Manychat vs Chatbase
Manychat: Automates social DMs and comment replies on Instagram, WhatsApp and more. Chatbase: Builds AI support agents trained on a company's own content. Here is how they compare on price, free plan, platforms and the jobs each does best, from each vendor's own pages.
| Manychat | Chatbase | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Automates social DMs and comment replies on Instagram, WhatsApp and more | Builds AI support agents trained on a company's own content |
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | $14/mo billed annually (Essential)Manychat pricing | $32/mo billed annually (Hobby)Chatbase pricing |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of Essential or Pro (none on Business or Advanced); a saved card is required and the plan renews unless you cancel | 7-day trial of Hobby, Standard and Pro |
| Platforms | Web | Web, API |
| Integrations (vendor's figure) | Not stated | Not stated |
| Open source | No | No |
| Made by | Manychat, Inc. | Chatbase Inc. |
Choose Manychat if…
- Price matters: its cheapest paid plan is $14/mo against $32/mo.
- The job is replying automatically to Instagram comments and direct messages.
- The job is collecting email addresses from social media followers.
Choose Chatbase if…
- You need an API to build on.
- The job is creating a customer-facing AI agent for a website from existing help content.
- The job is handling first-line customer questions on WhatsApp or Slack.
Still weighing it up?
If neither is quite right, Manychat and Chatbase are also compared with their other rivals: Tidio vs Chatbase, Manychat vs Tidio and Intercom vs Zendesk.
What Manychat does
- Automated replies to comments and direct messages
- Channels: Instagram, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, TikTok, Telegram, SMS and email
- Broadcasts and AI-powered conversations from the Pro plan
- Shared team inbox and assignments on Business and Advanced
- Official Meta Business Partner and TikTok partner
Watch out for
- Free plan: 25 active contacts a month, 2 channels and up to 4 active automations, with Manychat branding
- Each plan includes a set number of active contacts; contacts above that cost $0.004 to $0.10 each, by plan
- WhatsApp, SMS and email start on Pro; unlimited channels start on Business
What Chatbase does
- AI agents trained on uploaded content, with training-size limits per plan
- Deploys to website chat, WhatsApp, Slack, email and voice
- AI actions per agent: 5 on Hobby, 8 on Standard, 12 on Pro
- Helpdesk, voice, telephony, outbound campaigns and API access from Standard
- Integrations include Stripe, Zendesk, Salesforce, HubSpot, Shopify, Slack and Zapier
- Choice of models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and others on paid plans
Watch out for
- Free plan: 50 message credits a month, and agents are deleted after 14 days of inactivity
- Each plan includes one AI agent; extra agents cost $25 per agent per month
- Removing 'Powered By Chatbase' branding is a $99/month add-on
Questions
Is Manychat or Chatbase cheaper?
On published entry prices, Manychat is cheaper: $14/mo billed annually (Essential) for Manychat against $32/mo billed annually (Hobby) for Chatbase. What each plan includes differs, so compare the limits too.
Do Manychat and Chatbase have free plans?
Both do. Manychat: 25 Active Contacts per month, 1 user, up to 4 live automations, any 2 channels from Instagram, TikTok, Facebook Messenger and Telegram (no WhatsApp, SMS or email), Manychat branding; no credit card required. Chatbase: 50 message credits/month, 1 AI agent, 1 member, limited model access, 1 MB training content; agents are deleted after 14 days of inactivity.