Hashtags have changed significantly in the past two years. Instagram's algorithm now prioritizes topic relevance over hashtag volume — meaning a post with five precise hashtags consistently outperforms one with thirty generic ones. TikTok's discovery system works similarly, using hashtags as one of several signals to determine which audience to show your content to.
Most creators are still using hashtags the way they worked in 2019: grab the biggest ones, stuff as many as possible, and hope for the best. It doesn't work anymore. Here is what does.
How hashtags actually work in 2026
On Instagram, hashtags are topic classifiers. The algorithm uses them to understand what your post is about and to test it with a small sample audience who follows or has engaged with that topic. If that sample engages well, the post gets shown to more people. If not, it doesn't. The hashtag's size matters less than its precision — a post tagged #brandingdesigner reaches people who care about branding design; a post tagged #design reaches a much more diluted, competitive audience.
On TikTok, hashtags feed into the "For You" page algorithm alongside audio, captions, video content, and engagement signals. Trending hashtags can amplify a video that's already getting traction, but they won't save a video that isn't performing. The more useful function on TikTok is niche hashtags that connect you to a specific community, and challenge hashtags that you can attach to viral trends.
The three-tier hashtag strategy
The most effective hashtag strategy uses a mix of hashtag sizes — not all large, not all small:
Tier 1 — Niche hashtags (under 100K posts): These have low competition but a highly engaged audience. If you post about UI design, #figmatips (which has far fewer posts than #design) reaches people specifically interested in Figma. Your content is more likely to rank in the top posts for these tags.
Tier 2 — Mid-size hashtags (100K–1M posts): These balance reach and competition. You can realistically appear in top posts if your content performs well, and the audience is still focused enough to be relevant.
Tier 3 — Large hashtags (1M+ posts): These have huge audiences but extremely competitive top-post sections. Your content will appear in the recency feed briefly, but ranking in top posts is very unlikely unless you already have a large following. Use one or two per post as a broad label, not as your primary strategy.
A good mix for Instagram: 3–4 niche, 2–3 mid-size, 1–2 large. For TikTok: 2–3 niche, 1–2 mid-size, 1 trending if relevant.
Use our free Hashtag Generator to instantly generate a balanced set of hashtags for any topic.
How to research hashtags manually
The best hashtags are ones specific enough to your content that your audience actually follows them. Here's how to find them:
On Instagram:
- Search a broad term related to your niche in the search bar and switch to the Tags tab
- Browse the suggested hashtags and note their post counts
- Click into hashtags you're considering and look at the top posts — if they're from large accounts with millions of followers, your content won't compete; look for a smaller tier
- Check your top-performing competitors' posts and see which hashtags they use
On TikTok:
- Visit the Discover page and search your topic
- Look at the "Others searched for" suggestions
- Check the hashtag pages of videos similar to yours that performed well
Avoid these hashtag mistakes
Using banned or restricted hashtags. Instagram quietly restricts hashtags that have been associated with spam or policy violations. Posts tagged with restricted hashtags get suppressed. Search the hashtag before using it — if the top posts look spammy or the hashtag page shows a content policy warning, skip it.
Using the same set every post. Instagram has stated that copy-pasting the same hashtag block on every post can reduce distribution. Vary your hashtags based on the specific content of each post.
Using irrelevant popular hashtags. Tagging a food photo with #fitness because fitness has more posts is counterproductive. The audience for #fitness didn't come to see food content, so they won't engage — and the algorithm reads low engagement as a signal that your content isn't good.
Ignoring location hashtags. If your business serves a local audience, location-based hashtags (#londonphotographer, #nycfoodie) are among the most effective ways to reach potential customers. They're usually mid-tier in size with very high relevance.
How many hashtags to use
Instagram: The platform reduced the maximum from 30 to allow any number, but internal testing consistently shows diminishing returns after about 10–15. For most accounts, 5–10 is the optimal range. Quality beats quantity.
TikTok: 3–5 hashtags is the generally recommended range. Unlike Instagram, adding more hashtags on TikTok doesn't help — it dilutes the topic signal the algorithm uses to categorize your video.
Tracking what works
Pick one consistent set of metrics to track: reach from hashtags (visible in Instagram Insights per post), follower growth correlation with hashtag experiments, and save rate (a strong save rate signals that your content is useful, which the algorithm rewards with more distribution).
Run a 4-week experiment: use your current hashtag approach for two weeks, then use the three-tier strategy for two weeks, and compare reach. The data will tell you more than any general guide.
Generate your next hashtag set in seconds with our free Hashtag Generator — enter your topic and get a ready-to-copy list organized by tier.