Continuing our series of comparing Instagram automation tools, today we’ll be comparing Kicksta to another Instagram automation tool, Social Upgrade.
Social Upgrade is a service that uses growth tactics to help you get Instagram famous.
Understanding the Social Upgrade Shutdown
The recent shutdown of Social Upgrade, a leading Instagram growth service renowned for its organic methods to enhance follower counts and engagement rates, has caused significant disruption in the social media management community. This unexpected halt has prompted users to urgently seek viable alternatives among Instagram automation tools and growth services.
Amid discussions comparing Kicksta vs. Social Upgrade and assessing suitable replacements, the need for reliable organic Instagram growth tools has become paramount. As users navigate this transition, exploring reviews and recommendations for the best Social Upgrade alternatives and lawful practices in light of potential lawsuits underscores the importance of sustainable social media growth strategies.
Is Social Upgrade shut down?
Recently, there has been a lot of buzz about the Social Upgrade shutdown. But is there any truth behind the rumor?
While Social Upgrade has yet to give an official statement on their current status, this message on their website speaks volumes.

As it stands now, Social Upgrade is no longer taking on new clients, but may still be servicing their existing client base.
Recent reposts inform that Social Upgrade has been shut down due to a lawsuit from Instagram for selling fake likes, which has many looking for the best Social Upgrade alternative.
To help you make a better choice of what service to use, let’s take a side-by-side look at Social Upgrade against our own Instagram growth service, Kicksta.
We’ll compare the following areas to show how Kicksta’s organic methods differ from that of Social Upgrade to keep your account growing securely.
- Growth Methods
- Filters
- Support Options
- Reports
1. Growth Methods
How did Social Upgrade work?
Prior to the shutdown, you would provide Social Upgrade with hashtags, usernames of users similar to you, and geotags and Social Upgrade will automatically like, follow, and unfollow people based on that information.
Social Upgrade also allows to blacklist users you don’t want to interact with.

As previously mentioned, Facebook recently filled a law suited against any follower-buying service, which may be what lead to the Social Upgrade shutdown.
Organic Instagram Growth
Looking to get 1,000+ Real Instagram Followers?
No spam, no fake followers, no bots. Just pure organic growth powered by our cutting edge Artificial Intelligence technology.
- Real and engaging, no bots
- Results within a week
- Safe and secure
How does Kicksta work?
With our Instagram growth service, you can also target Instagram users, hashtags, and locations to attract a dedicated audience with your specific brand in mind.
Once you identify those users, Kicksta will get the attention of that user’s dedicated audience.
Our service is completely organic with no option to buy likes, comments, or followers.
Instead, Kicksta works to get your brand in front of users who will identify with your page, but it is up to the end user whether to follow you or not.
This helps you not only significantly increase your reach, but also connect with real fans to engage with your posts, visit your website, and buy your products.
Here’s a video explaining that process even more:
2. Filters
What Filters Did Social Upgrade Offer?
As previously mentioned, Social Upgrade had the ability to blacklist any specific accounts you do not want to engage with.

What Filters Does Kicksta Offer?
Kicksta is more focused on connecting you with your ideal target audience that fits your specific demographic.
To start activity, you will have to specify which accounts, hashtags, and/or location you would like us to interact with.
Kicksta will never like or follow an account that is not directly associated with your target preferences.
We recommend sticking with middle range account with a following of less than 1 million as they tend to have a more niche-focuses audience.
Same goes for hashtags and locations, not too big, but not too small.

Kicksta also has an advanced targeting system to weed out any spam, bots, or undesirable accounts.
These filters come automatically with all Kicksta accounts:
- Profanity bad language filter
- A private account filter
- Account has to have posted in the last 90 days
- Account has to have a certain followers-to-following ratio
- Account has to be a certain number of months old
In addition, Kicksta clients can also activate these added filters to meet their specific audience needs:
- A Gender Filter (male/female)
- A Non-English Speaking Filter
- A Business Account Filter (if you are a B2C company)
- Blacklist Filter (Avoid specific people)
3. Customer Support
How to Contact Social Upgrade Support
Since the Social Upgrade shutdown, their website has only one working link that allows their existing customers to contact their support team. However, they are not taking sale inquiries at this time.

If you’re trying to figure out how to cancel social upgrade the fastest method is to email them at hello@socialupgrade.co.
How to Contact Kicksta Support
Kicksta offers you support around the clock 24/7, via email support as well as live chat.
With the Premium Plan, Kicksta also provides a Customer Success Manager to help pick targets and optimize growth.
There’s also a very useful and comprehensive FAQ for quick answers and easy sign in.

Does Social Upgrade Work?
At this time, Social Upgrade does not provide a customer facing dashboard. To make updates to your account, you can email their support team for assistance.

Does Kicksta Work?
Kicksta uses individual target performance and high-level stats to display the progress of your organic growth.
Under Kicksta’s followers gained section, you’ll be able to see the total number of users that are new followers. In Kicksta’s daily stats section, you’ll see the net number for followers gained.
Clients also have the added bonus with Kicksta’s recent posts section.
This page allows you to track any comments and likes that you have received on recent posts as well as engagement rate. This enables Kicksta clients to identify which posts are the most successful, making it easier to post similar content.
Additionally, clients have the ability to monitor each target account’s individual target performance to determine which offers the best results.
With this feature, Kicksta clients can remove any targets that are underperforming, as well as identify trends, and add additional targets for increased growth.
These analytics truly make Kicksta an all-in-one tool for all your tracking organic growth needs.
Kicksta is more focused on connecting you with your ideal target audience that fits your demographic. Kicksta’s target marketing system filters out bots and those spammy accounts, so your account can grow followers organically, and you can focus on creating high-quality content.
Want to sign up for Kicksta? Click here to sign up.
Author
Kaye Sitchon is all about Instagram tools and services that help brands level up their game. She’s got a knack for finding the best resources to make Instagram marketing easier and more effective. When Kaye’s not exploring new tools, she’s likely planning her next travel adventure or diving into a great book!
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