Compare Instagram Subscriptions
Hotly vs Instagram Subscriptions
Which is better, Instagram Subscriptions or Hotly?
If your fans want more of your content, Instagram Subscriptions: subscriber-only stories, reels and lives, right where they already follow you. If they want to talk to you, Hotly: they pay $5–$20 weekly to write to you, or the price you set, and you reply from one inbox. Instagram doesn't sell messages. Subscriptions have an eligibility bar set by Meta; Hotly is open to anyone, and you can run both from one bio.
Updated
What a paid message looks like
$10 / week“What you said in Portland about starting over - I wrote it on my hand.”
To a songwriter · from Priya
$50 / week“Launching in March. One reel, two stories. Brief and budget attached.”
To a skincare creator · from Glow Atelier
Side by side
| Feature | Hotly | Instagram Subscriptions |
|---|---|---|
| What people pay for | A conversation with you | Subscriber-only stories, reels, posts and lives |
| Paid messages | Yes - the core product. People pay $5–$20 weekly, or the price you set. | No. Subscribers get a badge in your DMs, but messages aren't sold. |
| Locked media | Yes. Send a locked photo, set the price. | Subscriber-only posts, reels and stories. |
| Platform fee | Hosted: $5.99/mo + 20% commission, or $9.99/mo + 10% commission - servers, updates and backups included. Stripe's fees are on us. Invite five creators and the cut halves, down to 5%. Self-hosting the free code has 0% commission - you run it on your own server. | Meta's creator page lists no fee of its own. Subscriptions bought inside the iPhone or Android app go through Apple's or Google's in-app billing, which takes a cut. |
| You keep from $1,000 a month (100 payments of $10) | $890 on Hosted Plus, $794 on Hosted. $940 on Hosted Plus once 5 creators you invite join and pay. Stripe's fees are on us. | Depends where fans subscribe: Apple and Google take their in-app fee on subscriptions bought in their apps. |
| Payouts | Stripe, to your bank. No payout fee, from $1. | Monthly, on the 21st of the following month. |
| Open source | Yes. Apache 2.0 License - take the code with you anytime. | No |
| Signup | Pick a hosted plan, add a card - 30 days free - and set up your page in minutes. Or run the code on your own Linux server. | Professional account, 18+ and 10,000+ followers when Meta opened it up in 2023. |
Instagram Subscriptions details checked October 2026: Instagram creator subscriptions, TechCrunch on eligibility (2023), Social Media Today on Apple's fee. Prices change - check before you switch.
Which one fits you
Pick Instagram Subscriptions if…
- Your fans want more of your content - subscriber-only stories, reels and lives - inside Instagram.
- Subscriptions are already switched on for your account.
Pick Hotly if…
- People already DM you and want a reply, not more content.
- You don't meet Instagram's bar for Subscriptions yet.
- You want to be paid for conversations, weekly, at the price you set.
- You want open-source code, so you're never locked in.
Questions
- Can I sell paid DMs on Instagram?
- Not inside Instagram: it has no paid messages, and subscribers only get a badge in your DMs. Put a Hotly link in your bio and people pay $5–$20 weekly to write to you, or the price you set. You reply from one inbox, on your own time.
- Is Hotly an Instagram Subscriptions alternative?
- It does a different job, so they work together. Subscriptions sell your content inside Instagram; Hotly sells a conversation with you. Use Subscriptions for content and one Hotly link in your bio for people who want to talk.
- Do I need 10,000 followers for Hotly?
- No. There's no follower minimum and no application. Pick a hosted plan, add a card - 30 days free - and set up your page in minutes.
Keep Instagram. Put the link in your bio.
30 days free with a card at checkout. No follower minimum, no application. Hosted is $5.99 a month plus 20%, which covers Stripe's card fees, hosting and upkeep. Invite five creators and the cut halves, down to 5%.
Card at checkout, $0 until day 31, cancel in one click. Open source: Get the code on GitHub anytime.