SocialCaptain vs Kicksta: Side-by-Side Comparison of Two Popular Instagram Growth Tools

Are you looking through SocialCaptain reviews for a high-quality Instagram growth tool? There are a lot of choices out there promising IG growth, so if you’re struggling to decide which one is best, we don’t blame you.

Kicksta and SocialCaptain are two of the most commonly mentioned growth platforms. How do these two tools stack up and which one has the features that will help you see growth? 

Here’s a SocialCaptain review side-by-side with a comparison of Kicksta so you can see how both options compare. 

Account Setup

Setting Up Your SocialCaptain Account

To create your SocialCaptain account, visit the SocialCaptain website and click “Get started for free.” You’ll be taken to a screen where you can enter your name, email address, and make a password to open up your account.

The next step is to connect your Instagram account. Once you connect your IG by entering your Instagram username and password, you can begin using SocialCaptain. 

Setting Up Your Kicksta Account

Visit Kicksta’s website and click “Start my growth” in the upper right-hand corner. Choose which pricing plan fits your needs (Standard or Premium). Once you select a plan, you’ll be directed to a page where you will input your email and make your first payment. 

Once you’ve done that, your account is ready to go and you can start getting more Instagram followers.

Features

How Does SocialCaptain Work?

SocialCaptain uses your account to automatically like photos from other users, comment on their photos, and send them automated DM’s. 

The idea is that these users (who are all part of your target audience thanks to SocialCaptain’s targeting options) will see the notification and come look at your account.

But while the liking method is a solid choice, auto-comments and DM’s often come across as spammy, which isn’t how you want your account to be known.

How Does Kicksta Work?

Some Instagram growth tools get you more followers by selling you pre-loaded accounts, or using your account to DM other users. But these tactics are spammy and won’t work in the long run. That’s why Kicksta focuses on organic growth and takes more of a slow-and-steady approach.

When you sign up with Kicksta, you’ll provide a list of accounts who’s audience you want to target. This can be your competitors, complementary brands, influencers in your niche, etc. Once you add in your targets, then the system starts liking photos of the followers of those target accounts that you’ve provided. Ideally, those users will come back to check out your account and then stick around.

This like-for-like method works because it’s not invasive. And with Kicksta liking about 10,000 photos every month, there are thousands of chances for your brand to be exposed to new eyes.

Kicksta’s tactics work to help you see organic growth. 

Targeting

SocialCaptain’s Targeting Methods

After you’ve connected your IG account, give the platform a little more information about your ideal follower profile by uploading relevant locations, hashtags, usernames (so the bot will interact with users who follow those usernames), and setting the gender filter. SocialCaptain reviews explain that these settings will help the platform’s bot hone in on users that are best for you. 

If you have the Turbo plan (essentially an upgraded premium option), SocialCaptain will use AI (artificial intelligence) to act like a human while interacting with Instagram users. This AI-Optimization Module learns from your past account activity to optimize future activity. 

Like we previously mentioned, SocialCaptain interacts with other users by liking their photos, commenting on their photos, and DM’ing them. Liking photos is a non-invasive method, but automatic comments and DM’s aren’t the best choice. Comments are often irrelevant and DM’s from a strange account are immediately earmarked as spam. Truly high-quality Instagram growth services don’t use auto-comments or auto-DM’s.

Kicksta’s Targeting Methods

Kicksta allows you to set several specifications so the platform can truly hone in on the type of users you want to reach.

When you first get started with Kicksta, you’ll provide a list of target accounts — accounts whose followers are in your ideal audience (these accounts might be your competitors, for example). 

In addition to this list of accounts, however, you can give Kicksta even more specific information. You’ll be able to set helpful hashtags, ideal geographic locations, and gender targeting so Kicksta can target users more effectively. 

When Kicksta starts liking photos, it will adhere to these guidelines and only interact with users who fit the criteria. You don’t have to worry about Kicksta deviating from your preferences, because it won’t. This means that all of the leads you’ll get are high-quality ones — real people who are truly interested in your brand and what you have to say. 

This means that both your Instagram follower count and your level of engagement will go up. And, down the road, so will your sales. 

Filters

SocialCaptain Filters

To make sure you gain Instagram followers who are part of your target audience, it’s best to choose a growth service that has plenty of filtering options. These settings will allow you to be very specific about the types of accounts you want to target. For example, a platform might have filters to help you avoid inactive accounts, suspicious accounts, or inappropriate accounts — these accounts wouldn’t do much good for your business. 

For example, SocialCaptain reviews explain that the tool has a gender filter to filter out users who are a specific gender. Once you’ve set your filters and other targeting options on SocialCaptain, SocialCaptain claims you’ll start seeing growth results in 1-3 hours.

Kicksta Filters 

Kicksta has several advanced filters you can tweak to ensure you’re finding real followers and seeing authentic growth. By carefully considering each of these filters and adjusting them for your brand, Kicksta will be able to do its work more effectively, making the most of each interaction by targeting relevant accounts. 

You can set filters regarding:

• Private accounts
• Inactive accounts (users who haven’t posted in 90 days or more, meaning that user is potentially no longer active)
• Suspicious accounts (accounts that have a suspicious follower-to-following ratio, indicating they may not be a real account)
• New accounts (accounts that have just been created in the past few months)

• Profanity filter (setting this can protect your page from receiving inappropriate comments and content)
• Gender filter (applicable if your target audience falls into a certain gender)
• Foreign language filter (will filter out users that don’t speak English)
• Business accounts filters (avoids finding business accounts)
• Blacklist filter (this blacklist option lets you avoid certain users)

Using these filters can help you grow the ideal follower base for your Instagram business account.

Dashboard/Analytics

SocialCaptain’s Analytics

SocialCaptain’s dashboard is clean, bright, and easy to navigate. You can see your connected accounts at a glance and note their current stats (followers, following, number of actions taken, etc). You can also easily visit the help center or support blog by clicking on the left-hand sidebar. Finally, SocialCaptain reviews say users appreciate the live chat feature that’s available on the dashboard as well if you need a little extra help.

Kicksta’s Analytics

Kicksta’s dashboard offers all the information you need to see at a glance. You can find your Daily Stats for each account you’ve connected in addition to your recent posts and how they’re doing in terms of engagement.

Kicksta also has a section dedicated to Followers Gained. This area lets you see how many followers your account has gained in a specific range of dates.

Pricing Plans

SocialCaptain Pricing 

SocialCaptain’s free trial lasts for 24 hours. When your free trial has ended, you can choose from either the Growth plan or the Turbo plan.

The Growth plan costs $15 per week or $39 per month. The Turbo plan is $99 each month. SocialCaptain states that the Turbo plan gives you up to 10 times more engagement, traffic, and growth. You also receive better customer support.

Kicksta Pricing 

When you choose Kicksta, you can pay as you go, cancel anytime, and receive a 14-day money-back guarantee. In other words, if you aren’t happy with your results after two weeks of using Kicksta, you can cancel your membership and receive a refund. Remember, though, Kicksta focuses on steady organic growth instead of explosive growth that will fizzle out. So to see optimal results, it’s best to stick with Kicksta for a long period of time.

Kicksta offers two payment plans, the Standard and the Premium. Each one will automatically renew at the start of your next payment cycle. The Standard plan costs $49 per user, per month and includes the following perks:

• Moderate growth speed
• Video onboarding
• 10 targets

If you choose the Premium plan (normally $149 a month, but currently marked down to $99), you’ll receive:

• Maximum growth speed
• Video onboarding
• 40 targets
• VIP email support
• Live chat support
• Advanced targeting
• Blacklist capability

If you’re interested in bulk pricing, Kicksta offers that as an option, too. Just send over a quick message to get a personalized quote. 

Maintenance and Support

SocialCaptain Customer Support

SocialCaptain has a live chat option where you can talk to employees or a bot and get answers to your questions in real time.

SocialCaptain reviews also note the full Help Center that’s available for users. This section includes nearly 25 articles explaining how to use various features of the platform, such as setup, optimizing results, and billing-related questions. 

However, this platform does not offer any helpful support videos, or a dedicated customer support manager. According to SocialCaptain reviews, this can make things a little difficult when trying to navigate the platform and grow your Instagram account.

Kicksta Customer Support

Kicksta has multiple resources to help you along your growth journey. To begin with, when you sign up with Kicksta using the Premium Plan you receive access to 24/7 support through VIP email and live chat. 

Kicksta also provides additional resources on the website that anybody can use. Check out the FAQ page to learn more about the services. Or look into Kicksta’s video courses and guides, which provide valuable information about how to set up your Instagram business account and optimize it for success. You can also take a look at case studies to read more about current clients, and the blog that includes Instagram marketing tips.  

Conclusion

There are lots of growth platforms out there. But not all of them use safe, proven methods to get you organic growth, backed up with a simple interface and immediate customer service.

Kicksta is the best option for anyone — agencies, brands, social media managers, or individual influencers — who want to cultivate a committed follower base on IG. Sign up and start your growth journey today!