A comment with a keyword
PRICE, LINK, GUIDE, or any comment at all, on one post, a chosen set or every post and reel including future ones. Whole-word matching, so "info" does not fire on "infographic".
The best auto DM platform for Instagram is the one that answers the question after the link. Six auto DM tools compared on what they send, what happens next, their free tiers and their prices, checked on a stated date.
An auto DM is a direct message your Instagram account sends by itself: someone comments a keyword under a post or reel, or writes to you, and the link, code or guide arrives in their inbox in seconds. Every tool on this page does that. The difference is what happens next. With a flow builder or a link sender, the follower's next question ("do you ship to Ireland?", "is it in stock in M?") gets silence or a canned fallback. SimplyBoost is the auto DM platform built for that moment: rules send the DM, with a public reply, a follow gate and up to six follow-ups, and an AI agent answers the questions that follow from your own products, prices and policies, then hands over to you when someone wants a person. Flat monthly plans from €17 with no limit on contacts, hosted in Europe. We say so as the maker, and the table below gives you the numbers to check it.
- Instagram's official messaging API
- No flows to build
- Hosted in Europe
Last updated:
What makes the best auto DM platform: five tests
Run any tool, ours included, through these five before you pay. They are the questions the ranking listicles skip.
The after-the-link test
- Comment the keyword, open the DM, then ask a product question. Does anything answer it?
- Ask something the script did not foresee. Fallback message, silence, or an answer from the brand's own content?
- Ask for a person. Does a human get told, with the conversation attached?
The money test
- What is counted: contacts, DMs sent, or messages? A viral reel adds contacts for months.
- What happens at the limit: an overage per contact, a hard stop, or an upgrade you choose?
- Is the AI included, an add-on, or an API key you pay for separately?
The trust test
- Does it use Instagram's official messaging API or a logged-in session? Only the API is allowed.
- One DM per person per post, or a DM for every comment?
- Where is the data hosted, and is there a data processing agreement for GDPR?
Six auto DM tools compared
Prices as each vendor publishes them, in its own currency. ManyChat from its help centre (plans of 27 August 2026); SuperProfile, LinkDM and CreatorFlow checked 28 October 2026; InstantDM checked 14 October 2026. SimplyBoost in euros.
| Tool | What it sends | After the link | Free tier | Entry paid plan | What the price counts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SimplyBoost | Comment-to-DM with button, public reply, follow gate, up to six follow-ups | An AI agent answers from your own content on every agent plan; handover to your inbox, email, Slack or helpdesk | 7-day trial with 100 AI replies, no permanent free plan | Lite €17 a month (€14 yearly), 500 messages; AI agent on Starter from €39 | Messages sent for you; contacts and leads unlimited, no overage |
| ManyChat | Comment-to-DM through a flow builder; Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, TikTok | The flow's fallback; AI features as a paid extra inside flows | Free plan, 25 active contacts | Essential $17 a month ($14 yearly), 250 active contacts | Active contacts, with an overage per extra contact |
| SuperProfile | Auto DM on a keyword, link-in-bio pages | No AI agent listed | Starter, free forever | Creator $4.99 the first month, then $29 a month | Plan tier; Pro on request |
| LinkDM | Comment-to-DM with a link, several accounts | No AI agent listed | Free, 1,000 DMs a month, 1 account | Pro $19 a month, 25,000 DMs, 3 accounts | DMs sent |
| InstantDM | Comment-to-DM flows | An AI step inside the flow on your own API key, which you pay for | Free, 500 DM automations a month, 1 account | Legend Pro $9.99 a month billed yearly | Automations; AI usage billed by your provider |
| CreatorFlow | Comment-to-DM with a link | No AI agent listed | Free, 500 DMs a month, 1 account | Pro $15 a month ($12 yearly), 5,000 DMs per account, 2 accounts | DMs per account |
The honest line: for a creator who only needs a link sent and never gets questions, the free tiers of LinkDM, CreatorFlow or InstantDM do the job. The moment DMs turn into questions, which for a shop is the first week, the AI agent is the difference, and it is included in SimplyBoost's agent plans rather than an add-on or an API key.
What an auto DM does on SimplyBoost, step by step
The public reply
Optional, per rule: "Sent it to your DMs!" under the comment, so everyone scrolling sees the drop is being answered.
The DM with a button
Your text, their handle filled in, and a tappable button to the link. One DM per person per rule per post, so a second comment never sends a second DM.
The follow gate
Switch on Ask non-followers to follow first and the DM is held behind Follow and I'm following buttons until they follow. Held DMs expire after seven days.
Follow-ups that stop
Up to six messages for people who did not reply, within 23 hours, cancelled the moment they write back. STOP opts anyone out of everything automated.
The AI agent after the link
Every DM a rule does not cover is answered from your website, catalogue and policies, in the follower's language, inside Instagram's 24-hour window. A request for a person reaches your team with the conversation.
Free auto DM for Instagram: what free actually gets you
"Free auto DM Instagram" is searched as often as the paid terms. Here is the honest picture.
- Free tiers exist
- LinkDM gives 1,000 DMs a month on one account, CreatorFlow and InstantDM 500, SuperProfile a free Starter, ManyChat a free plan for 25 active contacts. For a link sent to a few hundred commenters a month, that is enough.
- What they leave out
- No AI answer to the question after the link, a single account, the vendor's limits on follow-ups, and in ManyChat's case 25 contacts before the first paid plan.
- SimplyBoost's position
- No permanent free plan. A free 7-day trial with 100 AI replies and no card, then Lite at €17 a month for rules and follow-ups, or Starter at €39 with the AI agent. We would rather be clear about that than hide a cap behind a free badge.
- The rule that matters more than price
- Only tools on Instagram's official messaging API are allowed. A "free Instagram DM bot" that asks for your Instagram password uses a logged-in session, which Instagram's terms forbid and which gets accounts restricted.
Set up an Instagram auto DM in ten minutes
- 1
Connect Instagram
A Business or Creator account, signed in from the SimplyBoost dashboard. Nothing to install.
- 2
Create a rule
Keyword or any comment, the DM text, the button link, the posts it runs on. Or start from one of eighteen templates.
- 3
Add the follow gate and follow-ups
If you want the follow first, and up to six follow-ups for people who go quiet.
- 4
Link the agent
Give it your website, FAQs and policies and keep Answer DMs with AI around the clock on. Decide where handovers go.
- 5
Watch the results per rule
Matches, DMs sent, replies and leads per rule, and how many followed to get the DM.
Auto DM questions
A direct message your account sends by itself when something happens: a keyword in a comment under a post or reel, or a message to your account. The DM carries a link, a code or a guide. Tools built on Instagram's official messaging API send it for Business and Creator accounts.
The one that passes the after-the-link test: when the follower asks a question the script did not foresee, something answers from the brand's own content and a person is told when needed. On that test SimplyBoost is built for it, with rules for the DM and an AI agent for what follows, at a flat price with no contact limit. For a link-only need, LinkDM, CreatorFlow or InstantDM have free tiers that do the job.
Yes. LinkDM (1,000 DMs a month), CreatorFlow and InstantDM (500 each) and SuperProfile have free tiers, and ManyChat a free plan for 25 active contacts. SimplyBoost has a free 7-day trial, then €17 a month. None of the free tiers answer the question after the link.
Yes, through Instagram's official messaging API for Business and Creator accounts, which every tool on this page uses. Automated DMs must stay inside Instagram's 24-hour messaging window, and people must be able to opt out; SimplyBoost stops for anyone who writes STOP. Bots that use your password instead of the API are against Instagram's terms.
Yes. A rule can run on one post, a chosen set or every post and reel on the account, including the ones you publish later. Stories are not covered by comment rules.
ManyChat is a flow builder priced by active contacts; SimplyBoost sends the same DM from a one-form rule, priced by messages with no contact limit, and adds an AI agent that answers the DMs no flow covers. The full comparison is on the ManyChat alternative page.
SimplyBoost's Instagram plans are €17, €39, €99 and €199 a month for 500, 5,000, 15,000 and 50,000 messages, with the AI agent on the Starter plan at €39 and above. Every account starts with a 7-day free trial.
Keep reading
Instagram automation
The product page: rules, follow gate, follow-ups, results.
ReadComment-to-DM templates
Eighteen ready-made rules to copy.
ReadInstagram auto reply
Replies to comments, DMs and welcome messages.
ReadInstagram chatbot
The AI agent that answers your DMs.
ReadManyChat alternative
Flows versus rules plus an agent.
ReadSimplyBoost vs LinkDM
The DM counter against the DM that converts.
ReadTry SimplyBoost with your own content
Start a 7-day free trial with 100 AI replies. Add your website, install the widget and see how the agent answers your customers.
See pricing- 7 days, 100 AI replies
- From €39 a month
- Hosted in Europe