What GrowBot does well
GrowBot Automator for Instagram has about 40,000 users and a 4.23 rating from 853 ratings on the Chrome Web Store (checked October 2026). It's a toolbox for people who want control over every step:
- Lead sources: followers and following of any profile, post likers and commenters, hashtags, locations, your feed and CSV files.
- Actions: follow, unfollow (automatically after 1 to 90 days), like, comment, view stories, watch reels, remove followers and block.
- Multi-account: "mother and child" accounts with their own quotas.
- Support: the developer is GrowBot's biggest strength. About 105 reviews praise fast, personal replies.
If you run an agency or need hashtag and location targeting, that depth is real.
Where GrowBot users struggle
- Price. A 3-day free trial, then $8.99 a month or $89.99 a year. Scheduled actions stop when the trial ends.
- Setup. Nine tabs and about 70 settings. Around 19 reviews call it hard to use or dated.
- Blocks. About 31 reviews mention blocks, bans or rate limits. Follow and unfollow is the action most likely to cap an account.
- Retries. By default it retries 1 minute after a 429 error, 10 minutes after a 403 and 1 hour after a hard limit.
- Silent failures. Reviews describe a log that "says Finished liking media but... not liked", and about 27 say it stopped working after an Instagram change.
- Data. In our code read, GrowBot sends your follower list and the username behind each action to its server. Its gender guess sends display names there too.
ReelGrow is free with no trial, likes only people in your niche and stops for the day at Instagram's first warning.
Add to Chrome, freeGrowBot vs ReelGrow
As of October 2026, from GrowBot's docs and store listing and our hands-on tests.
| ReelGrow | GrowBot Automator | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, every feature | 3-day trial, then $8.99/mo or $89.99/yr |
| Automatic actions | Likes and saves | Follow, unfollow, like, comment, stories, reels, remove, block |
| Who it reaches | Followers of creators you pick | Followers, following, likers, commenters, hashtags, locations, feed, CSV |
| Settings | Five short sections, safe defaults | About 70 options |
| Pace | 40 likes day one, +10 per clean day, max 150 | 180 s between actions, ±50% (docs default) |
| First warning | Stops for the day, then 20% slower | Retries after 1 min to 1 h |
| Follows and unfollows | Only when you press, at least 20 s apart, max 30 an hour | Automatic, from queues |
| Proof | Each like counted only after Instagram confirms it | Log of actions |
| Unfollowers and bots | Daily check; bot scoring on your computer | Community monitoring with auto-actions |
| Multi-account | One account per Chrome profile | Mother and child accounts |
| Your audience data | Stays on your computer | Follower list and targets sent to its server |
When GrowBot is the better pick
- You run several accounts and want quotas and rotation.
- You need hashtag, location or post-liker targeting today.
- You want automatic follows, unfollows or comments and accept the risk that comes with them.
ReelGrow makes the other choice on purpose. Follow loops get bigger numbers, but one Reddit user who ran them for months went from 10,000 followers to "roughly 3,000". Likes reach people through their notifications, and nothing needs undoing later. For a wider checklist, see how to pick an Instagram growth tool. If you're also weighing INSSIST, see the INSSIST alternative page.
How to switch from GrowBot
- Stop GrowBot's queues and switch off its scheduled actions. Don't run two tools on one account.
- Add ReelGrow from the Chrome Web Store and open its side panel.
- Pick creators like you. ReelGrow suggests some from the accounts you follow. Add the competitors you used as GrowBot sources.
- Press Start growing. Day one runs at 40 likes, 2 per person, between 08:00 and 22:00 while Chrome is open.
Instagram doesn't allow automation, so no tool is risk-free. If GrowBot left you with a block, wait it out before you start; here's what "Try again later" means.
Frequently asked questions
Is ReelGrow made by GrowBot?
No. ReelGrow is an independent extension and isn't affiliated with GrowBot, Instagram or Meta.
Does ReelGrow follow people?
Only when you press Follow, one at a time, at least 20 seconds apart, at most 30 an hour and 100 a day. "Follow back all" runs only when you start it, with a Stop button.
Can ReelGrow unfollow people who don't follow me back?
It lists who doesn't follow you back. You press Unfollow, or start "Unfollow all", which runs at the follow pace. People you followed in the last 3 days are protected.
Does ReelGrow need my password?
No. It works inside your own signed-in Instagram session in Chrome and never asks for a password.
Is ReelGrow really free after the trial?
There's no trial. Every feature is free, with no credits and no paid plan.