Comparison · prices checked on Sep 28, 2026
Alternatives to ManyChat: 5 options for answering customers on WhatsApp in 2026
Quick answer
If your focus is automating Instagram DMs and comments, ManyChat is still the choice. If it is WhatsApp, the five most searched alternatives are Botconversa (flows priced in reais), Kommo (sales pipeline), Typebot (forms in the shape of a conversation), SendPulse (has a free plan) and CertuAI (AI that answers and sells on its own).
About CertuAI: CertuAI is the AI that answers a small business's WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger 24/7, with a built-in CRM, and is a Tech Provider on Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform. Paid plans start at US$ 75 a month, with no lock-in. Create my agent
Botconversa, Kommo, Typebot, SendPulse and CertuAI, with the entry price each one publishes today and what each one does not do. And if your channel is Instagram, we say that too.
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Summary in 7 facts
- Botconversa, Kommo, Typebot, SendPulse and CertuAI, with the entry price each one publishes today and what each one does not do.
- And if your channel is Instagram, we say that too.
- If your focus is automating Instagram DMs and comments, ManyChat is still the choice.
- If it is WhatsApp, the five most searched alternatives are Botconversa (flows priced in reais), Kommo (sales pipeline), Typebot (forms in the shape of a conversation), SendPulse (has a free plan) and CertuAI (AI that answers and sells on its own).
- Each answer already eliminates half of the list.
- Write down what your flow answers today Price, hours, address, how to pay, how to book.
- Entry price read from each company's site on Sep 28, 2026.
By the numbers
| Number | What it means |
|---|---|
| R$ 189 per month | Entry price: the Starter plan is R$ 189 per month on the annual plan, and the plan with the official WhatsApp connection is R$ 199 per month on annual (Botconversa site, checked on Sep 28, 2026). |
| US$ 20 per user | Entry price: the Basic plan costs US$ 20 per user per month, billed every 6 months (US$ 120 per user), with 1 WhatsApp number and 1 Instagram account. |
| US$ 39 per month | The US$ 39 per month plan goes up to 2,000 conversations, and the WhatsApp integration only appears on the US$ 89 per month plan (Typebot site, checked on Sep 28, 2026). |
| R$ 76 per month | Paid starts at R$ 76 per month on annual (R$ 912 per year) or R$ 95 monthly, for 500 subscribers, and WhatsApp messages are billed separately (SendPulse site, checked on Sep 28, 2026). |
| 32,5% | 32.5% of customer messages arrive outside business hours (122,720 messages from 67 businesses, from Jul 30 to Sep 30, 2026). |
| 12.2 seconds | On these accounts, half of the AI's replies went out within 12.2 seconds, and on 7.9% of replies the AI called in a team member to continue. |
| 2.2 minutes | When a team member was the one who replied, half of the replies went out within 2.2 minutes, and 9 in 10 within 139.9 minutes. |
| 10,000 messages | SendPulse's goes up to 500 subscribers and 10,000 messages per month. |
Three questions before switching tools
Each answer already eliminates half of the list.
Where does your customer reach out?
If it is through Instagram DMs and comments, stay with ManyChat. If it is WhatsApp, go on to the options below.
Do you want to design the path or have the AI answer?
Botconversa, Typebot and SendPulse follow the path you design. CertuAI reads the question and answers with what you taught it about the business.
Do you have a salesperson to run the pipeline?
With a salesperson, Kommo organizes their work. Without one, someone or something has to answer the customer first.
How to leave ManyChat without leaving customers unanswered
Four steps, in order.
Write down what your flow answers today
Price, hours, address, how to pay, how to book. That list becomes the content of the new tool, whether it is a flow tool or an AI one.
Separate Instagram from WhatsApp
If Instagram DMs work well in ManyChat, they can stay there. The switch can be just for WhatsApp.
Plan the number switch
Check in ManyChat how your WhatsApp number is linked and how to release it, and make the switch at a quiet time, so nobody is left without an answer in the middle.
Test with your customers' real questions
Take ten real messages from last week and send them to the new tool. If it gets one wrong, adjust before opening it to everyone.
The alternatives to ManyChat side by side
Entry price read from each company's site on Sep 28, 2026. ManyChat is in the first row to serve as a yardstick.
| Tool | Entry price (Sep 28, 2026) | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| ManyChat | Check the site: the pricing page did not open during our check | Instagram DMs and comments |
| Botconversa | R$ 189 per month on the annual plan, no AI | Button flows on WhatsApp, priced in reais |
| Kommo | US$ 20 per user per month, paid every 6 months | Sales team that works a pipeline |
| Typebot | Free up to 200 conversations per month; WhatsApp only on the US$ 89 plan | Form in the shape of a conversation, on the website |
| SendPulse | Free up to 500 subscribers; paid from R$ 76 per month on annual | Starting for free, with several channels |
| CertuAI | US$ 75 per month | AI that answers and sells on WhatsApp without building a flow |
Swipe the table sideways to see all the columns.
Why do so many people look for an alternative to ManyChat?
ManyChat is a flow tool: you design each path of the conversation with buttons and triggers. It became famous on Instagram, where conversations tend to be short and predictable, like “comment I WANT IT and get the link”.
On WhatsApp the conversation is different. The customer sends a voice message, asks three things in the same message, asks for a discount, disappears and comes back two days later. The more the business sells on WhatsApp, the more paths the flow needs, and the more time someone spends designing and fixing those paths.
So the search for an alternative is almost always one of two: people who want the same kind of tool with prices in reais and support in Portuguese, and people who want to stop designing flows. The difference between the two is explained in WhatsApp bot: menu or an agent that understands.
If you are already choosing between two options, the ManyChat, Botconversa and CertuAI comparison looks at all three more closely. For larger customer service platforms, see the alternatives to Blip and Zenvia.
1. Botconversa: WhatsApp flows priced in reais
Who it is for: people who like how ManyChat works, building flows with blocks, and want to do that on WhatsApp, with a Brazilian company and billing in reais.
Entry price: the Starter plan is R$ 189 per month on the annual plan, and the plan with the official WhatsApp connection is R$ 199 per month on annual (Botconversa site, checked on Sep 28, 2026). With the official connection, each message sent has a separate cost.
What it does not do: Starter has no AI and no official connection. The reply still comes from the flow you designed. Full comparison in CertuAI vs. Botconversa.
2. Kommo: sales pipeline with the conversations inside
Who it is for: a company with salespeople that needs to see each deal at a pipeline stage, with WhatsApp and Instagram conversations together in the same place.
Entry price: the Basic plan costs US$ 20 per user per month, billed every 6 months (US$ 120 per user), with 1 WhatsApp number and 1 Instagram account. You can try it for 14 days with no card (Kommo site, checked on Sep 28, 2026).
What it does not do: it does not replace the salesperson. Kommo organizes who answers; if nobody answers, the pipeline fills up with stalled conversations. Full comparison in CertuAI vs. Kommo.
3. Typebot: a form in the shape of a conversation
Who it is for: people who want to put a conversation on the website that asks questions in order, like a friendlier form, and have someone with the knack to build it.
Entry price: free up to 200 conversations per month. The US$ 39 per month plan goes up to 2,000 conversations, and the WhatsApp integration only appears on the US$ 89 per month plan (Typebot site, checked on Sep 28, 2026).
What it does not do: it does not handle open-ended conversation. It follows the order of the questions you built, and on the free plan it does not even reach WhatsApp. Full comparison in CertuAI vs. Typebot.
4. SendPulse: free plan and several channels
Who it is for: people who want to start without paying and use more than one channel, because the same company also sells mass email and bots for other networks.
Entry price: the free plan has 3 bots, up to 500 subscribers and 10,000 messages per month. Paid starts at R$ 76 per month on annual (R$ 912 per year) or R$ 95 monthly, for 500 subscribers, and WhatsApp messages are billed separately (SendPulse site, checked on Sep 28, 2026).
What it does not do: it is also a flow tool. The bot answers what you anticipated, and the price goes up as your subscriber list grows. Full comparison in CertuAI vs. SendPulse.
5. CertuAI: AI that answers and sells on WhatsApp
Who it is for: business owners who get customers on WhatsApp and do not want to design flows. You teach it the business in a conversation, and the AI answers prices, clears up questions, books appointments and hands off to a person when needed. Each conversation becomes a contact in the sales dashboard, which comes included.
Entry price: US$ 75 per month on the Start plan, no lock-in contract and no setup fee (CertuAI plans).
What it does not do: CertuAI's Instagram and Messenger still depend on a Meta approval, so today CertuAI is not the tool for automating DMs and comments. If that is your main channel, ManyChat is still the choice, and you can use both: ManyChat on Instagram and CertuAI on WhatsApp. Full comparison in CertuAI vs. ManyChat.
What CertuAI measured on its own WhatsApp accounts
One thing that weighs on the switch: when the customer reaches out and how long it takes for someone to answer. A flow answers instantly, but only what was anticipated. The question left out waits for a person.
CertuAI measured this on the accounts that answer on WhatsApp with CertuAI's AI. 32.5% of customer messages arrive outside business hours (122,720 messages from 67 businesses, from Jul 30 to Sep 30, 2026). On these accounts, half of the AI's replies went out within 12.2 seconds, and on 7.9% of replies the AI called in a team member to continue.
When a team member was the one who replied, half of the replies went out within 2.2 minutes, and 9 in 10 within 139.9 minutes. It is not a fair one-to-one comparison with the AI: the person only enters the count in conversations where the AI did not reply first. The whole method is on the page about AI data in customer service on WhatsApp.
| What was measured | Result | Base | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer messages that arrive outside business hours (Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.) | 32,5% | 122,720 messages from 67 businesses | 30/07 a 30/09/2026 |
| Time until the AI replies (half of the replies) | up to 12.2 seconds | 32,230 replies from 57 accounts | 30/07 a 24/09/2026 |
| Time until the AI replies (9 in 10 replies) | up to 21.1 seconds | 32,230 replies from 57 accounts | 30/07 a 24/09/2026 |
| AI replies that called in a team member | 7,9% | 37,951 replies from 57 accounts | 30/07 a 24/09/2026 |
| Time until a team member replies (half of the replies) | up to 2.2 minutes | 9,639 replies from 37 accounts | 26/08 a 24/09/2026 |
Swipe the table sideways to see all the columns.
Source: CertuAI's customer service base, aggregated numbers only, no conversation read by a person. Test accounts, test contacts, imported history and CertuAI's own sales conversations are left out. Measured on Sep 25, 2026, redone every month. Method at certu.com.br/dados.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to ManyChat?
It depends on the channel. For Instagram DMs and comments, ManyChat itself is still the choice. For WhatsApp: Botconversa if you want flows priced in reais, Kommo if you have salespeople and want a pipeline, and CertuAI if you want an AI that answers on its own without building a flow.
What is the free alternative to ManyChat?
Of the options on this page, SendPulse and Typebot have a free plan. SendPulse's goes up to 500 subscribers and 10,000 messages per month. Typebot's goes up to 200 conversations per month, but it does not connect to WhatsApp: the integration only comes on the US$ 89 plan.
ManyChat or Botconversa?
Both are flow tools. ManyChat is stronger on Instagram. Botconversa is Brazilian, focuses on WhatsApp and charges in reais: R$ 189 per month on the entry annual plan, which has no AI (price checked on Sep 28, 2026).
ManyChat or Kommo?
They are different tools. ManyChat automates conversation with flows. Kommo is a sales pipeline where salespeople work WhatsApp and Instagram conversations. If you have a sales team, Kommo. If you want a bot on Instagram, ManyChat.
Which alternative to ManyChat for Instagram?
For Instagram DMs and comments, this page does not recommend switching: ManyChat is the strongest at that. Kommo adds Instagram to the sales pipeline, and SendPulse also has a bot for Instagram. CertuAI does not automate Instagram yet.
Can you use ManyChat and CertuAI at the same time?
Yes, on different channels: ManyChat handles Instagram and CertuAI answers on WhatsApp.
How much does CertuAI cost?
The Start plan costs US$ 75 per month, with the AI on WhatsApp and the sales dashboard included. There is no lock-in contract or setup fee.
If your customers reach out on WhatsApp, test the AI with their questions
You tell it how your business works, CertuAI builds the AI, and you send the questions customers really ask before turning it on for your number.
From US$ 75 per month.
Build my agentIn short
If your focus is automating Instagram DMs and comments, ManyChat is still the choice. If it is WhatsApp, the five most searched alternatives are Botconversa (flows priced in reais), Kommo (sales pipeline), Typebot (forms in the shape of a conversation), SendPulse (has a free plan) and CertuAI (AI that answers and sells on its own).
About CertuAI: CertuAI is the AI that answers a small business's WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger 24/7, with a built-in CRM, and is a Tech Provider on Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform. Paid plans start at US$ 75 a month, with no lock-in. Create my agent