INFLUENCER MARKETING

Instagram Ad Mockup Generator: 7 Best Tools for Your Next Instagram Campaign [Our Influencer Platform’s POV]

Alexandra Kazakova

By Alexandra Kazakova
11 min READ | Jan 26 2024

Creating quick and free ads is essential if your Instagram campaign budget is tight.

Or if you’re running multiple campaigns for different clients.

A/B testing different ad creatives is arguably even more important, especially if your Instagram ads aren’t performing well or if you’re conducting a retargeting campaign.

A solid Instagram ad mockup generator can solve both issues.

And you’re on the right page to find a solid mockup tool.

We’ll take you through 7 such best ad generators for Instagram and share our honest opinion as an influencer platform.

Let’s dive in.

TL;DR: 7 Best Instagram Online Mockup Generators

  1. inBeat: Best Overall. Offers fast, intuitive, and free service without sign-up, with multiple format options (square, portrait, landscape, story) and the ability to create ads for different social media channels.
  2. Influencer Marketing Hub: Best for Specific Advertising Goals. Features a particularly effective tool for targeted goals like app installs or website clicks.
  3. AdMockups.com: Solid Tool for Different Channels. It provides options for creating ads on various platforms including Google and YouTube, with basic but effective features for Instagram ads, though it lacks customization of likes and comments.
  4. Media Modifier: Versatile Ad Mockup Generator. Offers a range of options, including mobile/desktop ads, different image resolutions, dark mode, and multi-platform ad creation, but lacks video options and has a steeper learning curve.
  5. Mockup Tree: Good Library of Templates. Has a wide range of templates and formats but suffers from low user experience and limited Instagram ad options, requiring Adobe Photoshop for editing.
  6. Over The Top SEO: Good for App Ads. Suitable for mobile ads with numerous app CTA options, but lacks image ratio selection and multi-platform mockup generation, with less visually appealing text fonts.
  7. Send Preview: Great for Saving Multiple Campaigns. Allows you to create mockup ads across different social channels and formats, with the ability to save campaign information, though it requires account creation and has a learning curve.

1. inBeat: Best All-In-One Ad Mockup Generator

inBeat’s advanced mockup generator is the best overall because it ticks all the boxes: it’s fast, intuitive, and free.

Just add a few details to your ad generation tool, and you’re set to accurate mockups for:

  • Instagram feed ads
  • Sponsored carousels
  • Instagram Reels
  • Instagram Stories

You can also choose different formats: Square (1:1), Portrait (4:5), Landscape (16:9), and Story (9:16).

This square ad took 10 seconds to create.

You don't need any credit card, sign-up, or monthly subscription.

Notice that you can easily set your real website's name, profile picture, CTA, number of likes, and message.

This ease of use and multiple options allow you to test different images, messages, and ad formats to see which ad is most persuasive for your target audience.

And here’s the unique selling point:

inBeat has multiple social media mockup generators right on top of this tool to attract potential clients across social platforms.

So, if you have a comprehensive, multi-channel advertising campaign, you can create different mockup ads for each social channel instead of repurposing the Instagram ads.

Besides, inBeat has a slew of useful CTAs you can choose from – but we’ll talk more about that in the next section as we compare our tool with Influencer Marketing Hub’s.

However, we admit our Instagram mockup generator is imperfect: we don’t yet have the option to create Instagram video ads.

None of our competitors do, but we’re trying to be objective here.

Insider tip: A problem with video ads for Instagram and other social media is that they’re harder to create and download.

You might also need more research to adjust specific hooks or lines based on the audience’s response.

So, in this case, working with an ad agency or an influencer might be better than testing different ads just for the sake of it.

PROS:

  • Intuitive
  • Fast
  • Professional-looking ad mockups
  • Multiple ad formats and size customization options
  • Various options for other channels
  • A slew of CTAs

CONS:

  • No video tools

2. Influencer Marketing Hub: Best for Specific Advertising Goals

The ad mockup generator from Influencer Marketing Hub is also fast, intuitive, and flexible enough. This tool is underpinned by robust web application architecture, which ensures its adaptability and efficiency across different digital environments.

We immediately noticed they have a video ad function, which we lack.

Alas, this was only a thumbnail – so they didn’t win any points.

Besides, inBeat’s ad generator has:

  • More options for the image ad format, allowing you to select different sizes and image layouts
  • Different social media mockup generators

With Marketing Hub’s tool, you can pick the image, video, or carousel ad mockup generator if your goal is to get more app installs or website clicks.

If you want to create an Instagram Story, you can only pick between image and video, with no other options.

Insider tip: Influencer Marketing Hub also has limited CTA options.

If you want to create an Instagram post image ad to get more app downloads, you can pick between various CTAs:

However, inBeat has more general options, including “See Menu,” “Request time,” “Subscribe,” and “Send WhatsApp Message.”

That means the inBeat mockup ad generator makes it easier to personalize your message and see what convinces your potential customers.

But as we said in this section’s heading, this tool is best for specific – and not generic – advertising goals.

PROS:

  • Fast
  • Intuitive
  • Flexible
  • Free
  • Can be used for specific goals (e.g., app installs, website clicks)
  • Works for video ads, Instagram posts, carousels and Instagram Stories

CONS:

  • Limited photo ad sizes and formats
  • Limited CTAs compared to inBeat
  • No Instagram Reels option

3. AdMockups.com: Accurate Ad Mockups for Different Channels

AdMockups is similar to inBeat because you can choose social mockup generators for different platforms right off the bat.

You even have options for Google and YouTube, which inBeat lacks.

The first difference you notice is that you must click on each tool, create your options, and then return to the homepage for the other tools.

Now, let’s pick the Instagram ad mockup generator.

At first glance, their software looks basic until you realize you can click on the corner-right icons to see more options:

Source

The good part is that you can optimize your branded visuals for mobile and desktop.

However, there are few options for ad type and ad format.

First, you can only pick between the single image or the Carousel.

Secondly, the ad type is only News feed, Story, and Reels.

If you remember, inBeat allows you to pick square, portrait, and landscape, while Influencer Marketing Hub has different goals, as well as a video thumbnail option.

Still, creating an image ad was very easy:

Source

The list of CTAs is comprehensive and arguably better than Influencer Marketing’s Hub.

However:

  • You can’t change the number of views and comments.
  • You can’t set the number of likes.

If your target audience relies on social proof, editing these numbers can be essential for your campaign’s success.

Still, this ad mockup generator is good enough, fast, and works for other social platforms except Instagram.

PROS:

  • Fast
  • Easy to use
  • Mobile ads option
  • Carousel ad mockup generator
  • It can be used for other social platforms
  • High-quality images

CONS:

  • Limited ad options
  • Need to backspace to see ad mockup generators for other platforms
  • Can’t change the number of views and comments
  • Can’t set likes

4. Media Modifier: Versatile Ad Mockup Generator

The Instagram ad mockup generator from Media Modifier has more options than the two contenders above.

Notice that you can select:

  • Mobile ads or desktop ads
  • Various image resolutions for downloading
  • Dark mode
  • Including a CTA button or not
  • Other channels for which to create mockup ads

And unlike AdMockups above, you can adjust the right number of comments and likes according to your marketing goals.

You even have more options regarding other channels for creating mockup ads.

While inBeat allows you to create these ads for Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter), the one from Media Modifier lets you create Pinterest and Google ads too.

This tool isn’t perfect, though:

First, it lacks the video thumbnail option as well as the image format options that inBeat boasts – square, portrait, landscape, or the preset size for Instagram Story.

Secondly, it’s slightly less intuitive than the other three tools above.

It takes a beat to realize you have to click directly on the ad itself to edit it, while the other three mockup generators had specific text boxes for faster editing.

PROS:

  • Versatile
  • Free
  • Fast
  • High-quality ad mockups
  • Can generate ads for multiple platforms
  • Dark mode options
  • Mobile and desktop optimization available

CONS:

  • Lacks ad image sizes like inBeat
  • No video thumbnail option
  • A tad steeper learning curve

5. Mockup Tree: Good Library of Templates

We’ll start with the positive, which is surprisingly also the negative.

Mockup Tree has many different options in terms of formats, templates, and integrations.

However, it takes the cake for the lowest user experience.

First, the tool isn’t embedded on the page like the other options above.

Also, clicking on the “Start Now” button takes you to a different website, where you can pick between preexisting templates and bring your ideas to life.

Source

If this slew of choices baffles you or you don’t want a pre-existing template, you might return to the original page and click the “Free Download” option.

But the surprises don’t stop.

This alternative also takes you to a new page to download the mockup generator tool.

The problem is you must click on a few other (correct) buttons to start the process.

The downloaded document includes two .psd templates that you can edit in Adobe Photoshop: one for a simple Instagram Post and one for an Instagram Ads Story:

However, you need Adobe Photoshop to start.

Also, you can’t pick a square or landscape image or create Instagram Carousels.

So, this website is best if you need free templates for a wide range of products.

PROS:

  • Good free templates
  • Many template editing options
  • The two available Instagram ad mockup options are good

CONS:

  • Not intuitive
  • No Carousel ad mockup generator
  • No online design
  • Low overall UX
  • Few Instagram ad options

6. Over The Top SEO: Good for App Ads

The Over The Top SEO Instagram mockup generator is solid for mobile ads because you have plenty of CTA options that fit app KPIs.

Otherwise, this tool looks like Influencer Marketing Hub’s smaller sibling:

  • It has similar options: app installs, video post, photo post, and Instagram Story mockup.
  • The editing options on the right-hand side also look similar.

That means you’ll use it easily for Instagram ad mockup images, and it will streamline your work considerably.

The downsides are similar to other tools in this review.

You can’t set an image ratio, and you can’t pick mockup generators for other channels – which you can do with inBeat.

This app also lacks the mobile optimization option and the dark mode.

Plus, we’re not really excited about the text’s fonts, which don’t look very Instagram-y.

PROS:

  • Fast
  • Intuitive
  • Free
  • No download
  • Many CTA options for apps
  • Video thumbnail option

CONS:

  • No image ratio
  • No mockup generator tools for other social media channels
  • Weird-looking fonts

7. Send Preview: Great for Bulk Mockups

This Instagram mockup generator becomes available only after you create an account on their website.

Luckily, the process is more intuitive and fast than Mockup Tree’s.

After creating the account, you’re immediately redirected to a workspace.

You can:

  • Pick the type of ad mockup tool you need.
  • Choose between the four available format options: single image, single video, Carousel, or Stories.
  • Set the dimensions: square, portrait, or landscape, and then click to create your ad.

The platform is then not very user-friendly.

You’re redirected into a campaign but can’t adjust the brand name.

After finding the option to create a separate brand name, you have to restart the process.

However, the silver lining is that you can create downloadable mockups for multiple campaigns.

If you have a full-time job at an advertising agency or run various campaigns for different audience segments, you can save the info for each campaign.

PROS:

  • The option to create ads for different social channels
  • Different ad format options
  • Quality visuals
  • The option to save campaign info

CONS:

  • Requires an account
  • Learning curve

Which Ad Mockup Generator Will You Pick?

This article took you through seven mockup generator tools, each with a unique selling point.

For example, Influencer Marketing Hub’s mockup tool excels for specific campaign goals, Send Preview may work best for agencies, and AdMockups also allows you to create YouTube ads.

However, the inBeat has an amazing ad mockup generator.

This software is fast, intuitive, and feature-packed, so it will help you create beautiful, high-quality mockups for Instagram and other channels.

It’s also free, without any sign-up requirement.

So, if you read this entire review, take it for a spin and start your Instagram advertising campaign.

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