DM reply rate

DM reply rate is the share of contacts who answer a direct message you sent them. Divide the contacts who replied by the contacts who received the message, then multiply by 100. On Instagram the term is also used the other way round, for the share of incoming DMs a business answers.

How do you calculate an Instagram DM reply rate?

Reply rate = contacts who replied ÷ contacts who received the message × 100.

• Count each contact once, however many messages they send back.
• Measure one message at a time. A rate across a whole flow mixes steps that ask a question with steps that only deliver a link.
• Compare equal periods. A step that ran yesterday has had less time to collect replies.

How many people saw the message is a different metric, DM open rate.

Where do you find the numbers in Inrō?

Inrō does not show a reply rate as a percentage. It shows the counts you need on the Insights tab of each scenario and DM campaign:

• Ask a question: Sent, Read and Replied
• Ask for information: Sent and Replied
• Wait for reply: Replied

Divide Replied by Sent on the same step. A Wait for reply step sends nothing, so divide its Replied count by Sent on the message step before it. The same counts sit on the steps of a comment-to-DM automation. Click any count above zero to see the contacts behind it.

The campaign list shows Sent, Opened and Converted, not Replied.

For the inbound sense, open the Inrō Inbox and choose the Unreplied messages filter: it lists conversations where the contact wrote last. It shows conversations, not a rate.

What counts as a reply?

Inrō counts a reply when the contact sends a message while the step is waiting for one. Each contact counts once per run of the step, so three messages in a row are one reply.

A message that arrives after the step stops waiting does not count on that step. A new Wait for reply step waits 3 days by default, which you can change (Inrō flow builder, checked 1 October 2026).

What does a healthy reply rate look like?

Inrō has not published a reply-rate benchmark, so treat any single industry figure with care.

Compare against yourself: the same step this month and last month, or two versions of a question side by side. If Replied falls while Read holds, look at the question. If Read falls too, look at who receives it and when. To reach people who stay silent, see how to follow up automatically on Instagram DMs. More DM metrics are in the Instagram automation glossary.