10 ManyChat alternatives for Instagram DMs, with verified prices
Ten tools to send your link by DM when someone comments on your Reel, without ManyChat. For each one: what it does, its price checked on 2026-10-27 on its official website, what the free plan includes and what it bills for (contacts, DMs, features or a one-time payment).
Why look for a ManyChat alternative
ManyChat is the best-known tool for automating Instagram DMs: a follower comments a keyword under your Reel and gets your link in a private message. According to its pricing page checked on 2026-10-27, the free plan covers 25 active contacts per month and 4 active automations, and adds "Powered by Manychat" to the first message. Essential costs $14/month billed annually ($17 monthly) for 250 active contacts, then you pay per contact. AI replies start with Pro at $29/month billed annually ($39 monthly), followed by Business ($69 or $99) and Advanced ($139 or $199).
People usually look elsewhere for the same reasons: a bill that grows with the number of contacts when a Reel takes off, a free plan too small for a real test, a preference for a European company, or the wish for a simpler tool that only does comment-to-DM. The ten tools below all have a price checked on their official website on 2026-10-27.
How this list is ordered
We have not tested these tools ourselves, and none of them has verified reviews on AIGrowthRank yet. The first four follow the provisional order of our Automate DMs and comment replies use case. The next six are listed in that use case without being selected, and appear in alphabetical order. None of these ten tools pays us a commission at the time of publication. Several run an affiliate program, Inro for example, but we have not joined them. ManyChat has an affiliate link on its tool page, labelled "Ad: affiliate link", and that has no effect on the order below.
We only kept tools rated compliant with Instagram's rules in our tool pages, meaning they connect to Instagram through Meta's official route according to their publisher (official API, partner status or an "approved by Meta" mention). Tools that mass-message strangers or drive your account like a bot have no place in this list.
The rule to know before you choose
All these tools follow the same Meta rule. According to the Instagram messaging API documentation, your app can only message someone after an action on their side (a comment, a message, a reply to your story), and only during the messaging window that this action opens. The window lasts 24 hours in most cases. It can last up to 7 days when the person messages you after clicking an ad that opens Instagram Direct. A human can also reply within 7 days using the "Human Agent" tag.
In practice, no tool lets you follow up with someone three weeks later unless they wrote to you again. The automatic follow-ups some tools offer happen inside that window. If a sales page promises more, be careful.
Alternatives ranked in our use case
- Price: Free (100 activated contacts/month); Pro from €12.99/month depending on activated contacts; Annual Pro €1,249/year; 14-day trial [Source, 2026-10-27]
- Free plan: yes
- HQ country: France (EU). source
- Official site ↗
Inro is published by a French company. It covers comment-to-DM, story replies, DM campaigns, an inbox with a CRM and an AI agent that answers in DMs. Its site also features an MCP server to run your Instagram account from Claude or ChatGPT. The free plan gives 100 activated contacts per month, 3 active automations, 3 campaigns per month and 50 AI agent credits. Pro starts at €12.99/month and its price follows the number of contacts you activate each month, with a calculator on the pricing page. The trial lasts 14 days. An annual plan at €1,249/year targets accounts activating more than 10,000 contacts per month. It is the closest alternative to ManyChat in how it bills, with an interface built for Instagram only. Our ManyChat vs Inro page goes into the differences.
- Price: Free (1,000 DM/month); Pro $19/month ($182/year); Platinum+ $99/month ($832/year) [Source, 2026-10-27]
- Free plan: yes
- HQ country: to be verified.
- Official site ↗
LinkDM automates Instagram and Facebook DMs and nothing else: despite its name, it has nothing to do with LinkedIn. Its site presents it as a Meta Business Partner since 2021, connected to the official Instagram API. It bills by the number of DMs sent, not by contacts. The free plan connects 1 Instagram account and sends up to 1,000 DMs per month, with automation on posts, Reels and stories. Public auto-replies under comments, lead collection and follow-gated links require Pro, at $19/month ($182/year) for 3 accounts and 25,000 DMs per month. Platinum+ costs $99/month ($832/year) for 10 accounts and 300,000 DMs. If your problem with ManyChat is the price jumping with every viral Reel, this DM-volume model is easier to predict. The publisher's country is not verified yet. Comparison: ManyChat vs LinkDM.
- Price: Business $18/month billed annually ($20 billed monthly); Agency S $90/month billed annually ($100 billed monthly); free trial [Source, 2026-10-27]
- Free plan: no, free trial only
- HQ country: United States. source
- Official site ↗
Chatfuel is an AI chatbot platform for WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook. It is not an Instagram-first tool: it leans heavily on WhatsApp, as an official WhatsApp Business API provider, and presents itself as an official Meta Partner that connects to Instagram through the official Graph API. Business costs $18/month billed annually ($216/year) or $20 monthly, with $20 of AI credits per month. It includes automatic replies to post and Reels comments, lead qualification, selling inside the chat and WhatsApp campaigns. Agency S, at $90/month billed annually ($100 monthly), handles 3 client companies. There is no lasting free plan, but every plan starts with a free trial. Note that WhatsApp message fees charged by Meta come on top of the subscription. Comparison: ManyChat vs Chatfuel.
- Price: Free (500 DM/month); Pro $12/month billed annually ($15 billed monthly); Growth $24 ($30); 14-day trial [Source, 2026-10-28]
- Free plan: yes
- HQ country: Spain (EU). source
- Official site ↗
CreatorFlow, based in Spain and presented as a Meta Tech Provider, focuses on one thing: a comment with a keyword triggers your link in a DM, plus story replies. The free plan gives 1 Instagram account, 500 DMs per month and unlimited keywords. Pro costs $12/month billed annually ($144/year) or $15 monthly, for 2 accounts and 5,000 DMs per month per account, with email capture before the link, a follow gate, click tracking and CSV export of contacts. Growth, at $24/month billed annually ($30 monthly), moves to 5 accounts, 10,000 DMs and 5 team seats. Paid plans start with a 14-day trial.
Other alternatives, in alphabetical order
- Price: Starter $99/month (up to 2,000 subscribers, then $0.05 down to $0.02 per subscriber); Scale $249/month (up to 7,000 subscribers); Enterprise on quote; 14-day trial [Source, 2026-10-27]
- Free plan: no, free trial only
- HQ country: to be verified.
- Official site ↗
Drop targets e-commerce brands rather than creators: Instagram DM campaigns, Meta ads that open the conversation in DMs and customer data collected in the chat. Starter costs $99/month for up to 2,000 subscribers, then $0.05 down to $0.02 per subscriber. Scale costs $249/month for up to 7,000 subscribers, with a dedicated account manager. There is no free plan, but a 14-day trial. The site shows "Approved by" with Meta's logo, without explaining which connection it uses. Its footer still says 2023 and its help center returns an error, so ask for a demo before you commit. The publisher's country is not verified yet.
- Price: One-time payment $99 (lifetime access, 1 Instagram account); included with Smart Noise Artist Premium ($49/month) [Source, 2026-10-27]
- Free plan: not in our reading
- HQ country: United States. source
- Official site ↗
DropDM is built for musicians: a comment or a story reply triggers a DM with your pre-save, merch or ticket link, from ready-made templates for a release, merch or a tour. No subscription: lifetime access costs a one-time $99, with unlimited messages and automations, for 1 Instagram account per licence. It is also included in the Artist Premium plan of Smart Noise, its publisher, at $49/month. There is no free plan. DropDM says it uses Instagram's official APIs through Meta. The publisher, Smart Noise, Inc., is a Delaware company in the United States.
- Price: Free (1,500 DM/month); Lite $10/month; Boost $25/month; Max $100/month [Source, 2026-10-27]
- Free plan: yes
- HQ country: India. source
- Official site ↗
ReplyRush automates DM replies to Instagram and Facebook comments, with iOS and Android apps to follow conversations. It also bills by DM volume. The free plan goes up to 1,500 DMs per month for 1 account, but without public auto-replies under comments or the follow gate. Lite costs $10/month for 7,500 DMs and 1 account, Boost $25/month for 40,000 DMs and 3 accounts, and Max $100/month for 400,000 DMs and 5 accounts. The publisher is based in India.
- Price: AI Acquire $12/month billed annually; AI Start $31; AI Accelerate $127; AI Max $399; 14-day free trial [Source, 2026-10-27]
- Free plan: no, free trial only
- HQ country: India. source
- Official site ↗
Spur targets online stores: Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook and website chat land in one inbox, with an AI agent and a Shopify integration from the second plan up. AI Acquire costs $12/month billed annually ($144/year) and includes Instagram automation, click-to-DM ads, 3 automation flows and 100 AI credits. AI Start moves to $31/month billed annually with Shopify, WhatsApp automation and 25 flows. There is no free plan, but a 14-day trial with no credit card. Look at it if you sell physical products and customers reach you on several channels.
- Price: Free; Creator $29/month ($4.99 for the first month) [Source, 2026-10-27]
- Free plan: yes
- HQ country: India. source
- Official site ↗
SuperProfile combines a link-in-bio store for digital products with automatic Instagram DMs. The free plan gives unlimited auto-DMs on Reels and posts, but only 10 leads through lead magnets. Creator costs $4.99 for the first month, then $29/month, with DMs on stories, messages and lives, follow-ups, up to 5 Instagram accounts and selling courses, bookings or digital products. It replaces ManyChat and your link-in-bio tool at once, which makes sense if you sell digital products. The publisher is based in India.
- Price: Free; Pro $14.99/month; Ultimate $39.99/month; Business $109.99/month [Source, 2026-10-27]
- Free plan: yes
- HQ country: India. source
- Official site ↗
Zorcha advertises unlimited automations, DMs and contacts from the free plan, with a link in bio included. Paid plans add features: Pro at $14.99/month (personalised DMs, multiple messages, phone or email capture, basic follow-up), Ultimate at $39.99/month (advanced flow builder, integrations, broadcasts) and Business at $109.99/month (AI conversations with a knowledge base). Digital product sales are marked "soon" on the pricing page, with planned fees from 8% on the free plan to 1% on Business. The publisher is based in India.
Contacts, DMs or flat plan: compare what you pay for
The prices shown do not measure the same thing, and that is often where the choice is made.
- Per active contact: ManyChat and Inro, and Drop per subscriber. The more comments a Reel gets, the more contacts you activate in the month, and one Reel that takes off can push you to the next tier.
- Per DM volume: LinkDM, CreatorFlow and ReplyRush. You know in advance how many messages you can send, and entry plans range from 500 to 1,500 free DMs per month.
- One-time payment: DropDM, $99 once for 1 account, with unlimited messages.
- Flat plans by feature: Zorcha and SuperProfile, which advertise unlimited DMs and charge for advanced features, plus Chatfuel and Spur, which charge for AI credits and, on WhatsApp, Meta's fees.
Before choosing, look at your biggest Reel from the last three months and count the comments. That number quickly tells you which plan holds up.
Which tool for which need
- Test without paying: CreatorFlow (500 DMs per month), LinkDM (1,000 DMs) or ReplyRush (1,500 DMs), or Zorcha if you want the fewest stated limits.
- A European publisher: Inro (France) or CreatorFlow (Spain). Our French tools list and our Grow on Instagram use case include more.
- Send your link in exchange for an email: CreatorFlow Pro, LinkDM Pro or SuperProfile Creator.
- Sell digital products from Instagram: SuperProfile (Zorcha lists it as coming soon).
- Promote your music: DropDM, with templates for releases, merch and tours.
- A store with WhatsApp and Instagram in one inbox: Spur or Chatfuel.
- An e-commerce brand betting on ads that open DMs: Spur, or Drop after a demo.
- Manage several client accounts: Chatfuel Agency S, CreatorFlow Growth or LinkDM Platinum+.
For the full list generated from our data with the same criteria, see our ManyChat alternatives page. To write the welcome message and the call to action for your Reel, our Lead magnets use case gives a method and tools.
All the tools in this guide
| Tool | Price | Free plan | HQ country | ToS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inro | Free (100 activated contacts/month); Pro from €12.99/month depending on activated contacts; Annual Pro €1,249/year; 14-day trial [Source, 2026-10-27] | yes | France | ✓ Compliant |
| LinkDM | Free (1,000 DM/month); Pro $19/month ($182/year); Platinum+ $99/month ($832/year) [Source, 2026-10-27] | yes | To be verified | ✓ Compliant |
| Chatfuel | Business $18/month billed annually ($20 billed monthly); Agency S $90/month billed annually ($100 billed monthly); free trial [Source, 2026-10-27] | no, free trial only | United States | ✓ Compliant |
| CreatorFlow | Free (500 DM/month); Pro $12/month billed annually ($15 billed monthly); Growth $24 ($30); 14-day trial [Source, 2026-10-28] | yes | Spain | ✓ Compliant |
| Drop | Starter $99/month (up to 2,000 subscribers, then $0.05 down to $0.02 per subscriber); Scale $249/month (up to 7,000 subscribers); Enterprise on quote; 14-day trial [Source, 2026-10-27] | no, free trial only | To be verified | ✓ Compliant |
| DropDM | One-time payment $99 (lifetime access, 1 Instagram account); included with Smart Noise Artist Premium ($49/month) [Source, 2026-10-27] | not in our reading | United States | ✓ Compliant |
| ReplyRush | Free (1,500 DM/month); Lite $10/month; Boost $25/month; Max $100/month [Source, 2026-10-27] | yes | India | ✓ Compliant |
| Spur | AI Acquire $12/month billed annually; AI Start $31; AI Accelerate $127; AI Max $399; 14-day free trial [Source, 2026-10-27] | no, free trial only | India | ✓ Compliant |
| SuperProfile | Free; Creator $29/month ($4.99 for the first month) [Source, 2026-10-27] | yes | India | ✓ Compliant |
| Zorcha | Free; Pro $14.99/month; Ultimate $39.99/month; Business $109.99/month [Source, 2026-10-27] | yes | India | ✓ Compliant |
FAQ
What is the free alternative to ManyChat?
According to pricing pages checked on 2026-10-27, CreatorFlow gives 500 free DMs per month, LinkDM 1,000 and ReplyRush 1,500, each for 1 Instagram account. Zorcha advertises unlimited automations and DMs on its free plan. Inro gives 100 activated contacts per month.
Is there a European alternative to ManyChat?
Yes. Inro is published by a French company and CreatorFlow is based in Spain. Both have a free plan and a 14-day trial on paid plans.
Are these tools allowed by Instagram?
The ten tools in this list connect to Instagram through Meta's official route according to their publisher (official API, partner status or an "approved by Meta" mention). They must respect the messaging window: you can only message someone who commented, messaged you or replied to your story, usually within 24 hours.
Why does ManyChat get expensive when a Reel goes viral?
ManyChat bills by active contacts per month: 250 included on Essential, 2,500 on Pro, then a price per contact. LinkDM, CreatorFlow and ReplyRush bill by number of DMs instead, which makes the bill easier to predict.
Go further
- Use case: Automate DMs and comment replies
- Use case: Grow on Instagram
- Use case: Lead magnets
- Comparison: ManyChat vs Inro
- Comparison: ManyChat vs LinkDM
- Comparison: ManyChat vs Chatfuel
- Guide: 11 cheaper Semrush alternatives, with verified prices
- Guide: How to find a prospect's email in the US: 10 tools and the CAN-SPAM rules
- Guide: 9 Taplio alternatives, with verified prices
- All guides