InboxLoop / Instagram workflows
Manychat vs LinkDM
Manychat vs LinkDM for Instagram DM automation: free plans, paid prices and workflows compared from official sources, with InboxLoop as a third option.
Available free during Early Access. Messaging rules and technical limits apply.
Manychat vs LinkDM: free plans and prices
Published plans
Manychat
New Free
Starting offer$0; 25 Active Contacts per month; up to 4 live automations
The help center says Free accounts have moved to this plan. Verify the plan shown in your account.
SourceEssential
Essential, new pricing$17/month monthly, or $14/month equivalent billed yearly
250 Active Contacts / month
Additional active contacts: $0.10 monthly billing / $0.08 annual billing. Account and regional rollout can vary.
SourcePro
Pro, new pricing$39/month monthly, or $29/month equivalent billed yearly
2,500 Active Contacts / month
Additional active contacts: $0.05 monthly billing / $0.038 annual billing. USD; verify your in-account offer.
Source
Published plans
LinkDM
Free
Starting offer$0; 1 Instagram account; 1,000 DMs per month
SourcePro
Pro, monthly$19 USD per month
Up to 3 Instagram accounts; 25,000 DMs/month headline allowance
The homepage describes the allowance per account, while the pricing headline does not clarify pooling. Confirm quota scope with LinkDM; this page does not assume it.
Source
An active contact is counted once in a billing cycle, not once per DM. Official pricing pages and older accounts can still reflect legacy contact-based plans; the reviewed help articles describe the newer model. Do not apply these prices to every existing account. InboxLoop's free launch does not establish a permanent cost advantage.
DM allowances are not contact counts: one person receiving multiple messages can affect usage differently from active-contact billing. This example uses the monthly USD offer, not an annual-equivalent discount. No message or account cap for InboxLoop is invented to make the two offers look identical.
Feature by feature
| Feature or control | Manychat | LinkDM |  InboxLoop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free access | $0; 25 Active Contacts per month; up to 4 live automations New Free The help center says Free accounts have moved to this plan. Verify the plan shown in your account. Manychat documentation | $0; 1 Instagram account; 1,000 DMs per month Free LinkDM documentation | Unlimited automations, free during Early Access Early Access No cap on the number of automations during Early Access. Instagram messaging rules and technical sending limits still apply. Not a lifetime pricing promise. InboxLoop details |
| Comments and keywords | Post/Reel comment triggers with keyword filters and private replies Check selected plan Manychat documentation | Comment-to-DM; Pro adds public replies and Universal Triggers Free / Pro Feature eligibility differs by tier. LinkDM documentation | Comment-to-DM, public replies and incoming-DM keyword replies Early Access InboxLoop details |
| Story workflows | Story-reply trigger documented Check selected plan This row does not establish identical support for every Story event. Manychat documentation | Story automations listed Free LinkDM documentation | Story reply and mention workflows; optional reaction to a Story reply Early Access InboxLoop details |
| Follow gates | Follower checks listed Essential Confirm availability under your account's billing model. Manychat documentation | Follower Growth Tool listed Pro Do not assume identical follow-check behavior without testing. LinkDM documentation | Ask for a follow, then check follow status when the person confirms Early Access A follow prompt is not a guarantee of follower growth. InboxLoop details |
| Product carousels | Instagram Card and Gallery message blocks documented Check selected plan Carousels are not an InboxLoop-exclusive capability. Manychat documentation | An official starter guide describes carousel-style FAQ and catalogue journeys Current plan eligibility not confirmed The guide is older; current multi-product editor limits were not established. Do not interpret that gap as unavailability. LinkDM documentation | Up to 10 product cards; up to 3 destination buttons each Early Access Messaging eligibility still applies; this is not native checkout. InboxLoop details |
| Click visibility | Instagram automation analytics includes click-through reporting Paid plans, gradual rollout Check whether the analytics view is available in your account. Manychat documentation | Universal Trigger reporting includes clicks and replies Universal Triggers Not a claim of identical contact-level reporting. LinkDM documentation | Total clicks, unique clickers, repeat clicks and contact-level history Early Access Click activity is not purchase attribution. Probable bots are excluded from the reported metrics. InboxLoop details |
| Connection controls | Provider reports SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 compliance Provider security documentation These are Manychat's published statements, not an audit performed by InboxLoop. Manychat documentation | Provider documents permission checks and disconnect/reconnect troubleshooting Connected account InboxLoop has not independently audited this provider. LinkDM documentation | Meta authorization, server-side tokens and disconnect controls Early Access No Instagram password is collected. This is not an independent security audit or a claim of certification. InboxLoop details |
| Delivery safeguards | No like-for-like pacing implementation assessed in this review Not assessed Not confirmed here does not mean absent or insecure. Manychat documentation | Slow Down Mode listed on Pro Pro A provider feature listing is not a guarantee against Instagram restrictions. LinkDM documentation | Shared API budgets, rate-limit cooldowns and bounded retries Early Access No guarantee against restrictions, duplicates or failed delivery. InboxLoop details |
Information comes from each provider's published documentation and the InboxLoop implementation reviewed. This is not an independent audit.
Where InboxLoop fits
Consider InboxLoop for Instagram comment replies, a product carousel and click history in one launch-access workflow. Start with one clear use case and evaluate it on your own account.
Questions about this comparison
Are the older contact-based prices wrong?
Not necessarily. Manychat has multiple billing generations and regional rollout qualifications. Check your account's plan and the linked help articles before estimating a bill.
Does LinkDM have a free plan too?
Yes. Its pricing page lists a free option. The table includes it alongside InboxLoop's time-qualified Early Access offer.
How current is this information?
Reviewed in October 2026 from each provider's official pages. Plans change often, so confirm on the provider's site before you decide.
More comparisons
Start with one conversation
Make your next reply more useful.
Connect an Instagram Professional account, preview your workflow and test it before using it with your audience.
Free during Early Access, not a lifetime pricing commitment.