The AI Instagram carousel maker that starts from a viral post

TokCloner is an AI Instagram carousel maker that starts from a carousel that already went viral. Paste the link to a public Instagram carousel or TikTok slideshow, and you get the same structure back with your words, your offer and new images. A typical clone takes 1–3 minutes.

One thing to know up front: slides export at 1080×1920 (9:16). Instagram’s feed shows photos up to 3:4, so it crops them. This page shows exactly what gets cut and how to plan for it.

What an AI carousel maker does

An Instagram carousel is one feed post with several photos or videos that people swipe through, up to 20 per post. A carousel maker produces those slides, sized and in order. An AI carousel generator also writes the copy and picks or creates the images.

Carousel AI tools fall into three groups, checked October 2026:

Tool type	Examples	Starts from	Best when
Template editors	Canva	A blank template	You already know what to say and want full design control
Prompt-to-carousel generators	PostNitro, Contentdrips, aiCarousels	A topic, text or a URL	You want 4:5 slides, LinkedIn PDFs or built-in scheduling
Viral-post cloner	TokCloner	A carousel or slideshow that already worked	You want a proven structure rewritten for your business

If you need native 4:5 export or a scheduler, a prompt tool is the better fit. PostNitro’s paid plans start at $15 a month and include 4:5 templates, and scheduling comes with its $30 plan. Our roundup of AI carousel generators covers more options.

Who it is for

• Small businesses and ecommerce brands that want carousels built around their own product photos. See ecommerce.
• Coaches, consultants and personal brands who teach in carousels. See coaches.
• App founders and marketers who post the same idea to TikTok and Instagram.
• Anyone posting daily who is tired of starting every carousel from a blank canvas.

How it differs: it starts from a proven post

Prompt tools ask you for a topic and invent a structure. TokCloner asks for a carousel that already earned saves and shares, then works backwards.

The AI reads every slide’s text and styling. It maps the story: the hook, the slides that build the argument, the payoff and the CTA. It keeps that structure, rewrites every word from your business profile and instructions, and creates a new background per slide or uses your own photos.

This also keeps you on the right side of Instagram’s originality rules. Since April 30, 2026, Instagram stops recommending accounts that mostly re-upload other people’s photos or carousels. Adding a border or a credit does not make a post original, but new text and new images do.

How TokCloner’s 9:16 slides look on Instagram

As of October 2026, Instagram keeps feed photos at their original size only when the aspect ratio is between 1.91:1 and 3:4. Anything taller “will be cropped to fit a supported ratio,” per Instagram’s help center. 9:16 is taller than 3:4, so a 1080×1920 slide is cropped when you post it as a carousel.

Here is how much of the frame stays visible if the crop is centered:

Orientation you pick	Size Instagram shows	Height kept	Cut from top and bottom
Portrait 3:4	1080×1440	75%	240 px each
Portrait 4:5	1080×1350	about 70%	285 px each
Square 1:1	1080×1080	about 56%	420 px each

The orientation applies to every slide in the post, and Instagram does not let you set a different one per photo. You can tap each slide and drag it to choose which part stays in view before you share.

How to use the export on Instagram

1. Keep text in the middle band. Place hook and body text between about 300 px and 1,620 px from the top. That band survives both a 3:4 and a 4:5 crop. Move text blocks in the slide editor before you download.
2. Pick the tallest portrait option and check each slide. Drag any slide whose text sits too high or too low.
3. Pad to 3:4 if you need the whole frame. In another editor, place each slide on a 1080×1440 canvas. It scales to 810×1440 with a 135 px bar on each side, and text gets about 25% smaller.
4. Post the slides as Stories. Stories are 9:16, so 1080×1920 fills the screen with no crop.
5. Running ads? Meta’s carousel ads in the Instagram Stories placement take 9:16 images at 1080×1920, with 2 to 10 cards. The Instagram Feed placement uses 4:5.
6. Scheduling through an API tool? Meta’s developer docs list feed images between 4:5 and 1.91:1, JPEG only, and 10 items per carousel. Convert and crop first, or the upload may fail.

For every size on every platform, see the social media size guide and our Instagram carousel size guide.

Worked example: one viral carousel, rebuilt

The source below is a common myth-vs-fact structure that we wrote as an example, not a real post. The clone is for a local bike shop that sells fitting sessions.

Source carousel (houseplants, 7 slides)

1. “5 houseplant myths I believed for years”
2. “Myth: yellow leaves mean it needs water. Fact: often it means too much.”
3. “Myth: a bigger pot helps it grow faster. Fact: extra soil stays wet too long.”
4. “Myth: misting fixes dry air. Fact: the effect lasts minutes.”
5. “Myth: every plant wants bright sun. Fact: many prefer filtered light.”
6. “Myth: plants are hard. Fact: most just need a routine.”
7. “Save this for your next plant shop trip.”

Your clone (bike shop, 7 slides)

Instructions: “Myth vs fact for new commuters. Make slide 6 about our bike fit. Use @shop-photos on slides 6 and 7.”

1. “5 bike myths that cost new riders money”
2. “Myth: a pricier bike makes you faster. Fact: a bike that fits you matters more.”
3. “Myth: you only need a tune-up when something breaks. Fact: a yearly check catches cheap fixes early.”
4. “Myth: harder tires are always faster. Fact: the right pressure depends on your weight and your roads.”
5. “Myth: a squeaky chain is just noise. Fact: a dirty chain wears out your gears faster.”
6. “Myth: bike fits are for racers. Fact: we fit commuters every week.”
7. “Save this before your next ride. Book a fit through the link in our bio.”

The hook pattern, the one-myth-per-slide rhythm and the save-this close all stay. Every word changes, and slides 6 and 7 use the shop’s own photos at no credit cost. Because this is going to Instagram, keep each myth and fact in the middle band of the slide.

Honest limits

• One export size. 1080×1920 (9:16) only. No 4:5 or 1:1 export, so feed carousels get cropped.
• Images only. Reels and video posts are rejected.
• No posting tools. No scheduling, auto-posting, analytics or team seats.
• Drafts, not final copy. Check every claim and number before you post.
• No free plan and no free trial.

Pricing

Plans are Starter at $29 a month for 400 credits, Pro at $59 for 900, and Studio at $119 for 2,000. A clone costs 3 credits, plus 1–21+ credits per generated background depending on the model and quality. Backgrounds from your own media library cost 0 credits.

A 7-slide carousel built on your own photos costs 3 credits. With a 1-credit image model it costs 10. Failed steps are refunded. See pricing, or paste a carousel link to start.