How we checked this
We read manychat.com/pricing on October 20, 2026. The annual toggle was the copy that rendered. Essential is $14 a month, $168 for the year. Pro is $29 and $348. Business is $69 and $828. Advanced is $139 and $1,668. The monthly plan cards were not in that copy. The comparison table did print both overage columns.
What it actually does
Manychat, Inc. Still live. Review it as ManyChat. The 2026 homepage is chat marketing for Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, and Messenger. That is comment-to-DM, Story replies, broadcasts, and a human Inbox for leftover threads. Manychat AI answers DMs and comments from a knowledge library. It does not answer the phone.
It is not Tidio. Meta Customer Chat, the website widget, was turned off in May 2024. Current “widgets” send the visitor off-site to Messenger, Instagram, or WhatsApp. It is not Podium. SMS is Twilio marketing on Pro and up, not missed-call text-back. No reviews SKU. No GBP. No Jobber, Housecall Pro, Dentrix, Mindbody, or Clio. The native Shopify app is retired.
On March 2, 2026 they replaced stored-contact Pro with Active Contacts that reset every month. New accounts: Free, Essential, Pro, Business, Advanced. WhatsApp, SMS, Email, and AI unlock at Pro. On Pro they eat the three-channel cap. Instagram plus Messenger plus WhatsApp plus TikTok needs Business.
Who should buy it
Buy it
Buy it if you live in Instagram comments and you want those comments to become DMs. Creators, coaches, social-first ecommerce. That is the ICP. Help articles updated August 19, 2026.
The catch
The reason not to buy is the aisle, then the meter. On October 20, 2026 the pricing page we could read was the annual toggle, and the prices exclude tax. Essential is $14 a month, $168 billed for the year, with 250 Active Contacts, then $0.082. Pro is $29 and $348, with 2,500 contacts, then $0.038. Business is $69 and $828, with 7,500 contacts, then $0.018. Advanced is $139 and $1,668, with 25,000 contacts, then $0.0028. The same table’s monthly overage column is $0.10, $0.05, $0.025, and $0.004. The monthly plan cards were not in that copy. The $17, $39, $99, and $199 figures in the price line are the August 25 monthly toggle. Included logins are capped. Essential is 2 users and 1 Inbox seat. Pro is 3 users and 2 Inbox seats. A $25 extra Inbox seat is not on this page. WhatsApp is Meta per-conversation on top, first 1,000 free, prepaid Wallet. SMS is your Twilio bill. Annual is prepaid. ToS: 30-day refund is discretionary, no pro-rata, AAA, class waiver, California law. Meta policy can terminate the account. BBB Maria P, June 29, 2026: billed for organic inbox traffic after 250 contacts. Kelby C.: charged for months while locked out. Directories and G2 still print legacy Pro from $15 and Free with 1,000 stored contacts. That is the old monthly-only grid. Stale.