Inrō vs Wave: answering DMs or starting them?
lea.mindset@lea.mindsetLoved your post on morning routines.
Open to a quick idea?
Inrō comes up a lot when people look at Instagram DM tools, often in the same breath as Wave. Both live in the DMs. Both use AI. But they solve two different problems.
Inrō helps you answer the people who write to you. Wave helps you start conversations with people who've never heard of you.
What Inrō does
Inrō is an Instagram-first automation tool built on Meta's official API. Everything starts with a trigger:
someone comments a keyword on your post or reel,
someone replies to your story or mentions you,
someone sends you a DM, or comments during a live.
Then Inrō replies, qualifies, sends a link, books a call. It connects to tools like Calendly, Stripe, Shopify, Zapier or Make, so the conversation can turn into a sale without you typing.
It's built for creators and coaches who already get a steady flow of comments and DMs, and want to convert more of them.
The limit is the same as every tool on the official API: the person has to reach out first. I explain why in can you send cold DMs with the Instagram API?
What Wave does
Wave is outbound. You define who you want to reach, and Wave goes to them:
it builds the audience from competitors' followers, post likers and commenters, lookalikes or hashtags,
filters it so you only keep profiles that fit,
sends a personalized first DM and the follow-ups, and stops when someone replies.
It runs in the cloud with browser automation, simulating human behavior, with warmup, city-level proxies and progressive pacing. No audience needed.
Side by side
Inrō | Wave | |
|---|---|---|
Direction | Inbound: replies to people who engage | Outbound: sends the first message |
Starts from | Comments, story replies, mentions, DMs | An audience you define |
Needs an audience? | Yes | No |
How it works | Meta's official API | Cloud browser automation |
Best for | Converting existing engagement | Finding new clients |
Pricing model | Based on active contacts | Per Instagram account |
Pricing changes often, so check Inrō's pricing page and Wave's pricing for current plans.
Which one should you pick?
Inrō if your posts already get comments and your DMs are busy. Your problem is answering fast and closing.
Wave if your DMs are quiet. Your problem is that the right people don't know you exist yet.
Both if you want the full loop: Wave starts conversations, some of those people follow you and engage with your content, and an inbound tool handles what comes back.
Same logic as ManyChat vs Wave, by the way. Inbound and outbound aren't competitors, they're two halves of the funnel.
Not sure which side you need? Email me at antoine@usewave.co and tell me about your business.
