SendPulse alternatives for Instagram: active-contact billing, more triggers and flat prices in 2026
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Most people who look past SendPulse want billing that ignores inactive subscribers, or a trigger for replies to their stories. ManyChat covers both: it charges only for active contacts and documents every Instagram trigger we track, at $39 a month for 1,000. If the goal is a lower bill, Chatfuel’s comment-to-DM is free.
Why people leave SendPulse
Billing comes first. SendPulse counts every subscriber stored in your bots, including people who have not written in months. There is no 1,000 tier either, so an account that size pays $22 a month for the 2,000 tier. A giveaway that brings in thousands of one-time commenters keeps costing money after it ends.
Instagram triggers are the second reason. SendPulse’s help center documents comment triggers for posts and live videos. Story mentions are covered too. It does not describe one for replies to your own stories or for new followers, and creators whose audience answers stories feel that gap.
Some people simply want less software. SendPulse is a marketing suite. Its chatbots share one account with email campaigns, SMS, online courses and landing pages, so the interface holds far more than a DM tool needs.
Leaving has a cost. SendPulse includes a built-in CRM and payment buttons in the chat through 13 providers. Only SleekFlow below confirms both, and it costs $189 a month at 1,000 contacts.
Side by side
| Tool | 1K contacts | 10K contacts | Free plan | Comment-to-DM | Meta status | Built-in CRM | Payments in chat | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 SendPulse for reference |
$22 | $74 | Yes | Yes | Business Partner | Yes | Yes | Rated 4.4 out of 52,870 reviews (opens in a new tab) |
 ManyChat |
$39 | $162 | Yes | Yes | Business Partner | No | Yes | Rated 2.1 out of 5305 reviews (opens in a new tab) |
 Chatfuel |
Free | Free | Yes | Yes | Business Partner | Yes | No | Rated 3.2 out of 514 reviews (opens in a new tab) |
 InstantDM |
$12 | $12 | Yes | Yes | Business Partner | Yes | No | Rated 4.3 out of 528 reviews (opens in a new tab) |
 Kommo |
$35 | $45 | No | Yes | Business Partner | Yes | No | Rated 2.3 out of 560 reviews (opens in a new tab) |
 SleekFlow |
$189 | Quote only | No | Yes | Business Partner | Yes | Yes | No score |
 ReplyRush |
Free | $25 | Yes | Yes | Business Partner | No | No | Rated 4.5 out of 524 reviews (opens in a new tab) |
1. ManyChat
Best for: paying only for active contacts
- 1K contacts
- $39
- 10K contacts
- $162
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- Rated 2.1 out of 5
What you gain. ManyChat bills only for the people who interacted with you that month, so followers from an old giveaway cost nothing. Its help center documents every Instagram trigger we track, including story replies and live comments, plus a follow-to-DM beta that Meta opens account by account.
What you give up. It costs more at both sizes: $39 a month at 1,000 active contacts and $162 at 10,000. Payments run through a Buy Button for Stripe or PayPal with a $100 item limit, and ManyChat’s pages describe CRM only as an integration.
Full profile of ManyChat ManyChat vs SendPulse ManyChat pricing (opens in a new tab)
2. Chatfuel
Best for: free comment-to-DM and a flat price
- 1K contacts
- Free
- 10K contacts
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- Rated 3.2 out of 5
What you gain. Chatfuel’s comment autoreply is free with no stated contact limit. The Business plan is $20 a month with unlimited contacts and teammates, and Chatfuel documents a trigger for story replies.
What you give up. Chatfuel’s help center says payment processors such as Stripe and PayPal cannot be connected. AI replies draw on a monthly credit wallet, and Business covers one bot.
Full profile of Chatfuel SendPulse vs Chatfuel Chatfuel pricing (opens in a new tab)
3. InstantDM
Best for: a flat price with story and follower triggers
- 1K contacts
- $12
- 10K contacts
- $12
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- Rated 4.3 out of 5
What you gain. Legend Pro is $12 a month whatever your contact count. InstantDM documents triggers for story replies and live comments. It can also message new followers.
What you give up. It covers Instagram and Facebook only, so WhatsApp and email stay behind. The flow editor and AI agent need Trendsetter at $30, and the company was founded in 2025.
Full profile of InstantDM InstantDM pricing (opens in a new tab)
4. Kommo
Best for: a sales team that works from a CRM pipeline
- 1K contacts
- $35
- 10K contacts
- $45
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- Rated 2.3 out of 5
What you gain. Kommo is a full sales CRM with Instagram and WhatsApp chats inside it. Every conversation becomes a lead in a pipeline, and each plan includes monthly AI credits.
What you give up. Billing is per user, from $35 a month for the plan with comment automation, and six months are paid up front. There is no free plan, and Kommo’s pages do not describe payments inside the chat.
5. SleekFlow
Best for: keeping CRM and payments in the chat
- 1K contacts
- $189
- 10K contacts
- Quote only
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- No score
What you gain. SleekFlow is the one tool here that confirms a built-in CRM and payments in the chat, through Stripe and Shopify. It documents story-reply and live comment triggers, and it bills by monthly active contacts.
What you give up. The price. Pro at 1,000 active contacts is $189 a month, and the published tiers stop at 8,000 contacts. The pricing page lists no free plan.
Full profile of SleekFlow SleekFlow pricing (opens in a new tab)
6. ReplyRush
Best for: cheap comment-to-DM for a single account
- 1K contacts
- Free
- 10K contacts
- $25
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- Rated 4.5 out of 5
What you gain. The free plan sends 1,500 DMs a month. Lite at $10 adds a follow-gated DM, and Boost at $25 covers 40,000 DMs a month.
What you give up. There is no AI agent and no shared inbox. DMs carry ReplyRush branding until the Boost plan.
Full profile of ReplyRush ReplyRush pricing (opens in a new tab)
Which one to switch to
You want to pay only for people who are active. Switch to ManyChat.
You want a story-reply or new-follower trigger. Pick ManyChat, or InstantDM for a flat price.
You want the lowest bill. Start with Chatfuel, whose comment-to-DM is free.
Your sales team works from a pipeline. Look at Kommo.
You sell inside the chat. Few tools match SendPulse here. SleekFlow does, at a much higher price.
Questions people ask
Is there a cheaper alternative to SendPulse?
Yes, if you can live without payments in the chat. Chatfuel’s comment-to-DM is free, InstantDM’s Legend Pro is a flat $12 a month, and ReplyRush’s free plan sends 1,500 DMs a month. At 10,000 contacts SendPulse costs $74 a month.
Which SendPulse alternative bills by active contacts?
ManyChat and SleekFlow count only the people who interacted with you in the month, and respond.io bills the same way. SendPulse counts every subscriber stored in your bots.
Which SendPulse alternatives take payments in Instagram DMs?
ManyChat takes payments through a Buy Button connected to Stripe or PayPal. SleekFlow connects Stripe and Shopify. Chatfuel’s help center says it cannot connect a payment processor.