Same meter, different ceilings
LinkDM and inDM both sell a monthly DM allowance, which makes this the rare comparison that settles with arithmetic. The answer flips depending on how much you send — and on how many accounts you run.
LinkDM is the closest thing to inDM's billing shape in this category: a flat monthly plan with a stated DM allowance, no contact tiers, no credit system. That makes the comparison unusually honest, because the two bills are denominated in the same unit.
Run the arithmetic before you read anything else. At their Pro tier, $19 buys 25,000 DMs — $0.00076 each. At our Growth tier, $9.99 buys 10,000 — $0.001 each. Above roughly 10,000 DMs a month, LinkDM is cheaper per message than we are, and we are not going to pretend otherwise.
Where the comparison turns is at the edges rather than the middle. Their entry price is $19 against our $9.99; their free tier is one Instagram account with LinkDM branding on every message; each tier caps how many accounts you can connect — one, then three, then ten. inDM does not cap accounts on any plan, and the only way our name appears in a message is if you switch it on yourself, in exchange for those messages not being counted at all.
Why creators switch
No cap on connected accounts
LinkDM allows 1 Instagram account on Free, 3 on Pro and 10 on Platinum+. inDM does not limit connected accounts on any plan, including the free one — if you run a main account and three side projects, that is not a pricing decision here.
Branding is a trade, never a tax
LinkDM puts its branding on free-tier messages and sells removal as a Pro feature. inDM ships with no badge at all. Turn the Powered by inDM badge on for one automation and that automation's messages stop counting toward your allowance — opt-in, per automation, off unless you choose it.
A lower entry price
Growth is $9.99 a month for 10,000 DMs against LinkDM Pro at $19 for 25,000. If you send under about 10,000 a month, ours is the cheaper bill; above that, theirs is. Both numbers are on both pricing pages — check them against your own last good month.
Feature by feature
| Feature | inDM | LinkDM |
|---|---|---|
| Comment-to-DMSomeone comments a keyword on a post or reel; they get your link in a DM, instantly. | Yes | Yes |
| Story repliesA reply to your story triggers an automatic DM back. | Yes | Yes |
| Keyword DMsA DM containing a keyword gets an instant, useful answer. | Yes | Yes |
| Follow gateAsk for a follow before the link is delivered — every link grows your following. | Yes | Yes |
| Email captureCollect an email address inside the DM thread, attached to the contact. | Yes | Yes |
| Live DM previewSee the exact DM — bubbles, buttons, link card — before anything goes live. | Yes Always on screen while you build | Partial Verify current builder on their site |
| Built on your real contentAutomations attach to actual posts, reels, and stories — not an abstract flowchart. | Yes The spine of the product | Yes |
| Unified inboxEvery conversation your automations create, in one view. | Yes | Partial Verify current inbox scope on their site |
| ContactsEvery engaged person becomes a tracked contact — leads, hot leads, customers, superfans — exportable anytime. | Yes Light by design, not a sales CRM | Yes DM allowance drives the bill, not contacts |
| AnalyticsTrigger rate, DM click-through, keyword performance, best hours to post. | Yes | Yes |
| Predictable pricingYou can say what next month costs before the month happens. | Yes One plan, two sizes; no overage below 30,000 DMs | Yes Same meter as ours — a stated monthly DM allowance |
| Free foreverA free plan that renews every month, not a trial that runs out. | Yes 1,000 DMs a month, no card — or unmetered with the badge on | Yes 1,000 DMs/mo on 1 account, with LinkDM branding |
Feature support as of August 2026. Something changed? Tell us and we'll fix it.
The pricing math
Free forever: $0, no card, 1,000 messages a month, with every automation type, unlimited automations and keywords, the follow gate, full analytics and the unified inbox — the free plan is not a reduced version of the product. Then Growth at $9.99 a month for 10,000 DMs, or $19.99 for 30,000 with $1 per extra 1,000 above that. No overage on the entry plan: going over moves you to $19.99, a price already printed on the page. Connected accounts are never capped. Switch the Powered by inDM badge on for an automation and that automation stops counting entirely. inDM bills in USD — $9.99 a month wherever you are.
A monthly DM allowance, checked 2026-08-14. Free $0: 1 Instagram account, 1,000 DMs a month, LinkDM branding on messages. Pro $19/mo or $182/yr: 3 Instagram accounts, 25,000 DMs, branding removed. Platinum+ $99/mo or $832/yr: 10 Instagram accounts, 300,000 DMs. LinkDM publishes USD only — there is no India-specific price; linkdm.com/in/pricing returned Not Found when checked on 2026-08-14.
This is the one comparison in our set that settles with division rather than judgement, so here it is both ways. Per DM: LinkDM Pro is $19 / 25,000 = $0.00076; inDM Growth is $9.99 / 10,000 = $0.001. They are about 24% cheaper per message at that tier, and cheaper still at Platinum+. Per month at low volume: our entry is $9.99 against their $19, and our free plan carries no branding while theirs does. The crossover sits near 10,000 DMs a month. One thing to fold in on our side: a comment-to-DM conversion spends two of our messages, the opener and the link, and follow-gate prompts are never counted. Figures as of 2026-08-14 for LinkDM and 2026-08-12 for inDM; both pricing pages change, so check before you commit.
Their pricing, from the source: LinkDM's pricing page (checked August 2026).
Where LinkDM is genuinely strong
Three places LinkDM is the better answer, stated plainly because a compare page that only flatters its author is not worth reading:
- Per-DM cost at volume. Above roughly 10,000 DMs a month their rate beats ours, and the gap widens on Platinum+. If your monthly send is well into five figures and price per message is the deciding factor, they win that argument on arithmetic.
- A very large top tier. 300,000 DMs a month on a $99 plan is more headroom than our published plans carry, and we would rather point you there than pretend our $19.99 tier stretches to it.
- Multi-account tooling built for it. Their plans are explicitly structured around 3 and 10 connected accounts. We do not cap accounts, but a product designed around managing ten of them may fit an agency better than one designed around a creator's own.
What is LinkDM?
LinkDM is an Instagram DM automation tool built around the same core job inDM does: someone comments a keyword on your post, and the tool sends them a direct message with the link, the code, or the freebie you promised. It supports comment triggers, story replies, keyword DMs, follow gates and email capture, and it prices the whole thing on a monthly allowance of messages sent.
That last part is why this comparison is worth reading carefully. Most tools in this category meter something other than messages — ManyChat charges by monthly active contact, Zorcha sells AI credits, GRO.co prices on follower count. LinkDM and inDM both count DMs. When two bills are denominated in the same unit, you can just divide.
LinkDM vs inDM pricing, done as arithmetic
Their published plans, checked 2026-08-14:
- Free — $0. 1 Instagram account, 1,000 DMs a month, LinkDM branding on messages.
- Pro — $19/mo (or $182 a year, 20% off). 3 Instagram accounts, 25,000 DMs, branding removed.
- Platinum+ — $99/mo (or $832 a year, 30% off). 10 Instagram accounts, 300,000 DMs.
Ours, as of 2026-08-12: Free forever at 1,000 messages a month, then Growth at $9.99 for 10,000 or $19.99 for 30,000.
Divide and the picture is unambiguous. LinkDM Pro is $0.00076 per DM. inDM Growth is $0.001 per DM. They are cheaper per message, by about a quarter, at that tier.
So the honest framing is not "we are cheaper." It is: we are cheaper to start, they are cheaper at scale, and the crossover is near 10,000 DMs a month. Under that, our $9.99 beats their $19 and our free tier carries no branding. Over it, their rate wins and we would rather you knew that from us.
One correction to make the math fair in both directions: a link delivery in inDM spends two messages, the invite and the link after the tap. Follow-gate prompts are never counted — asking someone to follow you is not a delivery, so we do not bill it. Fold both facts in before you compare allowances.
The two differences that are not about price
Connected accounts. LinkDM's tiers are structured around how many Instagram accounts you can attach: one on Free, three on Pro, ten on Platinum+. inDM has no such limit on any plan. There is no account count in our billing at all — the only thing we meter is messages sent. If you run a main account plus two side projects, that is three accounts on a free plan here and a $19 decision there.
Branding. LinkDM puts its own branding on free-tier messages, and "Remove LinkDM Branding" is something Pro buys. This turns out to be the category norm rather than a LinkDM quirk — most tools in this space treat their badge as a tax you buy your way out of.
inDM runs it the other way round. There is no badge on any message unless you switch it on. If you do switch it on for an automation, that automation's messages stop counting toward your allowance entirely — on the free plan and on both paid ones. It is opt-in, per automation, off by default, and it never rides a follow-gate prompt or a public comment reply. The badge is a trade you can take, not a condition you have to buy out of.
Which one should you pick?
If you send a lot — comfortably above 10,000 DMs a month — and the deciding factor is cost per message, LinkDM Pro or Platinum+ is the cheaper instrument and this page is not going to argue you out of it.
If you are starting out, running more than one account, or you would rather your DMs not carry someone else's name while you are on a free plan, inDM is built for that shape. $9.99 for 10,000 messages, no account caps, no branding unless you want the trade, and a free plan with every feature the paid ones have.
Both tools ride the same Meta API, so neither can outrun Instagram's own DM limits — those are enforced per account, not per tool. The mechanics of how comment-to-DM automation works are the same on either.
Already using it?
Switch from LinkDM — what carries over, what doesn't, and what the move actually costs.
Questions, answered plainly
Is LinkDM cheaper than inDM?
It depends entirely on volume, and the crossover is around 10,000 DMs a month. Below it, inDM is cheaper — $9.99 for 10,000 messages against LinkDM Pro at $19, plus a free tier that carries no branding. Above it, LinkDM is cheaper per message: their Pro works out to $0.00076 per DM against our $0.001. Figures as of 2026-08-14 (LinkDM) and 2026-08-12 (inDM).
How many Instagram accounts can I connect to each?
LinkDM allows 1 on Free, 3 on Pro and 10 on Platinum+. inDM does not cap connected accounts on any plan, including the free one — the only thing metered is messages sent.
Does LinkDM put its branding on my DMs?
On the free tier, yes — "Remove LinkDM Branding" is a Pro feature. inDM never adds a badge unless you switch it on yourself, and if you do, that automation's messages stop counting toward your allowance.
Does LinkDM have India pricing?
Not that they publish. Their pricing page quotes USD only, and linkdm.com/in/pricing returned Not Found when checked on 2026-08-14. Some tools in this category do publish INR — ReplyRush shows both currencies side by side, and SuperProfile and Zorcha run separate India pricing pages.
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.