The best BotPenguin alternative for Instagram DM automation
BotPenguin is a no-code chatbot builder for websites, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Meta channels, priced by how many messages your bots send. Hypello is built for Instagram and Facebook, with unlimited DMs on paid plans, growth tools like Ask to Follow, and AI agents for sales, support, and leads.
Updated
Hypello vs BotPenguin in short
Choose Hypello if Instagram is your main channel. Paid plans start at $4.90 a month billed yearly, or $8 monthly, with unlimited DMs, while BotPenguin's Little plan costs $29 a month for 3,000 messages. Hypello also includes Ask to Follow and WhatsApp and email support on the free plan, and Re-Trigger on paid plans. Choose BotPenguin if you want one bot builder for WhatsApp, Telegram, your website, and Instagram.
Hypello vs BotPenguin at a glance
| Feature | Hypello | BotPenguin |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, 1,000 DMs a month | Yes, 1,000 messages a month |
| Paid plans from | $4.90/mo billed yearly ($8 monthly) | $29/mo ($290/yr billed yearly) |
| How the price grows | Flat, by connected accounts | By plan tier and monthly message limit |
| Messages on the starting paid plan | Unlimited DMs | 3,000 a month |
| Starting price in India | ₹249/mo billed yearly (₹399 monthly) | ₹2,000/mo (₹20,000/yr) |
| Accounts or bots on the free plan | 2 Instagram or Facebook accounts | 1 chatbot |
| Ask to Follow before the DM | Included on Free | Not listed |
| Replies to comments from before you went live | Paid plans, past 7 days | Not listed |
| AI agents | Every plan, AI credits from Creator | King plan ($99/mo) and up |
| WhatsApp and email support | Every plan, including Free | Little plan and up |
| Channels | Instagram and Facebook | Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, website, and more |
Why Instagram-focused businesses move from BotPenguin to Hypello
- No message limit on paid plans
- Outside WhatsApp, which is billed by conversation, every message a BotPenguin bot sends counts toward a monthly limit: 3,000 on Little at $29 and 12,000 on King at $99. Its FAQ says bots stop replying once the limit is used up until you upgrade, and extra packs start at $5 for 1,000 messages. Hypello's paid plans send unlimited DMs from $8 a month.
- A smaller bill in rupees
- Visitors in India see BotPenguin Little at ₹2,000 a month, or ₹20,000 a year. Hypello Creator costs ₹399 a month, or ₹249 a month billed yearly, with tax included, and you can pay with UPI or a card.
- Growth tools built for comments
- Ask to Follow asks commenters to follow you before the link arrives, and it's on Hypello's free plan. Paid plans add follow-up DMs for people who didn't click and Re-Trigger for comments from the past seven days. BotPenguin doesn't list these features.
- AI agents without a $99 plan
- BotPenguin includes AI chatbot replies on its lower plans, but its AI agents and AI-written comment replies start on King at $99 a month. Hypello's Sales, Support, and Leads agents use AI credits from Creator, and Pro includes 3 agents and 4,000 credits a month for $18.90 billed monthly.
- More accounts for the money
- BotPenguin's free plan includes one chatbot, and Little allows five for $29 a month. Hypello Free connects two Instagram or Facebook accounts, Creator covers six for $14.90 billed monthly, and agencies can run up to 15 on one plan.
- Support from day one
- BotPenguin's free plan comes with ticket support and its help center, and WhatsApp and email support start on Little. Every Hypello plan, including Free, comes with priority support on WhatsApp and email.
Hypello vs BotPenguin features for Instagram
| Feature | Hypello | BotPenguin |
|---|---|---|
| Instagram automations | ||
| Comment-to-DM on posts and Reels | Yes | Yes |
| Public comment replies that tag the commenter | Yes | Yes |
| Story replies and Story mentions | Yes | Yes |
| Instagram Live comments | Yes | Yes |
| Keyword auto replies in the DM inbox | Yes | Yes |
| DM when someone shares your post to DMs | Yes | Not listed |
| Reply to comments from before you went live | Re-Trigger, past 7 days | Not listed |
| Growth and lead capture | ||
| Ask to Follow before sending the DM | Included on Free | Not listed |
| Follow-up DMs to people who didn't click | Paid plans | Not listed |
| Collect emails and phone numbers | Creator plan and up | Yes |
| Broadcasts to Instagram contacts | No | Little plan and up |
| Mailchimp and Klaviyo | Creator plan and up | Not listed |
| Zapier, Make, and HubSpot | No | King plan and up |
| AI | ||
| AI agents for sales, support, and leads | Every plan, AI credits from Creator | King plan and up |
| AI trained on your website and documents | Yes | Yes |
| AI-written public comment replies | No | King plan and up |
| Hand the chat to your team | Yes | Yes |
| Channels | ||
| Instagram and Facebook Messenger | Yes | Yes |
| WhatsApp and Telegram | No | Yes |
| Website chat widget | No | Yes |
| SMS and AI voice agents | No | King plan and up |
| Safety and support | ||
| Meta status | Meta Tech Provider | Meta Business Partner |
| Queue DMs when Instagram's hourly limit is reached | DM Safety Queue | Not listed |
| WhatsApp and email support | Every plan, including Free | Little plan and up |
Hypello vs BotPenguin pricing
BotPenguin prices by messages: what your bots send counts toward a monthly limit (WhatsApp is billed by conversation), and you upgrade or buy message packs to send more. Hypello's paid plans include unlimited DMs, and the price only changes with the number of accounts you connect.
Hypello
FreeFree forever
Every core automation, with 1,000 DMs a month.
Creator$4.90/mo billed yearly, $8 monthly
Unlimited DMs and growth features for creators and small brands.
Pro$14.90/mo billed yearly, $18.90 monthly
AI agents that answer, qualify, and sell in your DMs.
Business$25/mo billed yearly, $35 monthly
Unlimited AI agents and the most AI credits for teams and agencies.
BotPenguin
Baby$0
1,000 messages a month and 1 chatbot. BotPenguin's Instagram pages include comment-to-DM and story-poll triggers, without AI.
Little$29/mo, or $290/yr
3,000 messages a month, 5 chatbots, and 5 team members. Adds Instagram broadcasts. ₹2,000/mo in India.
King$99/mo, or $990/yr
12,000 messages a month, unlimited chatbots and AI agents, and 10 team members. Adds AI-written comment replies, Zapier, and HubSpot.
EmperorFrom $990/mo
Messages as needed, unlimited team members, and setup done by BotPenguin's team.
Message packsFrom $5/mo
1,000 extra messages for $5, 5,000 for $10, or 10,000 for $15 a month.
Source: BotPenguin pricing page, checked October 30, 2026.
What you would pay
| Feature | Hypello | BotPenguin |
|---|---|---|
| Starting paid planMonthly billing | $8 on Creator, unlimited DMs | $29 on Little, 3,000 messages |
| Starting paid plan for a yearTotal for 12 months, billed yearly | $58.80 on Creator | $290 on Little |
| Starting paid plan in rupeesMonthly billing, prices shown to visitors in India | ₹399 on Creator | ₹2,000 on Little |
| AI agents in your DMsMonthly billing | $18.90 on Pro, 3 agents and 4,000 AI credits | $99 on King, unlimited AI agents |
Hypello or BotPenguin?
Choose Hypello if you
- Run most of your automation on Instagram, with Facebook alongside it
- Want unlimited DMs on paid plans instead of a monthly message limit
- Prefer to pay ₹399 a month, or ₹249 billed yearly, with UPI or a card
- Want Ask to Follow, follow-up DMs, and Re-Trigger to grow from comments
- Need AI agents in your DMs without moving to a $99 plan
- Want to connect two Instagram or Facebook accounts on the free plan
- Want WhatsApp and email support while you're still on the free plan
Choose BotPenguin if you
- Need one bot builder for your website, WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, and Facebook
- Send WhatsApp or Instagram broadcasts, or take bookings and orders inside the chat
- Run a live chat inbox with seats and mobile apps for your agents
- Want AI-written comment replies, voice agents, or models like GPT-5, Claude, and Gemini
- Need HIPAA compliance or on-premise hosting on the higher plans
How to switch from BotPenguin to Hypello
- 1
Write down your Instagram auto-reply rules
Open Auto Reply in your BotPenguin Instagram bot and note each rule: the post or Reel it runs on, the keyword, and the replies and messages it sends, including any links.
- 2
Turn those rules off in BotPenguin
Switch off the Instagram rules you're moving so one comment doesn't get two replies. Bots on WhatsApp, Telegram, or your website can stay on.
- 3
Create a free Hypello account
Sign up with Google or email and connect your Instagram professional account through Meta. Connect your Facebook Page as well if you want Facebook or ad comment automation.
- 4
Rebuild each rule from a template
Pick DM from Comments, choose the post or Any post or reel, then add the keyword, public replies, and DM. Turn on Ask to Follow if you want new followers, and add your website and documents to an AI agent if you used BotPenguin's AI.
- 5
Test, go live, and catch up
Click Go Live, then comment from a second account to check the DM. On a paid plan, Re-Trigger replies to eligible comments from the past seven days.
The verdict
BotPenguin is a good fit if you want one chatbot builder for your website, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Meta channels, with a live chat inbox, broadcasts, and AI agents on its higher plans. If most of your conversations happen outside Instagram, it makes sense to stay.
If Instagram is where your leads come from, Hypello costs less and is built around it. Paid plans send unlimited DMs instead of counting messages, the free plan connects two accounts, and you get Ask to Follow, Re-Trigger, and AI agents for sales, support, and leads. Check the full pricing or start on the free plan.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
What people ask before moving Instagram automation from BotPenguin to Hypello.
For Instagram automation, yes. Hypello's paid plans start at $4.90 a month billed yearly, or $8 billed monthly, with unlimited DMs for two accounts. BotPenguin's cheapest paid plan, Little, costs $29 a month or $290 a year and includes 3,000 messages a month. In India, Little is ₹2,000 a month, while Hypello Creator is ₹399 a month or ₹249 billed yearly.
BotPenguin's Baby plan is free with 1,000 messages a month and one chatbot. Little costs $29 a month for 3,000 messages a month and 5 chatbots, King costs $99 a month for 12,000 messages, and Emperor starts at $990 a month. Yearly billing charges 10 months for 12, and visitors in India see rupee prices, starting at ₹2,000 a month for Little.
Hypello Free includes comment-to-DM with 1,000 DMs a month, connects two Instagram or Facebook accounts, and adds Ask to Follow, unlimited automations, and WhatsApp and email support, with no Hypello branding in your DMs. BotPenguin's free plan includes 1,000 messages a month and one chatbot, which you can deploy on Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, or your website. Its Instagram pages say the free plan covers comment-to-DM and story-poll triggers without AI.
There's no direct import, so you rebuild each one. Turn off the matching Instagram auto-reply rules in BotPenguin first so a comment doesn't get two DMs, then recreate the keyword, public replies, and DM with Hypello's DM from Comments template. Your BotPenguin bots for WhatsApp or your website can keep running.
No. Hypello automates Instagram and Facebook only and has no website chat widget. If you need one bot builder for WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS, and website chat, BotPenguin covers more channels.
Yes. On paid plans, Re-Trigger answers eligible comments from the past seven days that arrived before the automation went live. That helps when a Reel starts getting comments before your DM is ready. BotPenguin doesn't list a similar feature.
Yes. Hypello's Sales, Support, and Leads agents answer Instagram and Facebook DMs from your website, documents, and instructions, and they can collect contact details, share a discount code, or transfer the chat to your team. AI credits start on Creator, and Pro includes 3 agents and 4,000 credits a month for $18.90 billed monthly. BotPenguin includes AI chatbot replies trained on your content from its lower plans, while its AI agents and AI-written comment replies start on King at $99 a month.
Both connect to Instagram through Meta's official integration, without asking for your password. Hypello is a Meta Tech Provider, and BotPenguin describes itself as a Meta Business Partner. Automation on Instagram always carries some risk, so Hypello also spaces out sending with reply delays, a DM Safety Queue, and Slow-Down Mode.
Keep reading
Guides
Bring your Instagram automations to Hypello
Start on the free plan and move to unlimited DMs when your posts need them.