ManyChat vs Respond.io: what each costs at the same number of active contacts
The short answer
Both bill by the people you talk to each month, at very different prices. Month-to-month with AI, 5,000 active contacts costs $99 on ManyChat Business and $399 on Respond.io Growth; 10,000 costs $161.50 against $559. Respond.io includes 10 users and calls; ManyChat tops out at 5 Inbox seats and is the stronger flow builder.
Last verified : both pricing pages read the same day, Respond.io tier by tier. We sell Instant Reply, a third option, and show it in every table.
Who should pick which
- ManyChat for creators and marketers running comment-to-DM campaigns: a visual flow builder with ready-made templates, TikTok, a Free plan, and, for one or two people, a far lower bill than Respond.io at every volume we priced.
- Respond.io for support or sales teams of six or more: 10 users included, voice calls and AI voice agents on Advanced, and a published 7-day trial with no card.
- Instant Reply when the conversation is the sale: flat price, unlimited contacts, AI that reads voice notes and photos, review before send, and handoff. No flow canvas, no calls, no TikTok.
- Build and test your own AI free
- 7-day free trial on yearly plans. Card at checkout, nothing charged until day 8
- Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp in one inbox
- Vendor prices read
Monthly cost with AI, one person answering
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Active contacts / month | ManyChat, cheapest plan with AI | Respond.io Growth | Instant Reply (1 to 3 AI replies per contact) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $39Pro, within allowance | $1991,000-contact tier | $59Starter |
| 2,500 | $39Pro, within allowance | $2992,500-contact tier | $59Starter |
| 5,000 | $99Business, within allowance | $3995,000-contact tier | $59 to $129Starter or Growth |
| 10,000 | $161.50Business, $99 + 2,500 x $0.025 | $55910,000-contact tier | $59 to $129Starter or Growth |
Month-to-month, Instagram and Messenger, AI replies needed, WhatsApp message fees excluded everywhere. ManyChat picks the cheapest plan with AI and enough Inbox seats; Respond.io Growth is its cheapest plan with AI Agents and includes 10 users, so a team of 1 adds no user fees. Respond.io's Starter ($99, unlimited contacts) has AI Assist and Prompt but no AI Agents, so it is not in the table.
Neither bill fits? Try a flat one.
Instant Reply has unlimited contacts on every plan. 7-day free trial on yearly plans. Card at checkout, nothing charged until day 8.
Monthly cost with AI, a team of 5
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Active contacts / month | ManyChat, cheapest plan with AI | Respond.io Growth | Instant Reply (1 to 3 AI replies per contact) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $199Advanced, within allowance | $1991,000-contact tier | $129Growth |
| 2,500 | $199Advanced, within allowance | $2992,500-contact tier | $129Growth |
| 5,000 | $199Advanced, within allowance | $3995,000-contact tier | $129Growth |
| 10,000 | $199Advanced, within allowance | $55910,000-contact tier | $129Growth |
Month-to-month, Instagram and Messenger, AI replies needed, WhatsApp message fees excluded everywhere. ManyChat picks the cheapest plan with AI and enough Inbox seats; Respond.io Growth is its cheapest plan with AI Agents and includes 10 users, so a team of 5 adds no user fees. Respond.io's Starter ($99, unlimited contacts) has AI Assist and Prompt but no AI Agents, so it is not in the table.
The same spike on both: a post brings 2,000 extra people into your DMs
- ManyChat Pro ($39, 2,500 included): 2,000 x $0.05 = $100 overage, $139 that month. Upgrading to Business in the same cycle forgives the overage. (A 20,000-contact spike is $1,039.)
- Respond.io Growth ($299, 2,500 tier): 20 blocks x $12 = $240 on demand, $539 that month, against $399 on the 5,000 tier.
- Instant Reply: the invoice stays at the plan price; if the AI-reply cap is reached the AI pauses and you are emailed.
ManyChat vs Respond.io vs Instant Reply, side by side
From each vendor's pricing page, October 18, 2026.
- What it is
- ManyChatA visual automation and flow builder for social DMs and comments, with an Inbox.
- Respond.ioA team inbox with workflows, broadcasts, calls and AI Agents.
- Instant ReplyAn AI sales inbox: the AI drafts or sends replies, a person reviews, follows up and takes over.
- What the bill follows
- ManyChatActive Contacts: anyone you message through ManyChat in the billing month.
- Respond.ioMonthly Active Contacts: "someone you have talked to over calls or chat during the billing month". Starter is unlimited but has no AI Agents.
- Instant ReplyA flat plan price. Contacts are unlimited; the meter is AI replies (10,000 / 35,000 / 100,000), which pause at the cap.
- Cheapest plan with AI replies
- ManyChatPro, $39 month-to-month ($29 billed annually) for 2,500 Active Contacts.
- Respond.ioGrowth, $199 month-to-month ($159 billed yearly) for 1,000 Monthly Active Contacts.
- Instant ReplyStarter, $59 month-to-month ($49.17 billed annually), Instagram and Messenger.
- Price per extra contact
- ManyChat$0.05 on Pro, $0.025 on Business, $0.004 on Advanced (month-to-month).
- Respond.ioOn demand in blocks of 100: $12 per 100 on Growth, $15 per 100 on Advanced. Or move up a tier: 2,500 / 5,000 / 10,000.
- Instant ReplyNone. Above Pro's 100,000 AI replies, 25,000-reply packs are $29.
- People in the inbox
- ManyChatInbox seats: 2 on Pro, 3 on Business, 5 on Advanced (3 / 5 / 10 logins).
- Respond.io5 users on Starter, 10 on Growth and Advanced; extra users $15 / $25 / $30 a month.
- Instant Reply1 seat on Starter, 5 on Growth, unlimited on Pro.
- Above 10,000 contacts
- ManyChatPublished to 25,000 on Advanced, then $0.004 each.
- Respond.ioNo public price above 10,000 Monthly Active Contacts; talk to sales.
- Instant ReplyNo contact limit on any paid plan.
- WhatsApp fees
- ManyChatPer delivered message from a prepaid ManyChat Wallet, on top of the plan.
- Respond.io"Not included in any respond.io subscription"; WhatsApp credit is topped up on the platform.
- Instant ReplyGrowth and up. Billed by Meta through your own Meta account.
- Free plan and trial
- ManyChatFree plan for 25 Active Contacts; 14-day trial on Essential and Pro.
- Respond.ioNo free plan listed; 7-day free trial, no card needed.
- Instant ReplyBuild and test your AI free; 7 days free on yearly plans.
- MCP for AI agents
- ManyChatNo MCP server found in what we read.
- Respond.io"Model Context Protocol (MCP)" is listed in the integrations of every plan, Starter included.
- Instant ReplyMCP server with 50+ tools from Starter.
ManyChat vs Respond.io: common questions
Is Respond.io better than ManyChat?
For different jobs. ManyChat is a visual automation builder for comment-to-DM and campaign flows. Respond.io is a team inbox with workflows, calls and AI Agents for support and sales teams. If one or two people run Instagram campaigns, ManyChat is the better and far cheaper fit. If six to ten agents share WhatsApp and Instagram conversations, Respond.io's 10 included users matter more than its higher contact price.
Is Respond.io cheaper than ManyChat?
Rarely on contacts alone. Month-to-month with AI, 1,000 active contacts is $39 on ManyChat Pro against $199 on Respond.io Growth, and 10,000 is $161.50 against $559. Respond.io closes the gap for teams: Growth includes 10 users, while ManyChat's largest published plan has 5 Inbox seats.
Do ManyChat and Respond.io both charge per contact?
Yes, both bill per active contact per month, not per stored contact. ManyChat counts anyone who sends or receives a message through it in the billing month. Respond.io counts "someone you have talked to over calls or chat during the billing month". Respond.io's Starter plan has unlimited Monthly Active Contacts but no AI Agents or Workflows.
What does each charge when you go over the contact limit?
ManyChat charges per extra contact: $0.05 on Pro, $0.025 on Business, $0.004 on Advanced month-to-month. Respond.io bills on demand in blocks of 100 Monthly Active Contacts: $12 per 100 on Growth ($0.12 a contact) and $15 per 100 on Advanced, at the end of the cycle. A 2,000-contact spike adds $100 on ManyChat Pro and $240 on Respond.io Growth.
Which has better AI, ManyChat or Respond.io?
Respond.io's AI Agents (Growth and up) handle images, PDFs and files and transcribe voice notes, according to Respond.io's own blog, and Advanced adds AI voice agents for calls. ManyChat AI (Pro and up) replies in DMs and comments, and its AI Knowledge Base was Instagram-only when we read ManyChat's help center on October 2, 2026. Test both on ten of your real customer questions before you pay.
Does Respond.io have a free plan like ManyChat?
No free plan is listed on Respond.io's pricing page; it offers a 7-day free trial with no card needed. ManyChat has a Free plan for 25 Active Contacts and a 14-day trial on Essential and Pro.
Are WhatsApp fees included in ManyChat or Respond.io?
Neither. ManyChat charges delivered WhatsApp messages from a prepaid Wallet on top of the plan. Respond.io says WhatsApp fees are not included in any subscription and are charged by Meta, with credit topped up on the platform. Instant Reply customers pay Meta through their own Meta account.
What if I need more than 10,000 active contacts?
ManyChat publishes prices to 25,000 on Advanced ($199 month-to-month) and $0.004 per contact beyond. Respond.io's pricing page shows no price above 10,000 Monthly Active Contacts on any AI plan; you talk to its sales team. Instant Reply has no contact limit: its plans meter AI replies (up to 100,000 on Pro, then 25,000-reply packs at $29).
Where does Instant Reply fit next to ManyChat and Respond.io?
Instant Reply is an AI sales inbox with flat prices and unlimited contacts: Starter $59, Growth $129 (5 seats, WhatsApp), Pro $349 (unlimited seats). At 5,000 to 10,000 active contacts it costs $59 to $129 for one person and $129 for a team of five. It has no visual flow builder, no calls and no TikTok, so it is not a like-for-like replacement for either.
Sources read on
Respond.io prices were read on its pricing page with each Monthly Active Contact tier (1,000, 2,500, 5,000, 10,000) selected, monthly and yearly; an independent September 2026 check (Macha) lists the same tier prices. ManyChat prices were re-read on October 18, 2026. Respond.io's own ManyChat comparison page still quotes ManyChat's pre-March-2026 prices, so we did not use it for numbers. Prices exclude tax and may vary by country.
- 1.Respond.io pricing (tier picker read per tier, monthly and yearly)respond.io
- 2.Respond.io blog: AI Agents transcribe voice notesrespond.io
- 3.Respond.io blog: AI Agents read images, PDFs and CSVsrespond.io
- 4.Macha: Respond.io pricing explained (independent tier check, Sep 24, 2026)getmacha.com
- 5.Respond.io's own ManyChat comparison pagerespond.io
- 6.ManyChat pricing pagemanychat.com
- 7.ManyChat help: Active Contacts and overage caphelp.manychat.com
- 8.Instant Reply pricinginstantreply.co
Keep reading
Neither bill fits? Try a flat one.
Run the ManyChat numbers for your own volume, then test Instant Reply on your real DMs.
Build and test your own AI free. 7-day free trial on yearly plans. Card at checkout, nothing charged until day 8.