AI replies at a low price, or every gate on the free plan
ChatAutoDM prices in rupees from ₹0 to ₹1,299 a month, adds AI replies on its paid plans, and says billing has not started. inDM's Free and Growth plans are live today, with the follow and email gates on Free.
Table of contents
- Why creators switch
- Feature by feature
- The pricing math
- Where ChatAutoDM is genuinely strong
- What is ChatAutoDM?
- ChatAutoDM pricing: what does it cost?
- What does the ChatAutoDM free plan include?
- ChatAutoDM vs inDM: which should you choose?
- How we checked
- Already using it?
- Questions, answered plainly
ChatAutoDM is a low-priced Instagram comment-to-DM tool: three rupee plans from ₹0 to ₹1,299 a month, AI-written replies on the paid ones, and, by its own pages, billing that has not started yet. inDM's Growth plan costs more than ChatAutoDM's Pro plan, but both inDM plans are live today.
If you want the lowest paid price, or you want AI to write replies for you, ChatAutoDM is worth a close look. Pro is ₹499 a month, and their USD switch shows $5. inDM has no AI-written replies: it sends the messages you write.
If you want the follow gate, the email gate, every automation type and unlimited keywords on a free plan, inDM carries all of them on Free, with no card. ChatAutoDM's pricing page is not consistent about whether its Free plan includes the follow ask and data collection, and it says exact limits will be published before billing starts.
Because ChatAutoDM's paid plans are not yet charged, neither tool has a settled price advantage today. Figures here are as of 2026-10-13, so open their pricing page before you decide.
Why creators switch
Both gates on the free plan
inDM's Free plan includes the follow gate, the email gate, every automation type and unlimited keywords on one Instagram account, with no card. ChatAutoDM's pricing page lists Ask to Follow and Collect Data on its Free plan card and marks them Pro and Elite in its feature table, so check which applies before you build around them.
Plans that are live today
inDM's Free plan is $0 and Growth is $4.99 for the first month, then $14.99 a month, both available now. ChatAutoDM publishes three plans, but its pages say billing has not started and that exact limits will be published before it does, so what you sign up to may change.
Start from your post, see the DM first
inDM attaches each automation to a real post, reel or story and shows the exact DM, bubbles, buttons and link card, on screen while you build. You see the message before anything sends.
Feature by feature
| Feature | inDM | ChatAutoDM |
|---|---|---|
| Comment-to-DMSomeone comments a keyword on a post or reel; they get your link in a DM, instantly. | Yes | Yes Comment to DM Flow, listed on all three plans |
| Story repliesA reply to your story triggers an automatic DM back. | Yes | Yes Story Reply Flow, listed on all three plans |
| Keyword DMsA DM containing a keyword gets an instant, useful answer. | Yes | Yes DM Auto-Responder Flow, listed on all three plans |
| Follow gateAsk for a follow before the link is delivered. Every link grows your following. | Yes | Yes Called Ask to Follow. Their Free plan card lists it; their feature table marks it Pro and Elite only |
| Email captureCollect an email address inside the DM thread, attached to the contact. | Yes Asks in the thread, saved to the contact | Yes Called Collect Data: emails, phone numbers and names in the DM. Same Free card versus feature table disagreement |
| AnalyticsTrigger rate, DM click-through, keyword performance, best hours to post. | Yes Trigger rate, keywords and hours on both plans; DM click-through on Growth | Yes Basic Analytics on Free, Pro Analytics on Pro and Elite |
| Predictable pricingYou can say what next month costs before the month happens. | Yes Nothing is metered, $0 or $14.99, whatever your volume does | Partial Flat monthly plans, but billing has not started and exact limits are unpublished until it does |
| Free foreverA free plan that renews every month, not a trial that runs out. | Yes Unlimited messages and every automation type, on one connected Instagram account | Yes Free ₹0: unlimited flows, 1,000 monthly contacts, 10,000 AI credits, unlimited DMs under fair-use monitoring |
| Follow-up messageA second DM hours after the first: a thank you, a nudge to follow, or the link again. Optionally only to the people who never opened it. | Yes 30 minutes to 20 hours later, with an option to skip anyone who already clicked; on Growth | Partial An Advanced Followup Message is listed on Elite only; how it works is not published |
| Running many client accountsHow the plan grows past one Instagram account, for an agency or a team running several brands. | Yes Up to 5 on Growth, 15 on Agency Lite ($39 a month), 30 on Agency Pro ($99 a month) then $3 each. Clients connect from a link you send | Partial Several Instagram accounts depending on plan, and an Elite plan aimed at agencies, but account counts are not published (read 13 Oct 2026) |
Feature support as of October 2026. Something changed? Tell us and we'll fix it.
The pricing math
Free forever: $0, no card, unlimited messages, every automation type, unlimited keywords, the follow and email gates, analytics, the unified inbox, contacts with CSV export, on one Instagram account. Growth adds your brand alone on your messages, up to 5 Instagram accounts, unlimited automations, up to 3 links in one DM, a follow-up message 30 minutes to 20 hours later, automations that wait for your next post, broadcasts to your audience, your whole team in one workspace, follow and email asks in your own words, and who clicks your links and where they are, at $4.99 for the first month, then $14.99 a month. Agency Lite is $39 a month for up to 15 Instagram accounts, and Agency Pro is $99 a month for 30, then $3 a month for each one after. inDM bills in USD at the same price wherever you are.
Three plans, read on chatautodm.com/pricing on 2026-10-13. The page opens on Monthly and in rupees, with a USD switch, so these are month-to-month rates. Free ₹0 ($0): unlimited automation flows, 1,000 monthly contacts, 10,000 AI credits. Pro ₹499 ($5): unlimited flows and contacts, Pro analytics, 500,000 AI credits. Elite ₹1,299 ($14): the same plus 2,000,000 AI credits, an Advanced Followup Message and Teams. Paying yearly is ₹4,499 for Pro and ₹9,999 for Elite. Their pages say billing has not started, that Free has basic volume and execution caps, and that exact limits will be published before billing starts. No connected-account counts or branding policy are stated.
Read the shape, not the headline number. ChatAutoDM's paid plans are cheaper on paper: Pro is ₹499 a month against inDM's Growth at $4.99 for the first month, then $14.99 a month. But none of it is charged yet, their Free plan has caps they have not published, and the paid plans come with AI credits, which are the thing each plan allots. inDM's Free plan is $0 forever with unlimited messages, and Growth adds things to it rather than taking anything from it. Figures are as of 2026-10-13 for both tools, and ChatAutoDM's could change when billing begins.
Their pricing, from the source: ChatAutoDM's pricing page (checked October 2026).
Where ChatAutoDM is genuinely strong
Where ChatAutoDM is the better pick, plainly:
- The lowest paid price. Pro is ₹499 a month, shown as $5 on their USD switch, or ₹4,499 for a year. inDM's Growth plan is $4.99 for the first month, then $14.99 a month. Their pages also describe temporary free upgrades while billing is finalized.
- AI-written replies. Their paid plans list AI FAQ replies, AI comment replies and AI auto-responding to DMs, with 500,000 AI credits on Pro. inDM has no AI-written replies and does not plan its pricing around them.
- Rupee pricing. ChatAutoDM's page opens in INR and offers USD as a switch. inDM bills in USD only.
What is ChatAutoDM?
ChatAutoDM is an Instagram comment-to-DM tool. Someone comments a keyword on your post, and the tool sends them a message with your link. Its pricing page lists comment-to-DM, story reply and keyword DM flows on all three plans, plus a visual flow builder, and its home page says it can collect emails and phone numbers inside the DM.
Its Terms of Service say it runs only on Instagram's official API and signs you in through Instagram without ever asking for your password. Its Meta page describes it as a Business-Verified and Access-Verified Tech Provider. inDM is an approved Meta Tech Provider too, and for both tools that means Meta reviewed the app, not that Meta endorses it. All of this is read from ChatAutoDM's own pages on 13 October 2026.
ChatAutoDM pricing: what does it cost?
ChatAutoDM has three plans, Free at ₹0, Pro at ₹499 a month and Elite at ₹1,299 a month, read on its pricing page on 13 October 2026. The page opens in rupees on the Monthly view, so those are month-to-month rates. Its USD switch shows $0, $5 and $14, whole dollars that look like a display conversion.
- Free, ₹0. Unlimited automation flows, 1,000 monthly contacts, 10,000 AI credits.
- Pro, ₹499 a month. Unlimited flows and contacts, Pro analytics, 500,000 AI credits.
- Elite, ₹1,299 a month. Everything in Pro, plus 2,000,000 AI credits, an Advanced Followup Message and Teams.
Paying every quarter costs ₹1,299 for Pro and ₹3,299 for Elite. Paying for a year costs ₹4,499 for Pro and ₹9,999 for Elite.
The detail that matters most is that billing has not started. The pricing page says that when it does, you can stay on Free, upgrade, or lock a legacy discount. Its FAQ says Free and the temporary free upgrades need no card, and that exact limits will be published before billing starts. The About page describes the product as free while billing is finalized. So the paid prices are published list prices that are not yet charged, and they could change. A June 2026 post on ChatAutoDM's blog quotes Pro at ₹359, which shows the figure has already moved once.
Messages are not what ChatAutoDM counts. Its feature table lists unlimited DMs on every plan under fair-use monitoring, and the thing each plan allots is AI credits. Its FAQ adds that Free has basic volume and execution caps whose exact limits are not yet published.
What does the ChatAutoDM free plan include?
ChatAutoDM's free plan includes unlimited automation flows, 1,000 monthly contacts and 10,000 AI credits, and its feature table lists the comment-to-DM, story reply and DM auto-responder flows on every plan. Two things disagree on its own pricing page. The Free plan card lists Ask to Follow, AI FAQs and Collect Data, while the feature table on the same page marks Ask to Follow, Collect Data, AI FAQs, AI comment replies and AI auto-responding as Pro and Elite only.
We read only their public pages and did not open an account, so we could not tell which of the two is current. If either the follow ask or data collection decides it for you, check inside their app before you build around it.
ChatAutoDM vs inDM: which should you choose?
Choose ChatAutoDM if the lowest paid price decides it, if you want AI to write FAQ and comment replies, or if you want to pay in rupees. Their paid plans are not yet charged, so you may be able to try them free while that lasts.
Choose inDM if you want the follow gate and the email gate on a free plan that stays free, every automation type and unlimited keywords on one Instagram account, and a live preview of each DM while you build. The free plan needs no card. When you need more than one Instagram account, your brand alone on your messages or a follow-up message hours later, Growth adds them at $4.99 for the first month, then $14.99 a month. The pricing page lists every difference.
Both tools sit under the same Instagram rules, including how fast Instagram lets messages go out, which is roughly 750 private replies per hour per account. The Instagram DM limits page explains what that means for a busy post.
How we checked
We read chatautodm.com/pricing, /about, /terms, /meta-verified and the home page FAQ in a browser on 13 October 2026, including the Monthly, Quarterly and Yearly views and the INR and USD switch. We did not create an account, so anything inside their app is not covered, and we did not test how either tool behaves day to day. ChatAutoDM's pricing is still being finalized by its own account, so treat every figure above as a snapshot.
For another comparison where the meter is not messages, see Zorcha vs inDM. For the tool most people start from, see ManyChat vs inDM.
Already using it?
ChatAutoDM: what carries over, what doesn't, and what the move actually costs.
Questions, answered plainly
Is ChatAutoDM free?
ChatAutoDM has a Free plan at ₹0 with unlimited automation flows, 1,000 monthly contacts and 10,000 AI credits, read on its pricing page on 13 October 2026. Its pages also describe temporary free upgrades and say billing has not started, and that exact limits for Free will be published before billing starts. Its Free plan card and its feature table disagree about whether Free includes Ask to Follow and Collect Data.
What does ChatAutoDM's Pro plan cost?
Pro is ₹499 a month on ChatAutoDM's pricing page, which its USD switch shows as $5, or ₹4,499 if you pay for a year. It lists unlimited automation flows and contacts, Pro analytics and 500,000 AI credits. Their pages say billing has not started, so the price could change before it begins.
Is inDM a good ChatAutoDM alternative?
It depends on what you need. inDM suits you if you want the follow and email gates, every automation type and unlimited keywords on a free plan, plus a live preview of each DM before it sends. ChatAutoDM suits you if you want AI-written replies or the lowest paid price. inDM has no AI-written replies.
Does ChatAutoDM have AI replies?
Yes, on its paid plans. ChatAutoDM's feature table lists AI FAQ replies, AI comment replies and AI auto-responding to DMs for Pro and Elite, with 500,000 AI credits on Pro and 2,000,000 on Elite. Its Free plan card also lists AI FAQs, so check which applies to you. inDM has no AI-written replies.
Does ChatAutoDM use Instagram's official API?
Its Terms of Service say it runs only on Instagram's official API and signs you in through Instagram without seeing your password. inDM works the same way and is an approved Meta Tech Provider. For both tools, that approval means Meta reviewed the app, not that Meta endorses it.
Can I switch from ManyChat or another tool?
Yes. Disconnect isn't even required first: connect your Instagram to inDM, rebuild your key automations (most creators have three or four that matter), preview, and set them live. Conversation history doesn't transfer between tools, no tool can import another's, so export your contacts from the old tool for your records. The switch guides walk through the order of operations.
Is Instagram DM automation allowed?
Yes. When it runs through Meta's official Instagram API on a professional account, and only messages people whose own action invited it, like commenting a keyword or replying to a story. That's exactly how inDM works. What breaks the rules is different: unofficial apps that ask for your password, scraping, purchased engagement, and cold outreach to people who never engaged.