ManyChat Pricing in 2026: Every Plan, What Active Contacts Cost, and a Free Alternative
ManyChat pricing plan by plan as of October 2026: Free to Advanced, what an active contact is, what overage costs, and how a free alternative compares.
ManyChat has five plans, from a Free plan at $0 to Advanced at $139 a month, and what you pay depends on how many active contacts you have in a month, not on how many messages you send. Below are all five as shown on manychat.com/pricing on October 31, 2026, how overage works, and what to do if you only need comment-to-DM. Hermoso is a free ManyChat alternative for that.
We make Hermoso. The ManyChat numbers here are copied from their pricing page, shown before tax. ManyChat says the price is set by your billing country, so the page you see may differ.
ManyChat plans
| Plan | Price | Active contacts | Channels | Users |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 25 | 2 | 1 |
| Essential | $14 a month ($168 billed annually) | 250 | 2 | 2 |
| Pro | $29 a month ($348 billed annually) | 2,500 | 3 | 3 |
| Business | $69 a month ($828 billed annually) | 7,500 | Unlimited | 5 |
| Advanced | $139 a month ($1,668 billed annually) | 25,000 | Unlimited | 10 |
The Free plan needs no card and carries Manychat branding. Essential and Pro have a 14-day free trial, and ManyChat says you can cancel for a refund within 30 days of buying a plan. The listed monthly prices correspond to the annual-billing figures shown next to them.
What an active contact is
ManyChat defines an active contact as a real person you interact with during a monthly billing period, through messages or automations. One person is one active contact for the month, however many messages you exchange. A contact counts when messages are sent or received through ManyChat via automations, AI, broadcasts or the inbox.
What happens when you go over
Automations do not shut off. ManyChat charges a fee for each additional active contact, and you can set a threshold that caps how many extra you allow. Its page lists these per-contact rates:
| Plan | Each extra contact, monthly | Each extra contact, annual |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | $0.10 | $0.082 |
| Pro | $0.05 | $0.038 |
| Business | $0.025 | $0.018 |
| Advanced | $0.004 | $0.0028 |
A worked example using the annual figures: a Pro account with 5,000 active contacts in a month is 2,500 over its allowance. 2,500 at $0.038 is $95, on top of $29, so $124 for that month. A post that goes viral is exactly the month this happens, which is why many creators prefer a tool that does not count contacts.
Which plan fits comment-to-DM
- Under 25 people a month: ManyChat Free works.
- A few hundred: Essential at $14 a month covers 250.
- A few thousand: Pro at $29 a month covers 2,500.
- Any number, only Instagram and Facebook: the Hermoso Instagram DM automation is free on every plan and does not count contacts.
ManyChat covers WhatsApp, TikTok, Telegram, SMS and email as well, plus broadcasting on its paid plans. If you need those, you are paying for something Hermoso's automation does not do. See the side-by-side.
Start free at app.hermoso.ai, no card.
Questions people ask
How much does ManyChat cost?
As of October 31, 2026, ManyChat lists Free at $0, Essential at $14 a month, Pro at $29 a month, Business at $69 a month and Advanced at $139 a month, with the allowed active contacts rising from 25 to 25,000.
Does ManyChat have a free plan?
Yes. The Free plan costs $0, needs no credit card, and includes 25 active contacts, 2 channels, 1 user and Manychat branding.
What is a ManyChat active contact?
A real person you interact with during a monthly billing period through messages or automations. One person counts once per month no matter how many messages are exchanged.
What does ManyChat charge for going over the contact limit?
Automations keep running and each extra active contact is billed. The page lists $0.10 on Essential, $0.05 on Pro, $0.025 on Business and $0.004 on Advanced for monthly billing, and lower rates for annual.
Is there a free alternative to ManyChat?
Yes. Hermoso offers Instagram and Facebook comment-to-DM automation free on every plan with no contact count.