Use the ManyChat affiliate program when clients should own their account and bill, and one plan for every client when the agency should hold them. Read on 12 October 2026, ManyChat's program pays an agency 30 to 50% of a referred client's payments for 12 months. With one plan, the agency pays and folds the cost into its fee.
An agency has two ways to earn from Instagram DM automation, and they differ in who owns the account and who gets the bill. Below: how ManyChat's program works, which other DM tools pay agencies and on what terms, when commission or one plan fits, what one plan costs on inDM, and what inDM's referral program pays.
How does the ManyChat Partner Program work?
The ManyChat Partner Program pays 30% recurring commission for 12 months to partners with 0 to 30 lifetime paid signups, 40% from 31 to 200 and 50% from 201 up, as read on 12 October 2026. ManyChat calls the three tiers Gold, Sapphire and Diamond. The rules that decide whether a referral pays:
- A referral counts on upgrade. The person has to sign up through your link and upgrade to Pro within 90 days.
- Commission lasts 12 months. It recurs for each referred client for 12 months, then stops.
- Payouts go through PartnerStack. ManyChat pays its partners through that service.
The program page shows a 2024 date, so confirm the current terms at affiliate.manychat.com before you plan around them.
ManyChat has no agency plan, which matters for the other route. Its help centre, read on 9 October 2026, says each Manychat account connects one Instagram account and is billed on its own. A client on ManyChat therefore pays per account whether the client or the agency holds the bill. At Essential's $17 a month per account, read on 9 October 2026, 15 client accounts come to $255 a month. Whether ManyChat has an agency plan goes through the plans in full.
Which other DM tools pay agencies, and on what terms?
Rates in the programs we read on 12 October 2026 run from 20% to 50%, and the length of time they pay varies more than the rate. Each row is taken from the vendor's own page, with terms as the vendor states them.
| Tool | Rate | How long | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| ManyChat Partner Program | 30%, 40% or 50% by tier | 12 months | A referral counts when the person signs up through your link and upgrades to Pro within 90 days. Paid through PartnerStack |
| CreatorFlow Agency Partner Program | 30 to 40% of every client subscription | For as long as each client stays subscribed | Apply by email. Includes a free agency account for your own Instagram, priority support, early access and co-marketing |
| Inrō Agency Partner Program, commission path | 20% on client subscriptions tied to your agency | Lifetime, while you remain an active partner | At least one paying client per quarter to stay in. Payouts from €100 |
| Inrō, reseller path | 50% off the annual list price, a discount rather than a commission | Annual licences | Reseller deals earn no commission |
| LinkDM referral | 30% of payments | First 12 months | Only Pro subscribers who have sent 1,000 or more DMs can join |
| Zorcha | Up to 50% | First 11 months | No other terms recorded here, so read Zorcha's page |
| Chatfuel | 30 to 50% across tiers | Up to 12 months | Capped at $2,000 per customer |
| SendPulse agency program | 30% for new partners, 40% at Gold, 50% at Platinum | For as long as you keep access to the client's account | Rate rises with partner level |
| inDM referral program | 30% of every payment | For as long as the referred creator keeps paying | 60-day window from opening your link to signing up. Anyone with an account can join, with no application |
Rate is only half of a program. Twelve months at 40% and lifetime at 30% pay differently, and which is worth more depends on how long your clients stay, which no program controls. Which Instagram DM tools pay recurring affiliate commission sets out the wider list and how each program decides when a referral was yours. A vendor's agency program can carry different terms from its standard one, so the two lists can differ for the same tool.
Commission or one plan: which fits when?
Commission fits when the client should own the account and the bill, and one plan for every client fits when the agency wants the whole roster in one workspace, on one bill, with control of the setup.
Commission fits when:
- the client wants to hold their own account and their own bill, and the agency charges only for the work;
- the client already uses a tool or prefers to pick their own;
- the agency does not want to carry the roster's monthly tool cost.
One plan fits when:
- the agency wants every client's Instagram account in one workspace, switching between them from the top bar;
- the agency wants to write and edit the automations itself and start the next client from a saved template;
- the agency wants one bill that stays the same whatever a client's month brings, which holds on inDM because nothing is metered.
The account question decides it. On inDM, a referred client runs their own workspace, while an agency plan holds the clients' accounts in the agency's, so each Instagram account sits in one or the other, not both. A connect link brings a client's account into the agency's workspace. A referral link brings the client to open an inDM account of their own. Choose the route per client before you send either link.
With ManyChat, the one-plan route does not exist, because there is no agency plan to buy. An agency there pays for each client's Manychat account separately, or has each client pay and earns commission. How agencies sell Instagram DM automation to clients covers what the agency's fee pays for when it holds the bill.
What does one plan for every client cost on inDM?
inDM prices a roster by the number of Instagram accounts in one workspace: Growth holds up to 5 for $4.99 the first month, then $14.99 a month, Agency Lite holds up to 15 for $39 a month, and Agency Pro holds 30 for $99 a month, then $3 a month for each one after.
- Nothing is metered. No plan counts messages or contacts, so a client's busy month does not change the bill.
- The whole team is included. Growth and the agency plans have no seat count.
- Agency Pro adds a dedicated account manager. Both agency plans include everything in Growth.
- The agency plans have no intro price and no trial. Prices are in US dollars a month, with tax added at checkout where it is due.
The DM automation cost calculator works the sum for any number of accounts, and Instagram DM automation for agencies lists what an agency workspace includes. What the agency then charges its clients is a separate question, which how much to charge for Instagram DM automation takes through.
What does inDM's referral program pay?
inDM's referral program pays 30% of every payment a referred creator makes for as long as they keep paying, with a 60-day window from the moment someone opens your link to the moment they sign up. Commission is 30% of what inDM collects, excluding tax, and the terms are on the affiliate program page.
- Anyone with an account can join. There is no application, no approval and no follower minimum, and the free plan is a real account.
- The 60 days count to signup, not to payment. A creator who starts on the free plan and upgrades months later still counts, because the referral is tied to them the moment they create an account.
- The minimum payout is $25. inDM settles payouts by PayPal or Wise on request, and each payment takes 30 days to clear.
On one Growth subscription at $14.99 a month, 30% is $4.50 for each month that creator keeps paying. That is arithmetic on one subscription, not a forecast: what a program pays you depends on how many clients you refer, which plan they choose and how long they stay.
The honest boundary: what this comparison leaves out
- Terms change. Commission rates, durations and conditions are read from each vendor's page on 12 October 2026, and vendors edit them. Read the current page on the day you decide.
- A vendor's program is not a plan. The table lists what each vendor publishes. It does not say what any agency earns.
- The one-plan route on inDM has limits. inDM shows one account at a time, everyone in a workspace sees every connected account, and the app is not white-labelled, with no client login. Instagram is the only channel.
- This is not income advice. What a commission or a plan comes to depends on your number of clients, the plan each one picks and how long they stay.
What to do next
List your clients and mark which ones should own their account and their bill. Those suit commission. The rest suit one plan.