The Top 10 Instagram Fake Follower Checkers for Spotting Fakes in 2024

As an experienced social media analyst and influencer, I know first-hand the importance of having an engaged, authentic following on Instagram. But fake accounts are rampant, with some reports estimating over 15% of accounts are inauthentic bots or spam. These illusion followers damage your credibility and prevent you from truly connecting with your audience.

The good news is there are tools available to detect and combat fake Instagram followers. I‘ve tested the top options to help you find the best solution. In this post, I‘ll compare the 10 leading Instagram fake follower checkers for 2024 based on features, accuracy, and pricing. I‘ll also share actionable tips to organically grow real, active followers.

Let‘s dive in and banish those bogus accounts for good!

How Prevalent Are Fake Instagram Followers?

Before looking at the tools, you may be wondering – just how common are fake followers? According to research by DataJam in late 2022:

• The average business account has 7.9% fake followers
• Personal accounts have around 5.1% fakes
• Accounts with under 1,000 followers have 15.3% fake followers
• Mid-tier accounts with 1,000 to 10,000 have 7.2% fakes
• Larger accounts of 10,000 to 100,000 followers average just 2.4% fakes
• Celebrities and huge accounts with over 1 million followers have less than 1% fakes

So you can see small and mid-sized accounts suffer most from inauthentic followers. This makes sense as buying followers can be tempting when starting out to appear larger and gain notoriety.

But any level of fakes jeopardizes your reputation. A 2021 study found 71% of consumers value authenticity and are unlikely to support brands that seem artificial.

What Makes a Follower "Fake"?

Before we get into the checker tools, let‘s discuss what makes an account fake or inauthentic. Here are some common red flags:

Nonsensical Username: Fake accounts tend to have random strings of numbers and letters for usernames rather than real names.

No Profile Photo: If no photo is set, likely a bot account.

No Bio Info: Fakes rarely have profile information filled out.

No Posts: Accounts with no posts or stories are suspicious.

Irrelevant Content: The few posts they have are unrelated to your niche.

No Engagement: They don‘t like or comment on your posts.

Suspicious Following/Follower Ratio: Fake users often follow thousands but have few followers.

Bot Behavior: Following/unfollowing hundreds of accounts very rapidly.

Spam Comments: Posting irrelevant or malicious links and comments.

Suspicious IP Geolocation: Followers from unknown or suspicious locations.

Fake checker tools analyze these factors to determine which of your followers are likely fake. Now let‘s look at the top 10 options for 2024.

The 10 Best Instagram Fake Follower Checkers

1. Spamguard – Best Overall Fake Follower Detection

Out of all the tools I tested, I found Spamguard to be the most effective set-it-and-forget-it solution. It accurately identifies fake and inactive followers while providing ongoing protection.

How It Works

Spamguard scans your account using an array of metrics including profiles, engagement, and growth patterns. It generates detailed reports showing:

• Percentage of real vs fake followers
• List of individual suspicious followers
• Engagement rates over time
• Follower growth analysis

It then continually removes any newly detected fakes. You can also enable other protections like filtering comments, blocking spam tags, removing suspicious followers, and preventing account hacking.

Standout Features

• Automatic fake follower removal
• Broad anti-spam filtering
• Available as mobile app
• Tracks changes and follower status

Pricing

• Single scan: $10
• Monthly plan: $7.99/month

For comprehensive fake follower detection and removal, Spamguard is my top recommendation. The combination of analysis and ongoing protection ensures your account‘s follower list stays authentic.

2. SocialBlade – Free Fake Follower Check

SocialBlade is a popular free analytics tool that also includes a fake follower checker.

How it Works

SocialBlade analyzes follower profiles, usernames, engagement metrics, growth patterns, and location. It compares these to baseline averages to estimate fake percentages.

You get a report with:

• Percentage of likely fake followers
• Account grade from A+ to F
• Daily follower growth stats
• Content engagement rates
• Audience demographic data

Standout Features

• Free fake follower check
• Competitive benchmarking
• Support for multiple platforms
• Track changes over time

Pricing

• Free fake check and basic analytics
• Premium Solo: $15/month
• Premium Pro: $30/month

For occasional basic checks, SocialBlade is a handy free tool. The premium plans unlock more metrics and competitve tracking.

3. TwitterAudit – Fake Check Across Social Networks

Despite the name, TwitterAudit analyzes Instagram follower authenticity too.

How It Works

TwitterAudit scans profiles and engagement metrics, then assigns the account a grade from A+ to F based on estimated percentage of real followers.

The report shows:

• Overall account grade
• Percentage of real followers
• How the grade compares to similar accounts

Standout Features

• Super simple results
• Analyzes Twitter too
• One-time payment – not recurring

Pricing

• Limited free version
• Full report: $19 one-time fee

For fast snapshot audits of your account and competitors, the cheap one-time payment for TwitterAudit is handy.

4. IG Audit – Clean User Interface

IG Audit offers a slick experience tailored to Instagram checks.

How It Works

IG Audit scans profiles, engagement metrics, and follower IP locations to detect spam and bots.

You get a report showing:

• Percentage of real followers
• Graphs of follower changes
• List of individual suspicious accounts
• Engagement metrics

Standout Features

• Filters to analyze specific followers
• Chrome extension for easy access
• Blacklists suspicious accounts

Pricing

• Free fake percentage check
• Premium: $12.99+/month for detailed analytics

For quick audits and tracking followers over time, IG Audit is a solid pick.

5. HypeAuditor – For In-Depth Instagram Insights

HypeAuditor leverages AI to provide deep Instagram analytics, including fake follower detection.

How It Works

HypeAuditor uses machine learning to evaluate followers across 35+ metrics including engagement,comments, stories, hashtag usage, and more. This creates highly customized benchmarks for each account analyzed.

The reports showcase:

• Percentage of real vs fake followers
• Engagement metrics for posts
• Audience demographics
• Hashtag and mention analysis
• Competitor comparisons

Standout Features

• Powerful AI analysis
• Post-level engagement insights
• Track competitor performance

Pricing

• Free 1 report per month
• Pro: $99/month
• Business: $199/month

If you want comprehensive data beyond just followers, HypeAuditor is a top choice. The AI customization provides unparalleled accuracy.

6. Combin – Free Fake Follower Check

Combin offers a handy free fake follower checker.

How It Works

Combin scans follower profiles for red flags like default pics, weird usernames, and other suspicious traits. It combines this with location analysis to estimate fake percentages.

The report includes:

• Percentage of likely fake followers
• List of suspicious accounts
• Growth and engagement graphs
• Follower location map

Standout Features

• Totally free fake check
• Monitors changes in real-time
• Exports PDF reports

Pricing

• Free fake follower check
• Premium monitoring plans

For occasional quick checks of your or a competitor‘s account, Combin‘s free tool is great.

7. Follower Audit – Track Changes Over Time

Follower Audit allows you to monitor fake percentages over time.

How it Works

Follower Audit looks at profiles, engagement metrics, and growth history to identify likely fakes. You get:

• Percentage of fake followers
• List of suspicious accounts
• Engagement and growth graphs
• Account grade A-F

Standout Features

• Saves reports to track changes
• Support for multiple platforms
• Exports results in different formats

Pricing

• Free limited version
• Premium: $5-$20 per month

The ability to save and compare reports makes Follower Audit ideal for continually monitoring your account‘s authenticity.

8. FakeCheck.co – Analyzes Engagement

FakeCheck.co focuses on engagement as the best indicator of genuine followers.

How it Works

FakeCheck examines metrics like likes, comments, story views, and follower active sessions across recent posts. It combines this with some profile analysis to rate accounts from 1-100.

You get:

• Fake follower likelihood score
• Engagement metrics
• List of potential fake followers

Standout Features

• Uses post engagement for accuracy
• Results exportable in PDF format

Pricing

• Limited free version
• Full report: $12.99

If you suspect engagement inconsistencies, FakeCheck‘s analysis is spot on.

9. Kicksta – Cleanup Bundled With Growth Tools

Kicksta packages fake follower removal with auto growth tools.

How it Works

Kicksta scans followers and actively removes any detected as fake. You get:

• Fake follower percentage
• List of removed accounts
• Follower tracking and management

It also provides auto-liking, messaging, and commenting tools to stimulate engagement.

Standout Features

• Removes fakes automatically
• Integrated Instagram growth suite
• In-depth analytics

Pricing

• Starter: $49/month
• Pro: $99/month

For those seeking to both eliminate fake followers AND organically grow their audience, Kicksta is the full package.

10. DataJam – Specialized Fake Follower Removal

DataJam focuses solely on removing fakes rather than just detecting them.

How it Works

DataJam actively prunes fake and inactive followers from your account. You get:

• Currently removed follower count
• Ban lists of removed accounts
• Activity tracking
• Removal schedule controls

Standout Features

• Specialized in active removal
• Real-time cleansing
• Simple set-up

Pricing

• $10 one-time purge
• Plans from $9.99/month

If you know you already have fake followers and want them banished, DataJam is quick and easy.

Should You Buy Fake Instagram Followers?

You may be tempted to purchase fake followers to seem more popular and reach more real people. But resist the urge! Fake followers can actually harm your growth and reputation.

Risks of Buying Fake Instagram Followers

• Damages credibility – Lower engagement rates expose the fakeness.
• Restricted reach – Instagram suppresses fake accounts in feeds.
• Hurts real growth – Appearing inauthentic deters real followers.
• Risks bans – Violates Instagram‘s terms of service.
• Wastes money – Provides no marketing value.

Focus your effort on attracting genuine, engaged followers. Consistently check for and eliminate any fakes that sneak in.

Tips to Organically Grow Real Instagram Followers

Here are my top tips for getting more real Instagram followers:

Post Valuable Content

Give your audience content they genuinely want to see and engage with. Humanize your brand by telling stories and showing behind the scenes.

Use Relevant Hashtags

Research hashtags popular in your niche and use them so your content appears in relevant feeds.

Engage With Your Audience

Follow, like, and reply to those in your industry. Be helpful by answering questions in comments. Develop connections.

Run Contests and Giveaways

Fun contests and givaways entice real people to follow you for a chance to win. Require participants to tag friends for further reach.

Partner With Niche Influencers

Collaborate with relevant brands and influencers to tap into each other‘s audiences. Do giveaways together.

Optimize Your Profile

Craft an appealing bio, use a professional profile photo, customize your URL, and add relevant links.

Using these organic tactics rather than artificial follower boosting ensures your account growth is high-quality.

Choose the Best Fake Follower Checker for Your Goals

Regularly monitoring your Instagram account for fake followers is crucial to maintain credibility and trust. The best solution for your needs depends on your budget and goals:

• For set-it-and-forget protection, Spamguard is my top choice.
• If you want basic occasional checks, use SocialBlade or Combin for free tools.
• For tracking changes over time, Follower Audit saves reports.
• IG Audit and TwitterAudit offer clean and simple interfaces.
• For brands needing deep analytics, choose HypeAuditor.
• To remove fakes completely, DataJam specializes in active pruning.
• If you also want auto growth tools, Kicksta bundles them together.

Stay vigilant in keeping your Instagram follower count free of fakes. Maintain an authentic, human connection with your audience. Consistent checking ensures your growth is high-quality and takes your content marketing impact to the next level.