Last Updated on January 11, 2024 by Alex Birkett
With some 2 billion monthly active users indulging their attention deficit disorder, Instagram is a powerhouse when it comes to social media platforms.
You and I both use it personally (me for travel photos; you for food pics – I won’t judge).
But businesses have also started and scaled on Instagram, from fitness influencers and health coaches to dubious therapy thought leaders, and of course the myriad DTC brands that have sculpted a community on Instagram.
So what’s the secret? How do you build an Instagram following?
Well, being popular and interesting is a good baseline.
But beyond that, how you write your Instagram captions can be a powerful lever to pull as well.
Like any form of copywriting, it’s part art and part science.
In this piece, I’ll cover what makes a good Instagram caption and will give you the best 7 Instagram caption generator tools in 2023.
The 7 Best Instagram Caption Generator Tools in 2024
- Jasper
- Copy AI
- Writesonic
- Hypotenuse AI
- Frase
- CaptionPlus
- GrowthBar
1. Jasper
Jasper is the GOAT when it comes to all-purpose AI copywriting tools. I’ll just say it: this is my favorite Instagram caption generator.
I’m literally using it right now to help me start writing this blog post.
I use it to repurpose my blog posts into social media content as well, such as LinkedIn posts, Twitter threads, and yes, Instagram posts when the occasion calls.
My favorite part of the tool is the most powerful: their free form content editor available on Boss Mode. Here you can use commands, focus mode, or their Surfer SEO integration, and essentially write in a Google Docs style editor with AI as your assistant.
They also have templates – lots of them.
Here’s one specifically for Instagram caption generation:
It couldn’t be easier to use. Doesn’t make the perfect Instagram post automatically, but gets you a good way there. Notice it even gives me emoji suggestions. Pretty neat.
Then they have tons of tools to improve your tone of voice, one of my favorite being the “Tone Detector.” This doesn’t create any catchy captions for you, but it will tell you which style your writing is.
This company is incredible. They just raised $125M, launched a Chrome extension and Jasper Art, and they’re only getting started. This is the horse I would bet on in the AI space.
Price: Starts at $24/mo but Boss Mode plans begin at $49/mo for up to 50k words. You can get the Instagram captions tool with the basic plan, though.
G2 Score: 4.8/5
2. Copy AI
I like to think of Copy AI as the best AI writing tool for beginners.
Like Jasper, it’s built on top of OpenAI’s GPT-3 technology. So, to a degree, the outputs will be similar.
But the thing with these AI tools is the prompts are everything. And the UI layer that each company has on top of GPT-3 puts constraints on the prompts and inputs you can use.
Copy AI, to that effect, is heavily reliant on use case templates. They don’t have a free form writing tool like Jasper or WriteSonic.
However, they’ve got some of the best templates in the business.
Outside of Instagram posts, I love, love, love their blog post workflow.
But for Instagram captions, they’ve got several template options that will work for you. Here’s their Instagram Caption template, designed to drive the perfect caption for you:
To be honest, I think I like my prompt better 🙂 But their Instagram posts are not bad either, I suppose.
They also have a template called “Instagram Product Showcase,” which I think works really well if you want to create an Instagram bio for a brand:
Copy AI wins on pricing, too. First, they’ve got a free plan for up to 2,000 words (that’s actually a decent amount of Instagram captions). Then, it’s just $49/mo for unlimited words.
This makes it one of the more affordable Instagram caption generators on the market.
Price: $49/mo for unlimited words (they also have a free plan for up to 2,000 words per month).
G2 Score: 4.8/5
3. Writesonic
Writesonic is, like Jasper, an all-purpose AI copywriting powerhouse.
It’s almost like a blend of Copy AI and Jasper, with a heavy focus on templates, but also the ability to draft free form copy in their open editor.
As for their Instagram focus, they’ve got a few nice templates you can use. The obvious one is called “Instagram Captions,” and you just type in a description and a tone of voice (the UI and prompts should look fairly similar by this point).
Unfortunately, my account is out of credits, but you get the idea.
Other general writing templates may also help you improve your copy, such as the content rephrase or content shorten templates:
Writesonic also just launched an AI image generator (called Photosonic) as well as an AI chat interface (called ChatSonic — solid branding work).
This makes them a solid generative AI platform.
My favorite captions are the ones that are spurred by AI, but ultimately perfected by a human. I think Writesonic balances those two sides very well, giving you great ideas in just a few seconds.
Price: Writesonic’s pricing is kind of confusing because it’s based on word count, quality, and features (long form, etc.). I’m unsure why someone would choose “poor” writing quality, but that’s an option, and it’s cheaper. They have a free plan, and then their “economy” plan (lowest tier) gives you like 190,000 words per month for $12.67 / month. Wild.
G2 Score: 4.8/5
4. Hypotenuse AI
Hypotenuse AI is a new-ish AI writing tool I discovered recently. They have a powerful Instagram caption generator.
When they launched, they focused heavily on ecommerce copywriting, with features like bulk product descriptions, and, yes, Instagram caption generation.
They’ve since broadened their scope and now include features to help you outline and product long form blog post content, generate AI images, and even a content detective feature that uses AI to help you research factual content.
Overall, I’m impressed with this product and their continual improvements and innovations.
Also, this is kinda neat: you can test out the Instagram Caption Generator feature directly on their website without creating an account.
Price: Starts at $29/month. Pretty much the same pricing structure as Jasper.
G2 Score: 4.4/5
5. Frase
Frase includes an AI text generator, but it’s really more of an SEO platform.
With Frase, you can pretty much go from starting your draft and outlining it (the tool pulls together a bunch of suggested headlines and topics to write about) to producing the content and optimizing it.
Within this framework, the AI text generator can be applied to Instagram captions.
While it’s not directly focused on social media marketing, I find Frase to have some of the highest quality outputs of any of the AI content writing tools.
The downside with Frase is that, if you’re not writing long form blog post content, the platform is likely overkill for your purposes.
Though I will say, as an Instagram caption generator, their templates are pretty solid:
One thing I like is that you can tune up or down the “creativity” of the post, which I consider one of the most important caption elements.
Gotta say, Frase is one of my favorite marketing tools out there right now. If you’re a blogger and also do Instagram posts, I’d look into this one.
Price: Only $14.99/mo for up to 4,000 words a month.
G2 Score: 4.8/5
6. CaptionPlus
CaptionPlus is perhaps the only Instagram caption generator on my list specifically built for Instagram captions.
Basically, it’s an Instagram caption generator and hashtag generator available as an Android app as well as directly in your browser.
It’s easy to use. One unique feature here is that you can upload an image and get suggestions from the tool. I’ll be honest, though, most of them aren’t great. They tend to be trite quotes and motivational fluff (though, you know, that works for many audiences). Depends what you’re looking for.
You can also browse their caption categories and pick and choose from there or just pull inspiration from the platform.
Quick and easy tool, got nothing on the AI content writers I listed. But it’s a pretty solid pool of ideas you can use to generate more Instagram captions if you’re fresh out of ideas.
Price: free
G2 Score: N/A
7. GrowthBar
GrowthBar is another tool slightly more catered towards the search engine optimization folks among us. It’s not a dedicated Instagram caption generator, but you can definitely use it to write great Instagram captions.
Let’s start with the broader platform: it’s sort of a mixture between Ahrefs and Frase.
On the SEO side, you can do keyword research, competitor analysis, and backlink analysis. Then, you can build AI-driven outlines to help you actually produce and optimize the content.
Now, for the caption generation: they’ve got a free form AI writer that also comes as a Chrome extension.
This means you can effectively generate copy anywhere you’re writing (including Instagram itself or an Instagram scheduling app like Hypefury).
The team at GrowthBar is great and they continue to invest in the product and user experience. I’d expect this one to only improve in the future (and it’s already damn good).
Like Frase, the use cases might go a bit beyond just an Instagram caption generator, so it might be overkill for you now. But if you’re also writing long form content, I’d give this one a try.
Price: $48 /Month
G2 Score: 4.9/5
The 5 Secrets to Generating Great Instagram Captions
Now you know the best Instagram caption generators out there.
Let’s take a look at what makes a catchy caption.
Five secrets with examples for you here:
- Concise (or not)
- Storytelling (or not)
- Funny (or not)
- Emojis (or not)
- Creative (or not)
As you’ll see, there’s no such thing as the “perfect caption,” and every “rule” can just as easily be broken in different contexts.
1. Be concise (or not)
Most copywriting advice tells you to keep things short. People have short attention spans. Perfect captions tend to just be a few words or a sentence. This is a best practice especially for advertisements with a clear call-to-action (CTA).
For example, this one from Lensa AI:
Sometimes, however, short captions aren’t the best. Sometimes, lengthy, verbose, stories work perfectly well. Check this example out:
This is especially true if lengthy writing fits your brand voice, or if you’re a great storyteller.
2. Use stories
A good caption usually has some element of storytelling in it. Stories are a great way to engage your followers and bring them into the world of your brand.
Not only do they give readers an insight into what’s going on, but stories can also be emotional and engaging.
For some reason, yoga people and new age niches tend to love long, personal stories. They do make engaging captions, I have to admit:
However, not all captions have to tell a story. Sometimes the image or video does that perfectly well, and then your job is just to write a well written caption with a clear CTA.
Check out this ad I got for a therapy service:
3. Be funny
Most of the Instagram accounts I follow and Instagram stories I view are funny meme pages.
The Instagram algorithm seems to keep sending more and more of these my way as well.
Humor is a great way to capture your followers’ attention and make them laugh. Humor, however, is such a broad category.
Take, for instance, this post from WeRateDogs. This account consistently has some of my favorite Instagram photos, and the captions are usually quite clever and cute:
In this case, the captions add a lot of value to the Instagram posts.
However, in some cases the Instagram photos have enough context, so you really don’t need to add much of a flair with the caption. This could easily be an AI generated caption:
4. Use emojis
People like emojis. Emojis can help to break up copy and make it more visually appealing. Additionally, using the right emojis can also help your captions sound more natural.
I can’t give you any emoji suggestions, since I’m not a bit emoji guy.
But just look at these hype-y influencer pages and you’ll find some fresh ideas. In fact, all your favorite ideas can be dug up by just taking a spin down the Instagram explore page. Lots of inspiration there.
5. Be creative
Finally, use creative phrases or analogies to connect with your followers and capture their attention. Think outside the box – try using metaphors or clever wordplay to make your captions stand out from the crowd.
Or not.
Honestly, it really depends what your audience likes and expects and what your brand voice sounds like.
A great caption can be clever, funny, concise, long, boring, or non-existent. A great caption could be a story, or a simple CTA.
Everyone’s social media posts are different, and everyone’s audience is different.
So when reviewing the following AI assisted captions tools, keep in mind that you’ll still have to add your personal style to create unique captions.
Else you’ll just sound generic and silly.
What Makes a Great Instagram Caption Generator Tool?
Before listing my favorite Instagram caption generator tool options, let’s cover what these things actually do.
1. Generate Caption Suggestions
First, they need to actually create copy and deliver generated captions. I’m not talking about tools like Canva, where you can add your own captions to imagery.
No, this post will cover tools to help you create either AI assisted captions or just help you generate caption ideas.
2. Have Specific Tools or Templates for Instagram Posts
Second, while some tools have broader purposes than just Instagram posts, any tool on this list will have a specific feature for Instagram photos.
It might be a template to help you with suggested captions.
It might be a generative AI that helps you write an original caption from scratch or improve existing captions with catchy copy that resonates with your target audience.
3. Leave Room for Human Creativity and Input
Most of these tools, at base, are just great ways to get the creative juices flowing.
None of them will replace your human intelligence and creativity. None of them will automatically generate creative and engaging captions without your input.
So you’ll still have to figure out your target audience, configure the visual aspect of your content with the caption writer, and understand how social media tools and social media marketing works generally. A caption generator isn’t going to take all the work away (yet).
Editor’s note: I’m going to use some affiliate links when possible to try to earn some revenue from my content. These don’t change the opinions espoused in the content nor the style in which they are written. If I think a product sucks, I’m not going to say otherwise. This is just a bonus and a way to fund the whole operation. Anyway, enjoy the article!
Conclusion
The best way to use an Instagram caption generator is in tandem with human creativity and an understanding of what makes a cool caption in the first place.
As I mentioned above, there are no hard and fast rules as to what makes a good caption. So you need judgment.
That said, these 7 Instagram caption maker tools can generate captions for your Instagram in just a few clicks. That unlocks a whole lot of creativity and speed.
The options I’ve included include both more general AI content writers (Jasper, Copy AI, and Frase) as well as tools specifically for generating Instagram captions (CaptionPlus).
No matter what you’re looking for, I think there’s something here that can help you out. And don’t forget to use Hypefury to automate and schedule your posts.