ManyChat pricing in 2026: what each plan costs at 1,000, 5,000 and 25,000 contacts
Muhammad Hassan, FounderLinkedIn
Published Updated
ManyChat pricing runs from $0 to $199 a month across five plans: Free, Essential, Pro, Business and Advanced. Each plan includes a number of active contacts, meaning the people you interact with in a month, and on paid plans every person above that number is billed as overage. Paying yearly cuts the price by 18% to 30%. WhatsApp message fees come on top, from the Pro plan up.
ManyChat now writes its name Manychat; we keep the spelling most people search for. We make HiQBot, which competes with ManyChat, so read this with that in mind. Every ManyChat figure below comes from ManyChat's own pricing page and WhatsApp cost calculator, read on 13 November 2026, in US dollars before tax. ManyChat says the price depends on your billing country and shows the final amount before you pay.
ManyChat pricing in 2026: the five plans
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed annually, per month | Active contacts a month | Each extra contact, monthly / annual | Channels | People |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 25 | Not offered | 2, not WhatsApp | 1 user, 1 inbox seat |
| Essential | $17 | $14 ($168 a year) | 250 | $0.10 / $0.082 | 2, not WhatsApp | 2 users, 1 inbox seat |
| Pro | $39 | $29 ($348 a year) | 2,500 | $0.05 / $0.038 | 3, WhatsApp can be one | 3 users, 2 inbox seats |
| Business | $99 | $69 ($828 a year) | 7,500 | $0.025 / $0.018 | All | 5 users, 3 inbox seats |
| Advanced | $199 | $139 ($1,668 a year) | 25,000 | $0.004 / $0.0028 | All | 10 users, 5 inbox seats |
These limits in ManyChat's comparison table decide which plan you need:
- The AI features (AI replies from your saved business knowledge, AI comment replies, AI goals and the AI step that qualifies leads) start on Pro.
- WhatsApp, SMS, email and broadcasts start on Pro, with email sends capped at 10,000, 30,000 and 100,000 on Pro, Business and Advanced. Free and Essential connect two channels, such as Instagram, Messenger or Telegram.
- Automatic assignment of conversations to teammates, priority support and team reports start on Business.
- Extra inbox seats cost $25 each on Pro, Business and Advanced, up to 3, 5 and 10 seats in total.
Essential and Pro come with a 14-day free trial. Plans can be cancelled at any time, and ManyChat refunds a plan cancelled within 30 days of purchase. An upgrade starts a new billing period at once, with the unused part of the old plan credited. An annual plan cannot be downgraded or switched to monthly until its year ends.
What a ManyChat active contact is
ManyChat defines an active contact as a real person you interact with during a monthly billing period, through automations, AI, broadcasts or the inbox. One person counts once a month however many messages you exchange. Contacts are counted monthly on annual plans too, and overage is billed every month.
Going over the limit does not stop your automations. ManyChat emails you as you approach it, lets you set a threshold for how much overage you accept, and waives the overage built up so far if you upgrade within the same billing cycle. For an Instagram account, this matters most after a post takes off: everyone who comments and gets a DM back is an active contact that month.
What ManyChat costs at 1,000, 5,000 and 25,000 contacts
For each size, the table shows the plan that costs least that month and what the plan below it would cost with overage. Plan price plus overage, from the rates above:
| Active contacts a month | Cheapest plan | Billed monthly | Billed annually, per month | The plan below, with overage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | Pro | $39 | $29 | Essential: $92 monthly, $75.50 annual |
| 5,000 | Business | $99 | $69 | Pro: $164 monthly, $124 annual |
| 25,000 | Advanced | $199 | $139 | Business: $536.50 monthly, $384 annual |
At 1,000 contacts, Essential would cost $17 plus 750 extra contacts at $0.10, so $92, against $39 for Pro. The same sum puts the switch points, on monthly billing, at about 470 contacts (Essential to Pro), 3,700 (Pro to Business) and 11,500 (Business to Advanced). On annual billing they fall a little earlier: about 430, 3,550 and 11,400. An annual plan can be upgraded at any time but not downgraded until the year ends, so size it for your busiest month.
Add $25 for each extra inbox seat (ManyChat's table gives no billing period for it), WhatsApp message fees if you use WhatsApp, tax for your country, and $29 a month on Pro if the AI add-on applies to your account (see Does ManyChat AI cost extra?).
A ManyChat pricing calculator in four steps
ManyChat's pricing page has a short plan finder that asks for your channels and contact count, and a separate WhatsApp calculator for message fees. Neither adds up a full month, so:
- Count the unique people you messaged last month on every channel you will connect. That is your active contacts.
- Pick the plan whose included contacts cover that number, and the channels and seats you need.
- If you go over, overage is (active contacts minus included contacts) × your plan's rate per extra contact.
- Add extra inbox seats at $25 each, WhatsApp messages from ManyChat's calculator, the AI add-on if ManyChat confirms one, and tax.
Example: 3,000 active contacts on Pro, billed monthly, is $39 + (500 × $0.05) = $64 a month before seats, WhatsApp and tax.
Does ManyChat AI cost extra?
ManyChat's own pages disagree. The live pricing page, read on 13 November 2026, lists Manychat AI inside Pro, Business and Advanced, with no separate price and no AI usage limit in its comparison table. ManyChat's AI product page, read the same day, says Manychat AI is an add-on to Manychat Pro, and costs $29/month.
It said the same when archived on 29 October 2026.
On Pro, budget for the $29 until ManyChat confirms the AI is included, and check the order summary at checkout, which ManyChat says shows the final price before you pay.
ManyChat WhatsApp pricing: message fees on top of the plan
WhatsApp needs the Pro plan or higher. ManyChat's WhatsApp page calls it an additional charge on top of the plan, paid from a Manychat Wallet you top up in settings. ManyChat's WhatsApp calculator prices each message by the country of the number you send to and by type: marketing and utility templates, and service messages (free-form replies inside the 24-hour window).
Set against Meta's own rate card effective 1 October 2026, ManyChat's marketing and utility rates are about 15% higher in all 47 markets on its list, a point or so either way on rates under one cent because of rounding. Its service-message rate matches Meta's utility rate, which is what Meta charges for service messages since 1 October 2026. Meta gives each business number 1,000 free service messages a month; the calculator does not show that allowance.
| Recipients in | ManyChat calculator | Meta rate card |
|---|---|---|
| United States and Canada | $28.70 | $25.00 |
| United Kingdom | $73.00 | $63.50 |
| India | $13.60 | $11.80 |
| United Arab Emirates | $66.20 | $57.60 |
| Brazil | $71.80 | $62.50 |
ManyChat's WhatsApp page still describes the per-conversation model with 1,000 free conversations a month, which Meta replaced with per-message pricing on 1 July 2025, so size a WhatsApp budget from the calculator. Our WhatsApp Business API pricing guide lists Meta's current rates by country.
Is ManyChat free?
Yes, ManyChat has a Free plan with no time limit and no card. It covers 25 active contacts a month, two channels (WhatsApp is not one of them), up to 4 live automations and one user, and adds "Powered by Manychat" the first time you message a contact. It has no AI and no data collection in DMs. Essential and Pro have 14-day free trials if you want to test the paid features.
Free has no overage option, so a business that passes 25 contacts in a month has to upgrade. One post that brings 30 comments with a DM reply is enough to get there.
When ManyChat is the right buy
- Your customers find you on Instagram, and you want comment-to-DM, story replies, story mentions, comments on a live and follow triggers in one tool.
- You need SMS or email sends in the same tool as your DMs.
- You talk to many people who each need a message or two. On Advanced an extra contact costs $0.004, so 10,000 more people add $40.
- You want to start free, or on a $14 to $17 plan, while the account is small.
- You would rather automations keep running past the limit and bill you than stop.
ManyChat alternatives
The price stops fitting when the bill grows with every person who messages you, when you need a chat window on your own website or LINE (ManyChat's website button opens a DM in another app, and it has no LINE), or when several people answer and you need automatic assignment before the Business plan. Our page on ManyChat alternatives compares HiQBot with ManyChat channel by channel, and our chatbot pricing comparison sets 12 platforms' prices side by side.
HiQBot's plans are flat monthly prices with message credits, and it does not count contacts. The entry plan is $49 a month ($490 a year) for 2,500 credits, with the AI customer service agent on website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram and LINE. Plans with live chat start at $139 a month. These are US-dollar list prices; checkout shows your local currency and adds tax where your location requires it.
One AI reply uses one to eight credits depending on the AI level you choose for each inbox. When credits run out the AI pauses until the plan renews or you add a credit pack, so nothing bills past the allowance. Meta bills WhatsApp message fees to your own WhatsApp account and HiQBot adds nothing per message. HiQBot's guided flows send buttons and questions in WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram and LINE, but they do not start from a keyword in a DM or run drip sequences, so if your funnels depend on those, ManyChat does more there. Full details are on HiQBot pricing.
Common questions
How much does ManyChat cost a month?
From $0 on the Free plan to $199 a month on Advanced, billed monthly, or $14 to $139 a month billed annually, read on 13 November 2026. Overage for contacts above the plan's limit, extra inbox seats, WhatsApp message fees, tax and possibly $29 a month for AI come on top.
How much is ManyChat Pro?
Pro is $39 a month billed monthly, or $29 a month billed annually ($348 a year), for 2,500 active contacts, three channels (WhatsApp can be one), three users and the AI features. Each contact above 2,500 costs $0.05, or $0.038 on annual billing. ManyChat's AI page says AI is a $29 a month add-on to Pro; its pricing page lists it as included.
Does ManyChat charge for WhatsApp messages?
Yes. WhatsApp messages are charged on top of the plan, per message, at a rate set by the recipient's country and paid from a Manychat Wallet you top up. ManyChat's rates for marketing and utility messages are about 15% above Meta's own rate card.
What happens if I go over my ManyChat contact limit?
Your automations keep running and you pay for each extra active contact that month, from $0.10 on Essential to $0.004 on Advanced. You can set a limit on overage, and upgrading within the same billing cycle cancels the overage built up so far.
Does ManyChat have a free trial?
Yes. Essential and Pro have a 14-day free trial, and the Free plan has no end date. Paid plans need a card; the Free plan does not.
Can I get a refund from ManyChat?
ManyChat says you can cancel within 30 days of buying a plan and get a refund by messaging its support team.
How we worked this out: plan prices, contact limits, overage rates and seat prices come from ManyChat's pricing page and its comparison table, read on 13 November 2026. Each monthly cost is the plan price plus (active contacts minus included contacts) × the plan's rate per extra contact. The WhatsApp comparison sets each of the 47 markets in ManyChat's calculator against the same market on Meta's rate card for 1 October 2026. How we write and check posts: editorial standards.