Free comment-to-DM
a keyword in the comments, a link in their inbox.

How comment-to-DM works

1. 1

   Pick the post or reel

   Connect Instagram via Meta's official OAuth — no password sharing. Creator Lane pulls your recent posts and reels; pick the one with the call-to-action comment.

2. 2

   Set the trigger keyword

   "LINK", "GUIDE", "RECIPE", "ME" — whatever you ask people to comment. Match any keyword, all keywords, or an exact phrase. Case-insensitive by default.

3. 3

   Write the DM that fires

   Up to 1,000 characters. Use {name} or {username} for personalization. Live phone preview shows exactly what lands in the commenter's inbox. Attach a tracking link for click-through analytics.

4. 4

   Arm it — and stay free

   The next time someone comments your keyword, the DM goes out within seconds via Instagram's Private Replies API. No monthly cost, no per-DM cost, no watermark on the message. Ever.

What keyword should you ask for?

The keyword is the whole funnel. Put a clear "comment ___ and I'll DM you" line in your caption and on-screen, pick a short word people can't fat-finger, and match it to what you're sending. A few that work:

Tip: keep it to one word, all caps in your caption so it stands out, and tell people exactly what they'll get back. Vague CTAs ("comment below!") convert far worse than "comment LINK for the full guide." And the keyword doesn't have to be English — any language or script works. दाम triggers exactly like PRICE, and your DM copy can be Hindi, Hinglish, Tamil, whatever your audience comments in.

What you get vs typical free comment-to-DM tools

Frequently asked

Is comment-to-DM really free, with no cap?

Yes. Unlimited keyword-triggered DMs, no card, no trial expiry, no watermark on the outgoing message. Comment-to-DM stays free forever for individual creators — we make money on the brand-deals marketplace cut and optional team/agency tiers later, never by paywalling the automation you set up today. See /why-free for the full reasoning.

How does the comment trigger actually work?

When someone comments on your post, Instagram sends a webhook to Creator Lane. We match the comment text against your keyword rules. If it matches, we queue a DM through Meta's Private Replies API — which only opens a 7-day window after a public comment. That's why fast delivery matters, and why we never miss one inside the window.

Can I run multiple keywords on the same post?

Yes. Add as many keyword automations as you want per post — each with its own DM. Use match mode "any" if any single word should trigger, "all" if every word must appear, or "exact" for a precise phrase. No per-post limit on the free tier.

Will comment-to-DM automation get my account banned?

Honest answer: no tool can promise you'll never be banned — Instagram bans accounts for reasons no third party controls. What Creator Lane controls is not adding to your account's violation history, four ways: (1) DMs go out through a human-paced queue inside per-account rate limits — throttled sends re-queue and deliver later, never blast; (2) DM message variants rotate and public comment replies are randomized, so nothing reads copy-pasted; (3) links are delivered behind a button tap instead of raw URLs blasted in a first message; (4) builder guardrails flag policy-risky copy — engagement-bait phrasing — before a campaign can activate. All of it runs on Meta's official Graph API and Private Replies endpoint. No scraping, no automation against the consumer app.

Can it collect emails or phone numbers in the DM?

Yes. Every automation supports journey gates that fire in order — follow, then email, then phone. Each gate asks right in the DM thread (e.g. "+ Ask for their email") before the final message with the link goes out. No landing page needed. Captured emails and phones live in the Leads tab of your dashboard with one-click CSV export — your list is yours.

How fast does the DM hit their inbox?

Within seconds. Instagram's Private Replies API has a small enforced minimum delay (around 10 seconds) before delivery — that's Meta's rule, not something we add. After that, the message lands instantly. We queue and pace inside per-account rate limits so a viral reel with 5,000 commenters doesn't drop a single DM.

What account type do I need?

An Instagram Business or Creator account connected to a Facebook page. Personal accounts can't use the comment-to-DM API — that's a Meta restriction across every tool, not ours. Switching from Personal to Creator is free and takes about 30 seconds in the IG mobile app.

What happens to the same person commenting twice?

We dedupe per (commenter, post, account) — they get one DM per post no matter how many times they comment the keyword. If they comment the same keyword on a different post, that's a separate trigger.

Comparing all comment-to-DM tools? See Comment-to-DM Tools for Instagram — The Complete List (2026). Or browse all ManyChat alternatives.