LINE Extension Tools in Japan: L Step, Liny, L Message

#What Are LINE Extension Tools?

A LINE extension tool (LINE拡張ツール in Japanese) is a third-party service that connects to your LINE Official Account through the Messaging API and adds marketing features on top of LINE Official Account Manager: tags on each friend, branching step sequences, rich menus that change per person, forms, booking and payments, and reports on where friends came from. The category grew up in Japan, and the names Japanese marketers compare are L Step (Lステップ), Liny, L Message (エルメ) and ProLine Free (プロラインフリー).

Two things to know before you compare them:

• LINE bills separately. Every tool below runs on your LINE OA, so you pay LINE's monthly plan and message fees on top of the tool. L Step's pricing page states this explicitly.
• The tool takes the webhook. An extension tool receives your account's events through the channel's webhook, and a Messaging API channel has a single webhook URL. Pick one tool to handle automatic replies.

If you don't have an account yet, start with the LINE Official Account setup guide.

#What LINE Official Account Already Does

Check this before you pay for a tool. As of October 2026:

• Step messages (Japan). LINE OA in Japan has offered step delivery (ステップ配信) since February 2021: automatic messages after someone adds you, timed by the days since they became a friend or by how they added you, with branches by LINE's estimated attributes (LY Corporation).
• Targeted broadcasts. Demographic filters and audiences (click and impression retargeting, uploaded user IDs, chat tags) are built into LINE OA Manager; our broadcast guide explains the rules.
• AI answers from your own Q&A (Japan). Since November 2025, the AI chatbot (beta) in LINE OA reads a question and picks the best answer from Q&As you registered. Live replies need the Chat Pro option at ¥3,000 a month excluding tax; it works from the web version only and doesn't reply in group chats (LY Corporation press release, manual).
• Market add-ons. Thailand offers MyCustomer | CRM for points and membership: ฿369 a month plus VAT on the Free and Basic packages, included in Pro (LINE for Business). In Taiwan, the Medium and High plans include a free upgrade to the "OA PLUS" platform, with modules such as auto-tagging, under the prices that apply from November 1, 2026 (LINE Biz-Solutions).

If that covers your plan, you may not need an extension tool at all.

#Price and Feature Comparison (October 2026)

Prices come from each vendor's official page, checked in October 2026. Vendors change prices, so confirm before you sign up. LINE's own fees come on top.

Sources: L Step, Liny, L Message, LINE OA plans (Japan), LineBot.pro pricing.

#L Step (Lステップ)

L Step is the best-known LINE extension tool in Japan. Its site now lists Social Data Bank Co., Ltd. (formerly Maneql) as the operator: in April 2026, Social Data Bank, the company behind Liny, integrated with Maneql and Arrow Link, and L Step's pricing page offers Liny as its top enterprise plan.

Plans (tax included, October 2026, official pricing):

• No initial fee. New customers get one free month on paid plans.
• The free plan is for first-time L Step users only, one account per company, and you can't move back to it from a paid plan.
• High-volume plans (100,000 to 1,000,000 messages) are on a separate page.

Features by plan, per the pricing page: step (scenario) delivery, reminders, segment delivery, auto-replies, tags and 1:1 chat on every plan, with limits on the free plan; L-Flex messages from Start; rich menus that change with a friend's attributes or actions, and rich menu templates, from Standard; friend-source analysis from Pro.

Considerations: a Japanese-language service; the setup takes planning, which is why many businesses hire L Step consultants or agencies.

Best for: Japanese businesses that run funnels with tags and branching sequences.

#Liny

Liny is Social Data Bank's LINE marketing and customer-data platform for larger organizations. Its site describes customer data management, segmented delivery, analytics, efficiency tools, and custom development and integrations, including Salesforce and core business systems. It also has a plan for local governments and ministries and highlights adoption by public bodies (Liny).

• Price: not published. You request a proposal and pay by invoice, monthly or yearly; its FAQ says you can cancel one year after the first payment.
• L Step's pricing page describes Liny as all L Step features plus custom development, dedicated support and invoice payment.

Best for: enterprises, teams with several operators, and the public sector.

#L Message (エルメ)

L Message, nicknamed エルメ, is popular with small businesses and solo operators in Japan because its free plan goes a long way.

Plans (tax included, October 2026, official site): Free ¥0, Standard ¥10,780, Pro ¥33,000. No initial fee and no minimum contract.

• The free plan allows up to 1,000 messages a month sent through L Message, with limits such as 2 rich menus and 3 forms. Paid plans remove L Message's own cap; LINE's message quota still applies.
• Step delivery is on every plan, including Free.
• Booking (lessons, salons, events) and card payments through Stripe or UnivaPay are on every plan; taking payment for event bookings needs a paid plan.

Best for: small service businesses in Japan that want step delivery, booking and payments in one place at a low cost.

#ProLine Free (プロラインフリー)

ProLine Free is often mentioned in Japanese comparisons. In October 2026 we couldn't reach an official website for it: pro-line.jp, the domain long associated with the tool, showed an unrelated placeholder blog, and we found no official price page. We therefore don't list its prices or features.

If you're considering it, confirm with the vendor that the service is active, what the free plan includes and which company operates it before you connect your LINE OA. Connecting any extension tool gives it your channel's credentials and your friends' messages.

#LineBot.pro: A Different Kind of Tool

LineBot.pro isn't an extension tool in the L Step sense. It's an AI content generator with simple broadcasts and keyword replies, built for teams that spend their time making LINE visuals.

What it does:

• AI generators. A rich menu image with its JSON, 1 to 6 buttons, for 10 credits; you upload it in LINE OA Manager, since the app doesn't publish rich menus. A rich message (Flex Message: a 1200 × 675 image, headline, text and one button) for 8 credits. Banners in six sizes, including the LINE cover, for 8 credits. Failed generations are refunded.
• Campaigns. An AI-made Flex message sent to all friends or to a pasted list of user IDs, now or scheduled. Sending costs 0 credits; LINE's quota applies.
• Keyword bot. 1 to 8 intents with 1 to 15 keywords each, every intent answered with a Rich Message card you approved. Optional AI routing reads unmatched messages and only picks one of your intents (1 credit per message checked, with a daily cap); the AI never writes answers. Handoff keywords pause the bot for that customer. 1:1 chats only.
• Four interface languages: English, Thai, Japanese and Traditional Chinese.

What it doesn't do: step sequences, tags or segments, rich menus that change per person, forms, booking, payments, or open and click analytics.

Using it with an extension tool: the generators work with any tool, because you download the PNG and JSON and upload them wherever you manage your account. For automatic replies, use either LineBot.pro's keyword bot or the extension tool, since both rely on the channel's webhook.

New accounts get 50 free credits with no card needed; after that, one-time credit packs with no subscription, and credits don't expire.

Make a rich menu with AI →

#Alternatives in Thailand and Taiwan

The Japanese tools are built for Japanese-speaking teams. Outside Japan, businesses usually compare other names:

• Shared inbox and chatbot across LINE, Facebook and Instagram: Zwiz.ai, Zaapi and ReadyPlanet R-ChatCenter, popular in Thailand.
• Data-driven marketing for large brands: Crescendo Lab MAAC, founded in Taiwan, with AI segments and journeys; Omnichat, a multi-channel inbox with yearly plans. Both quote prices after a demo.

Our LINE OA tools comparison for Thailand covers these with prices from each vendor's site.

#How to Choose

1. Start with LINE OA itself. In Japan it already has step delivery, audiences, chat tags and an AI chatbot (beta). Add a tool only for what's missing.
2. Tags, branching and per-person rich menus: L Step (rich menus by attribute need Standard or above).
3. Step delivery plus booking and payments, on a small budget: L Message.
4. Enterprise, several operators, custom integrations or public sector: Liny.
5. Less time making rich menu images and message cards, or a team that doesn't work in Japanese: LineBot.pro, on its own or next to any of the above.
6. Budget both bills: the tool's fee plus LINE's plan and messages. The LINE Official Account pricing guide has LINE's side.

#Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is L Step (Lステップ)?

L Step is Japan's best-known LINE extension tool. It connects to your LINE Official Account through the Messaging API and adds step and segment delivery, tags, rich menus that change per person and friend-source analysis.

Q: How much does L Step cost?

As of October 2026, tax included: Free ¥0 (about 200 messages, first-time users only), Start ¥5,000, Standard ¥21,780 and Pro ¥32,780 a month, with no initial fee. LINE's own plan is billed separately.

Q: Is there a free LINE extension tool?

Yes, with limits: L Step has a free plan for first-time users, and L Message's free plan allows 1,000 deliveries a month. In Japan, LINE OA's free plan also includes step delivery. LineBot.pro gives 50 free credits for AI generation, but it isn't an extension tool.

Q: What is the difference between L Step and Liny?

Both now belong to Social Data Bank. L Step has published plans for small and mid-sized businesses; Liny is the enterprise offering with custom development, dedicated support and invoice payment, priced on request.

Q: Can LineBot.pro replace L Step?

No. LineBot.pro has no step sequences, tags or segments. It makes rich menus, rich messages and banners with AI, sends broadcasts and answers keywords. Many teams can use it to make the visuals they then load into L Step or LINE OA Manager.

Q: Do I still pay LINE when I use an extension tool?

Yes. The tool's fee and LINE's monthly plan and message fees are separate bills, and every message the tool sends counts against your LINE quota.

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Next steps:

• Compare LINE's own plans in the LINE Official Account pricing guide
• See which broadcasts LINE OA Manager can target in the broadcast guide
• Make your next rich menu with the AI rich menu maker (50 free credits at sign-up)