ManyChat plans at a glance
ManyChat sells five plans. The price depends on two things: the plan, and how many active contacts you have in the billing month. These are the prices ManyChat publishes in its Help Center, in US dollars, before tax.
| Plan | Monthly | Billed yearly | Active contacts / month | Each extra contact | AI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Monthly$0 | Billed yearly— | Active contacts / month25 | Each extra contactNot available | AINo |
| Essential | Monthly$17 | Billed yearly$14 /mo | Active contacts / month250 | Each extra contact$0.10 ($0.08 yearly) | AINo |
| Pro | Monthly$39 | Billed yearly$29 /mo | Active contacts / month2,500 | Each extra contact$0.05 ($0.038 yearly) | AIYes |
| Business | Monthly$99 | Billed yearly$69 /mo | Active contacts / month7,500 | Each extra contact$0.025 ($0.018 yearly) | AIYes |
| Advanced | Monthly$199 | Billed yearly$139 /mo | Active contacts / month25,000 | Each extra contact$0.004 ($0.0028 yearly) | AIYes |
Other limits differ by plan too: Free and Essential connect 2 channels (from Instagram, TikTok, Facebook Messenger and Telegram — no WhatsApp, SMS or email), Pro connects 3, Business and Advanced unlimited. Free allows 4 live automations; every paid plan is unlimited. Extra Inbox seats cost $25 each on Pro and above.
What counts as an active contact?
ManyChat counts a person as active if they interact with your account through ManyChat during the billing month — they send you a DM, comment on a post that has an automation, reply to your story, or engage with an automation in any other way. Your follower count doesn’t matter; engagement does.
- The same person messaging you ten times in a month still counts once.
- The count resets every billing month — even on yearly plans.
- Imported contacts only count if they send or receive a message through an automation, ManyChat AI, a broadcast or live chat.
- Someone who reaches you on two platforms can count twice, unless ManyChat matches them by phone number or email.
Is ManyChat free?
Yes — there is a Free plan, but it is much smaller than it used to be. Since March 2026 it covers 25 active contacts a month (older free accounts were moved to it too), 4 live automations, 1 user, 1 Inbox seat and 2 channels. The first message each new contact gets from ManyChat carries a “Powered by Manychat” branding message, removed only on paid plans.
Twenty-five people is a test allowance: a single post that gets 30 replies uses it up. If you are comparing free plans, look at what each one includes, not just the price — on ohyap’s Free plan every feature is on, AI replies included, with 200 messages a month and no limit on contacts.
What a busy month really costs
Use the calculator to put in your own numbers. ManyChat bills people; ohyap bills the messages it sends — so set how many DMs each person usually gets. A comment-to-DM that sends a link is one or two; a real conversation is more.
ManyChat vs ohyap: your monthly cost
ManyChat
$39/mo
Pro plan
ohyap
$15/mo
Creator · 5,000 messages a month
ohyap is $24 cheaper a month — about $288 a year.
ManyChat prices from its Help Center (plans updated 27 Aug 2026, checked 2026-10-19), in USD, before tax. ManyChat counts each person once per billing month; ohyap counts the messages it sends (messages people send you are free).
Try ohyap free →The same arithmetic for some typical months — ManyChat’s cheapest plan for that many active contacts, and ohyap assuming two DMs per person:
| Active contacts / month | ManyChat, monthly billing | ManyChat, billed yearly | ohyap (2 DMs each) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | ManyChat, monthly billingEssential — $17 | ManyChat, billed yearlyEssential — $14 | ohyap (2 DMs each)$0 (200 messages) |
| 500 | ManyChat, monthly billingPro — $39 | ManyChat, billed yearlyPro — $29 | ohyap (2 DMs each)$15 (1,000 messages) |
| 1,000 | ManyChat, monthly billingPro — $39 | ManyChat, billed yearlyPro — $29 | ohyap (2 DMs each)$15 (2,000 messages) |
| 2,500 | ManyChat, monthly billingPro — $39 | ManyChat, billed yearlyPro — $29 | ohyap (2 DMs each)$15 (5,000 messages) |
| 5,000 | ManyChat, monthly billingBusiness — $99 | ManyChat, billed yearlyBusiness — $69 | ohyap (2 DMs each)$15 (10,000 messages) |
| 10,000 | ManyChat, monthly billingBusiness — $161.50 | ManyChat, billed yearlyBusiness — $114 | ohyap (2 DMs each)$40 (20,000 messages) |
Does ManyChat include AI?
Only from Pro ($39/month, or $29/month billed yearly). Free and Essential don’t include ManyChat’s AI features; ManyChat’s own advice for Essential users who want AI-powered automation is to move up to Pro. If AI replies are the reason you are looking, that is the price to compare.
Monthly or yearly billing?
Paying yearly saves 18% on Essential, 25% on Pro and 30% on Business and Advanced. Two things don’t change: active contacts still reset every month, and overage on a yearly plan is still billed monthly. Business and Advanced have no free trial; Essential and Pro include 14 days.
Costs people miss
- Overage. Automatic, added to your next bill. ManyChat emails you at 70%, 90% and 100% of your limit.
- Viral posts. One post that takes off can push you into overage or a higher plan for that month.
- Seats. Extra Inbox seats are $25 each on Pro, Business and Advanced.
- WhatsApp messages. Meta charges for WhatsApp messages separately from any tool’s subscription, and on ManyChat WhatsApp starts at Pro.
When ManyChat is worth the price
ManyChat is the most complete tool in the category. It is a good fit if you need many channels at once (Instagram, TikTok, Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS and email), a visual flow builder for complex funnels, team inbox routing, a large library of templates and integrations, or API access.
A flat-price alternative
If what you need is Instagram — comment-to-DM, story replies and an AI that answers questions — per-contact pricing is the part that hurts, because your bill grows exactly when a post works. ohyap is built the other way around:
- One flat price. Creator is $15/month (launch price, list $20) for 10,000 messages, with unlimited contacts. No per-contact fees, ever.
- AI on every plan. It answers DMs in your own voice from a short Knowledge Base you write once — in whatever language your followers write in, voice notes too.
- Free plan with every feature, AI included, 200 messages a month.
- Official Meta API, human-paced sending, and it steps aside the moment you reply by hand.
ohyap is focused on Instagram (plus WhatsApp for shops); if you need TikTok, Telegram, SMS or email automation, ManyChat covers more channels. For a side-by-side, see ManyChat alternatives compared.
Questions people ask
Is there a free version of ManyChat?
Yes. ManyChat’s Free plan costs $0 and, since March 2026, covers up to 25 active contacts a month, 4 live automations and 2 channels, with “Powered by Manychat” branding. AI features start on the Pro plan.
How much does ManyChat cost per month?
Essential is $17/month (250 active contacts), Pro $39 (2,500), Business $99 (7,500) and Advanced $199 (25,000). Billed yearly they are $14, $29, $69 and $139 a month. Going past your plan’s contacts adds an overage fee per extra contact.
What is an active contact on ManyChat?
Anyone who interacts with your account through ManyChat in the billing month — a DM, a comment on a post with an automation, a story reply or any automation. Each person counts once per month, and the count resets every month.
Does ManyChat charge per contact?
Yes. Under the pricing introduced on 2 March 2026, each plan includes a number of active contacts per month and charges per extra contact above it: $0.10 on Essential, $0.05 on Pro, $0.025 on Business and $0.004 on Advanced (monthly billing).
Is ManyChat AI included in the free plan?
No. ManyChat’s AI-powered automation is part of the Pro plan and above. The Free and Essential plans don’t include it.
What happens if I go over my ManyChat contact limit?
Your automations keep running and overage charges are added to your next bill automatically. You can set an overage limit in Settings → Billing → Subscription; once you reach it, automations keep running only for contacts who were already active that month.
Is there a cheaper alternative to ManyChat?
For Instagram, yes. ohyap charges one flat $15 a month for 10,000 messages with unlimited contacts and AI replies included, and has a Free plan with every feature. See the comparison at ohyap.com/manychat-alternative.
One flat price. Your posts can go viral.
ohyap answers comments and DMs in your voice for $15 a month — unlimited contacts, AI included. Start free, no card.
Try ohyap free →Sources