Last updated: 2026-09-03
LinktoDM turns Instagram and Facebook comments, story replies, mentions and DM keywords into automated direct messages, and its homepage counts 22,000+ creators using it. It runs on Meta's official Graph API rather than scraping or browser automation, which is what its Meta Business Partner status rests on, and it layers safety controls on top: queue management with natural delays, adaptive send-rate limiting, and a policy scan against banned terms before a flow goes live. Free covers 2,000 contacts and 3 creator accounts; Pro is $15 a month, or $10 billed yearly, for unlimited contacts and the AI replies; Pro+ is $25, or $18 billed yearly, for 8 creator accounts and API access.
About LinktoDM
LinktoDM is an Instagram automation platform founded in 2023 and bootstrapped without outside funding. It has held Meta's Business Partner certification since 2021 and runs entirely on the official Instagram Graph API, the approach Meta sanctions for automating messages without risking an account suspension.
The product works by watching for a trigger: a keyword in a post comment, a Story reply, an account mention, or an inbound DM, then firing an automated response built from rule-based workflows rather than a general-purpose model. Creators use it mainly for giveaways, turning comment interest into a private sales conversation, and gating a lead magnet behind a follow request. The flows are pre-built, so there is no coding step before the first automation goes live.
Screenshots
Pricing
Free is $0 and caps you at 2,000 contacts and 3 creator accounts with unlimited automations, but leaves out the scheduler, follow-up messages, conversation starters, data collection and the AI triggers. Pro is $15 a month month-to-month, or $10 a month billed yearly ($126 a year), and unlocks all of that with unlimited contacts on 3 creator accounts. Pro+ is $25 a month, or $18 billed yearly ($210 a year), for 8 creator accounts, API access and a dedicated relationship manager.
Enterprise is quoted individually and adds a creator management dashboard and live support. The pricing page loads on the yearly toggle, so the headline figures are the annual-billed rates. com/pricing on 3 September 2026.
| Tier | Monthly price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | |
| Pro | $10/mo | $15 a month month-to-month, or $10 a month billed yearly ($126 a year) |
| Pro+ | $18/mo | $25 a month month-to-month, or $18 a month billed yearly ($210 a year) |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom quote, billed monthly |
Feature Comparison by Tier
| Feature | Free | Pro | Pro+ | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | $15, or $10 billed yearly | $25, or $18 billed yearly | Custom |
| Contacts | 2,000 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Creator accounts | 3 | 3 | 8 | Custom |
| Automations | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Comment-to-DM and story reply automation | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Automation scheduler | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Follow-up messages and conversation starters | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ask to follow before sending | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Email and phone collection | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI auto reply and AI intent trigger | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| API access | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Team members | Up to 2 | Up to 5 | Up to 10 | Custom |
| Support | Priority live | Priority live + dedicated RM | Live support |
Key Features
- Comment-to-DM Automation: Sends an automated DM the moment someone comments on a post with a chosen keyword, so replies go out within seconds instead of at the end of the day.
- AI Auto-Reply: Extends a single triggered DM into a multi-turn back-and-forth reply sequence, rather than sending one message and stopping.
- Ask-to-Follow Gate: Holds the automated reply until the commenter follows the account first, turning a DM automation into a follower-growth and lead-capture step.
- Backtrack: Applies the same comment-to-DM rules retroactively to any comment posted in the past 7 days, so turning on a new automation doesn't leave older comments unanswered.
- Story & Mention Automation: Triggers an automated DM when someone replies to a Story or mentions the account directly, using the same rule engine as comment automation.
Pros
- Runs on Meta's official Graph API as a Meta Business Partner, rather than automating a browser session - the architectural difference that separates this category from the tools that get accounts restricted.
- Unlimited contacts and unlimited automations on every paid plan, so the bill does not climb with your audience the way subscriber-priced tools do.
- Cheap for the job: $10 a month billed yearly on Pro, against the per-contact pricing of the bigger chat-marketing platforms.
- Sending safety is designed in - queued delays, adaptive rate limiting and a policy scan before a flow goes live.
- No-code setup a solo creator can finish alone, and a flow builder with conditional branching once the simple version stops being enough.
Cons
- Two networks only, Instagram and Facebook. No email, SMS or CRM channel, so anything omnichannel needs another tool.
- The free tier is a trial in practice: no scheduler, no follow-up messages, no conversation starters, no data collection and no AI replies until you pay.
- The privacy policy neither claims nor disclaims training on the conversations it reads and writes on your behalf.
- No SOC 2, no ISO 27001 and no GDPR statement; the operator writes to India's DPDP Act and does not name where data is stored.
- API access is Pro+ only, so integrating it into your own stack costs $18 a month billed yearly rather than $10.
Data Handling
- Trains on your data
- No
- Training-data policy
- The privacy policy makes no claim either way: it does not say customer or subscriber data is used to train AI models, and it does not say it is excluded. Retention is criteria-based - personal data is kept only as long as needed to provide the service or comply with law - and deletion requests are honoured but final. The operator is SpectralHelix Technolabs LLP and the policy is written to India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023; GDPR and SOC 2 are not mentioned. Checked 3 September 2026.
- Data residency
- India-based operator (SpectralHelix Technolabs LLP). The privacy policy says data may be processed and stored in jurisdictions outside India, without naming them, and excludes countries restricted by the Indian government.
- Compliance
- Meta Business Partner · India DPDP Act 2023 · No SOC 2 · No ISO 27001
Frequently Asked Questions
What does LinktoDM cost in 2026?
Free is $0 for 2,000 contacts and 3 creator accounts with unlimited automations, but no scheduler, follow-ups, conversation starters, data collection or AI replies. Pro is $15 a month, or $10 a month billed yearly at $126, and turns all of those on with unlimited contacts. Pro+ is $25 a month, or $18 billed yearly at $210, for 8 creator accounts, API access and a dedicated relationship manager. Enterprise is a custom quote. The pricing page opens on the yearly toggle, so the first number you see is the annual-billed rate.
Is the free plan actually usable?
For one thing: comment-to-DM on a small account. You get unlimited automations against 2,000 contacts across 3 creator accounts, and the basic comment, chat and story-reply triggers. What is missing is everything that makes automation feel less robotic - the scheduler, follow-up messages, conversation starters and both AI features - plus contact export. It is a real trial rather than a working free tier for anyone posting daily.
Will LinktoDM get your Instagram account restricted?
It runs on Meta's official Graph API rather than logging in as you and clicking, and it is a Meta Business Partner, which is the meaningful distinction against tools that automate the browser. On top of that it queues sends with natural delays, throttles the send rate to look organic, and scans a flow against banned terms before it goes live. That is the right architecture, but no vendor can guarantee Meta's enforcement, and volume-heavy blasting is still your own risk.
Does LinktoDM train AI on your DMs?
The privacy policy does not say. It makes no claim that subscriber conversations are used for model training, and no claim that they are excluded - a gap worth noticing given the tool reads and writes messages on your behalf. Retention is criteria-based rather than a fixed window, deletion requests are honoured and final, and the operator is SpectralHelix Technolabs LLP, writing to India's DPDP Act 2023. There is no SOC 2, no ISO 27001 and no GDPR statement.
What are the alternatives to LinktoDM?
ManyChat is the big comparable and the one LinktoDM benchmarks itself against, with broader channel coverage and a price to match. Sprout Social is a different category: publishing, listening and analytics across every network, for teams rather than solo creators. If all you need is a comment on one post to trigger a DM with a link, LinktoDM is the narrow, cheap version of that job - and if you need it across channels or with an approvals workflow, it will not stretch.
Top Alternatives
- Sprout Social: Pick LinktoDM for simple, Instagram-only DM automation; Sprout Social suits teams that need publishing and analytics across every channel.
- Hootsuite: LinktoDM stays focused on Instagram DM automation alone; Hootsuite adds unified publishing and social listening across multiple networks.
- Chatbase: LinktoDM triggers on exact keywords with no AI reasoning; Chatbase trains an actual chatbot on your own docs and deploys it to Instagram alongside Slack and WhatsApp.