Manychat Review: Pricing, Features & Competitors

In recent years, we can apparently see a rise of chatbots in several marketing fields under the rapid development of technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

If you’re still confusing, a chatbot is basically a program powered by rules and AI, simulating real interactions with users via the chat interface. Does it make sense now?

For sure, AI chatbots are a fantastic product of human intelligence with outstanding capabilities to engage and communicate with customers in the digital world.

However, this post won’t discuss the power of chatbots as well as their impact on the modern world. On the other hand, we are about to dive deep into a popular chatbot-based software - ManyChat, along with all of its features, support, pricing, and so forth.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

What is ManyChat used for?

ManyChat is a cloud-based chatbot solution developed to support businesses launching chat marketing campaigns via social media and text messaging.

Definition of AI Chatbot

For those who’re new to the AI-driven chatbot technology, it’s a software application that mimics human speech (either voice or text) for simulating a conversation with a real person.

In recent years, chatbots are mostly-used in multiple marketing fields, typically in the customer service space. Chatbots are known as “Conversational agents,” one of the most fantastic opportunities for sales in today’s digital world.

Advanced chatbot software can even understand complex requests, send personalized responses, and improve interactions over time.

ManyChat Pros and Cons

Let’s have an overview of ManyChat pros and cons before we jump into this chatbot solution with both feet:

ManyChat Pros

• Come along with multiple features supporting live chat activities and creating engaging bots

• Support chatbots for various channels from Facebook Messenger to Email and SMS

• Available A/B split testing

• Report bot performance such as the number of messages sent, open rates, click rates, and conversion daily, weekly, and monthly

• Friendly user experience

• Integrate seamlessly with Facebook Messenger

• Easy installation process

ManyChat Cons

• The Flow Builder is not perfectly built and optimized for users

• The created chatbot responsiveness is not highly recommended because of bugs and latency

• The analytics tools are not powerful enough to give a deep understanding of the business’s issues related to the chatbot

• Can be really expensive when you have a big audience

• Poor technical support service

See ManyChat Features

ManyChat Features

Friendly user interface

Most compliments of ManyChat are about its simplicity on the user interface. Honestly, the dashboard of ManyChat is designed to follow any performed actions on the screen quickly.

It comes with a menu bar on the left side with different selections. For each option, the corresponding content will be displayed on the right side. Other clickable buttons are also placed on prominent positions for the most comfortable setting actions.

ManyChat provides a clear and self-explanatory user interface. Along with an icon-heavy design, ManyChat does its best to explain each of its features as you go effortlessly. To clear this point, let’s move to the most exciting thing making ManyChat’s reputation.

Functional chat flow builder

Apart from the straightforward design, which makes the user interface “a shining point,” are the 2 kinds of interfaces offered by ManyChat: The Basic Builder and The Flow Builder.

Both allow you to create and edit easily from basic to complex chat flow - the whole process your bot follows when interacting with real people. Thanks to its icon-heavy interface and organized workspace design, you can significantly reduce the learning curve as new users.

ManyChat Basic Builder

Basic Builder is a window that comes with lots of tools to perform simple editing of the generated message flows.

With this feature, you can view the chatbot content and all messages of selected Flows in a much more organized way.

But as the name suggests, the workspace of Basic Builder comes with fundamental editing options and is only suitable for simple messages due to its linear organization.

ManyChat Flow Builder

ManyChat developed a separate visual editor for much more complex flows to optimize the user experience - The Flow Builder function.

It offers merchants a more visual approach to edit generated chatbots by using the drag and drop functionality, which is used mostly in popular website builders.

The best thing about ManyChat Flow Builder is that it can show your Flow with configured messages in the map form, giving users a far more structured view of the entire chatbot content.

Diverse Growth Tools

Besides an array of flow builder tools, ManyChat also offers numerous basic to advanced growth tools to entice conversations with configured bots in the software and expand the business’s customer base.

ManyChat allows merchants to drive leads to your bot via multiple channels from Facebook Comments, Website Widgets to QR Codes, and Landing Page.

8 possible paths can be used to begin a conversation between potential customers and your bots in total. In other words, there are several entry points where your bots can automatically interact (for stance, like, or reply to customers’ comments ) with prospects.

Allow businesses to interact with those who don’t message directly and gain sales possibilities. Each of these tools helps you to use ManyChat for lead generation.

Useful built-in Analytics Tools

ManyChat Analytics Tools will log conversion events and metrics to enable its users to track the performance of each messenger campaign.

On the Bot Overview, merchants are track and view their audience growth status in 4 graphs:

• Active Contacts: Display the number of contacts you have in the selected period

• Net Contacts: Show the number of active contacts for each day

• Active & Inactive Contacts: Show day by bay statistics for contacts (both subscribed and unsubscribed from your bot). Hence, deliver some customers insights for gaining more contacts

• Contact Details: Illustrate the percent of contacts’ language and gender

In terms of Growth Tools, ManyChat offers its users essential metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of each tool, including:

• Impressions

• Opt-ins

• Open rate

• Click rate

• Conversion rate

In addition, you can also track the performance of each message block, SMS, email in every Flow via individual stats like:

• Sent

• Delivered

• Opened

• Clicked

• For Email blocks, you get 3 more stats: Bounced, Spam Report, Unsubscribed

Furthermore, with the ManyChat Pixel (a tracking code), you can easily define the flows with better conversion rates and which not to optimize.

Apparently, ManyChat provides us with so many measurable stats to track and monitor the dynamic of each block in the Flow detailedly.

However, they are all over the place and distributed over multiple sections. Hence, it’s quite challenging to have an overall assessment of your chatbot’s effectiveness. Furthermore, it’s harder to optimize your chatbot since ManyChat Analytics Tools are still quite basic.

Rich collections of pre-made templates

For those who don’t want to waste time creating a bot for themselves, getting a ready-to-use template online is the ideal solution.

ManyChat offers merchants with multiple template options on their collections. However, there will be a difference between Pro and Free templates. For the Pro templates, you can only install them with a ManyChat Pro account.

Both the creating and installing process of ManyChat templates are optimized for user experience. All you need to do is follow the instructions on the workspace of the Template feature.

Multiple Chatbot elements supported

Another factor that proves the simplicity and user-friendliness of ManyChat is the number of block types supported when you create your bot’s messages.

The messages can be created from multiple elements, not limited only to standard messages with only text and image.

Some actions you can perform with ManyChat chatbot elements:

• Create Cards, then gather them into a Gallery and send them to customers via your bot

• Attach audios, videos, and files (of all formats) to your messages, which can be applied to send tutorials to your customers who have problems with your products or using as a lead magnet

• Add the Delay block, which decides the time for the bot to send the messages. In this way, your messages are more likely to be sent by a human, not a bot

• Expand the message value by adding clickable buttons

This versatility means you can add plenty of variety to any marketing campaigns you create using ManyChat. Plus, it makes an automated customer care service more versatile.

Again, Automation Agency can help you create broadcasts that take advantage of each messaging type.

Integration

Apart from its built-in live chat integration, ManyChat also offers its users great integration so that you can connect Manychat to other favorite tools, like:

• Paypal
• ActiveCampagin
• CovertKit
• Hubspot
• MailChimp
• Google Sheets
• Janis
• 2.000+ additional apps through Zapier and Integromat

See ManyChat Features

ManyChat Pricing

ManyChat comes with 3 pricing options for businesses:

• Free plan: Free (Limited to 1000 contacts)

• Pro plan: Start from $10/ month to $435/ month

• Business plan: Require to contact the ManyChat sales team

For the business plan, merchants have to contact the ManyChat team to get custom features and services that fit their wants and needs. Plus, get complete access to all ManyChat features in the Pro plan.

The pricing for Pro plan will change based on the size of your contact list.

Free Plan

Note: This plan is only available for under 1000 contacts.

Therefore, you must upgrade to the Pro plan in order to get more contacts. Critical features of the ManyChat Free plan include:

• Customize unlimited chatbot flow

• Segment the business’s target audience with 10 customer tags

• Create 2 automated message grip sequences

• Multiple campaign templates by industry

• Support basic Growth Tools to acquire new customers via website widgets, ref URL, customer chat, QR code, landing page, Facebook Comments

• Available channel to engage target audience: Facebook Messenger

Apart from the above features, merchants can contact the ManyChat support team for any issue via email (support 24/7).

Pro Plan

For this plan, besides everything mentioned in the Free plan, other premium features that can only get in the Pro are:

• Unlimited tags for audience segmentation as well as automated message drip sequences

• Track and measure chatbot performance with ManyChat built-in Analytics Tools

• Support 2 more advanced Growth Tools to stimulate conversation between new customers and the business: Checkbox and Click-to-Messenger Ads

• Enable smooth integration with tools you already use

• ManyChat branding movement

The Pro version gets rid of all the Free plan’s limitations as well as providing an array of advanced tools. But the expense for the Pro plan will go up with the increase in the number of subscribers your chatbot has.

Furthermore, ManyChat Pro doesn’t go with a free trial. In exchange, they offer a no-questions-asked refund within the first month of activation (30 days).

Free vs. Pro comparison

Apparently, there will be huge differences between a free and paid version of the software. But, just because it’s more expensive doesn’t mean it’s the best.

So to clarify both advantages and disadvantages of both plans, let’s have a brief comparison:

Things both Free and Pro support users:

• Multiple entry points for stimulating conversation between customers and bots, from website widgets, customer chat to landing pages and QR code

• Unlimited custom chatbot flows, which is beneficial for flexible applications

• The features kit satisfies the needs for each step of a sales funnel, from acquiring to nurturing customers to convert

• Email support

Things that the Free plan don’t offer:

• Engage up to only 1000 contacts

• Limitation to 10 segmentation tags and 2 automated message drip sequences

• Lack of A/B testing function

• Unable to remove ManyChat Branding on Email, SMS, and website widgets

• Don’t support chatbot flows in Paid Messages, Emails, and SMS

• Unable to import and export contacts from the ManyChat dashboard

• Get only 6 out of 10 available ManyChat Growth Tools to start and stimulate conversation with the bot (lack of Checkbox and Click-to-Messenger Ads)

• No Analytics Tools as well as no integration support

ManyChat target customers

Who is the ManyChat Free plan best for?

Apparently, the Free plan comes with essential features a merchant needs to get started with Chat Marketing. Furthermore, since it’s a no-charge version, it’s also suitable for small businesses with a tight budget to start and invest in chatbot software.

On the other hand, the ManyChat Free version’s availability is a chance for anyone who wants to experience and test this software’s effectiveness before actually jumping into the paid version.

Who is the ManyChat Pro plan best for?

Since the Pro package is the main product of ManyChat, it comes with more advanced features to better support businesses in leveraging their chatbot strategies. ManyChat describes it as “The complete. All-in-one toolbox, perfect for Chat Marketing pros”.

ManyChat Pro is for sure a more enhanced version of the Free due to their prices. But if you genuinely want to own an ultimate chatbot tool to have better communication with potential customers at any time of the day, MangChat Pro is worth considering.

Visit ManyChat

ManyChat Support Review

One of the most vital factors for businesses when looking for a marketing automation solution like Manychat is the educational resources and support service that the platform offers.

In fact, Manychat has built up several tutorials on all features they have. Each goes with detailed documentation, which users can easily follow.

You can also get support from other 3 resources:

• ManyChat Community on Facebook (Private Group): Up to 93.9k members

• ManyChat Support Team: Via Email only

• ManyChat Free Video Course: Basic instructions of the platform’s features in the video form

Manychat Competitors

The truth is ManyChat is not a “one size fits” chatbot solution due to some of its drawbacks, such as:

• ManyChat actually does not come with a low price for a massive number of contacts

• The visual bot builder is unstable, which makes it might freeze and crashes

• Limited free plan functionality

Based on which tier of subscription you get, these alternatives’ prices can either be more or less expensive than ManyChat. In addition, we will list alternatives that provide similar capabilities to ManyChat’s core value.

Livechat

The Livechat software provides a minimalistic admin dashboard - it’s much easier to use than the one used from the previous version. It comes with a responsive default theme thanks to which users don’t have to wait for the hole page to load to see full content length.

Some Features:

• A native integration
• Customer data
• Powerful ticketing system
• Eye-catchers
• Proactive greetings
• Chat surveys

Visit Livechat

Freshchat

Freshchat is one of the leading chatbot platforms these days and a good alternative to ManyChat. This platform comes with better custom fields and conditional logic to better create the personalized flow-based chatbot.

Meet your expanding customer needs with the open and flexible Freshworks Platform providing rich API for custom integration, automated workflows, smart analytics, ecosystem partner solutions and hundreds of Marketplace Apps.

Visit Freshchat

Intercom

Intercom is a Conversational Relationship Platform that supports effective live engagement with customers via text, chat, and email. Moreover, it comes with a suite of integrated products in several fields, from sales, marketing to support.

With Intercom, merchants can empower their customer relationships via personalized, messenger-based experiences. Easily create from simple to advanced bots based on the business’s needs.

Read more: 9 Best Game-Changing AI Chatbots

Is ManyChat your optimal solution?

The world of AI-driven chatbots seems more complex and challenging to understand for many people who are not in that field. And ManyChat is for sure a “worth to try” software for building your chatbot on Facebook Messenger.

ManyChat is definitely an option that can strip away the complexity of chatbot that helps your business broadcast messages instantly to your customers. If you’re still unsure whether ManyChat fits your needs, its free version can always help you out with the most informed decisions.