ReachleeTurn every Instagram comment
into a DM, instantly.
Set a keyword. Pick a post or Reel. When someone comments, Reachlee sends them a DM in under 5 seconds — with your link, your offer, or a lead-capture prompt. Free to start, no credit card.
What is comment-to-DM automation?
Comment-to-DM automation is the workflow where a tool watches your Instagram comments for a keyword you've chosen, then automatically sends a Direct Message to the person who commented. It's the single most-used Instagram automation pattern because it converts public engagement (a comment) into a private channel (a DM) where you can share a link, capture a lead, or qualify a customer — without manually typing the same reply 200 times.
- Trigger: someone comments a keyword like "link", "info", or "guide" on a specific post or Reel.
- Action: Reachlee instantly DMs them with a message you wrote (with a tracked link, button, or lead-capture prompt).
- Result: every commenter gets the same fast, personal-feeling response — and you don't touch your phone.
Three steps to live, in under a minute.
Pick a post and a keyword
Connect your Instagram Business or Creator account, pick a specific post or Reel (or all posts), and choose the keyword that triggers the DM — like "LINK", "PLAYBOOK", or "GUIDE".
Write the DM
Compose the message Reachlee should send back. Add a tracked link, a button, a lead-capture prompt, or just plain text. Use {first_name} to personalise.
Go live
Hit publish. Every new comment matching your keyword fires the DM within 5 seconds. Watch the click-through and conversion stats land in your dashboard in real time.
Built for serious volume.
Designed for creators and brands running viral Reels where 500+ comments roll in per hour.
Reels, posts, and any-post triggers
Target a specific Reel, a single post, or every post you make from this account. Pro plan unlocks any-post triggers so future content automatically inherits your automation.
Tracked links + click analytics
Every link Reachlee sends is wrapped with click tracking. See CTR per automation, per post, per Reel — and figure out which content actually converts to followers and leads.
Growth Gate (follow-to-unlock)
Optional add-on: gate the link behind a follow. Reachlee DMs the commenter, asks them to follow first, and unlocks the link the second they do. Turns engagement into real audience growth.
Email + lead capture inline
Ask for an email in the DM. Reachlee parses the reply, stores it as a lead, sends them the resource, and (on Business) pipes it straight into your Google Sheet — all in one continuous flow.
Meta-compliant, rate-limit safe
Built on Meta's official Instagram Graph API. We enforce Instagram's 24-hour messaging window automatically and back off when the API tells us to. No browser bots, no scraping.
Free tier with real volume
1,000 DMs per month, 1 Instagram account, full comment-to-DM automation — on the free plan, no card needed. Upgrade to Pro ($9/mo) only when you outgrow it.
How creators and brands actually use it.
Lead magnet from a viral Reel
A Reel hits 500 "send me the link" comments. You spend 3 hours typing "DMing you 🙏" and still miss half of them.
One automation with the keyword "LINK". Every commenter gets a DM with your tracked link in under 5 seconds. Lifetime CTR shows which Reel converted best — so you know what to make more of.
Course or product launch
Pinned comment with the link gets buried under 200 new comments. People DM you asking where the link is.
Comment-to-DM fires on the keyword "COURSE". Everyone who wants it gets it sent privately, instantly — and you can see live which content drove the sign-ups.
Customer support deflection (small business)
The founder spends 2 hours/day answering "price?" and "how do I order?" in DMs from Instagram comments.
Keyword auto-replies handle the common questions. The founder only sees DMs that actually need a human response.
What to look for in a comment to DM tool.
Most comment to DM tools look identical in a screenshot. These six criteria separate the ones you can build a business on.
Official Meta API — non-negotiable
Any tool sending DMs without Meta's Instagram Graph API is automating your logged-in session, which risks your account. Ask the vendor directly which API they use. Reachlee runs entirely on the official API — the same infrastructure Meta Business Partners use.
Public reply + DM pairing
The best-converting setup replies publicly ("Sent you a DM! 📩") and DMs the link privately. The public reply is social proof that trains future commenters. A tool that only does one half leaves conversions on the table — Reachlee pairs both in a single automation.
Keyword AND any-comment modes
Keyword triggers are precise, but on giveaway or launch posts you often want to DM every commenter regardless of what they type. A good tool offers both. Reachlee supports comma-separated keyword lists plus an any-comment mode per automation.
Reels support as a first-class trigger
Reels are where non-followers find you, so a comment to DM tool that treats Reels as an afterthought misses your biggest growth surface. Reachlee handles Reels comments identically to feed posts — including viral spikes of 500+ comments an hour.
Link tracking, not just link sending
Sending a link is table stakes. Knowing which post, keyword, and DM actually got clicked is how you decide what content to make next. Reachlee wraps every link with click tracking and shows CTR per automation in the dashboard.
Follow-up nudges when they go quiet
A meaningful share of commenters open the DM and get distracted before tapping. Look for a tool that can send one polite reminder inside Meta's messaging window — and cancels it if they reply. Reachlee's DM follow-ups do exactly that.
Built for the way creators actually grow.
I set up comment-to-DM on a Saturday morning. By Sunday night my Reel had pulled in 1,400 leads — none of which I had to type back manually.
We use Reachlee on all our launch posts. The 5-second response time turns warm commenters into customers before they scroll away.
Setup took 90 seconds. The Sheets integration on Business piped every lead into our CRM without us writing a single line of glue code.
Start free. Scale only when you need to.
Comment-to-DM automation is on the free plan — 1 Instagram account, 1,000 DMs/month, no credit card. Pro ($9/mo) unlocks 3 accounts, unlimited DMs, growth gate, and scheduled messages. Business ($29/mo) adds Google Sheets piping and 5 team seats for agencies.
Start freeComment-to-DM automation, answered.
Does comment-to-DM automation work on Reels?
Yes — Reels comments work exactly like post comments. Set a keyword on a specific Reel (or every Reel), and each commenter gets the DM within seconds. Reels deserve special attention here: most Reel commenters found you through the algorithm and don't follow you yet, so an instant DM is often your only chance to reach them before they scroll on. We have a full guide to Reels comment automation with viral-spike handling and caption patterns.
Will my Instagram account get banned for using comment-to-DM automation?
No. Reachlee is built on Meta's official Instagram Graph API — the same API Manychat and other Meta Business Partners use. We enforce Instagram's 24-hour messaging window automatically, respect rate limits, and never scrape or use browser-bot tricks. As long as you're not spamming, your account is as safe as any human-driven DM workflow.
Does comment-to-DM work on Reels?
Yes. Reel comments behave exactly like post comments — same trigger, same DM, same speed. Reachlee detects the comment via Meta's webhooks and fires the DM within seconds.
Can I set up keyword-based replies that match multiple variations?
Yes. Reachlee matches keywords case-insensitively, supports comma-separated keyword lists per automation, and falls back gracefully if the comment doesn't include the exact keyword. You can also configure a fallback comment reply for non-matching comments.
What's the difference between comment-to-DM and a public comment reply?
Public comment replies are visible to everyone. Comment-to-DM sends a private DM straight to the commenter — which is the right channel for links, email capture, and follow-up because Instagram's algorithm doesn't like links in public comments, and DMs are where intent-to-buy lives.
Can I capture emails in the DM after the link?
Yes. Reachlee's lead-capture flow detects when a user replies with an email address in a DM, parses it, stores it as a lead, and (on Business plan) pipes it straight into a Google Sheet you've connected. Free tier captures 10 leads, Pro and Business are unlimited.
Do I need a Facebook Page to use Reachlee?
No. Reachlee connects via Instagram's Business Login directly — sign in with your Instagram Business or Creator account, grant permission, done. No Facebook Page, no Business Manager admin role. The fastest onboarding in the category.
How fast does the DM actually send?
Under 5 seconds in practice. Meta delivers the comment webhook within ~1-2 seconds; Reachlee processes it and sends the DM via the Graph API within another 1-2 seconds. Most commenters see the DM notification before they finish scrolling past your post.
What is the best comment to DM tool?
Honestly: it depends on which channels you need. If you want Instagram plus WhatsApp, SMS, and complex multi-step flows, Manychat's breadth is hard to beat. If Instagram is your main channel, pick on two criteria instead — flat pricing that doesn't climb as your audience grows (per-contact pricing punishes success), and the official Meta API rather than session automation. Reachlee is built for exactly that profile: Instagram-first, $0-29/mo flat, official API. We compare the main options honestly in our roundup of the best Instagram DM automation tools.
How many DMs can comment-to-DM send per day?
Meta doesn't publish a fixed daily DM cap — limits are dynamic, based on your account's messaging behavior and the Graph API's business-use-case rate limits. In practice, creators send thousands of comment-triggered DMs per day without issues, because each DM replies to someone who just engaged with you. A good tool paces sends automatically and backs off when Meta's API signals to slow down, so you never have to think about it. Full details in our guide to Instagram DM limits.
Does comment to DM work on old posts?
Yes. Point an automation at any existing post or Reel and it starts firing on new comments immediately. That matters because old posts keep collecting comments for months, especially Reels the algorithm resurfaces. Reachlee's Retrigger feature is built for exactly this: attach an automation to a post from last year, and every new "link" comment still gets the DM. It's one of the highest-ROI setups because the content already exists — you're just finally answering it.
Can comment-to-DM capture emails or phone numbers?
Yes — as an ask-first add-on inside the same DM thread. After sending the link, the automation can ask for an email or phone number; when the person replies, Reachlee parses it, stores it as a lead, and (on Business) pipes it into your Google Sheet. The "ask-first" part matters: the commenter explicitly chooses to share, which keeps you compliant and keeps lead quality high. Free tier captures 10 leads; Pro and Business are unlimited.
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