ViralDM vs Chatfuel

Chatfuel Alternative for India

Chatfuel is a strong AI chat agent for WhatsApp-first businesses. ViralDM is built for Indian creators and sellers on Instagram.

See the comparison Start free

First month of Starter free, no card. Then code LAUNCH100 takes ₹499 off your first payment.

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Side by side25 features compared

ViralDMFirst month free, no card

The short version

Chatfuel (chatfuel.com, 200 Labs Inc., San Francisco) runs one AI agent — on OpenAI's GPT-5.2 — across WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok and the web: comment and story triggers with public replies, voice notes transcribed, a booking calendar with WhatsApp reminders, WhatsApp coexistence with the Business app, a public API and an MCP server. Business is US$20 a month (US$18 billed yearly) with US$20 of AI credits, and agency plans start at US$100; there is no free plan, only a 7-day trial, and it does not process payments — the AI sends your Stripe, PayPal or other payment link. ViralDM is ₹499 a month in rupees with a free plan, and adds a store and UPI payments inside the DM at 0% commission, replies in 9 Indian languages, AI phone calls and creator tools. Read on chatfuel.com on 26 October 2026.

Side by side

ViralDM vs Chatfuel, feature by feature

What each product offers, checked against both companies’ own pages on 26 October 2026. Prices change, so check both pricing pages on the day you decide.

Feature	ViralDM	Chatfuel
Price	✓Free ₹0 forever · Starter ₹499/mo (first month free, no card) · Growth ₹1,499 · Agency ₹4,999	Business US$20/mo (US$18 yearly) incl. US$20 AI credits · Agency S US$100 (US$90) · M US$225 · L US$440 · XL US$850
Billing	✓Rupees through Razorpay: UPI, cards, netbanking, GST invoice; yearly = pay for 10 months	US dollars; AI usage and Meta WhatsApp fees drawn from a dollar wallet
Free plan	✓Forever · 1 Instagram account, unlimited DMs, 1 automation (3 keywords) on Reels, posts, story replies and DM keywords, 25 leads a month	7-day free trial; no free plan
Instagram triggers	✓Comments on Reels & posts, story replies, DM keywords, next-post and caption-code triggers (Free); Live comments, shares & story mentions (Starter)	✓Comments on posts, Reels and ads, story replies and mentions, ig.me links, DMs; 30 rules per source
Live comments	✓Live comments → private DM while you are live (Starter)	Not on their site
Public reply under the comment	✓Public reply under the comment, random variants (Free); AI Comments thank every compliment (Starter)	✓AI-written or fixed public reply plus a DM
Follow-gate and lead capture	✓Follow-gate with a reminder (Free) · Email or WhatsApp number before the link: 25 a month on Free, unlimited from Starter	AI collects name, phone and email into the CRM; follow-gate not on their site
Replies in Indian languages	✓9 Indian languages + English detected on every plan; AI replies in the follower’s own language from Starter	The AI understands “any language” (15+ named on the agency page); Indian languages not named
AI replies	✓From your price list, FAQ, pages or PDFs: 3,000 a month on Starter, unlimited on Growth	✓Fuely AI (GPT-5.2) from your knowledge base, with handoff rules, follow-ups and an AI Co-pilot
Voice notes followers send	✓Voice notes understood in Hindi, Hinglish and English (Starter)	✓Transcribed and answered in text on WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger
AI phone call to a lead	✓“Call me” in a DM → your AI phones them in Hindi (3 calls a month on Starter, 10 on Growth)	Not on their site
Payment inside the DM	✓UPI QR + Pay button inside the DM, 0% cut; screenshot checked by AI from Starter (on Free you confirm it)	The AI sends your own Stripe, PayPal or Square link and checks receipt screenshots; no built-in gateway
Store and bio page	✓Store on Free: files, courses, memberships, events, 1:1, Telegram/Discord access — 0% platform fee · Link-in-bio page that works as a small website (Free)	Not on their site
Booking	✓Booking inside the DM from your real free slots, with reminders (Free)	✓Booking calendar, Google Calendar sync, WhatsApp reminders a day and 2 hours before
Broadcasts and sequences	✓DM and email broadcasts, live segments, tags and multi-step sequences (Free)	✓WhatsApp template broadcasts to segments; AI and Messenger follow-ups
A/B testing	✓A/B tests of replies (Growth); random reply variants on Free	Not on their site
Analytics and revenue	✓Every rupee from DMs and the store in one number (Free); which keyword earned which rupee (Growth)	✓Meta Conversions API, funnel and drop-off reports, cost per qualified lead for agencies
Comment moderation	✓Comment Shield hides scam links and abuse as they arrive (Free)	Not on their site
Facebook	Facebook Page connect + posting live (Meta approved 9 Oct 2026) · Messenger automation not yet	✓Messenger and Page and ad comment automation
WhatsApp	✓WhatsApp Bridge moves a buyer to WhatsApp in one tap (Free) · WhatsApp number auto-replies coming soon	✓Official WhatsApp API, coexistence with the Business app, catalogue selling, broadcasts
Team and agencies	✓Team inbox: assign chats, round-robin, 5 seats on Agency (unlimited on Agency Pro) · 10 client accounts, client logins, monthly PDF report (Agency ₹4,999); white-label + your own domain (Agency Pro ₹12,999)	✓Unlimited teammates, client companies, white-label resale through their SDK
API and integrations	✓REST API, webhooks, n8n node, Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable, Slack, Mailchimp, ConvertKit	✓Public GraphQL API, JSON API plugin and an SDK
MCP server for AI assistants	✓MCP server, 58 tools, OAuth — every plan (read-only on Free, read and write from Starter)	✓mcp.chatfuel.com for Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor (no broadcasts, billing or deletes)
Brand deals and creator money	✓Media Kit with suggested rates, Brand Deals tracker, affiliates for your products, Priority DM (all Free)	Not on their site
App	✓Android app on Google Play with push notifications	✓iOS and Android inbox app

Something here out of date? Write to [email protected] and we will correct it.

In detail

ViralDM and Chatfuel, in detail

✨01

What Chatfuel does well

One AI agent across WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok and the web, with unlimited contacts and teammates.
WhatsApp done properly today: the official API, coexistence with the Business app, broadcasts and catalogue selling.
A booking calendar with WhatsApp reminders on every plan.
A hosted MCP server, a public API and an agency layer with white-label resale.

🔍02

Where ViralDM is different

Rupee pricing from ₹499 with a free plan, GST invoices and no dollar wallet.
Selling inside the DM: a store and a UPI QR and Pay button, straight to your UPI ID, 0% commission.
Replies in 9 named Indian languages, Hinglish voice notes understood, AI phone calls to leads, Live-comment replies, follow-gate and Comment Shield.
Creator tools: media kit, brand deals, affiliates and memberships.

✨03

Which one should you pick?

Pick Chatfuel if WhatsApp is your main channel today, you run appointments across several channels, or you are an agency reselling a white-label AI agent. Pick ViralDM if you are an Indian creator or seller on Instagram who wants to pay in rupees and sell, collect UPI and deliver inside the DM.

Everything in ViralDM

All 204 features, by plan

The plan shown is the lowest one that has the feature; every plan above it has it too. Checked against our own code on 20 October 2026.

Plans, accounts and apps

Unlimited DMs on every plan, Free included Free
1 automation with 3 keywords on Free Free
Unlimited automations and keywords Starter
Connected accounts: 1 Free, 2 Starter, 3 Growth, 10 Agency Free
Unlimited connected accounts Agency Pro
First month of Starter free, no card, with API and MCP access Free
Yearly billing: pay for 10 months, get 12 Starter
Free: “via viraldm.app” only on the first DM to each person Free
No ViralDM branding on your DMs Starter
Instagram Login — no Facebook Page needed Free
Connect a Facebook Page through Facebook Login Free
WhatsApp Business number auto-replies Free Coming soon
Facebook Page comment and Messenger automations Free Coming soon
Android app with push notifications Free
Dashboard in English, Hindi and Hinglish Free
In-app guide for every feature, with demos Free
Choose which tools show in your sidebar Free
AI help chat with hand-off to a support ticket Free
Email support Starter
Priority support Growth
Dedicated manager and 24/7 WhatsApp support Agency

Questions

ViralDM or Chatfuel?

Something missing? Ask us

How much does Chatfuel cost?

Business is US$20 a month or US$18 a month billed yearly, with US$20 of AI credits included; agency plans start at US$100 a month (chatfuel.com/pricing, 26 Oct 2026). There is a 7-day trial and no free plan.

Does Chatfuel take payments?

No. Its AI sends your own Stripe, PayPal, Square or other payment link and can check receipt screenshots. ViralDM puts a UPI QR and Pay button inside the DM, the money goes to your UPI ID, and it takes 0%.

When is Chatfuel the better choice?

When WhatsApp is your main channel today — ViralDM's WhatsApp number replies are still coming — when you need TikTok or a website chat too, or when you resell an AI agent to clients under your own brand.

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