The Short Answer
ManyChat is the biggest name in chat automation, and it earns that. One account can run bots on Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, TikTok and Telegram, and its visual flow builder handles almost any logic you can draw. HeyDM only does Instagram. That narrow focus is the point: a comment-to-DM takes a few minutes to set up, and the price doesn't move when a Reel takes off.
- Stay on ManyChat if you also run WhatsApp or Messenger bots, need branching flows with tags and conditions, or depend on its integrations with tools like Shopify, HubSpot, Google Sheets or Zapier.
- Pick HeyDM if Instagram is the only channel you care about and you'd rather pay one flat price: $9.99 a month, or ₹419 in India.
How ManyChat Pricing Works Now
On 2 March 2026 ManyChat stopped charging for every contact you had ever stored. It now charges for active contacts: anyone who sends or receives a message through ManyChat in a given month. One person counts once per month, however many messages you swap.
- Free: 25 active contacts, up to 4 live triggers, and "Powered by Manychat" on the first message each person gets.
- Essential: $17 a month, or $14 a month billed yearly ($168), for 250 active contacts.
- Pro: $39 a month, or $29 a month billed yearly ($348), for 2,500 active contacts. This is the first plan that includes Manychat AI.
- Business: $99 a month, or $69 billed yearly, for 7,500.
- Advanced: $199 a month, or $139 billed yearly, for 25,000.
If you go over your plan's contacts, automations keep running and ManyChat bills each extra contact on top. Prices exclude tax, and ManyChat says the final price depends on your billing country, so check the amount at checkout.
What that means for one good Reel
Say you post a Reel that says "Comment GUIDE and I'll DM it to you", and 1,800 people comment in the first week. Every one of them is an active contact. Essential's 250 are gone on day one, so in practice you're on Pro at $39. If the next Reel brings 4,000, you're past Pro's 2,500 and paying for the extra contacts, or moving up to Business at $99. On HeyDM both months cost $9.99 (₹419), because nothing is counted.
Paying from India
ManyChat lists its prices in US dollars, so you need a card that works for international payments. Its own help centre has an article on payment problems for users in India: under RBI e-mandate rules, the first payment can go through and a later renewal fail, which can drop the account to the free plan until you renew by hand. HeyDM's Indian plan is priced in rupees: ₹419 a month, or ₹3,999 a year (₹333 a month). For every ManyChat plan converted to rupees with GST and card fees, see ManyChat pricing in India.
ManyChat's prices and plan limits were checked on 10 October 2026 on its pricing page and help centre. They change often, so confirm before you decide.
Where ManyChat Is Stronger
- Channels. Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, TikTok and Telegram from one account. HeyDM is Instagram-only, and its Facebook Page automation is still coming soon.
- The flow builder. Conditions, tags, custom fields, randomised splits and long multi-step flows. If you think in flowcharts, ManyChat is hard to beat.
- Integrations and ecosystem. Direct connections to common tools, a large template library, and plenty of agencies and courses that already know it.
- A free plan. Small at 25 contacts a month, but enough to try the product.
- Manychat AI inside flows, from the Pro plan ($39) up.
Where HeyDM Is Stronger
- The bill stays flat. No contact counting, so a viral month costs the same as a quiet one.
- Price on the same billing. $9.99 a month against $17 for ManyChat Essential, or $8.25 against $14 a month on yearly plans. In India, ₹419 a month or ₹3,999 a year.
- Safety controls already built in. Smart Safe Mode adds natural reply delays, a first-DM wait of up to 60 minutes, message pacing, an hourly reply limit and a reply cap per post. In ManyChat you add delays to each flow yourself.
- AI message variations on the only plan. HeyDM writes several versions of each DM and comment reply, so followers don't all get identical text. ManyChat's AI starts at Pro.
- Built for a phone. A comment-to-DM automation is a short form, not a canvas, so you can set one up between shoots.
- Support on WhatsApp, 24/7, from the team that builds the product.
What You Keep if You Switch
For an Instagram-only setup, the everyday features line up: comment-to-DM on Reels and posts, Story reply and mention automation, DM keyword replies, ask-to-follow before the link, email and phone capture inside the chat, and follow-ups once someone replies. HeyDM also fires when someone shares your Reel in a DM instead of commenting, and it can switch automation on for posts you published months ago.
What doesn't come across is your ManyChat flows, tags and contact history. Rebuild only the automations that actually get used. Most accounts have three to five that matter.
How to Switch From ManyChat to HeyDM
- Write down your live Instagram automations: the post, the keyword, the DM text and any follow-up.
- Start the 14-day HeyDM trial and connect your Instagram professional account through Instagram's own login. You don't need a Facebook Page.
- Rebuild the busiest automations first. A comment-to-DM takes a few minutes.
- Turn the matching ManyChat automation off before you turn HeyDM's on, or commenters get two DMs.
- Test from a second account: comment the keyword and check the DM arrives.
- Keep ManyChat for other channels if you still use it for WhatsApp or Messenger. Running both is fine as long as they don't share an Instagram post.
Our Take
We build HeyDM, so weigh this accordingly. If your business runs on WhatsApp bots, complex flows or a CRM that ManyChat plugs into, ManyChat is worth what it costs. If what you mostly want is "comment a word, get the link" on Instagram, with lead capture and some protection against looking spammy, you're paying for a lot you won't use, and paying more each time a Reel works. Try HeyDM free for 14 days on your own posts and compare. We also wrote a longer ManyChat vs HeyDM breakdown.
More comparisons: best Instagram DM automation tools and ManyChat alternatives for Instagram.
