Carousel Maker: 5 Options for Instagram and LinkedIn
A carousel maker turns your text into a set of same-size slides for Instagram, LinkedIn or TikTok. The common picks are Canva (a general editor with carousel templates), Contentdrips, aiCarousels and PostNitro (browser tools built for carousels, with AI writing help), and Karou, which renders the slides inside Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor so you never open an editor. Pick an editor if you like designing each post. Pick Karou if your posts already start in an AI chat. Below is what each one does and what its free plan lets you try.
What should a carousel maker do?
Four things, whatever it costs:
- Keep every slide the same size and style, so the carousel reads as one piece and your feed reads as one author.
- Fit the text without you fixing overflows slide by slide.
- Export the right files: images for Instagram, TikTok and Threads, one PDF for a LinkedIn document post.
- Stay out of the way. The writing is the hard part. The tool should remove the layout hours, not add a new editor to learn.
Which carousel makers are worth trying?
These are the tools that come up most when you search, with the free terms as stated on their own pages in October 2026. Plans change often, so check before you commit.
| Tool | How you make it | Free plan |
|---|---|---|
| Canva | General design editor with carousel templates | Free plan with many templates; some templates and features are Pro |
| Contentdrips | Browser carousel editor; can start from a topic, blog URL or video | Up to 5 carousels a month |
| aiCarousels | Browser carousel editor with AI drafting | Free basic tool; a Pro plan adds more generators |
| PostNitro | Browser editor with AI writing and design, scheduling on higher plans | Carousels up to 5 slides, 5 downloads a month, watermark |
| Karou | Inside Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Claude Code | 3 carousels a day, up to 20 slides, small watermark |
The first four share one workflow: you go to their site, get the text in, adjust the slides, export. Karou turns it around. You stay in your AI chat, and the files come back there.
When is a browser carousel maker the better pick?
When you want a canvas. If you drag images onto slides, mix photos with text, or want a tool that also schedules the post, a browser editor does what Karou does not:
- Photos and illustrations on slides. Karou renders text slides only: hook, text, list, quote, stat and closing.
- Scheduling and publishing. PostNitro schedules on its higher plans. Karou hands you files and you post them.
- Free-form design. In Canva you can move anything anywhere. Karou has templates as settings, not a canvas.
If those matter to you, use one of the editors. Canva alternative for carousels covers more ways to make slides without Karou at all.
When is Karou the better pick?
When the slide text already comes from Claude or ChatGPT. If that is you, your week probably looks like this: you ask for the slides, copy them out, and paste them into an editor one by one. Karou removes that copy step.
- One message makes the carousel. You ask; your AI writes the slides and calls Karou; thumbnails show in the chat with a PNG per slide, a ZIP and a PDF.
- Edits are sentences. “Make slide 3 a list” re-renders the same carousel, and edits do not count against the daily limit.
- Text that fits. Every slide type has character limits tuned to the layout, and when a slide runs long the AI is told exactly how much to cut, so it fixes its own text.
- The same look every week. Three built-in templates (bold, clean, editorial) on every plan; on Pro, up to 20 of your own with your colors, fonts, handle and footer.
Karou does not write for you and sends nothing to a model. Your AI writes from your facts; Karou only lays out and renders. More on that split in AI carousel generator.
What does Karou cost?
| Free | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Carousels | 3 a day | As many as you post (fair use 100 a day) |
| Templates | The 3 Karou templates | Up to 20 of your own |
| Formats | 4:5, 1:1, 9:16 | 4:5, 1:1, 9:16 |
| Files | PNG, ZIP, PDF | PNG, ZIP, PDF |
| Watermark | Small karou.si mark | None |
| Price | $0, no card | Free for 14 days, then $12 a month or $97 a year |
Free exists because connecting a tool to your AI is a step you should try before paying. The limit is the watermark, not the volume: three a day covers a daily poster. Pro is for when the carousel should carry only your brand, since a slide with another tool’s mark on it reads as a template.
How do you try it?
- Create a free account.
- Connect Karou to your AI (setup for each app).
- Ask: “Make a carousel on the 4 mistakes I made launching my newsletter, 6 slides, editorial template.” Give it your notes.
- Download the files and post.
How to make a carousel with Claude walks through a full run, and LinkedIn carousel maker free compares the free options for LinkedIn only.
FAQ
What is the best free carousel maker?
It depends on volume. Free browser plans usually cap carousels a month or downloads. Karou’s free plan caps at 3 a day and keeps a small watermark. If you post more than a few times a month, compare on that cap first.
Is there a carousel maker app for the phone?
Canva has a phone app. Karou works wherever your AI does, including the Claude and ChatGPT phone apps once the connector is on your account.
Can a carousel maker write the slides?
Contentdrips, aiCarousels and PostNitro have AI writing built in. With Karou, the AI you already use writes the slides, so they come from your own chat and your own notes.
Do I need design skills?
No. Every tool here starts from templates. With Karou you never touch a layout at all.
Try the carousel maker that lives in your AI chat: start free.