The short answer is yes, the long answer is more nuanced, with some warnings and explanations below. 

Hashtag generators are a quick timesaver to get an initial list for research. In short you can use them to get a list of hashtags to research yourself and also check against the most recent banned hashtag list (especially on IG). 

There are a variety of hashtag generators out there, both free and paid. I have tried out three of the free programs and shared the results below. The major difference in free versus paid is that paid generators advertise analytics tracking and a few say they check results against the banned hashtag list for you so it may increase the quality of your results. 

I am not endorsing these programs, just sharing the three generators I tried. 

All Hashtag

I did a search for #SanAntonioTexas and tried all three of their options (Top, Random, Live) and got the same two suggestions of #SanAntonioHairStylist #SanAntonioHair on all three searches. I also tried #SATX and finally got a few more promising results. 

Being free it also had a lot of spammy ads that kept popping up and I had to be careful not to click the ad vs. results for generator content. 

Inflict

I repeated my #SanAntonioTexas hashtag search and got 11 options that were relevant.

Hootsuite

I repeated my #SanAntonioTexas search and was given 10 results with a link for a 30 day trial of their AI hashtag generator. They also had this disclosure.

“This tool may display inaccurate or offensive material that doesn’t represent Hootsuite’s views. You’re solely responsible for use of any content generated using this tool, including its compliance with applicable laws and third-party rights.”

–Hootsuite

Are generators worth your time and potentially cash? Depends on how often you use them and the variety of locations or types of products you are promoting. I find them helpful to expand my ideas and find new emerging hashtags. However, I will always research them myself and compare any new additions to the banned lists for that channel. 

To me hashtag generators are a helpful tool but not a full solution. I don’t want to take a chance of using a hashtag that has attracted spam, inappropriate content, etc. and cause one of my client’s channels to be penalized. As a huge fan of hashtags I keep long lists of my favorites by location and topic. Want to know why? Check out my previous post here.