ManyChat Free Plan: What 25 Active Contacts Cover

The ManyChat free plan costs $0 and covers up to 25 active contacts a month, 4 live automations and up to 2 channels. An active contact is one person you message or hear from through ManyChat in a billing month. So the plan fills after 25 different people, no matter how many comments they leave. It fits testing one automation before you pay.

Most pages on this topic stop at the number 25. That number is hard to use, because you think in comments and views while ManyChat counts people. A Reel with 2,500 views and a 1% keyword comment rate would reach 25 people on its own (illustrative arithmetic, not a benchmark).

This guide covers what the plan includes, what it does well, how contacts are counted, how many comments fill it, and what ManyChat’s help pages say about the limit. It then compares the plan with LinkDM, ReplyRush, InstantDM, Inro, RapidDM and CreatorFlow. For the paid tiers, read ManyChat pricing by contact tier.

Key Takeaways

• Price: ManyChat Free is $0 and needs no card. It covers 25 active contacts a month, 4 live automations and up to 2 channels.
• What it does well: You can test comment-to-DM, welcome messages, Story replies and link delivery, and you can choose 2 of Instagram, TikTok, Messenger and Telegram.
• What it counts: The limit counts people, so one person who sends many messages in a month counts once.
• How fast it fills: 25 different commenters fill it. At an illustrative 1% keyword comment rate, that is one Reel with 2,500 views.
• At the limit: ManyChat’s help pages describe paid plans in detail. We found no page that describes contact 26 on Free, so treat 25 as your working ceiling.
• Bottom line: Use ManyChat Free to test one automation, or to run a small setup across 2 channels. For regular keyword posts on Instagram, compare it with free plans that count DMs.

What does the ManyChat free plan include?

ManyChat’s free plan costs $0 and needs no card. It covers up to 25 active contacts a month, up to 4 live automations, up to 2 channels, and 1 user with 1 Inbox seat. Instagram, TikTok, Facebook Messenger and Telegram are the eligible channels. WhatsApp, SMS and email are outside this plan.

ManyChat’s Free plan help page lists these limits, and its pricing page says the plan needs no card (checked October 2026). This version of the plan comes from the pricing change of March 2, 2026.

What is the ManyChat free plan good for?

The free plan is a good place to learn ManyChat and prove that one automation works. ManyChat’s own pricing post says you can test comment-to-DM, welcome messages, Story replies, link delivery and simple FAQ responses. You run them on your real account, with real people, at no cost.

ManyChat’s pricing post lists those uses and the plan’s branding (checked October 2026). A paid plan removes the “Powered by Manychat” message, according to its Billing FAQ.

Channel choice is the clearest strength. If you want to automate TikTok or Telegram as well as Instagram, ManyChat Free gives you that choice at $0.

The meter also helps short conversations. Because the limit counts people, a person who sends you many messages in a month still uses one contact. That suits a coach or a small shop with a handful of serious enquiries a month.

What counts as an active contact on ManyChat?

An active contact is a real person you interact with through ManyChat during a monthly billing period. A person counts once that month, no matter how many messages they send. The count covers messages through automations, AI, Broadcasts and the Inbox, and it resets on your billing date.

ManyChat’s Active Contacts help page sets out these rules (checked October 2026). We found no help page that describes a rolling 30-day window, so count by your billing month.

Three details change the sum. Contacts who do not engage in a month stay on your list and do not count that month. Deleting a contact does not lower the current month’s count. The same person on two channels may count twice, unless ManyChat can match them by phone number or email.

How many comments fill 25 active contacts?

Comments from 25 different people fill the plan. Repeat comments from one person count once, so the real comment number can be higher. In views, a 1% keyword comment rate fills it at 2,500 views, a 2% rate at 1,250 views, and a 0.5% rate at 5,000 views. These rates are illustrative, not benchmarks.

The table shows the same sum across four months. Every row is illustrative arithmetic, and it assumes that no person comments on two posts.

Comments are only one source. Story replies, DM keywords and Inbox conversations through ManyChat also add people to the count.

For a number that fits your account, open your last 3 posts. Count the different people who would have used your keyword, then add the people who reply to your Stories in a normal week. If that total is near 25, one good post can fill the plan.

What happens when you reach 25 contacts on ManyChat Free?

We found no ManyChat help page that describes contact 26 on the Free plan. Two pages describe limits on other plans, and they describe different results. Treat 25 as your working ceiling, and check your Subscription page before you publish a post that you expect to pass it.

ManyChat’s Mobile Subscriptions page gives an Essential example. Automations do not trigger for contact 251 and above, and they keep running for contacts 1 to 250 until the billing period ends.

Its Active Contacts page describes overage on paid plans. Automations keep running, and extra contacts are billed at $0.10 each on Essential, with a later pause possible if an account grows well past its cap (checked October 2026). The Free plan page lists no overage rate in the text we could read.

You can watch the count in two places. ManyChat’s subscription guide points to Settings, then Subscription under Billing, and the Active Contacts page points to Insights on the Home tab. ManyChat also says it sends notifications at 70%, 90% and 100% of your limit.

Three habits keep a test inside the limit. Use one specific keyword instead of triggering on every comment. Run the test on a post with modest reach. Check your count before you turn on a second automation.

How does ManyChat Free compare with other free plans?

ManyChat and Inro count active contacts. LinkDM, ReplyRush, InstantDM, RapidDM and CreatorFlow count DMs or DM automations. If each person receives one DM, the free allowances reach 25, 100, 500, 500, 1,000, 1,000 and 1,500 people. If each person receives several messages, the DM numbers fall and the contact numbers hold.

Each tool’s figures come from its own page: Inro, InstantDM, LinkDM, RapidDM and ReplyRush (checked October 2026). We have a longer list of free Instagram DM automation tools if you want more detail on each one.

The right meter depends on your conversations. For one link sent to many people, a DM allowance goes further. For a few people in longer conversations, a contact limit can go further. Our LinkDM and ManyChat meter comparison works through the bills on paid plans.

CreatorFlow Free fits an Instagram-first creator who wants comment-to-DM, story replies, keyword DMs and templates on one account. Here is what CreatorFlow’s free plan includes in more detail. New accounts start with a 14-day Pro trial. A card is required to start it, nothing is charged until it ends, and accounts that do not upgrade keep Free.

When should you upgrade or switch from ManyChat Free?

Stay on Free while your monthly total of different people sits under 25. Consider a change when normal posts bring you close to that number. Your choice then depends on your channels. ManyChat’s paid plans cover several channels, and if you use only Instagram you have more options to compare.

You use 2 channels and need more contacts. ManyChat’s Essential plan covers 250 contacts at $17 billed monthly, or $14/month billed annually (checked October 2026).

You need WhatsApp, SMS or email. These start on ManyChat’s Pro plan, at $39 billed monthly or $29/month billed annually, with 2,500 contacts (checked October 2026).

You use only Instagram and post keyword content every week. Compare a free plan that counts DMs before you pay for contacts. Our page on CreatorFlow as a ManyChat alternative sets the two side by side, and this guide shows how to move your automations from ManyChat if you decide to switch.

FAQ

Is ManyChat free?

Yes. ManyChat has a $0 plan with up to 25 active contacts a month, 4 live automations and up to 2 channels. We found no time limit on the plan in the help text we read. Paid plans start with Essential at $17 billed monthly, or $14/month billed annually.

Does the ManyChat free plan need a credit card?

No. ManyChat’s pricing page says the Free plan does not require a credit card (checked October 2026).

How many automations can I run on the ManyChat free plan?

You can run up to 4 live automations at the same time. ManyChat’s Essential plan page lists unlimited automations.

Does deleting contacts free up space on ManyChat Free?

No. ManyChat’s Active Contacts page says deleting contacts does not lower your count for the current month. The count resets on your billing date.

Why do some pages say ManyChat Free includes 1,000 contacts?

Those pages describe the older model. ManyChat’s Billing FAQ still describes a 1,000-contact limit, while its Free plan page lists 25 active contacts from the March 2, 2026 change. ManyChat’s help pages say availability varies by region and by when the account was created, so check your own Subscription page.

Can I use comment-to-DM on the ManyChat free plan?

Yes. ManyChat’s pricing post names comment-to-DM among the automations you can test on Free. Each different person who gets the DM uses one of your 25 active contacts for that month.

Can I use Instagram and TikTok together on ManyChat Free?

Yes, if both count as your 2 channels. The Free plan page lists Instagram, TikTok, Facebook Messenger and Telegram as eligible. The same person on both channels may count as two contacts, unless ManyChat can match them.