We make a paid product, and this page compares it with a free one, so we have every reason to talk you out of the free one. Read it with that in mind. Every claim about Meta's tools below comes from Meta's own help and business pages, checked on 21 October 2026, and the honest answer for a lot of accounts is that the free tools are enough.
Start with the part where we lose
Free from Meta, already in your account
What we do instead
Meta says Business Suite is free to use on desktop and in its mobile app. If most of your messages are "where are you", "what are your hours" and "how much", Meta already answers them at no cost. You do not need us, and you can stop here.
What the free tools actually do
Meta's page on Inbox automations lists the templates above and says they work for Facebook Pages, Instagram business accounts and WhatsApp Business accounts connected to Business Suite. Some come with conditions worth knowing before you build on them.
Custom keywords are desktop only. Each automation takes up to five keywords or phrases. Meta says keywords are case-sensitive and a reply is only sent on an exact match, and the same keyword can only be used in one automation. A keyword reply goes out after 15 minutes unless you answer first. If a template automation such as your away message is triggered by the same message, Meta sends the template and skips the keyword reply.
Comment to message is also desktop only. Meta's setup page describes it as sending a message reply to comments on your posts that contain specific keywords or phrases. Its overview page says the template matches hashtags, and that some automations may not be available depending on which channels you have connected. Neither page describes a public reply posted under the comment itself.
In the Instagram app, business and creator accounts can show up to four frequently asked questions, each with an optional automated answer. Meta notes that a message sent from one of those questions lands in Requests, and you need to accept it before you can reply. Saved replies let you store a message and send it by typing a shortcut, which saves typing but does not send anything by itself.
AI is arriving on Meta's side as well. Instagram's help pages describe AI auto replies from a creator AI built in Meta AI Studio, mobile only and still being introduced gradually. Separately, Meta announced in June 2026 that Meta Business Agent is expanding to Instagram, answering questions in the business's tone. Getting started is free, and Meta says access will move to paid subscriptions in the coming months. Its help pages also say that turning Business Agent on pauses your existing automations.
One more condition from Meta's own setup page: some messaging features are unavailable for businesses in Europe and Japan.
Where the free version runs out
The limits show up as message volume grows. After a busy Reel, people DM "Price", "price?", "how much" and "cost pls". Custom keyword replies match exactly, are case-sensitive, and take five keywords per automation, so you have to list every variant yourself. A 15-minute wait on keyword replies is fine for an inbox you check twice a day. It is slower than the person who messaged expects. For comment to message, Meta's pages we read do not describe the matching rules, so test it on a real post before a launch.
We are built for that comment volume. Comment replies are free and unlimited on every plan, whether templated or written by AI. DMs are free up to 1,000 every 30 days, and Lite removes that cap for $4 a month. One credit buys one AI reply in your voice. The free tier includes 100 credits with no card, and packs start at $3.99 for 1,000. The full table is on our pricing page.
AI is where the comparison is least settled. If you want a model answering your DMs, Meta's Business Agent is free to start on Instagram, and trying it first costs you nothing. The help and news pages we read do not give its price once the paid subscriptions arrive. Three things are different on our side. Our AI learns your voice from your own past replies. Each reply has a published price of one credit. And every reply passes the same sixteen checks, with the reason shown in Activity whenever one is held. Whether that is worth paying for depends on how much of your inbox still needs a model after Meta's templates have done their part.
The free tools answer the questions you can predict. The decision is how much of your inbox you can't.
Rules that apply to tools like ours
Third-party tools such as ours reach Instagram through Meta's messaging API, and Meta's developer pages set the terms. A DM can go out within 24 hours of the person's last message. A private reply to a comment is one message, sent within 7 days of the comment. Nobody sells an exception, and we explain the details in is Instagram DM automation safe.
Inside those rules, ours runs sixteen checks in a fixed order before anything is sent. They cover the kill switch, connection, takeover, auto-reply switch, complaint pause, messaging window, dedupe, burst, bot loop, cooldown, quiet hours, account rate limit, Instagram rate budget, Free DM cap, credits and content safety. The first one that fails stops the send and records the reason in Activity.
Try the free thing first
- 01
Turn on Meta's templates
Instant reply, away message and your four most common questions. It takes ten minutes and costs nothing.
- 02
Add keyword replies on desktop
Include the capitalised and misspelt versions people actually type.
- 03
Run it for two weeks
Then read what went unanswered, or got answered late.
- 04
Only then try a tool
Point it at the gap, usually Reel comments, and leave Meta's automations on everything else.
If the gap is small, stay with Meta. If you are coming from a paid tool and weighing options, read what to check in a ManyChat alternative first. How we source pages like this one is in our methodology.