Ways to get followers, compared
There are only a handful of ways to get followers, and they trade time, money and quality against each other. Here they all are, from a shop that sells one of them.
Updated 22 October 2026
The routes at a glance
| Route | Cost | Speed | Followers who engage? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Organic posting | Free (your time) | Slow | Yes |
| Collaborations | Free or low | Medium | Yes |
| Paid ads / boosted posts | £5 a day upwards | Fast | Some |
| Giveaways | The prize | Fast, briefly | Few stay engaged |
| Follower packages | From £2.79 | Hours | No |
| “Free followers” apps | Your login | Varies | No, and risky |
Organic posting
The slow, reliable route, and the only one that builds an audience you own. It costs nothing but time and asks for consistency over months. The details differ by platform: see getting followers on Instagram and getting followers on TikTok.
Collaborations
Joint posts, takeovers, features and shout-outs with accounts that share your audience. Usually the quickest organic growth there is, because the followers you gain already care about your subject. The catch is that you need something to offer the other account, even if it’s just a matching audience.
Paid ads and boosted posts
Both Instagram and TikTok sell promotion. You can target by age, interest and location, which makes ads the only paid route to genuinely local followers. A UK small business can test with a few pounds a day. Results vary a lot, and many ad followers are lukewarm, but they are real people who chose to follow.
Giveaways
“Follow, like and tag a friend to win” brings a burst of followers, many of whom are there for the prize and leave or go quiet afterwards. They work best when the prize only appeals to your real audience (your product, not an iPad) and when you run them with a partner account. UK giveaways also need to follow the CAP Code rules on prize promotions.
Follower packages
That’s what we sell, so here’s the honest version. A package raises your count within hours and costs a few pence per follower. The followers don’t engage, some disappear over time, and both platforms forbid inauthentic engagement in their terms. It’s useful for first impressions (a new page that shouldn’t look empty, a profile stuck short of a milestone) and useless for everything else. If you use one, keep it modest and keep doing the organic work. Packages: Instagram followers, TikTok followers.
“Free followers” apps and sites
These are worth avoiding. Most ask for your username and password, then use your account to follow and like other people’s, which is how they “pay” for your followers. That puts your account in someone else’s hands and is the kind of activity that gets accounts restricted. Others make you complete surveys or install apps. None are really free.
Which should you choose?
- No budget, plenty of time: organic plus collaborations.
- A local business with a small budget: organic, plus a modest local ad test.
- A new page that looks empty: a small follower package to start, then organic.
- You need engagement for brand deals: organic only. Bought followers lower your engagement rate.