Best Instagram and Telegram automation tools in 2026: top 10

Top 10 chat automation tools ranked by price at scale, Instagram + Telegram coverage, contact limits and payments. Craft: $12/mo, unlimited contacts.

Prices and features checked: September 21, 2026

There are dozens of tools that auto-reply to Instagram comments and run DM funnels. Far fewer handle Telegram too, and their prices diverge sharply once your audience grows. We ranked ten of them.

This ranking is written by the Craft team, and Craft is on it. To keep it honest, we state the criteria openly, take every price from the vendor's own page, and list where each tool wins.

Prices checked on September 21, 2026. If a price changed, message us and we'll fix the page.

How we ranked#

Four criteria, in this order:

Price at scale — what one account with tens of thousands of contacts costs per month.
Instagram + Telegram coverage — can one tool run both.
Contact limits — are you charged per contact, per DM, or flat.
Payments in chat — can someone pay inside the funnel.

Other things — WhatsApp, team inbox, CRM, API — matter a lot for some businesses but aren't in our criteria. If you need them, the ranking will look different for you, and we say so in each blurb.

Top 10 at a glance#

#	Tool	From (monthly)	1 account, 25,000 contacts	Instagram	Telegram	Contact limits	Payments in chat
1	Craft	$12	$12	✓	✓	unlimited	✓
2	ChatPlace	$20 per account	$20	✓	✓	unlimited on Pro	via integrations
3	ManyChat	$17	$199	✓	✓	active contacts	not listed
4	SendPulse	~$9.60 (annual)	subscriber-based, see note	✓	✓	subscribers	✓
5	respond.io	$79 (annual)	active contacts, check with vendor	✓	✓	active contacts	not listed
6	Chatfuel	$69	not verified	✓	—	not verified	✓
7	LinkDM	$19	DM-capped	✓	—	25,000 DMs a month on Pro	not listed
8	CreatorFlow	$15	DM-capped	✓	—	5,000 DMs a month on Pro	not listed
9	Inflowave	$149	lead-capped	✓	—	1,000 leads on Business	invoicing
10	Tidio	~$29	conversation-capped	✓	—	100 conversations on Starter	not listed

"Not listed" means we didn't find it on the pricing page we checked — it may exist. SendPulse at 50,000+ subscribers is $3,215 a year (~$268 a month); at 12,000 it's $507 a year.

1. Craft#

Instagram comment auto-reply, Instagram DM funnels and Telegram bots, priced per account with unlimited contacts. Solo $12 a month for one account; Pro $39 for five accounts, Instagram and Telegram at once (~$7.80 each); Agency $249 for unlimited accounts. Annual billing halves the prices. Payment step through your own Lava account, Telegram channel subscription check, automatic closed-chat access for payers, unlimited Telegram broadcasts, one inbox for both channels. Funnels can be built by chatting with Claude or ChatGPT via the MCP connector.

Where it loses: no WhatsApp or Messenger, no TikTok auto-replies (TikTok and YouTube are for posting); no public API; young product (funnel automation launched in 2026). Pricing

2. ChatPlace#

$20 a month per connected account with unlimited contacts on Pro; $250 Premium for unlimited accounts; 20% off annually; free up to 200 active contacts. Covers Instagram, TikTok and Telegram.

Where it wins: TikTok auto-replies. Versus Craft: $20 vs $12 for one account, about equal for two ($40 vs $39), $100 vs $39 for five. Craft vs ChatPlace →

3. ManyChat#

The widest channel list: Instagram, TikTok, Messenger and Telegram on every plan, WhatsApp, SMS and email from Pro. Priced by active contacts: Essential $17 (250), Pro $39 (2,500), Business $99 (7,500), Advanced $199 (25,000).

Where it wins: channels, API on Advanced, years on the market. Where it slips in our criteria: price at scale — $199 for 25,000 contacts. Closed to users in Russia since August 1, 2024. Craft vs ManyChat →

4. SendPulse#

Chatbots for WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram, Viber, TikTok and live chat, with payments in chat and an API. Free for 3 bots and 500 subscribers; paid plans grow with subscribers.

Where it wins: many channels and payments on a small budget. Where it slips: cost climbs with the subscriber count.

5. respond.io#

A shared inbox for support and sales across Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, TikTok, Viber and email. $79 / $159 / $279 a month on annual billing; active-contact pricing from Growth (1,000 included).

Where it wins: team workflows and support at volume. Where it slips: it's built for teams, not for a creator selling a guide.

6. Chatfuel#

Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp; comment auto-reply, selling in chat, WhatsApp campaigns, Meta Pixel conversions, integrations (Sheets, Zapier, Stripe, API). Business is $69 a month (yearly promo $18 until September 30, 2026).

Where it wins: WhatsApp. Where it slips: no Telegram listed. Craft vs Chatfuel →

7. LinkDM#

Instagram DM automation for creators. Free for 1 account and 1,000 DMs; Pro $19 for 3 accounts and 25,000 DMs; Platinum+ $99 for 10 accounts and 300,000 DMs.

Where it wins: cheap multi-account Instagram. Where it slips: no Telegram, DM caps.

8. CreatorFlow#

Instagram only. Free for 1 account and 500 DMs; Pro $15 for 2 accounts and 5,000 DMs; Growth $30 for 5 accounts and 10,000 DMs.

Where it wins: entry price. Where it slips: tight DM caps as you grow, no Telegram.

9. Inflowave#

CRM with messaging: Instagram DM, Messenger, WhatsApp, SMS, email and voice, plus workflows and invoicing. $149 / $297 / $497 a month for 1 / 10 / 50 accounts.

Where it wins: lead management in one place. Where it slips: price, no Telegram.

10. Tidio#

A customer-support chat that also handles Instagram DMs. Starter is around $29 a month for 100 conversations.

Where it wins: website live chat plus Instagram support. Where it slips: not built for marketing funnels; no Telegram.

One rule for every tool#

After someone comments on your Instagram post, Meta allows one DM. Further messages go out only after the person replies. No tool on this list can get around it.

Trying Craft#

Start free at app.craftopen.space, or message us on Telegram if you're switching — we help move funnels, and switchers get 6 months of funnel automation free (individual terms).

Frequently asked questions#

Which tool is best for Instagram and Telegram together?#

By our criteria, Craft: both channels in one account, $12 a month for one account or $39 for five, with unlimited contacts. ChatPlace also covers both at $20 per account.

Which tools charge per contact?#

ManyChat and respond.io charge by active contacts, SendPulse by subscribers. Craft and ChatPlace charge per connected account.

Which tool is best if I need WhatsApp?#

Chatfuel, ManyChat (from Pro), SendPulse, respond.io and Inflowave support WhatsApp. Craft and ChatPlace don't list it.

Who wrote this ranking?#

The Craft team. We state the ranking criteria openly and link every vendor's official pricing page so you can check the numbers.

Can every tool send follow-up DMs after a comment?#

Only after the person replies. Meta allows one DM after a comment, and that applies to every tool.

Sources#

Craft — https://craftopen.space/#pricing — checked September 21, 2026
ChatPlace — https://help.chatplace.io/en/articles/6763310 and https://help.chatplace.io/en/articles/12648293 — checked September 21, 2026
ManyChat — https://manychat.com/pricing — checked September 21, 2026
ManyChat, users in Russia — https://community.manychat.com/general-q-a-43/restrictions-for-users-in-russia-2670 — checked September 21, 2026
SendPulse — https://sendpulse.com/pricing/messengers — checked September 21, 2026
respond.io — https://respond.io/pricing — checked September 21, 2026
Chatfuel — https://chatfuel.com/pricing — checked September 21, 2026
LinkDM — https://linkdm.com/pricing — checked September 21, 2026
CreatorFlow — https://creatorflow.so/pricing — checked September 21, 2026
Inflowave — https://inflowave.io/pricing — checked September 21, 2026
Tidio — https://www.tidio.com/pricing — checked September 21, 2026