SFDIFY
Manychat pricing starts at $0 on the Free plan, which covers 25 active contacts a month, and paid plans run from $17 to $199 a month on monthly billing (or $14 to $139 a month billed annually) [1]. Each paid tier includes a set number of active contacts and charges a per-contact fee above it, from $0.10 on Essential down to $0.004 on Advanced [1]. AI features, WhatsApp, SMS and broadcasts start at the Pro plan ($39 a month, or $29 billed annually) [1]. If you mainly need WhatsApp or a large contact list for less money, Wati and SendPulse price differently and are worth a look [2, 3].
How we chose
We compared five tools a buyer looking at Instagram, Messenger or WhatsApp DM automation would likely shortlist: Manychat, Chatfuel, SendPulse, Wati and respond.io. Everything below comes from each vendor's own homepage and pricing page, checked on 2026-11-13. We did not test the products hands-on; confirm prices at checkout before you buy. We focused on what the entry price buys, how the bill grows with your audience, and costs outside the subscription.
| Product | Best for | Starting price | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manychat | Instagram and TikTok creators, social-first brands | $0 (Free); paid from $17/mo, or $14/mo billed annually [1] | Priced by monthly active contacts, with per-contact overage [1] |
| Chatfuel | Businesses that want an AI agent billed by usage | US$18/mo billed yearly (Business S) [4] | Plans include monthly AI credits; unused credits do not roll over [4] |
| SendPulse | Large lists on a tight budget, many channels | Free up to 500 subscribers; Pro from $12/mo [2] | One subscription covers WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Telegram and more [2] |
| Wati | WhatsApp-first sales and support teams | $59/mo billed annually (Growth) [3] | Template messages charged per message on top [3] |
| respond.io | Teams running many channels from one inbox | $79/mo billed yearly (Starter) [5] | Priced by Monthly Active Contacts; WhatsApp fees not included [5] |
Manychat — what the plans actually cost
Manychat sells automation for "Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, and Messenger" [6], and its pricing page lists five plans: Free, Essential, Pro, Business and Advanced [1]. What matters most on each card is the included active contacts and the cost of each extra one.
Verified features: Every plan, including Free, gets Follow to DM, Story Reply, Live to DM and keyword triggers [1]. Comment to DM works on Free but is "limited to 4 live automations" [1]. Paid plans add data collection inside DMs, A/B testing and starting Instagram DMs from Meta ads [1]. The AI features (AI Replies that answer FAQs from your saved business knowledge, AI Comments, AI Step for lead qualification and intent recognition) are marked as Pro and above only [1].
Pricing: On monthly billing the plans are [1]:
- Free: $0, 25 active contacts, 2 channels, 1 user, Manychat branding on messages.
- Essential: $17 a month ($14 billed annually), 250 active contacts, 2 channels, 2 users.
- Pro: $39 a month ($29 billed annually), 2,500 active contacts, 3 channels, 3 users, Manychat AI.
- Business: $99 a month ($69 billed annually), 7,500 active contacts, unlimited channels, 5 users, priority support.
- Advanced: $199 a month ($139 billed annually), 25,000 active contacts, unlimited channels, 10 users.
An active contact is "a real person you interact with during a monthly billing period," and message count does not matter [1]. Go over your included contacts and Manychat charges an overage per extra contact: $0.10 on Essential, $0.05 on Pro, $0.025 on Business and $0.004 on Advanced on monthly billing [1]. You can set an overage threshold to cap or block those charges [1].
That overage math is where the real Manychat cost shows up. Using the page's own numbers, a Pro account that talks to 5,000 people in a month pays $39 plus 2,500 extra contacts at $0.05, or about $164, while Business at $99 already includes 7,500 contacts [1]. If your audience is near the top of a tier, price the next tier up before assuming the cheaper plan is cheaper.
Two add-on costs to budget for. Extra Inbox seats are $25 each on Pro, Business and Advanced, and are not available on Free or Essential [1]. Pro includes 2 Inbox seats with a maximum of 3 [1]. Prices also "do not include tax," and the price depends on your billing country [1].
Strengths: The Free plan needs no credit card, and Essential and Pro have a 14-day free trial [1]. Per-contact overage gets much cheaper on higher tiers, so large audiences are not punished as hard as the entry rate suggests [1].
Limitations: The Free plan is narrow: 25 active contacts, a 4-automation cap on core features, and branding on your messages [1]. WhatsApp and SMS are not available on Free or Essential [1]. Broadcasts start at Pro and exclude Instagram and TikTok [1]. And because pricing is per active contact, a single viral post can push you into overage in one month.
Best fit: Creators and social-first brands whose main channel is Instagram, with Pro as the realistic starting point if you want AI replies or WhatsApp.
Chatfuel — usage-based AI pricing
Chatfuel pitches an AI agent that "replies, qualifies, books, and follows up on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook" [7]. Pricing is built around monthly AI credits.
Verified features: The entry Business plan lists auto-replies to Reels and post comments, lead qualification from ads, bulk WhatsApp campaigns and booking meetings in WhatsApp [4]. Inbox, contacts, bookings, flows and every channel are described as part of every plan [4].
Pricing: Business S is "US$18 per month," billed yearly at US$216, and includes US$20 of AI credits a month [4]. Three things use credits: AI replies, WhatsApp templates and lead events sent to Meta [4]. Meta's WhatsApp fees are separate but come out of the same wallet, so you get one bill [4].
Strengths: You pay for what the bot actually does, and the pricing page includes a calculator that estimates monthly usage for your scenario [4].
Limitations: Unused credits do not roll over [4]. If you run out, you buy a credit pack or turn on auto-reload [4], so a busy month raises the bill in a way that is harder to predict than a fixed tier.
Best fit: Small businesses that want an AI agent answering and qualifying chats, and prefer usage billing to contact tiers.
SendPulse — the low-cost option for big lists
SendPulse calls itself an "AI-driven email and chatbot marketing platform" with a built-in CRM [8].
Verified features: One chatbot subscription covers WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Viber, email and SMS [2]. Pro adds unlimited chatbots and live chats, API and webhooks, and ChatGPT and Google Sheets integrations [2].
Pricing: The Basic plan is free for up to 500 subscribers and 10,000 messages a month, with 3 chatbots [2]. Pro is priced by bot subscribers counted across all messengers, not by messages sent [2]. Monthly prices are $12 for up to 500 subscribers, $22 for 2,000, $48 for 5,000 and $74 for 10,000, with 20% off when paid yearly [2]. WhatsApp conversations are charged by Meta on top [2].
Strengths: At the same audience size, SendPulse's published tiers are well below Manychat's: 5,000 subscribers is $48 a month on SendPulse [2], against Manychat's $99 Business plan for 7,500 active contacts [1]. Its free plan is also larger.
Limitations: The units differ. SendPulse counts all bot subscribers across channels [2], while Manychat counts only people you interact with that month [1], so a large but quiet list can cost more on SendPulse than the headline suggests.
Best fit: Budget-conscious businesses with large subscriber lists, or teams that also want email and SMS in the same account.
Wati — WhatsApp first
Wati positions itself as an "AI Platform for WhatsApp Business, Instagram & More" [9].
Verified features: Growth includes an omnichannel inbox covering WhatsApp, calling, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and webchat, plus chatbots and a team inbox with assignment and tagging [3]. Growth includes 2,000 Wati AI credits a month and 15K broadcasts a month [3].
Pricing: Growth is $59 a month billed annually with 3 users and no additional users [3]. Pro is $119 a month billed annually with 5 users and extra users at $39 per user per month; Business is $279 a month billed annually [3]. Template messages carry extra per-message charges [3]. Growth includes 1,000 free automation triggers a month, and beyond that you respond manually or buy more triggers [3].
Strengths: No setup fee for the WhatsApp API and a 7-day free trial [3].
Limitations: There is no free plan on the pricing page, and the entry price is well above Manychat's [3, 1]. Automation triggers are capped per plan, so a busy chatbot can hit the limit [3]. The page also says Wati does not refund payments on an existing subscription [3].
Best fit: Businesses where WhatsApp is the main sales or support channel and several people answer chats.
respond.io — omnichannel inbox for teams
respond.io brings customer touchpoints and CRMs "in a team inbox with AI Agents" [10].
Verified features: Starter includes team and custom inboxes, a mobile app, AI Assist and basic reports; Growth adds broadcasts, workflow automation, AI Agents and the developer API [5].
Pricing: Starter is $79 a month billed yearly ($948 a year), Growth $159 and Advanced $279 [5]. Pricing is based on Monthly Active Contacts, defined as people you talked to over calls or chat during the billing month [5]. Above your tier you pay "$12 per 100 MACs on Growth" [5]. WhatsApp fees are not included in any subscription [5].
Strengths: A 7-day free trial with no credit card, and the page says going over your contact tier does not interrupt operations [5].
Limitations: The highest entry price here, and broadcasts and workflows are not in Starter [5].
Best fit: Teams that need several agents working WhatsApp, social and email from one inbox.
How to choose between Manychat and its alternatives
Start with the channel. If Instagram comments and DMs drive your business, Manychat's feature list is the most Instagram-specific of the group [1]. If WhatsApp is the main channel, Wati or respond.io are built for it, though both add Meta's message fees on top [3, 5].
Then estimate next month's audience, not this month's. Manychat and respond.io bill on people you actually talk to; SendPulse bills on total subscribers; Chatfuel bills on AI usage [1, 5, 2, 4]. Run your expected number through each model, including overage, before comparing headline prices.
Finally, count the seats. Manychat caps Pro at 3 Inbox seats [1], and Wati's Growth plan allows no extra users [3]. If three or more people will answer chats, price the tier that fits the team. For a broader view of what drives chatbot budgets, see our breakdown of what a chatbot really costs, and if your goal is pipeline rather than engagement, our guide to qualifying sales leads with AI chatbots covers the flow design.
FAQ
Is Manychat free?
Yes, there is a Free plan at $0 that does not require a credit card [1]. It covers 25 active contacts a month, 2 channels and 1 user, limits core automations to 4 live automations, and shows Manychat branding on messages [1].
What is the Manychat Pro price?
Pro is $39 a month on monthly billing or $29 a month billed annually [1]. It includes 2,500 active contacts, 3 channels, Manychat AI, and overage of $0.05 per extra active contact on monthly billing [1].
How does Manychat charge for contacts over the limit?
Each extra active contact is billed at the plan's overage rate, from $0.10 on Essential to $0.004 on Advanced [1]. You can set an overage threshold to cap those charges [1].
What are the cheapest Manychat alternatives?
Among the tools here, SendPulse has the lowest published paid tiers, starting at $12 a month for 500 subscribers, plus a free plan for 500 subscribers [2]. Chatfuel starts at US$18 a month billed yearly [4].
Our recommendation
For most Instagram-first creators and small brands, Manychat Pro is the practical starting tier, because AI replies, WhatsApp and broadcasts all begin there [1]. Check whether your audience size lands you in overage; at around 5,000 active contacts, Business is the better deal. If price per subscriber is the priority, SendPulse costs less, and if WhatsApp is your core channel, Wati is the closer fit. If you want an AI agent connected to your CRM rather than a template tool, our AI agents and chatbots team builds custom ones.
Sources
- Pricing Info from Free to Pro | Manychat — checked 2026-11-13
- Sendpulse Chatbots Pricing — checked 2026-11-13
- Wati Pricing | WhatsApp Business API — checked 2026-11-13
- Pricing Plans & Free Trial | Chatfuel — checked 2026-11-13
- Pricing | Plans Built to Scale Your Business — checked 2026-11-13
- Chat Marketing Made Easy with Manychat — checked 2026-11-13
- Chatfuel | AI Agent That Turns Every Chat Into a Sale — checked 2026-11-13
- AI-driven email and chatbot marketing platform | SendPulse — checked 2026-11-13
- Wati | AI Platform for WhatsApp Business, Instagram & More — checked 2026-11-13
- Respond.io | AI-Powered Customer Conversation Platform — checked 2026-11-13
