Instagram's hashtag strategy seems to change every few months. right now i'm using about 15-20 hashtags per post but i'm not sure if that's helping or hurting
Some people say use 30, some say use 5, some say hashtags are dead. What's actually working for you?
How many hashtags should I use on Instagram?
-
SarahVlogs
- Posts: 36
- Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2025 4:04 pm
Re: How many hashtags should I use on Instagram?
I stopped using hashtags completely 6 months ago and my reach actually improved
Here's why: instagram's AI can tell what your content is about from the image, caption, and past content. hashtags are basically redundant now
my reach sources breakdown (no hashtags):
- 45% from non-followers (mostly explore page)
- 35% from followers
- 20% from other sources
before using hashtags:
- 25% from non-followers
- 60% from followers
- 15% from hashtags specifically
so hashtags were only driving 15% of my reach and apparently were hurting my overall performance
I think instagram sees heavy hashtag use as trying to game the system and deprioritizes that content. just write good captions with natural keywords and let the algorithm figure it out
test it yourself though. instagram experiments with different things for different accounts. What works for me might not work for you
Here's why: instagram's AI can tell what your content is about from the image, caption, and past content. hashtags are basically redundant now
my reach sources breakdown (no hashtags):
- 45% from non-followers (mostly explore page)
- 35% from followers
- 20% from other sources
before using hashtags:
- 25% from non-followers
- 60% from followers
- 15% from hashtags specifically
so hashtags were only driving 15% of my reach and apparently were hurting my overall performance
I think instagram sees heavy hashtag use as trying to game the system and deprioritizes that content. just write good captions with natural keywords and let the algorithm figure it out
test it yourself though. instagram experiments with different things for different accounts. What works for me might not work for you
Re: How many hashtags should I use on Instagram?
Instagram officially said to use 3-5 hashtags now, not 30 like it used to be
i tested this for 2 months:
- first month: used 25-30 hashtags per post, average reach 1,200
- second month: used 3-5 highly relevant hashtags, average reach 2,800
The difference was huge. Instagram's algorithm can understand your content without hashtags now, and using too many looks spammy
my current strategy:
- 1-2 niche hashtags (under 50k posts)
- 1-2 mid-size hashtags (100k-500k posts)
- 1 broad hashtag (1M+ posts) if it's really relevant
I also stopped putting hashtags in the first comment. just add them naturally to the end of your caption
The key is relevance. don't use #instagood or #photooftheday because literally millions of posts use those and you'll get buried instantly. use hashtags that actually describe your specific content
i tested this for 2 months:
- first month: used 25-30 hashtags per post, average reach 1,200
- second month: used 3-5 highly relevant hashtags, average reach 2,800
The difference was huge. Instagram's algorithm can understand your content without hashtags now, and using too many looks spammy
my current strategy:
- 1-2 niche hashtags (under 50k posts)
- 1-2 mid-size hashtags (100k-500k posts)
- 1 broad hashtag (1M+ posts) if it's really relevant
I also stopped putting hashtags in the first comment. just add them naturally to the end of your caption
The key is relevance. don't use #instagood or #photooftheday because literally millions of posts use those and you'll get buried instantly. use hashtags that actually describe your specific content