened to Social Drift (domain parked).
The alternatives side by side
Read on 21 October 2026 from each provider’s own pages. “Not stated” means the page we opened did not say.
| Service | Free trial | Asks for your password | Our review |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitreo | 7 days | Not stated on the homepage | Nitreo review |
| Kicksta | 7 days on monthly and quarterly plans | Yes, per its FAQ | Kicksta review |
| Upleap | 7 days | Not stated on the homepage | Upleap review |
Safety and risks
This is the section to read twice. In its November 2018 post, Instagram said that apps used to artificially grow an audience violate its Community Guidelines and Terms of Use, and that it would remove the inauthentic likes, follows and comments they generate. It also said that accounts which keep using such apps may see their Instagram experience impacted.
The same post warns that sharing login details with these apps makes your account less secure. If you gave a service your password and want to end that access, Instagram says changing your password revokes it.
What that means in practice:
- Any replacement that acts on your account is automation Instagram says it does not allow. Outcomes range from nothing happening to removed activity and restrictions. We cannot predict which.
- Services that hold your password add a second risk: the security of that service.
- A free trial costs no money but uses the same account and carries the same risk.
- Instagress itself shows this category can disappear quickly, with subscribers left asking for refunds.
Who should consider one, and who should skip
May suit: people who understand the rules, use an account they can afford to have restricted, and want hands-off targeted engagement. Use the free trial to see the interface before paying.
Should skip: anyone whose account is the business itself, anyone not comfortable handing over a password, and anyone who wants a risk-free route. Posting consistently and engaging by hand is slower, but a third party’s closure cannot take it away.
More reviews in the same category
Our Automation and Bots category collects the full set. A good next step is the social media automation roundup. Some reviews in that category cover services that have since shut down, and are marked as such.
FAQ
Is Instagress still working?
No. Fstoppers reported its closure in April 2017, and we found no sign of it returning.
Why was Instagress shut down?
Its closure notice, as reported by Fstoppers, said Instagram had requested it. Instagram did not publish a statement about that case in the article we read.
What is the closest alternative to Instagress?
Of the live reviews on this site, hosted growth services such as Nitreo and Kicksta work in the same basic way. Closest does not mean safe.
Can I get banned for using an alternative?
Instagram says accounts that keep using these services may see their experience impacted. We cannot say how likely a ban is for any given account.
Is there a way to automate Instagram that Instagram allows?
Instagram’s official platform supports approved tools for publishing and messaging on professional accounts. We explain this in our Instagram automation guide.
Further reading
- Fstoppers: Instagram shuts down a prominent bot service (April 2017)
- Fstoppers: Mass Planner shut down (May 2017)
- Instagram: Reducing inauthentic activity (November 2018)