SendPulse vs ManyChat: price, Instagram features and how each one bills

SendPulse vs ManyChat is a choice between two chatbot builders that both reply to Instagram comments, story mentions and DMs through Meta's official API. SendPulse's chatbot plans are free up to 500 subscribers, then start at $12 a month. ManyChat goes from a free plan up to $199 a month and bills by how many people you interact with.

SendPulse is cheaper at the low end, and the same company sells email and SMS. ManyChat is built around Instagram comment-to-DM and covers more channels in one plan. We checked both pricing pages on 7 November 2026.

Prices

SendPulse's chatbot Pro plan costs $12 a month at 500 subscribers, or $9.60 a month billed yearly, and the price goes up as your subscriber count grows. ManyChat's paid plans run $17 to $199 a month, priced by active contacts. Both have a free plan. The table shows what each pricing page listed on 7 November 2026.

	ManyChat	SendPulse chatbots
Free plan	25 active contacts a month, up to 4 live triggers, 2 channels, ManyChat branding	3 chatbots, up to 500 subscribers, up to 10,000 messages a month, 10 triggers
Paid price	Essential $17, Pro $39, Business $99, Advanced $199 a month ($14 to $139 billed yearly)	Pro from $12 a month at 500 subscribers ($9.60 billed yearly), rising with list size
What you pay for	Active contacts a month, plus a fee per extra contact	Subscribers in your bots; messages are unlimited on Pro
Channels	Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, TikTok, Telegram, SMS, email	Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram and TikTok bots; email, SMS and Viber are priced separately
Instagram DM features	Replies to comment keywords, story replies and DMs; Manychat AI on Pro and above	Flows triggered by post comments, live comments, story mentions and keywords; public comment replies; ChatGPT integration on Pro
Trial	14 days on Essential and Pro	Free plan, no card needed
WhatsApp fees	Billed by Meta on top	Billed by Meta on top; 1,000 service replies a month per bot free

ManyChat says its price "is determined by the user's billing country". SendPulse prices its email product on a separate page, starting at $12 a month for 500 subscribers on the Standard plan. Our ManyChat pricing guide goes through ManyChat's plans and overage fees in detail.

Where SendPulse is stronger

SendPulse costs less to start. Its free chatbot plan covers 500 subscribers and 10,000 messages a month, where ManyChat's free plan stops at 25 active contacts. From $12 a month, its Pro plan adds unlimited bots, messages, triggers and flows, payments in chat, and removes the SendPulse branding.

It also fits a business that wants email, SMS and chatbots from one company under one login. On Instagram, its flows can start from a post comment, a comment on a live stream, a story mention or a keyword, and SendPulse is a Meta Business Partner. Its Instagram page even suggests varying your message text "to keep Instagram from limiting your account activity."

Where ManyChat is stronger

ManyChat is the stronger pick if Instagram is your main channel and you want flows already built for it. It's designed around comment-to-DM for creators, ships templates for it, and adds Manychat AI on Pro and above. Plans go up to 25,000 active contacts a month, and past that it charges set per-contact rates.

ManyChat also covers more channels in one plan, including SMS and email on Business and Advanced. The catch is that every person you reach counts toward your bill, so one viral reel can push it up in a single month. SendPulse bills by subscriber tiers instead.

If you want outbound Instagram DMs instead

Both tools reply to people who contact you first. Neither can send a first message to someone who never commented, replied or messaged, because Instagram's official API doesn't allow it. If your problem is that nobody is reaching out, a cheaper reply bot won't fix it.

For other inbound tools and their prices, see ManyChat alternatives. Related comparisons: ManyChat vs Chatfuel, which bills by AI credits, and Tidio vs ManyChat, which bills by support conversations. Every comparison is on the compare index.

Questions

Is SendPulse cheaper than ManyChat?

At the start, yes. SendPulse's free chatbot plan covers 500 subscribers, and its Pro plan starts at $12 a month. ManyChat's free plan covers 25 active contacts, and Essential costs $17 a month. Prices checked 7 November 2026.

Does SendPulse do Instagram comment-to-DM?

Yes. Its Instagram page lists automated DMs and public replies to comments. Flows can be triggered by post comments, live comments, story mentions and keywords.

Can I use SendPulse and ManyChat on the same Instagram account?

Neither pricing page says anything about running both on one account. Give each trigger to only one tool so a commenter never gets two replies, or move fully to one tool before your next campaign.

Does either one send cold DMs?

No. Both wait for the person to act first. Cold outreach on Instagram needs a different kind of tool, one with a slower pace and more risk to the account.

More ManyChat comparisons: Tidio vs ManyChat, MobileMonkey vs ManyChat, ManyChat vs Stan Store, and Chatfuel vs ManyChat. For one tool at a time, see ManyChat alternatives.