HighLevel for Instagram DM automation
Updated:
Agency-oriented CRM and marketing platform whose workflow builder includes Instagram comment and DM triggers and an Instagram Interactive Messenger action. Plans are flat-priced per agency with unlimited contacts and users, plus usage-based AI and telephony charges. Comment-to-DM costs $97 a month for 1,000 contacts and $97 for 10,000 on monthly billing.
- 1K contacts
- $97
- 10K contacts
- $97
- Free plan
- No
- Billing
- Flat price
- Meta status
- Official API
- Type
- Agency platform
Instagram features
| Feature | HighLevel |
|---|---|
| Send a DM when someone comments | Yes |
| Keyword triggers | Yes |
| Public reply under the comment | Yes |
| Auto-reply to incoming DMs | Yes |
| Trigger on replies to your stories | No |
| Trigger on story mentions | No |
| Trigger on live video comments | No |
| Message new followers | No |
| Multi-step flow builder | Yes |
| Broadcast messages | No |
| AI agent that replies on its own | Paid add-on |
| Hand the chat to a person | No |
| Shared team inbox | Yes |
Pricing
| Plan | Per month | Contacts included | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $97 | Yes | |
| Unlimited | $297 | Yes | |
| Agency Pro | $497 | Yes | |
| Enterprise | Sales quote | Yes |
Free plan. No free plan. 14-day free trial on any plan. Billing begins automatically at trial end unless canceled.
Trial. 14-day free trial on any plan, full access to the chosen tier. Usage-based fees for telecommunications or third-party services may apply during the trial.
The 1,000 and 10,000 contact figures use the cheapest plan that includes comment-to-DM, on monthly billing. The method is on how we compare.
Meta status
- Uses the official Instagram API
- Yes
- Claims Meta Business Partner status
- No
- Listing confirmed in Meta's partner directory
- No
CRM and payments
- Built-in CRM
- Yes
- Payment links
- Yes
- Take payment inside the chat
- No
Payment providers. Stripe, PayPal, NMI, Authorize.net, Square, Adyen, Razorpay.
Channels and AI
Channels. Instagram, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, SMS, Email, Website chat.
- AI agent
- Paid add-on
AI providers. OpenAI.
Three AI plans per sub-account (location): Pay-Per-Use (no subscription, Conversation AI at token cost, Reviews AI $0.01/review, Content AI $0.063/image and $0.0945/1,000 words), AI Employee Growth $50/month (1,000 Conversation AI agent responses, 100 Voice AI minutes, unlimited Reviews/Content AI), AI Employee Unlimited $97/month (unlimited Conversation AI and Voice AI subject to fair use). Workflow AI, Funnel AI and Email AI are free. The comment-automation guide also offers a 'ChatGPT by OpenAI' workflow action. Prices are stated as subject to change (help article modified 28 Sep 2026).
Reviews elsewhere
We do not publish our own star ratings. These are the public scores we could read in October 2026.
| Site | Score | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Capterra (opens in a new tab) | Rated 4.2 out of 5 | 89 |
| G2 (opens in a new tab) | Rated 4.6 out of 5 | 650 |
| Trustpilot (opens in a new tab) | Could not be read | |
Strengths and limits
Where it is strong
- Flat agency pricing with unlimited contacts and users: Instagram comment-to-DM automation is available from the $97/month Starter plan with no per-contact tax.
- Comment automation is a full workflow: Instagram comment trigger with 'Contains Phrase' or 'Exact Match' keyword filters, public 'Reply In Comments' action, and an Instagram Interactive Messenger action with buttons, quick replies, attachments and branching.
- Instagram conversations land in the same CRM as pipelines, calendars, payments and invoicing, email and SMS, so a DM lead can be tagged, moved through a pipeline or booked without another tool.
- 14-day free trial on any tier and month-to-month billing with no long-term contract.
Where it falls short
- Built for agencies: the sub-account model, SaaS Mode and rebilling features are the product's focus. Starter is capped at 3 sub-accounts and API access starts at the $297 plan.
- AI replies cost extra: Conversation AI is pay-per-use at token cost or $50-$97/month per sub-account, on top of the platform subscription.
- Instagram DMs can only be sent within 24 hours of the contact's last DM or as a reply to a recent comment (vendor doc), so there is no Instagram broadcast capability.
- Usage-based wallet billing for SMS, phone numbers, email and some workflow premium features adds variable cost. WhatsApp is a $10/month per sub-account add-on.
- Story reply, story mention, live comment and follow triggers are not documented in the fetched Instagram workflow articles.
Skip it if you are a solo creator who only wants a cheap Instagram DM tool and does not need a CRM, funnels or client sub-accounts. Or if you need Instagram-specific growth triggers (story replies, story mentions, live comments, follows) that are documented and supported. Or if you want predictable all-in pricing without managing a usage wallet for AI, SMS and email.