arlo vs selling on Instagram

arlo is a marketplace for local artists — discover makers in your city across France, browse their whole body of work, and message them directly. Many artists already sell this way through Instagram: posting pieces to a feed and handling everything else — availability, price, delivery — over direct messages. arlo is built around that same direct contact, with a few things a feed doesn’t have.

How arlo and Instagram differ

Instagram arlo
Catalogue A feed, with no fixed price list A profile listing every piece, with prices
Discovery Your followers and the algorithm Anyone browsing artists in your city
Buying a piece Ask in DMs, work out price and delivery yourself Message the artist; save and follow pieces you like
Events Posted to Stories, easy to miss A dedicated events section, with RSVP
Fees Free Free — 0% commission during launch

What arlo doesn’t do

arlo doesn’t replace Instagram’s audience or its algorithmic reach — it’s a smaller, local space for people specifically looking for artists nearby, not a broadcast platform for building a following. It has no shipping marketplace and no built-in payments: buyer and artist still arrange delivery and payment directly, the same as over DMs. It’s an iOS app only, and it’s live in France only — arlo is live in multiple cities across France, including Paris and Lyon, with more added over time.

Which one is right for you

If you already have a following on Instagram and DMs work fine for you, arlo is another place to be found, not a replacement. It’s built for buyers who don’t already follow you — people discovering local artists for the first time, by city rather than by algorithm.

More comparisons

See how arlo compares to Etsy and to a gallery, or read more about arlo.