How to Get Comments on Instagram: 12 Tactics to Increase Comments

Why does no one comment on my Instagram posts?

Most Instagram posts get few comments because they give people nothing easy to say. A like takes one tap; a comment needs a reason, a prompt and a feeling that someone will read it.

Timing matters too. Our guide to the best time to post on Instagram shows how to find when your own followers are online.

Caption tactics that increase comments on Instagram

Captions are the cheapest way to increase comments on Instagram, because every reader sees them right under the post. These four tactics turn readers into commenters.

1. Ask one specific question. "Thoughts?" gets silence. "Which of these three would you try first?" gets answers.
2. Offer an either-or choice. "Coffee or tea?" or "Option A or option B?" lets people answer with one word.
3. Put the question early. Long captions get cut off on the feed, so place the question in the first line or two, not after ten lines of text.
4. Ask people to add to a list. "I shared five tips. What would be number six?" invites experts in your audience to show what they know.

Use one prompt per post. Three questions at once feels like homework, and people answer none of them.

How to get more comments on Instagram with replies and pins

To get more comments on Instagram, treat every comment as the start of a chat, not the end. People comment more where they can see the owner answers.

5. Reply fast. Try to answer comments while the post is fresh. A quick reply often brings a second comment from the same person.
6. Reply with a question. "Thanks!" closes the chat. "Thanks! Did you try it with the blue one?" keeps it open.
7. Pin your best comment. Instagram lets you pin up to three comments to the top of a post. Pin a great question or a useful tip from a follower, so every new visitor sees it first.
8. Comment on others' posts in your niche. Thoughtful comments on related accounts bring curious people back to your profile. Skip copy-paste lines; Meta's spam rules treat repetitive content as a warning sign.

Comment prompts in Reels and Stories that get replies

Reels and Stories reach people who might never read a long caption, so put the prompt inside the content itself. These four tactics complete the list of twelve.

9. Say the prompt out loud in Reels. End the Reel with a spoken question and the same words on screen, such as "Tell me which one you picked."
10. Use the Stories question sticker. Instagram's question sticker lets followers reply right from the sticker, and you can share answers in a new Story. Answers you share often lead to more replies.
11. Open Story comments. Since September 2024, Instagram has let people comment on Stories. Only mutual followers can leave a comment, anyone who can see the Story can read it, and you can turn comments on or off for each Story. Comments disappear with the Story after 24 hours.
12. Post topics people have opinions on. Rankings, "this or that" carousels, honest reviews and common mistakes invite people to agree, disagree or add their own take.

Want more ideas beyond comments? Read our guide on how to increase engagement on Instagram.

Do comments help a post get seen on Instagram?

Comments are one of the signals Instagram has named in public, but they are not a switch. In his May 2023 ranking explainer, Adam Mosseri said Feed looks at how many people like a post and how quickly people like, comment, share and save it, along with each person's own past activity.

Instagram also predicts how likely each person is to comment, like or share before ranking a post for them. That is why real conversations from interested people matter more than any single number. Our explainer on the Instagram algorithm covers the rest of what Instagram has shared.

Stay inside the rules while you chase comments. Instagram now follows Meta's Community Standards, and their spam policy bans cash giveaways, or anything of money value, offered in exchange for engagement.

Settings that may be hiding comments you already get

Your own settings can hide comments people are already leaving, which makes a post look quieter than it is. Check these four places.

1. Hidden Words: go to your profile, tap the menu, then under "How others can interact with you" tap Hidden words. The "Hide unwanted comments" control has levels such as None, Some and More, and a stricter level hides more comments. Filtered comments still count in your total but sit behind "View hidden comments" at the bottom of the comments.
2. Limits: the Limit interactions tool hides new comments from groups you choose, such as recent followers, unless you approve them. It can stay on for up to four weeks at a time.
3. Restrict: comments from a restricted account are visible only to that person until you tap Approve.
4. Commenting turned off: if you chose Advanced settings, then Turn off commenting before sharing, nobody can comment. Use the post's options menu to turn commenting back on.

Our guide on how to unhide a comment on Instagram shows how to bring hidden comments back.

A simple weekly routine to increase comments on Instagram

A routine beats random effort, because comment habits build on each other. This weekly plan uses the tactics above in an order most accounts can keep up.

After four weeks, keep the prompts and formats that got the most replies and drop the rest. Your own results are a better guide than any general rule.

Where custom comments fit when you start a thread

Custom comments fit at one moment: the start of a thread on a new post, when an empty comment section makes visitors hesitate to be first. A few on-topic comments can make the conversation feel open.

SocialGrowthly lets you buy Instagram comments that you write yourself, one per line, starting at 30 comments for $5. You only share a public post link, never a password. Write comments that ask real questions about the post, then answer them yourself to model the chat you want.

Be clear about the limits. Bought comments add social proof to a post, but they do not create real fans, real buyers or sales by themselves, and they are never risk-free, because Meta's spam policy bars buying or selling engagement. Use them, if at all, next to the twelve free tactics above, never instead of them.