Written by Sohaib Ahmad, founder of DM Champ. DM Champ publishes this list and is one of the tools on it.
The best Instagram auto reply tool depends on the job. If you want a fixed reply when someone comments or DMs a keyword, a cheap tool like ManyChat, ReplyRush or IGSender does that well for a few dollars a month. If you want an AI that holds the sales conversation in the DM, qualifies the lead and books the call, that is a different job, and it is the one DM Champ is built for.
The short answer
- Best for keyword and comment auto replies: ManyChat. Free plan to start, Pro at $29/month billed yearly with Manychat AI included (checked October 2026).
- Best AI that sells, qualifies and books in Instagram DMs: DM Champ, from $97/month.
- Best budget comment auto reply: ReplyRush, free plan, paid from $10/month (checked October 2026).
- Cheapest paid Instagram auto reply: IGSender, ₹499/month in India or $5.99/month elsewhere (checked October 2026).
- Best low-cost AI bot across Instagram, WhatsApp and TikTok: Chatfuel, from $18/month billed yearly (checked October 2026).
- Best shared team inbox with Instagram: Respond.io.
- Best for developers building a custom agent: Botpress.
Two jobs, two kinds of tool
Keyword auto replies. Someone comments "GUIDE" on a Reel or DMs "PRICE", and a fixed message goes out with the link. This is what most people mean by Instagram auto reply, and the cheap tools win it. You do not need an AI sales agent to send a lead magnet, and paying for one to do only that is a waste.
AI that holds the sales conversation. The lead replies to your message with a question, an objection, a screenshot or a budget, and something has to answer the way a good salesperson would, ask the next qualifying question and book the call. Fixed replies stop working at the first message nobody scripted. That is where an AI sales agent earns its price.
Quick comparison table
| Tool | Best for | Starting price (checked October 2026) | Comment and keyword auto replies | AI conversation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. ManyChat | Keyword and comment auto replies | Free (25 contacts); Pro $29/mo billed yearly | Yes | Manychat AI included from Pro |
| 2. DM Champ | AI that sells, qualifies and books | $97/mo, $48.50/mo billed yearly | Yes | Yes, built for sales conversations |
| 3. ReplyRush | Budget comment auto reply | Free (1,500 DMs); Lite $10/mo | Yes (comment replies on paid plans) | No |
| 4. IGSender | Cheapest paid auto reply | Free (1,000 DMs); Pro ₹499/mo or $5.99/mo | Yes | No |
| 5. Chatfuel | Low-cost AI bot across channels | Business $18/mo billed yearly | Yes | Yes, with monthly AI credits |
| 6. Respond.io | Team inbox with Instagram | $99/mo monthly, $79/mo yearly | Not verified | AI Agents from Growth, $199/mo monthly |
| 7. Botpress | Developers building a custom agent | Free; Plus $150/mo billed yearly | Build it yourself | Yes, you build it |
How we ranked these
We sorted the tools by the job they do best rather than giving one overall score. For each tool we read its public pricing page and documentation in October 2026. We did not run paid trials of every competitor, so the competitor sections describe what each vendor publishes. We only list tools that use Meta's official Instagram connection.
DM Champ is our product. ManyChat sits first because keyword and comment auto replies are what most people searching for an Instagram auto reply tool need, and ManyChat does that job well at a lower price. DM Champ sits second, as the pick for the sales conversation job.
1. ManyChat. Best for Keyword and Comment Auto Replies
Pricing (checked October 2026, billed yearly): Free (25 contacts), Essential $14/month (250 contacts), Pro $29/month (2,500 contacts), Business $69/month (7,500 contacts), Advanced $139/month (25,000 contacts). Manychat AI is included on Pro, Business and Advanced. Monthly billing costs more. Per manychat.com/pricing. Channels: Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, WhatsApp, SMS and email. Best for: Creators and businesses running comment-to-DM lead magnets and keyword replies.
ManyChat is the best known tool for Instagram comment-to-DM: someone comments a word, they get the link in their DMs. You build automations from triggers and flows, and from Pro you also get Manychat AI. If the auto reply is the whole job, ManyChat is the safe, affordable choice. Our roundup of the best Instagram comment-to-DM tools compares the trigger-first options head to head.
Drawback: Pricing is by contact count, so a viral post can push you into a higher tier.
2. DM Champ. Best AI That Sells, Qualifies and Books in Instagram DMs
Pricing (checked October 2026): Business $97/month, Agency $297/month (white-label and 10 client accounts, then $27/month per extra client), Agency Unlimited $497/month. Paying yearly halves every plan, with a 90-day money-back guarantee on yearly billing. Business includes 250 AI credits a month, about 500 AI replies. Per dmchamp.com/pricing. Channels: Instagram DMs, WhatsApp Business API, WhatsApp Web, Facebook Messenger, SMS, Telegram, email, web chat and custom channels, on every plan. Best for: Businesses and agencies that sell through Instagram DMs and want the AI to carry the conversation to a booked call or a sale.
DM Champ is an AI sales agent for Instagram. It writes in a way that reads as a person, so leads keep replying, and that gives it room to qualify, handle objections and close. It books appointments inside the chat through AI appointment booking, follows up with leads who go quiet, and understands the photos, voice notes and documents people send, at no separate charge.
It also does the keyword job. A comment keyword on a post gets a short public reply and a DM, then the AI takes over when the person answers. A keyword DM can get a fixed Exact Text reply, which costs 0 credits. Story replies arrive with the Story attached, so the AI knows what the person is reacting to. You need an Instagram Business or Creator account linked to a Facebook Page.
DM Champ started as the in-house sales agent for FueGenix, a hair transplant clinic whose revenue went from $5M to $10M in 12 months.
Drawback: If all you need is a keyword reply with a link, $97/month is more than the job needs. Use ManyChat, ReplyRush or IGSender.
3. ReplyRush. Best Budget Comment Auto Reply
Pricing (checked October 2026): Free (1,500 DMs a month), Lite $10/month (7,500 DMs), Boost $25/month (40,000 DMs), Max $100/month (400,000 DMs, 5 Instagram and 5 Facebook accounts). Comment auto replies are on paid plans. Per replyrush.com/pricing. Channels: Instagram and Facebook. Best for: Creators and small businesses that want comment and keyword replies at the lowest price.
ReplyRush is a trigger and template tool, priced like one. For "comment a word, get the link", it is one of the cheapest options with a usable free plan.
Drawback: No AI conversation. Once the lead replies with a question, a person has to answer.
4. IGSender. Cheapest Paid Instagram Auto Reply
Pricing (checked October 2026): Free (1,000 DMs a month). Pro ₹499/month in India (₹399/month billed yearly) or $5.99/month elsewhere, with up to 10 Instagram accounts and a 7-day money-back guarantee. Per igsender.com/pricing. Channels: Instagram only. Best for: Instagram-only accounts that want comment and story auto DMs at the lowest paid price.
IGSender covers comment-to-DM and story auto DMs on the official Instagram connection. When IGSender's founder submitted the tool for this list, he said himself that it has no AI sales agent, and that is the right way to read it.
Drawback: No AI conversation and Instagram only.
5. Chatfuel. Best Low-Cost AI Bot Across Instagram, WhatsApp and TikTok
Pricing (checked October 2026, billed yearly): Business $18/month with $20 of AI credits a month. Agency S $90/month with $100 of AI credits and 3 companies. Per chatfuel.com/pricing. Channels: WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and a website widget. Best for: Small businesses that want one AI bot across Instagram, WhatsApp and TikTok at a low entry price.
Chatfuel auto replies to post and Reel comments and runs an AI bot on monthly AI credits. TikTok DMs are a channel most tools here do not cover.
Drawback: The AI allowance is a dollar amount of credits per month, so check how far it goes at your DM volume.
6. Respond.io. Best Shared Team Inbox With Instagram
Pricing (checked October 2026): Starter $99/month billed monthly or $79/month billed yearly (no AI Agents). Growth $199/month or $159/month yearly, with AI Agents. Advanced $349/month or $279/month yearly. Growth and Advanced include 1,000 monthly active contacts, then $12 or $15 per 100. Per respond.io/pricing. Channels: Instagram plus WhatsApp, Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, LINE, Viber, WeChat, email, SMS and calls. Best for: Teams that answer Instagram next to many other channels in one inbox.
Respond.io is a team inbox first: routing, assignment and workflows across channels, with AI Agents from Growth. If Instagram is one channel among many and a team answers it, Respond.io is a strong choice.
Drawback: AI Agents start at $199/month billed monthly, and we could not confirm public comment auto replies on its pricing page.
7. Botpress. Best for Developers Building a Custom Agent
Pricing (checked October 2026, billed yearly): Free (100 conversations), Plus $150/month (250 conversations), Team $750/month (1,500 conversations), Enterprise custom. Per botpress.com/pricing. Channels: Instagram through its official integration, plus web chat, WhatsApp and more. Best for: Teams with a developer who want full control over the agent's logic.
Botpress gives you the building blocks for a custom AI agent and connects to Instagram through an integration. You design the behavior yourself.
Drawback: It is a build project, not a ready Instagram auto reply tool.
Tools we removed in this update
Earlier versions of this list included Inflact, Phantombuster, Customers.ai and Landbot. We removed them in October 2026: Inflact's site no longer shows a DM tool, Phantombuster's Instagram automations are scraping, not DM replies, Customers.ai's pricing page no longer mentions Instagram DM automation, and Landbot's pricing page covers web and WhatsApp only. Tools that automate Instagram outside Meta's official connection also put your account at risk.
How to choose
- Is a fixed reply enough? If the goal is to send a link or lead magnet when someone comments or DMs a keyword, pick ManyChat, ReplyRush or IGSender.
- Does the DM need to sell? If leads ask questions, push back on price or need qualifying before a call, pick an AI built for the conversation: DM Champ, or Chatfuel at a lower price point.
- Does a team answer the DMs? If several people work the inbox across many channels, look at Respond.io.
- Do you resell to clients? DM Champ's Agency plans add white-labeling, client accounts and credit reselling.
How we keep this list current
We recheck prices on each vendor's pricing page when we revise the list; this version was checked in October 2026. If a price or feature here has changed, email [email protected] and we will verify it and update the page.
