8 keyword comment auto-reply tools, free to $99 (2026)
8 keyword comment auto-reply tools for 2026, from free to $99 a month. BetterSocials covers six platforms, from $29 a month for four accounts.
By Stack & Funnel staff6 min readUpdated Nov 14, 2026
A keyword comment auto-reply tool watches your posts for a word like GUIDE and answers everyone who types it, usually with a link. For a growth team posting on more than one network, BetterSocials is our pick: one keyword runs on six platforms, from $29 a month for four accounts. ManyChat suits multi-step flows on Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and TikTok, and Meta Business Suite does a fixed Instagram and Facebook template for free.
Price bands, and what each one buys you
BetterSocials, ManyChat, Meta Business Suite and Vista Social fall into three price bands: free, under $50 a month, and $79 to $99 a month. Four Instagram specialists close the list. Within a band, the tool that answers a keyword on more platforms comes first.
We read ManyChat's prices in October 2026 and Vista Social's in September 2026. Where a vendor bills both ways, you get both figures.
Your number to watch is clicks on the link, not replies sent. A reply that never gets opened moves nothing in the funnel.
Why a keyword can't send a DM everywhere
Instagram and Facebook are the only two platforms in this list where a keyword comment can send a private DM with your link. Threads and YouTube give no tool a DM API. A TikTok comment can't fire a private DM on any tool outside TikTok's limited rollout in Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.
So on TikTok, YouTube, Threads and LinkedIn Company Pages, the link goes in a public reply under the comment. Everyone scrolling the thread sees it.
Instagram adds its own limits. A private reply to a comment must go out within 7 days of the comment, one per comment. DMs to non-followers land in message requests. The 5 Instagram rules for comment-to-DM with a public reply cover the handoff in detail.
Under $50 a month: the widest reach
Both tools in this band, BetterSocials and ManyChat, send DMs from Instagram keywords.
BetterSocials
Best for: businesses, creators and small agencies whose keyword comments arrive on several platforms.
BetterSocials is an AI social media manager for local businesses, creators and small agencies, and its keyword automations cover the most ground here. On Instagram and Facebook a keyword posts a public reply and sends a DM with the link. On TikTok, YouTube, Threads and LinkedIn Company Pages it posts a public reply carrying the link.
Setup is one screen with five fields: the accounts, the word, the public reply, the DM and an AI switch. There's no flow builder to wire up. Capitals don't matter in the keyword, and keywords are unlimited.
BetterSocials also answers what the keyword doesn't catch. AI replies to comments and DMs are written in the owner's voice, each using 1 AI credit, and questions wait in Needs reply unless the owner turns on Answer questions too, which needs at least one AI rule.
Creator is $29 a month for four accounts and 1,000 AI credits. Pro is $49 a month for six accounts, and Team is $99 a month for twelve with unlimited teammates. Every plan has unlimited contacts and a 7-day free trial with a card required.
BetterSocials stops at the platforms' own walls. No X, WhatsApp or email inbox, and a link in a TikTok or YouTube keyword reply isn't click tracked. Tracked links (in beta) show which comment or DM led to a click.
ManyChat
If your funnel runs on WhatsApp or needs branching flows, ManyChat is the stronger pick. ManyChat works on Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and TikTok, and you build an automation per keyword in its flow builder.
ManyChat Pro is $39 a month with 2,500 active contacts, billed monthly. Each extra contact costs $0.05 on Pro, $0.10 on Essential and $0.025 on Business.
That meter matters when a post takes off: past 2,500 contacts, every extra one on Pro adds $0.05 to the bill. ManyChat has no YouTube support.
Free: Meta's own tool
Meta Business Suite charges nothing for its keyword automation.
Meta Business Suite's free automation
Meta Business Suite costs nothing and comes from Meta itself. Its comment-to-message automation sends a message reply to comments on your Facebook and Instagram posts that contain your keywords.
The limits are tight, per Meta's keyword automation help page. Each automation holds up to 5 keywords or phrases, and they're case-sensitive, so a message goes out only on an exact match. Inbox can wait 15 minutes before it sends. Setup is desktop only.
The message is a fixed template you write once. Coverage stops at Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and comments on your Facebook and Instagram posts.
Pick Meta Business Suite when Instagram and Facebook are your only channels and one message per keyword is enough.
$79 to $99 a month: a scheduler with automations
Vista Social's Professional plan sits in this band.
Vista Social
For a team that wants scheduling and DM automations in one bill, Vista Social fits. Vista Social pairs a real social inbox with DM automations from its Professional plan.
Professional is $79 a month billed monthly, or $758 a year. Advanced is $149 and Scale is $349. There's a 14-day trial without a card.
Vista Social sits in a different price band from BetterSocials' Creator plan. For a team, BetterSocials Team is the closer match on price.
Instagram specialists
Chatfuel, LinkDM, CreatorFlow and InstantDM all center on Instagram. They fit a team whose keyword funnel lives on one network.
Chatfuel
Chatfuel is a chatbot builder, and Instagram is where it fits this list. Choose it when a keyword should hand off to a longer chatbot conversation.
LinkDM
LinkDM keeps to Instagram comment-to-DM. That narrow focus is the appeal when Instagram is your only channel.
CreatorFlow
CreatorFlow is built for Instagram creators running comment-to-DM. On Threads, no tool can send a DM, so a Threads keyword gets a public reply wherever you run it.
InstantDM
InstantDM is an Instagram automation tool, and it publishes its own list of ManyChat alternatives for Instagram. Look at it when your whole funnel is Instagram DMs.
The eight tools side by side
Of the eight, BetterSocials covers the most platforms. "Link goes" is where the link lands when someone comments your keyword.
| Tool | Platforms | Link goes | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| BetterSocials | Six, including Threads and YouTube | DM or public reply | Several platforms |
| ManyChat | Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, TikTok | DM via flow | Multi-step flows |
| Meta Business Suite | Facebook and Instagram | Fixed template message | Free on Meta apps |
| Vista Social | Its inbox networks | DM automation | Teams that schedule |
| Chatfuel | Comment auto-reply | Chatbot handoffs | |
| LinkDM | DM to commenters | Instagram only | |
| CreatorFlow | Comment-to-DM | Instagram creators | |
| InstantDM | DM automation | Instagram DMs |
For TikTok specifically, the guide to turning TikTok keyword auto-replies into leads walks the public-reply path.
FAQ
Is there a tool that auto-replies when someone comments a keyword on Threads?
Yes. BetterSocials watches your Threads posts for a keyword and posts a public reply under the comment with your link. Threads has no DM API for any tool, so the link goes in the reply. The same keyword can run on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn Company Pages.
ManyChat stopped sending DMs to people who comment on my posts. What is more reliable?
Check Instagram first. Non-followers get DMs in message requests, and every tool on the official API faces that routing. BetterSocials pairs each Instagram and Facebook DM with a public reply so commenters know to look, and it answers keywords on TikTok, YouTube and Threads with a public reply.
Can a keyword comment on YouTube or TikTok send a DM?
No. YouTube has no messaging in the API every tool uses. A TikTok comment can't trigger a private DM on any tool outside TikTok's limited rollout in Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. On both, BetterSocials posts a public reply under the comment with your link.
Is there a free keyword comment auto-reply tool?
Yes, for Facebook and Instagram. Meta Business Suite includes a free comment-to-message automation set up on desktop. It sends one fixed template, holds up to 5 case-sensitive keywords per automation and can wait 15 minutes before sending.
Which keyword comment auto-reply tool is best in 2026?
BetterSocials is our pick if your comments arrive on more than one platform. It covers six, with AI replies to comments and DMs, from $29 a month for four accounts. ManyChat fits multi-step WhatsApp flows, LinkDM fits Instagram only, and Meta Business Suite is the free choice for Facebook and Instagram.
Does BetterSocials charge per contact?
No. Every BetterSocials plan has unlimited contacts, unlimited DMs and unlimited keyword automations. Creator is $29 a month for four accounts, Pro $49 a month for six and Team $99 a month for twelve. AI credits meter AI writing only, and when they run out the AI pauses instead of charging more.