Both ManyChat and respond.io help businesses connect with customers on channels like WhatsApp and Instagram. But ManyChat is designed for creators, small e-commerce shops and agencies.
As your business grows, its channel limitations, basic automation and lack of live support can hold you back. If you're scaling and need a platform that handles complex workflows across WhatsApp (including voice calls), TikTok and more, respond.io is for you. Let's see how Manychat and respond.io compare across key features. 👇
Manychat | respond.io | |
|---|---|---|
Multichannel Capabilities | ||
Messaging Channels | ||
Calls |
| |
WhatsApp Capabilities | ||
Meta Business Partner | ||
WhatsApp Business Calling API | ||
WhatsApp Business App + API | ||
WhatsApp Catalog | ||
Broadcasts | ||
Customer Lifecycle Automation | ||
Customer Lifecycle Management | ||
Chat Automation Workflows | Single-channel flows with basic triggers and actions | Advanced multichannel automation |
Click to Chat Automation Triggers | ||
Reports | Limited to conversion metrics | Comprehensive reports |
AI Features | ||
AI Agent | For additional fees | Included in Growth plan and above |
AI Assisted Message Drafts | For additional fees | Unlimited credits |
AI Knowledge Sources | Document uploads and web resources | |
Support and Stability | ||
ISO 27001 | ||
Supports High Message Volume without Lagging | ||
Chat Support Availability | No live chat support, only ticket and email | 24/5 expert chat support, AI agent on weekends |
Support via Call | ||
Pricing | ||
Entry | Free: $0/month
| Starter: $79/month
|
Mid-tier | Pro: Starting from $15/month
| Growth: $159/month
|
Advanced | Advanced: $279/month
| |
Enterprise | Elite: Plan and pricing tailored for large businesses | Enterprise: Plan and pricing tailored for large businesses Contact respond.io for customized enterprise plans |
Additional fees |
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*Monthly Active Contacts refers to the contacts you chat with in a month. Instead of paying for stored contacts, only pay for the contacts you actually talk to.
Migrate from WhatsApp Business App to WhatsApp API
Migrate WhatsApp API from another BSP to respond.io
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Reliable Customer Support
⚡️
Stable Platform & Automation
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True Omnichannel & Workflow Power
Manychat may get you started, but respond.io takes you to the next level with 24/7 customer support, a reliable platform and advanced workflows to scale your business.
High-quality customer support
Users report Manychat’s email support is a big downside. Respond.io provides 24/5 human support, AI support on weekends and assisted onboarding tailored to your goals.
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Calls and chat in a true omnichannel inbox
Manychat doesn’t support WhatsApp calls, VoIP or custom channels. On respond.io, switch easily between calls, emails and chat, even on proprietary or custom channels
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Highly stable platform
Respond.io is engineered for high performance, even during peak traffic. Its enterprise-grade architecture ensures fast, uninterrupted operations round the clock.
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Advanced AI and automation
Manychat’s automation is limited in logic, scalability, and multichannel orchestration. Respond.io’s Workflows are logic-rich and built to scale.
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Customer lifecycle management
Prioritize high-intent leads, design customer journeys for each lifecycle stage or identify common drop-off points with analytics.
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Comprehensive lead generation
Capture leads from Meta and TikTok, qualify and reply instantly with AI, then optimize performance with detailed analytics.
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Native integrations
Enrich data with Google Sheets, Hubspot and Salesforce — note that Salesforce integration is unavailable on Manychat.
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Data-driven insights
Track team performance, ad and broadcast performance, and conversions to turn insights into revenue.
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Customer retention at scale
Grow customer loyalty with targeted broadcasts on popular channels for promotions, renewals, upgrades and CSAT surveys.
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Migrate from WhatsApp Business App to WhatsApp API
Migrate WhatsApp API from another BSP to respond.io
Migrate from Sleekflow or other software to respond.io
New to messaging platforms? Get started easily
Manychat offers a free plan, but it comes with significant limitations for businesses. There's no chat support, it's restricted to a single user, and you'll likely face additional costs to unlock more contacts, users or advanced automation features.
Many users have expressed frustration with Manychat’s limited support, which is only available via email and often leaves them without timely answers. The platform has also been reported to crash under high message volumes, affecting reliability during live campaigns. Additionally, it lacks support for several popular messaging channels, and its automation capabilities fall short compared to other solutions on the market, like respond.io.
Respond.io is a powerful alternative to Manychat for Instagram. It offers smarter automation, agent assignment, and multi-channel inbox management, so you can handle high volumes of Instagram DMs efficiently and reply faster across all channels.
Respond.io surpasses Manychat with full integration for TikTok Messaging Ads and TikTok Business Messaging, both important features for businesses. Respond.io also provides powerful automation workflows and omnichannel engagement, ensuring that TikTok leads can be nurtured across various platforms. Lastly, Manychat charges per stored contacts, whereas respond.io’s pricing is based on Monthly Active Contacts, which means you won’t pay for contacts you don’t speak to.
Manychat works well for solo entrepreneurs, content creators, small e-commerce shops and marketers running social ads. But it may fall short for businesses that need multi-user access, advanced automation or a true omnichannel solution. Its capabilities in areas like custom workflows, AI routing and inbox management are more limited. That's why over 10,000 fast-growing B2C companies worldwide choose respond.io instead.
Book a tailored demo with our in-house experts to see how respond.io meets your specific use cases, or sign up for a free trial. When you’re ready to make the switch, our onboarding team is happy to offer guided assistance for a smooth migration. After that, support is available 24/7 if you need any help.