Best Tools to Run an Instagram Giveaway (and How to Choose)

The best tools to run an Instagram giveaway depend on how people enter. If entrants just comment on a post, a comment picker such as Comment Picker, Simpliers or Wask is all you need. If you want several entry actions, an email from every entrant or entries from other platforms, use a hosted giveaway platform such as SweepWidget, Gleam, ViralSweep or Woobox.

This guide covers what each type of tool does well, which tools are worth a look, and how to choose. We make SweepWidget, so for the other tools we’ve only described what each one is publicly known for. Prices are left out because they change too often to be useful here.

First: no tool can verify Instagram follows or likes

Know this before you compare anything. Meta’s Instagram API doesn’t let outside tools check whether one account follows another or liked a post. So no giveaway tool, ours included, can confirm an Instagram follow or like automatically.

What tools do instead:

• Comment pickers read the comments on your post. The comments are real, but you still have to check whether the person also followed you.
• Hosted giveaway platforms ask entrants to confirm the username they used after following or liking.

Either way, you check the winner’s profile by hand before you announce them. It takes a minute. If a tool says it checks Instagram follows for every entrant, ask how it does that.

Comment picker or hosted giveaway?

Comment pickers load the comments on one post and draw a random winner. They’re quick, and often free for small posts. You get a winner, but no email list, and the only thing entrants can do is comment.

Hosted giveaway platforms give you an entry page, or a widget on your website. Entrants earn entries for actions like following you, liking a post or joining your newsletter. Setup takes longer, but you keep every entrant’s email and can run one giveaway across several platforms.

Hosted giveaway platforms

SweepWidget

Best for: Instagram giveaways that also build an email list or include other platforms.

• Eight Instagram entry actions: follow, like a post, comment on a post, repost, view a post, visit a profile, tag a friend in the comments of a post, and submit their own post.
• Other platforms in the same giveaway. Some actions, like a Discord join or a Twitch follow, are checked through that platform’s API. They give you a stronger sign that entrants are real.
• An email from every entrant, with optional email verification (Enterprise plan) and security settings that block suspicious entries (Pro plan and up).
• A quick start. Use the Instagram template, or describe your giveaway and let the AI builder set it up for you to edit.
• A built-in random draw with optional minimum or maximum entry counts, and a Live Draw you can show on a stream (paid plans).

Keep in mind: SweepWidget doesn’t pick winners from the comments on a post. For a pure comment giveaway, use a comment picker. There’s a free plan to start with unlimited campaigns and entries (you can view or download up to 10 entrants’ emails); the pricing page shows what each plan includes.

Gleam

Best for: brands that want a giveaway tool alongside other marketing apps.

Gleam is a set of marketing apps. Its Competitions app runs hosted giveaways with entry actions across many social platforms, Instagram included. If you also use its other apps, such as Rewards, Captures or Galleries, everything stays in one place.

ViralSweep

Best for: online stores that want comment, hashtag and hosted giveaways from one vendor.

ViralSweep runs hosted sweepstakes and giveaways. It also has separate apps for Instagram comment giveaways and hashtag entries, and one that rewards purchases on Shopify, BigCommerce and WooCommerce stores.

Woobox

Best for: brands that run several kinds of campaigns, not only giveaways.

Woobox builds contests and giveaways, and also polls, coupons and forms. Its Winner Picker can also pick winners from Facebook and Instagram comments.

Comment pickers

Comment Picker

Best for: a quick draw from one post’s comments. Paste the post link, set filters such as removing duplicates, and draw. It also covers other platforms, including TikTok and YouTube.

Simpliers

Best for: brands that run comment giveaways often. Simpliers draws from Instagram comments, checks them against rules such as tags and keywords, can combine posts from several platforms, and gives you a certificate to share.

Wask

Best for: marketers who already manage ads. Wask is an ad management tool, and it offers a free Instagram comment picker as well.

Rafflys (AppSorteos)

Best for: comment giveaways on several networks. Rafflys picks winners from comments on Instagram and other platforms, and gives you a winner certificate (image or video) to share.

One check for any comment picker: free versions usually cap how many comments they load. If your post has more comments than the cap, you’re not drawing from everyone.

How to choose an Instagram giveaway tool

Work through these questions in order.

1. What do you want from the giveaway? If it’s engagement on one post, a comment picker is enough. If it’s emails, sales or followers on other platforms, use a hosted platform.
2. How will people enter? With one comment, or by completing a list of actions? More actions mean more ways to earn entries, and more to show for the giveaway.
3. Is it Instagram only? If you also want YouTube, TikTok, Discord or newsletter entries, pick a hosted platform that covers them all in one giveaway.
4. How will you keep entries real? Look for email verification, fraud settings, and at least one action a platform can actually check.
5. Can you show the draw was fair? Look for a results page, a record of the draw, or a live draw you can show on screen.
6. Where will the giveaway live? On your website, on a hosted page, or only in your comments.
7. What will it cost at your size? Compare free-plan limits with the comments or entries you expect, and check that the features you need are on the plan you’d buy.

Whichever tool you choose, check Instagram’s promotion guidelines and publish clear rules.

A simple setup that works for most brands

• An Instagram follow and a post like, for reach.
• A newsletter signup, so you can stay in touch afterwards.
• One action a platform can check, like a Discord join.
• A random draw at the end, then a quick look at the winner’s Instagram profile.

Want to run it this way? Compare SweepWidget plans and features.

FAQ