What it actually does
Manychat, Inc. Still live. Review it as ManyChat. The 2026 homepage is chat marketing for Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, and Messenger. That is comment-to-DM, Story replies, broadcasts, and a human Inbox for leftover threads. Manychat AI answers DMs and comments from a knowledge library. It does not answer the phone.
It is not Tidio. Meta Customer Chat, the website widget, was turned off in May 2024. Current “widgets” send the visitor off-site to Messenger, Instagram, or WhatsApp. It is not Podium. SMS is Twilio marketing on Pro and up, not missed-call text-back. No reviews SKU. No GBP. No Jobber, Housecall Pro, Dentrix, Mindbody, or Clio. The native Shopify app is retired.
On March 2, 2026 they replaced stored-contact Pro with Active Contacts that reset every month. New accounts: Free, Essential, Pro, Business, Advanced. WhatsApp, SMS, Email, and AI unlock at Pro. On Pro they eat the three-channel cap. Instagram plus Messenger plus WhatsApp plus TikTok needs Business.
Who should buy it
Buy it if you live in Instagram comments and you want those comments to become DMs. Creators, coaches, social-first ecommerce. That is the ICP. Help articles updated August 19, 2026.
Do not buy it if you are a plumber, HVAC shop, salon, dentist, or law firm. If you needed a widget on the site, Tidio at $29. If you needed missed-call text-back plus reviews, Podium. If you needed a phone, OpenPhone or Ruby.
The reason not to buy is the aisle, then the meter. Live pricing August 25, 2026, page default annual, ex-tax: Essential $17 a month or $14 annual (250 Active Contacts, then $0.10 / $0.082). Pro $39 / $29 (2,500, then $0.05). Business $99 / $69. Advanced $199 / $139. Extra Inbox seat $25. WhatsApp is Meta per-conversation on top, first 1,000 free, prepaid Wallet. SMS is your Twilio bill. Annual is prepaid. ToS: 30-day refund is discretionary, no pro-rata, AAA, class waiver, California law. Meta policy can terminate the account. BBB Maria P, June 29, 2026: billed for organic inbox traffic after 250 contacts. Kelby C.: charged for months while locked out. Directories and G2 still print legacy Pro from $15 and Free with 1,000 stored contacts. That is the old monthly-only grid. Stale.
The verdict
G2 about 4.5 from 165 (indexed 2026; Wayback March 2025 was 4.6 from 150; live HTML DataDome 403). Capterra and Software Advice 4.6 from 72 (same Gartner pool; live Capterra.ca JSON-LD; US Cloudflare-blocked). Mix is marketing consultants and ecommerce. One Construction CEO five-star with no job-site story. Trustpilot about 2.9 from 248 to 250 (indexed; live WAF 403). BBB San Francisco, live: F, not accredited, two unanswered complaints, three reviews all one-star. TrustRadius about 7.5 (indexed). Reddit: none retrieved.
Official list August 25, 2026: Essential $17 a month. Pro $39 if you need WhatsApp. Do not use $15. The AI page still says $29 add-on. New grid includes AI on Pro. Leftover.
Skip. The 4.6 is a marketer badge. The 2.9 and the F are what happens when the meter and Meta disagree with the shop. If the leads are on the website, Tidio. If they are on the phone, not this.