The short version
ManyChat is a chat automation platform for Instagram, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, TikTok, Telegram, email and SMS. From Pro up it offers advanced automations, broadcasts and AI-powered conversations. Is it paid? The Free plan is narrow; the paid plans start with Essential, listed at $14 a month on annual billing (monthly billing costs more). Below: the plans, the "active contact" model, and what to know if you are looking at it from outside the US.
What ManyChat does
- Channels: Instagram, Facebook Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, WhatsApp, SMS and email. Free and Essential connect 2 channels, Pro 3, the higher plans all of them.
- Automations: "basic" on Free (up to 4 active), unlimited custom automations from Essential up, "advanced" automations from Pro up.
- Broadcasts: a message to your contact list at once; Pro and up.
- AI: AI-powered conversations on Pro and up.
- Team: 1 user on Free, 2 on Essential, 3 on Pro, 5 on Business, 10 on Advanced.
- Inbox: a basic unified inbox on Free; a shared team inbox with assignments from Business up.
The pricing page presents ManyChat as used by more than a million creators, marketers and brands, and as a Meta and TikTok partner.
ManyChat pricing (2026)
The headline prices are the annual-billing rate per month; the discount in brackets is relative to the monthly price, and monthly billing costs more. Prices exclude tax.
| Plan | Per month (annual billing) | Billed annually (vs monthly) | Active contacts a month | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | – | 25 | 4 active automations, ManyChat branding, 1 user |
| Essential | $14 | $168 a year (18% off) | 250 | unlimited automations, no branding, 2 users |
| Pro | $29 | $348 a year (25% off) | 2,500 | AI, broadcasts, 3 channels, 3 users |
| Business | $69 | $828 a year (30% off) | 7,500 | all channels, team inbox, 5 users |
| Advanced | $139 | $1,668 a year (30% off) | 25,000 | 10 users, priority support |
The final amount depends on your billing country and shows at checkout. Essential and Pro come with a 14-day trial; the Free plan needs no card, the paid plans do.
Active contacts and overage
ManyChat prices by active contacts, not by messages: every real person you exchange messages with in a billing month counts once. Above your plan's allowance the automations keep running and you pay per extra contact: on monthly billing $0.10 each on Essential, $0.05 on Pro, $0.025 on Business, $0.004 on Advanced (a little less on annual billing). Moving up a plan clears that cycle's overage.
In practice: a shop that talks to 3,000 people a month is 500 over Pro's 2,500 and pays $25 extra that month, or moves to Business. To compare this model with pricing by responses, use the worked example in BixoChat vs ManyChat.
Before you sign up
- Language: the pricing page does not say which languages the panel comes in; check it before you commit.
- Billing: USD by card; tax is added at checkout.
- Scope: it is built for many channels and advanced automations; if all you want is "send the price to whoever types price", a keyword tool is simpler.
- WhatsApp and other channels: if you want WhatsApp, Telegram or TikTok DMs in the same place as Instagram, that is ManyChat's real advantage.
How ManyChat is used, briefly
Screen names and steps are in ManyChat's own help center; as your contact count grows you move up a plan or pay per extra contact.
If you want a simpler model, Instagram DM automation shows how trigger-and-reply tools work without boxes and arrows, and ManyChat alternatives lines up the options.