TL;DR
- A free plan is common; a free trial of the paid plan is not. Of the 15 tools below, 13 have a free plan; besides ViralDM, only 7 let you try a paid plan free, for 7 or 14 days.
- ViralDM gives its paid Starter plan free for 30 days, with no card. When the month ends you are not charged: the account moves to the Free plan, which stays free forever.
- Read the card rule. ManyChat's trial asks you to save a card and renews into a paid plan; CreatorFlow's trial needs a card too; Linktree's Pro trial "auto renews into paid plan".
- Disclosure: we make ViralDM and it is listed first. Every other tool is described from its own website, with the date we read it.
Almost every Instagram auto-DM tool says "free". It usually means a free plan: one account, a monthly DM allowance, a branding line, a few automations. That is useful, but it is not the product you would pay for. A free trial lets you run the paid plan — AI replies, more accounts, the features you are actually deciding on — before any money moves.
This page answers one question for each tool: can you try the paid plan free, for how long, and do you need a card? We also say whether there is a forever-free plan and what the cheapest paid plan costs, because that is what you pay once a trial ends.
How we checked
We read each tool's own pricing page and help centre on 26 October 2026 (BotHelp, CreatorFlow and FlowDM on 15 October 2026, for our comparison pages). We did not sign up or enter a card anywhere. When a tool's own pages say different things, we quote both. "No trial on their site" means the pricing page and help centre do not mention one — not that it can never exist. Prices change; check the tool's pricing page on the day you decide.
The comparison
| Tool | Free trial of a paid plan | Card for the trial | Forever-free plan | Cheapest paid plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ViralDM | 30 days of Starter, AI replies, API and MCP included | No card; no automatic charge after | Yes: unlimited DMs, 1 automation | Starter ₹499/mo |
| ManyChat | 14 days of Essential or Pro (their help centre describes Pro only) | Card saved; renews into the paid plan | Yes: 25 contacts | Essential $14/mo billed yearly |
| BotHelp | 14 days with every feature | Not on their pricing page | No free plan on their site | From $18/mo for 1,000 subscribers |
| CreatorFlow | 14 days | Card required | Yes: 500 DMs a month | Pro $15/mo ($12 yearly) |
| FlowDM | 14 days | Not on their pricing page | Yes: 1,000 DMs a month | Pro ₹299/mo |
| Chatfuel | 7 days, full access | Their pricing page says no card; their help centre says you enter card details | No free plan | Business US$20/mo (US$18 yearly) |
| InstantDM | 7 days on paid plans | Their FAQ ties "no card" to the Free plan only | Yes: 500 DMs a month | Legend Pro $9.99/mo billed yearly |
| Linktree | 7 days of Pro or Premium (not Starter) | Not stated; "auto renews into paid plan" | Yes: 1,000 auto-DMs a month | Starter ₹405/mo (₹256.67 yearly) |
| SuperProfile | No trial; the first month of Creator costs ₹99, then ₹499 | Paid, so yes | Yes: unlimited AutoDMs on Reels and posts | Creator ₹99 first month, then ₹499/mo |
| QuickDM | A "7-day Pro free" badge sits on the free card; their FAQ calls the free tier the trial | No card to start | Yes: unlimited automations at 20 DMs an hour | Pro Growth ₹399/mo |
| Zorcha | No trial on their site | — | Yes: unlimited automations and DMs | Pro ₹1,199/mo (₹799 yearly) |
| DMGO | No trial on their site (a 3-day refund window) | — | Yes: 1,000 DMs a month | Growth ₹199/mo (₹149 yearly) |
| LinkDM | No trial on their site | — | Yes: 1,000 DMs a month | Pro $19/mo |
| ReplyKaro | No trial on their site ("use the free plan to test") | — | Yes: 3 automations, 1,000 DMs a month | Starter Pack ₹99/mo |
| Creator Lane | None — their pricing page says "No trial" | — | Yes: 2 live automations | Pro ₹199/mo + GST |
Repli and CreatorTag also have free plans and no trial on their sites (Repli Creator ₹249/mo; CreatorTag Plus ₹299/mo).
What you get in ViralDM's free month
Every new account starts on Starter, free for 30 days. There is no card step, so nothing can renew by itself. During the month you have:
- Unlimited automations and keywords, and unlimited DMs, on 2 Instagram accounts.
- Comment-to-DM on Reels and posts, story replies, DM keywords, Live comments, shares and story mentions.
- AI replies in the follower's own language — 9 Indian languages and English — from your price list and FAQ.
- UPI payments inside the DM with the screenshot checked, a store at 0% commission, booking and sequences.
- The developer API and the MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT (after the trial, Starter keeps MCP; the API is on Growth).
When the month ends, the account moves to the Free plan: one Instagram account, unlimited DMs and one automation, free forever. Extra automations are paused, never deleted; choose a plan and you can switch them back on. To keep Starter, it is ₹499 a month, or 10 months' price for a year. One free month is given per Instagram account.
Which one should you pick?
- You want to test the paid features without a card: ViralDM (30 days). InstantDM's 7 days may also work without one.
- You only need basic auto-replies forever: a free plan is enough — Zorcha and QuickDM give unlimited automations free; ViralDM and SuperProfile give unlimited DMs free.
- You need a multichannel chatbot today: ManyChat's or Chatfuel's trial, with the card rules above in mind.
Frequently asked questions
Does ViralDM need a card for the free trial?
No. You sign up and Starter is on for 30 days. Because no card is stored, nothing is charged when the month ends; the account moves to the Free plan.
What happens after the 30 days?
You land on the Free plan, which has no time limit: one account, unlimited DMs, one automation with three keywords. Automations beyond the first are paused, not deleted. Pick Starter (₹499 a month) and you can switch them back on.
Is a free plan the same as a free trial?
No. A free plan is a smaller product you can use forever. A free trial is the paid product for a limited time. Many tools have the first; few have the second.
Which tools ask for a card for their trial?
ManyChat (you save a card and the trial renews into a paid plan) and CreatorFlow. Chatfuel's pages disagree: the pricing page says no card, the help centre says card details are needed. Linktree does not say, but its Pro trial auto-renews into the paid plan.
Can I get the free month twice?
No. ViralDM gives one free month per Instagram account, so connecting the same account to a new sign-up does not start another one.
Which tools have no free trial at all?
From their own sites on 26 October 2026: Zorcha, DMGO, LinkDM, ReplyKaro, Creator Lane, Repli and CreatorTag have free plans but no trial. SuperProfile's first paid month costs ₹99. QuickDM shows a "7-day Pro free" badge on its free card, and its FAQ calls the free tier the trial.
Sources
- ManyChat: pricing and help centre (Pro plan, starting a subscription), read 26 Oct 2026.
- Linktree: pricing and Pro trial page, 26 Oct 2026.
- InstantDM pricing; SuperProfile India pricing; Chatfuel pricing; QuickDM pricing, 26 Oct 2026.
- Zorcha India pricing; DMGO pricing; LinkDM pricing; ReplyKaro pricing; Creator Lane pricing; Repli pricing; CreatorTag site, 26 Oct 2026.
- BotHelp, CreatorFlow and FlowDM: our comparison pages, read on their sites 15 Oct 2026 — BotHelp, CreatorFlow, FlowDM.
More comparisons: ViralDM vs ManyChat, ViralDM vs SuperProfile, ViralDM vs Linktree, the 9 best auto DM tools in India, and ViralDM pricing.
