Top 9 best Instagram alternatives

Instagram is one of the fashion applications, the most successful social networks in recent times and with the most fans since its launch. Although it is unique and you probably will not find anything exactly the same, there are Instagram alternatives that can fulfill some of the functions that we like the most about Instagram, such as filters or the possibility of sharing edited photos, etc.

The social network that we know today for its stories, its filters or its effects was initially an application designed for artistic photography, moving away from selfies without retouching from other social networks such as Facebook or what was Tuenti, for example. But Instagram is already much more than that: it has augmented reality filters, it allows us to share stories, videos of several minutes on IGTV, it allows us to share songs, do surveys and even request donations. It is much more complete but there are some Instagram alternatives that can serve you.

Our alternatives will focus on the needs that everyone finds on Instagram but there will never be any that meets the set of everything. That is, you can have some of the best alternatives to Instagram for professional photography, for microblogging or to download and use filters on photos and images.

1. TikTok

TikTok is one of the fashion social networks in recent years, along with Instagram. Thanks to a similar operation of videos of only 15 seconds it has managed to become one of the greatest successes among the youngest. The application has all kinds of filters that can be added to short videos, effects, voices that you can simulate and even backgrounds that are automatically applied.

In this case, one of the best alternatives to Instagram for fans of Instagram Stories thanks to augmented reality and the infinity of effects and possibilities that it allows us. In addition, we can not only create the videos to upload to TikTok itself but it is a useful tool to combine with the others: you make the videos on TikTok, save them on your mobile phone and you can upload them to other social networks or directly send them to your friends by Whatsapp.

2. Snapchat

The filters from Instagram Stories came as successors or imitators of those of Snapchat and that is why the ghost app is one of the best alternatives to Instagram if you are looking for this: filters and effects to add to faces, augmented reality with puppy ears, with beauty modes, with filters for pets … Its strong point is augmented reality not only for facial filters but to add dolls or characters to any everyday setting.

Snapchat is very complete and it also works with the possibility of uploading content and that other users interact and even allows you to make video calls, exchange messages, etc. Even so, although Snapchat is a popular option among young people as a messaging app, it becomes one of the best alternatives to Instagram to get videos or photos with more effects. That is, as in the case of TikTok, you can use Snapchat to take photos or record videos that you can then use on other social networks , save in your gallery or send to your contacts.

Beyond creating content and being an alternative to Instagram for filters, there are still many young people around the world who use the application as a messaging app and have the option to play in their own chats, make voice calls, make video calls, and Send stickers or send audio messages like WhatsApp.

3. Pinterest

Pinterest is one of the best alternatives to Instagram if you like to see photos or if you use the Facebook images app to find inspiration. On Pinterest they usually highlight some themes such as ideas or crafts, decoration, fashion … But you will find everything you can think of, in any possible field. Just use the application search engine or the web version to find what you want. In addition, you can create collections or boards where you can save your favorites or the ones that interest you most, organized by theme.

In this case, as on Instagram, Pinterest allows us to follow users or allows us to follow collections or follow exact topics that interest us. And the feed adapts to our tastes so that what appears interests us. In other words, if you search a lot about a theme, it is very likely that everything that appears in your home feed is images related to it. Although the operation is similar to Instagram (upload images, save your favorites, follow topics …) but you will not be able to edit photos or upload stories as you can on Instagram.

4. Tumblr

Tumblr is very similar to Pinterest or one of the most similar alternatives to Instagram if you want to upload images and see those of others. It has been a success among young people for years although it has lost strength with the arrival of other social networks and more modern applications already adapted to the times. Even so, you will find all the images that interest you of any type and any scope. It is not focused on uploading artistic photographs (or not as much as Instagram) but it is focused on uploading any type of visual content such as memes, movie scenes, infographics, humor. There are millions of blogs created on Tumblr and surely you have had one in times when Instagram did not even exist yet.

Allow you to add information or text to your posts or to create a feed where you can add text, photo, quote, links, chats, audio or video. It is a very complete and recommended option with the only downside that we will not be able to edit the images from the app or the web itself, nor does it have as much interaction, currently, as Instagram does.

5. Flickr

Like the previous ones, Flickr is a social network or a website that allows us to upload photographs, create our own portfolio or catalog. Flickr is focused on more professional images or that can even be used for commercial purposes if someone downloads them because they have a Creative Commons license. It would never occur to us to upload selfies with filters to Flickr, but we would take pictures of landscapes, images and artistic photographs. It is focused on a professional audience although it allows us to host a thousand photos and videos for free and to have unlimited storage we will have to pay.

It also allows us to create albums with thematic images so that our clients or acquaintances can follow us or find the photos they want according to what they are looking for. It is one of the most recommended options for photography lovers although totally inadvisable if you are looking for the immediacy of Instagram, the recommended music in stories, selfies with friends or the recommendations of influencers in clothing, food or travel.

6. VSCO

If you liked Instagram for its initial essence, for being an application to share artistic photography (no selfies or filters or stories), VSCO is the best alternative you can have installed on your mobile phone. VSCO is one of the best free photo editors available for smartphone but it is also one of the best alternatives to Instagram if you conceive the application as a social network for photography lovers, for photography experts. You can follow other people and see their photos but you can also upload your own to have a feed rich in quality images that you can touch up from the application itself.

What is the main difference? Instagram is focused on a massive and global audience, it is an application in which everyone can fit. VSCO, for its part, is designed for professional photographers or photography lovers who know that they are going to try harder with retouching and who do not think so much about puppy ears as they do about the perfect lighting or just the right saturation for photo they just uploaded. For this reason, the image quality is usually higher not only at the aesthetic level but at the technical and retouching level.

7. 500px

Like VSCO, 500px is a social network focused on photography from a more professional point of view. It is not intended as an application or social network where everyone uploads images regardless of focus, quality, framing, light. No, 500px is designed for professional photography and there are thousands and millions of users who use it to “show off” their work or to show what they are capable of.

In addition, 500px allows us to even buy some photographs in case we are interested in or sell our images if someone likes them. It has a web or application option for iOS and Android and has a community of about 15 million photographers that you can follow individually or you can access the different categories of inspiration or related. As an instagram, it allows you to comment on the images you want or allow you to mark the ones you like the most.

8. EyeEm

Eyeem is an application very very similar to VSCO and will remind you of this if you have ever used it. It is one of the best alternatives to Instagram for photographers not only professionals but anyone who is interested in photography. It has a community of more than 25 million photographers from more than 150 countries who upload their images and have a profile in the application. Beyond the options of being able to upload your photos or see the others, you will also be able to access a very complete editor and with all kinds of editing options, from professional filters to the possibility of adjusting parameters such as sharpness, nature, luminosity, etc. .

It is one of the most recommended alternatives to Instagram if what you like most about the app is the artistic photography part and another of Eyeeem’s strengths is that, like 500px or Flickr , you can earn money on it. You can sell the photographs that you upload under license and you will be able to earn income if other people liked them and want to buy and use them for any project. As we say, it is not a recommended option if what you like is to see images of friends, use filters, recommend songs … No, EyeEm is focused from a purely photographic point of view for advanced users or for companies that need images and can resort to this website to download and buy them.

9. Vero

In 2018 Vero became fashionable, a social network that boasted of being a real social network and that came with a format very similar to applications that we already knew, such as Facebook or Instagram. A social network that boasted of having no algorithm or data mining or ads and that allowed us to choose who could read the publications. To this day, vero is still one of the best alternatives to Instagram although with a very small audience. Mostly, people who tried the social network but abandoned it.

It is a good option if you are interested in an operation similar to Instagram : share with other users recommendations about what you are seeing or listening to, where you are or photos that you want to show to others. Similar to Instagram although with some ‘extra’ Facebook functions because you will not necessarily need to upload images to interact with others but also allow you to upload links, books, places, TV shows, movies, music … It is one of the alternatives to Instagram more faithful to the original application but it has the drawback that currently there are very few users who bet on Vero when choosing an app of this type.

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