Want to create Instagram Stories that truly stand out from the very, very big crowd?
Then this blog post is for you.
If you’re not using Stories for your brand, it’s time to start.
With over 500million daily active users (and still growing at a rapid pace), Instagram Stories is taking over, far ahead of rival Snapchat (with 190 million daily users).
Source: Tech Crunch
Instagram Stories are a fun, free, and engaging way to connect with followers, drive traffic, boost engagement, show your real personality and establish your brand in action.
But simply pushing out a plain and simple Story isn’t enough. To level-up your Instagram Stories, you’ll need to create highly-engaging Stories that stand out and perfectly align with your brand. Of course, this takes time, effort and creativity.
Fortunately, there’s plenty of Instagram tools that allow you to make great Stories, fast and easily.
In this article, I’m going to share with you the top 8 best free Instagram tools that are easy-to-use to take your Instagram Stories to the next level in no time.
No expensive software, no prior experience, and no design skills needed.
Best of all, they are 100% free, with an option to upgrade for premium plans.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at these 8+ best free Instagram Stories tools that I’ve personally handpicked for you.
1. MediaModifier- Customize Story Templates to Match Your Brand Aesthetic
This all-in-one design tool has an extremely rich feature-set that goes beyond Instagram marketing. Aside from creating stunning, engaging Instagram Stories content that people love to watch, you can also use MediaModifier to create all types of social media posts, ads, 3D book covers and product mockups.
It has an incredibly powerful drag-and-drop visual builder – one of the best I’ve tested.
Whether you’re looking to showcase your products, drive traffic to a popular blog post, share behind-the-scenes, promote a giveaway, or run an Instagram flash sale, you’ll find the right Instagram Story template to suit your every need.
With the complete designing tool and a huge selection of pre-designed templates, you can easily design your own Instagram stories that capture your followers with just a few clicks.
Using this tool is fluent and straightforward.
Simply pick the Story template you like, then upload your own images or use MediaModifier’s library free stock photos, add text, video, adjust design elements and customize it to your liking. Once you’re satisfied, download your custom Story and share on Instagram!
MediaModifier is free to use. You also have the option to upgrade to their paid plan for unlimited downloads and advanced features.
2. Hashtags for Likes- Find the Right Hashtags
When used correctly, hashtags in Instagram Stories can dramatically increase your discoverability, engagement and reach – It’s a powerful opportunity for viral content.
But first a warning: Don’t use the same old hashtags for every post and Story!
You are taking a short cut and saving a lot of effort, but that can get your account shadowbanned by Instagram.
Also, don’t chase after popular hashtags like #love, #followback or #followme. It’s better to use hashtags that are relevant to what you’re posting, your niche and topic. This way, you can be assured to attract and engage with target audience who’s truly interested in what you offer.
So, how can you find the perfect hashtags for your Instagram?
Hashtags For Likes to the rescue. My favorite Instagram tools for finding the right hashtags.
It’s an incredibly powerful hashtag tool that instantly gives a list of relevant, up to date hashtags for your image and text based on real-time hashtag engagement. As such, it will automatically give you access to an audience that you wouldn’t usually have the access.
It’s super easy to use. Simply enter any Instagram #hashtag in the search bar, instantly get analytics and insights and use the suggested hashtags to boost your following organically.
Since hashtags are most often overlooked, it’s your opportunity to use better hashtags for more eyes and discoverability. Boost your Story’s reach, swipe-through rate, Calls‑To‑Action (CTA) on links and increase your following.
You can use up to 10 hashtags per Story and a maximum of 30 hashtags per post.
If you’re doing everything you could but still struggling on growing your Instagram, I’d suggest taking a test drive with Hashtags for Likes.
See how a small change with your hashtags can make a whole lot different.
The good news is it’s free to use. If you want to have premium features, paid plans start as low as $38/month.
3. Apphi- Schedule and Automate your Instagram Stories Posting
Apphi is finally back! My all-time favorite Instagram scheduling tool.
Apphi is a real time-saver and simple to use, allowing you to bulk schedule everything in just “One Click”. From scheduling Instagram posts, to Stories and first comment.
Simply bulk upload your stories, videos into the visual planner, add #hashtags and Story URL, tag people and location on Stories, drag-and-drop to rearrange your IG Stories and Apphi will automatically publish your Stories at the scheduled time.
Now sit back, relax, observe your analytics. With the help of Apphi, you can see how your Instagram Stories are performing, track Stories views and engagement, so you can optimize your posting times and content.
Sharpen your IG arsenal. Take Apphi for a Test Drive. It’s free and you can add unlimited Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to manage. If you want to have advanced features, it starts at $9/month. (Get 10% OFF here on your First Payment)
4. Sked Link– Turn a Single Bio Link into Unlimited
Whether it’s a blog post, product page or online store, Instagram Stories can be a great way to drive traffic directly to specific landing pages.
Since Instagram only allow you to have one link in your bio, make sure you’re making the most of your Instagram bio link.
Here’s a solution: Sked Link allows you to add multiple links to your in your Instagram Bio.
Use Sked Link to create a neatly-designed custom Instagram link profile where you can put all the links you want to share. This way, you’ll able to showcase your content and make your photo clickable so that you can send your followers directly to the specific page.
Not only that, but you can also track the total numbers of clicks each link received and retarget your audience to get more sales.
With Sked Link , you’ll experience a significant increase in clicks, traffic, email sign-ups, conversion and revenue if you use it correctly.
For example, bloggers like me, can link visitors to a recent blog post. Sellers can link followers to eCommerce store which showcase lists of products. YouTubers can get their fans check out the latest videos. And businesses can direct the audience to sale page, landing page etc.
The best part? It’s 100% free.
If you’re an existing user of their Instagram scheduling tool, Sked Social, you can remove Sked Link branding, for no extra cost.
Get started with Sked Link for free here. If you want to test out all Sked’s features (IG auto-posting + remove Sked Link’s logo), you can sign-up for a 7-day trial.
5. Placeit – Create Engaging Instagram Story Videos
Just select your favorite video template, customize your text, change the color of backgrounds and shapes, and add your images or video clips. You can also customize the playback speed and quantity of slides to make a short or long Instagram Story video.
All their videos are made by a professional team, so you can rely on them being eye-catching templates for your campaigns. Once you have customized your template, simply click the download button.
6. Story Swag – Magically Transform Photos into a Video Story
Animation is a hot emerging trend now!
Adding animation to your Instagram Stories is a great way to grab your audience attention and keep them coming back for more.
And with apps like Story Swag on hand, you’ll be able to quickly get in on the trend with your very own eyecatching content.
Story Swag is by far the fastest and easiest way to create gorgeous animated Instagram Stories with just a few taps, all from your phone.
They offer a wide range of beautifully-designed Stories templates that are ready to use.
To start, select the picture you want to transform or access to over 1 million free stock photos from the app.
You’ll immediately arrive at the Live Editor where you can choose from over 28 different types of animations from the “Style” tab. From attention-grabbing to cool, geometric patterns, understated femininity, you can toy with what style and effect that works best.
Next, add text, music, and filter to your photos. Don’t forget to brand your Stories with your own logo.
Once you’re satisfied with your design, preview your Story, see how your stories will appear on Instagram before hitting “export”.
If you’re looking for a quick, fun and easy way to transform your images into eye-catching Story videos on the fly, Story Swag is the perfect choice for you. Check out my quick tutorial on how to make Stories like a Pro here.
Story Swag is available on the App Store and Google Play. It’s free forever, if you don’t mind having a small watermark on your IG stories.
If you want to get advanced features and remove the watermark, upgrade to their Pro plan which costs less than $5 a month.
Take advantage of their 7-day free trial to test out all of Story Swag’s features.
7. Mojo – Create Awesome Videos for Instagram Stories
Bring your words and photos to life with Mojo.
Similar to Story Swag, Mojo is another great tool for creating beautiful, professional-looking videos for Instagram.
The app grants you access to more than 100 designer-curated animated templates that you use to create whatever type of content you please.
All the templates are easy to edit and fully customizable, so you can change anything on it. Add customize fonts, colors, sizes, positions, stickers, background, animation, effects, change speeds and more!
Upgrade from the free version to find a superior selection of video templates and text styles, though for day-to-day users, the regular version has more than enough to explore.
The best part? You don’t even need to create an account to start using Mojo.
Mojo is available for free on the App Store and Google Play.
8. Unfold – Create minimal, clean and neat Story Templates for Instagram
Garnered over 38,000 positive reviews on App Store, Unfold is a popular Story Creator used by celebrities like Selena Gomez and Kim Kardashian and brands like Forbes and The White House.
An amazingly convenient app that allows you to create stunning multi-page stories that reflect your branding in a matter of minutes.
It has everything you need to make a Story that impress your followers. Clean layouts, customizable fonts, stickers to express yourself and it’s perfect for brand storytelling.
The app’s strong point is its range of slick, modern and minimal templates. Regardless of your niche, you can easily create cohesive content to enhance your brand identity.
Pick a ready-to-use template, add texts, images, select your brand color and start telling your brand story on Instagram.
What’s even better, Unfold is free to download and use, there’s no ugly watermark.
If you like, upgrade from the free version of Unfold to access all templates, fonts and exclusive designs.
9. Highlight Cover Maker -Get Creative Covers for IG Highlight
Let’s make your Instagram profile stand out with beautiful Story Highlight Covers.
I was using Canva to create story highlight covers for my Instagram until I found this handy app.
Similar to Canva, but you’re able to create stunning covers even faster with Highlight Cover Maker.
Open the app on your phone, you can quickly create a beautiful highlight cover in just a few taps, even without the need of creating an account.
There are over 300+ icons in 100+ awesome background texture to choose from.
Just pick a cool icon and add some texture, color and fonts.
Download the icon to your phone and share it on Instagram. It really is that easy!
Now you have your Instagram Story Highlight Covers ready, you can add and categorize your Stories into albums, showcase them on your IG profile for as long as you want.
Highlights Cover Maker is available on the App Store and Google Play. It’s 100% free, there’s a paid option to unlock premium icons and stickers.
Conclusion – Best Instagram Stories Tools for Your Business
There you’ve it, 8+ best tools for Instagram Stories to save you time and grow your business effectively.
With so many great time-saving tools on the market, it has never been easier to create gorgeous Instagram Stories for your brand.
What do you think?
Have you tried any of these tools for your Instagram marketing strategy?
Did I miss out your favorite Instagram Story tool?
Feel free to leave your comment below.
Related reading:
- 10 Best Instagram Tools to Help You Get More Followers
- 7 Best Time-Saving Instagram Scheduling Tools [2020 Update]
- 7 Best Instagram Link In Bio Tools
- How to Create Animated Instagram Stories in Less Than 1 Minute
- How to create Instagram Stories Images for your business
- How to Create Custom Instagram Highlight Covers in less than 5 minutes
- How I grow my Instagram from 0 to 5000 Followers in 5 months
Last but not least, if this post was of any help to you, please share it on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!
A quick share from you would seriously help the growth of this blog.
Thank you so much!
I live and breathe making an income online.
I’ll be sharing more of ideas and guides soon. Stay tuned.
If you haven’t already, sign up here to receive my emails.