Best Instagram Alternatives Worth Using in 2023
Discover the 8 most popular alternative social media platforms to Instagram for creative photo sharing, social networking and building a brand online.
This guide will introduce you to the best Instagram alternatives for photographers.
Instagram is still the most popular social media platform for photographers to showcase their work.
However, it can be time-consuming, saturated with ads, and hard to get noticed in a sea of other users.
Thankfully, there are some great Instagram alternatives that cater to the needs of photographers and creatives.
These replacement social media platforms offer a variety of features, audiences, and business models.
So by getting to know some of the best Instagram alternatives, you can choose which one fits your needs best.
Let’s dive in.
Table of Contents
What is the Best Alternative to Instagram Social Media Platform in 2023?
Vero | Best Alternative to Instagram for Photographers
- Offers an ad-free experience, allowing content to shine without interruptions.
- Displays content in the order it was posted, fostering genuine interactions.
- Supports sharing of photos, videos, music, books, and links, making it versatile.
- Users see all content from those they follow, which can lead to more organic reach for creators.
- As a lesser-known platform, building an audience can be slower compared to established platforms.
- Limited direct monetization options for creators compared to other platforms.
Vero is a social media platform that emphasizes a more authentic and chronological sharing experience, devoid of advertisements.
It is designed for creators to share various forms of content, including photos, videos, music, and links.
Unlike many other platforms, Vero’s algorithm-free feed prioritizes genuine user connections over engagement metrics.
Pro Tip for Using Vero: Engage frequently and diversify the type of content you share. Utilize Vero’s diverse content-sharing capabilities to provide a fuller picture of your interests and passions, creating a deeper connection with your followers.
Behance | Instagram Alternative for Creative Professionals
- Known as an excellent platform where industry professionals scout for talent.
- Used by a lot of agencies and marketing teams searching for references and professionals.
- It’s multi-disciplinary which is great for displaying projects that go into other creative fields, like design.
- Full integration with Adobe softwares, including Adobe Live.
- Broad Competition since it hosts all types of creatives, not just photographers.
- More of a portfolio site than a sales platform.
Behance is more than a photo-sharing website and one of the best Instagram alternatives out there.
It’s a portfolio platform by Adobe, and it serves a broad range of creatives, from photographers to graphic designers.
Integrated directly with Adobe softwares, it allows for seamless project uploads as well as live shows using Adobe Live.
Professionals often use Behance to showcase their work and connect with potential clients or employers.
Pro Tip for Using Behance: Make use of Adobe’s Creative Cloud integration to showcase works-in-progress and behind-the-scenes content to engage your audience.
500px | Instagram Alternative for Photographers
- Primarily a platform for serious photographers and enthusiasts.
- You can sell or license your photos through the platform.
- The content is focused only on photography.
- It offers tutorials, articles, and workshops for photographers.
- With so many high-quality content, it can be hard to stand out.
- There are restrictions on the number of uploads for free accounts.
500px is a social media platform used primarily by professionals and enthusiasts and a great alternative to Instagram.
It offers a space for photographers to showcase their work, get feedback, and even license their photos for commercial use.
The community-driven algorithm, Pulse, helps to highlight and discover new content daily.
Pro Tip for Using 500px: Engage with the community by commenting and liking other like-minded photographers’ work to increase your visibility.
Photocrowd
- There are regular competitions to engage the community.
- You can get your work seen and critiqued by professionals.
- Provides a way to license and monetize your work.
- Pushes you to try new things with your photography because of challenges.
- Some competitions have entry fees.
- Some features are behind a paywall.
Photocrowd is an alternative to Instagram that connects photographers through challenges and competitions.
Users can submit their work, receive feedback, and even gain exposure through professional judging.
With a mix of free and paid contests, it offers both community-driven and expert evaluations.
Pro Tip for Using Photocrowd: Use challenges as a way to explore new styles or subjects, and pay attention to judges’ feedback to improve your skills.
EyeEm
- A platform for photographers to sell and buyers to find high-quality images.
- Opportunities to participate in brand-specific challenges.
- A diverse global community of photographers.
- Features stories, tips, and interviews for photographers.
- A significant cut is taken from sales made on the marketplace.
- There is a large volume of uploads, making it hard to get noticed.
EyeEm combines a photo-sharing platform with a marketplace for photographers looking to license their work.
Users can participate in missions, where brands provide specific photo challenges, creating opportunities for direct collaboration.
The platform uses AI to suggest tags, enhancing discoverability for potential stock photo buyers.
Pro Tip for Using EyeEm: Always keep an eye on EyeEm Missions for chances to engage with big brands and potentially earn money from your photos.
Flickr
- Huge and diverse user base.
- Easy to find high-quality photos on any subject.
- Clear terms ensure photographers retain rights to their photos.
- Many niche communities and groups to engage with.
- The huge audience can make it harder to stand out.
- The platform hasn’t received significant updates in a while.
Flickr is a veteran in the photo-sharing domain, offering users 1TB of free storage and a robust set of organizational and sharing tools.
It hosts a mix of professional photographers, hobbyists, and general users.
The platform also features active photography groups and discussions, making it a hub for community engagement.
Pro Tip for Using Flickr: Utilize Flickr groups that are related to your niche. They’re a great way to get feedback and improve your skills.
VSCO
- Less emphasis on likes and comments, reducing social pressure.
- Known for its high-quality presets.
- Offers themed projects for community participation.
- Allows for storytelling alongside photos with the journal feature.
- Less social interaction compared to platforms like Instagram.
- Fewer options for monetizing your work.
VSCO is more than just a photo-sharing app.
It is both a mobile photography app and a community for photographers, making it a great Instagram alternative.
Known for its high-quality presets, unlike Instagram, the platform emphasizes the art of photography over social metrics.
Users can share their work, discover new content, and participate in community projects.
Pro Tip for Using VSCO: Use VSCO’s advanced editing tools to create a consistent style for all your photos, making your portfolio more cohesive.
SmugMug
- Highly customizable website templates.
- Excellent for selling prints and digital downloads.
- Unlimited Storage.
- Ad-free experience enhances the user and viewer experience.
- No free version available; costs can add up for premium features.
- Fewer community features compared to other platforms.
SmugMug provides photographers with customizable portfolio websites and e-commerce solutions.
Focusing on professional needs, it offers unlimited photo storage, integrated printing services, and robust privacy settings.
This platform is ideal for photographers looking to sell prints or digital downloads.
Pro Tip for Using SmugMug: Make the most of the site’s e-commerce features by offering limited-time promotions or bundled packages of your work.
Why is Instagram Losing Popularity in 2023?
Instagram isn’t as popular as it used to be. It has made many changes to the original version we knew to become the social media powerhouse it is today.
But by becoming so, there are many things users dislike or are simply tired of. For example:
- Algorithm Changes: Instagram’s shift from a chronological feed to an algorithmic one frustrated many users. The new system prioritizes content that gets engagement, which often means content from smaller creators and photographers gets buried and is less likely to be seen.
- Over-commercialization: With the rise of sponsored posts, ads, and influencer marketing, the platform has become more commercial. Some photographers feel this detracts from the art and authenticity of the platform.
- Saturation: The sheer number of users and the volume of content uploaded daily make it difficult for photographers to stand out or gain recognition for their work.
- Quality Reduction: Instagram compresses images, which can degrade the quality of high-resolution photos. For photographers who pride themselves on the nuances and details of their work, this is a significant drawback.
- Shift in Audience : While Instagram began as a platform for photo sharing, it has evolved to cater to a broader range of content, including short videos, stories, and reels. This shift can make photographers feel like their content isn’t as valued or central to the platform’s mission.
- Lack of Direct Monetization: Platforms like Patreon, 500px, and others offer direct ways for photographers to monetize their work, whereas Instagram has been slower in providing comprehensive monetization tools for its creators.
Will Instagram become obsolete?
It’s hard to tell whether or not Instagram will become obsolete.
The platform has been very successful in evolving and adapting new features to crush its competition.
And even though photographers are frustrated when forced to play the platform engagement game, it still is where brands invest in content creation, and is where you’ll most likely have a chance of acquiring new customers.
Instagram is like a massive snowball that has been rolling for quite a while now, and not to say it is impossible to break it, but it will require something big to make it obsolete.
It created its own market and economic chain that keeps feeding into this massive snowball.
Instagram also has a vast global user base, making it one of the most popular social media platforms.
This user base provides a certain level of inertia against becoming obsolete rapidly.
But new platforms like TikTok have grown exponentially in a short time, capturing the attention of younger audiences.
If Instagram cannot engage younger users, it may face challenges in the long run.
Do Millennials still use Instagram?
Even though it is a common fact that people are tired of Instagram, the platform has, in fact, grown in popularity in recent months.
The transition to welcoming Reels was a bit of a bumpy one, with users complaining about it forgetting its roots and abandoning photographers, claiming the platform has become a video-sharing one.
But now everyone seems to have a better understanding of what Instagram has become, and users are feeling more and more comfortable with it, and it has indeed grown in popularity.
Moreover, the platform is the only one to have seen slight growth, compared to Netflix, YouTube, Disney+ and even TikTok, according to YPulse.
Is it OK for Professional Photographers to Not Have Instagram?
Absolutely, it’s okay for professional photographers not to have an Instagram account.
While Instagram offers numerous benefits, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution and it can put a lot of social pressure and comparison into your work, which can be distracting for some people.
In fact, managing your Instagram account can take more time than your own photography business depending on how present you want to be on the platform.
Another thing to take into consideration is how Instagram has indeed become the modern marketplace for photographers, and it’s where most people look for photographers to hire.
So by choosing not to have an Instagram account, you’ll have to prioritize direct business dealings, referrals, or other methods of client acquisition over social media presence.
The bottom line is that you don’t have to have Instagram to be a successful photographer, you’ll just have to find new ways to connect with people and audiences to get your work out there.
Whether or not it’s okay to have Instagram really depends on your plans and ambitions regarding their own photography.
Frequently Asked Questions About Best Instagram Alternatives
Is there an Instagram alternative without Reels?
Most of the sites listed above don’t have Reels.
Vero, VSCO, EyeEM and 500px are good options for users who want to consume only photo content.
Are there Instagram alternatives without Ads?
Several platforms can serve as alternatives to Instagram that either do not have ads or prioritize an ad-free experience.
Some you might have to pay for, but it’s how you get an ad-free experience.
Vero, SmugMug and VSCO are good ad-free options.
What do the Chinese use instead of Instagram?
In China, several social media platforms serve purposes similar to Instagram but are adapted to the local market and regulations. A few common ones are Weibo, Douyin, Meitu and Bilibili.
Which social media is most popular for photographers?
Instagram remains as leading photo-sharing platform for photographers due to its visual-centric design and vast user base.
500px and Flickr are also popular, catering specifically to photography enthusiasts and professionals.
However, the best platform can vary based on a photographer’s goals, whether it’s broad exposure, community engagement, or professional networking.
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Hello, my name is Leo Cavazzana, I’m a professional photographer and film director. As a photographer, I’ve been photographing our natural world for the past 8 years and worked on assignments with NatGeo, BBC, and UN on all 5 continents. As a film director, I’ve been directing commercials and campaigns for brands for the past 4 years. I’m passionate about sharing about the world and photography with others.
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