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ManyChat Alternatives for Ecommerce Brands (2026): 4 Options Compared
ManyChat is great for getting started on Instagram. Here are the best alternatives once Instagram becomes a real sales and support channel for your store.
Updated October 2026 · By Sonakshi Nathani, Co-founder and CEO, Manifest AI by BIK
Short answer: ManyChat is the easiest, cheapest way to start automating Instagram, and for creators and small stores it is hard to beat. Ecommerce brands usually outgrow it when Instagram becomes a real sales and support channel: they need product cards from their catalog, live order data, checkout inside DMs and a team inbox. The best ManyChat alternatives for ecommerce are BIK (Instagram, WhatsApp and email automation built for online stores), Gorgias (Instagram inside a Shopify helpdesk), Richpanel (AI agents for social comments and DMs inside a helpdesk) and Chatfuel (a low-cost chatbot builder for Instagram and WhatsApp).
Disclosure: we make BIK. We describe where ManyChat and others are the better fit, too. Prices come from each vendor's public pricing page as of October 2026, linked in the sources.
What ManyChat does well
ManyChat made Instagram automation mainstream. Its comment-to-DM flows, keyword triggers and story reply automations are simple to set up, and its pricing starts at $0:
| Plan | Price per month (billed annually) | Active contacts included | Overage per extra contact (annual / monthly billing) | Inbox seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 25 | - | 1 |
| Essential | $14 | 250 | $0.082 / $0.10 | 1 |
| Pro | $29 | 2,500 | $0.038 / $0.05 | 2 |
| Business | $69 | 7,500 | $0.018 / $0.025 | 3 |
| Advanced | $139 | 25,000 | $0.0028 / $0.004 | 5 |
Pro and above add WhatsApp, SMS and email, broadcasts and Manychat AI, which replies to DMs and comments using your business information. Prices are per month on annual billing; paying monthly costs 18% to 30% more. For a creator, a coach or a store just starting on Instagram, that is excellent value.
Why ecommerce brands look for a ManyChat alternative
- No native Shopify integration. In June 2025, a ManyChat community moderator confirmed that ManyChat no longer supports a native Shopify integration. Brands connect order data through Zapier, Make or custom API requests, and the same thread notes that Make and Zapier "can get expensive" at higher volume.
- Your catalog isn't built in. Showing real products with live prices and stock needs a third-party app, such as ShopSync, which is built by Letmetalk for Messenger.
- Selling stops at a link. Most flows send shoppers to your website to buy. Brands that want shoppers to pick a size, pay and confirm inside the DM need more.
- Support needs a real inbox. ManyChat plans include 1 to 5 inbox seats. Once Instagram DMs include order questions, returns and complaints, teams need a helpdesk with assignment, labels and handoff rules.
- Instagram is one channel. Brands want the same customer profile and automations across Instagram, WhatsApp, email and SMS, with one view of revenue.
How we evaluated each alternative
| Criterion | What we looked at |
|---|---|
| Instagram triggers | Comments on posts, reels and ads; DMs; story replies and mentions |
| Commerce | Product cards from your catalog, add to cart, checkout in DMs, order tracking |
| Support | Team inbox, assignment, AI labels, handoff from automation to humans |
| Channels | Instagram plus WhatsApp, email and SMS in one place |
| Measurement | Revenue and orders attributed to each post or flow |
| Price | What you pay as contacts and team size grow |
ManyChat alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Pricing model | Commerce in DMs |
|---|---|---|---|
| BIK | Brands selling and supporting on Instagram, WhatsApp and email | From $250/month, by unique contacts, AI credits included | Product cards from your catalog, add to cart, end-to-end checkout |
| Gorgias | Shopify brands handling Instagram inside their helpdesk | $10 to $900/month by tickets | Order data in the helpdesk; replies by agents and rules |
| Richpanel | Support teams wanting AI on social comments and DMs | $99/seat/month annual; social media agent about $0.05 per conversation | Support-focused |
| Chatfuel | Small teams wanting a cheap chatbot builder | From $18/month on yearly billing, with $20 in AI credits | Sell in chat, with Stripe |
| ManyChat (baseline) | Creators and small stores | $0 to $139/month billed annually, by active contacts | Links to your store; catalog via third-party apps |
1. BIK: Instagram automation built for online stores
BIK is a CRM for ecommerce brands that combines Instagram, WhatsApp and email automation, a helpdesk and AI agents. Its Instagram tools are built around what stores need: turning comments into orders and answering order questions without a human.
Key features
- Price please (PP) automation: when someone comments "PP" or a keyword you choose on a post, reel or ad, BIK replies to the comment and sends a product card from your catalog to their DM. The card has two buttons you configure, such as add to cart, product page or a custom link. BIK's AI can match posts to products automatically from the caption.
- Every Instagram trigger: DMs (including posts and ads forwarded to you), comments on posts, reels and ads, story replies, story mentions with an automatic heart reaction, and events such as chat closure.
- Checkout inside DMs: pre-built flows let shoppers browse collections, share their details, get a payment link and receive a payment confirmation without leaving Instagram.
- AI agents on Instagram: pre-built agents for order tracking, cancellations, returns and refunds, cross-sell and information collection, plus AI comment engagement and AI story replies.
- Instagram to WhatsApp: lead capturing journeys collect shoppers' WhatsApp numbers from comments, DMs and stories, so you can send order updates and cart reminders on WhatsApp, where Instagram's rules don't allow them.
- Retargeting within the 24-hour window: follow up with shoppers who got a product card but didn't click, while Instagram still allows it.
- Analytics per post: comments, automations triggered, messages sent, links clicked, orders and revenue for every post.
- A real helpdesk: Instagram DMs sit next to WhatsApp and email in one inbox, with AI labels, priorities and handoff to your team. With Manifest AI, the BIK helpdesk is free with unlimited seats.
Pricing
From $250/month plus a startup plan, priced by unique contacts with AI credits included.
Pros
- Turns Instagram followers into WhatsApp subscribers
- Built for commerce: catalog product cards, checkout in DMs, order data
- Instagram, WhatsApp and email in one CRM and one inbox
- Pre-built Instagram journeys and AI agents
- Revenue measured per post
Cons
- Costs more than ManyChat for a small audience
- More than a creator or a non-ecommerce business needs
Best for: ecommerce brands where Instagram drives sales and support. See BIK vs ManyChat.
2. Gorgias
Gorgias brings Instagram into its ecommerce helpdesk. Agents can reply to DMs, reply to and hide comments, reply to top-level comments on ads, respond to story mentions and tags, and move a public comment into a private conversation (Gorgias Instagram). Rules can auto-reply to common messages, such as thanking someone for a story mention.
Pricing
Plans are priced by tickets: $10/month for 50, $60 for 300, $360 for 2,000 and $900 for 5,000 on monthly billing (Shopify listing).
Pros
- Strong Shopify order data next to every conversation
- Instagram, email and chat in one helpdesk
Cons
- Built for agents working tickets, not for automated selling flows
- Rules-based automation; comment-to-DM selling flows are not its focus
Best for: Shopify support teams who mainly want Instagram in their inbox. See Gorgias alternatives.
3. Richpanel
Richpanel is an AI-first ecommerce helpdesk. Its Social Media Agent answers comments and DMs in your brand voice around the clock and escalates when unsure, at about $0.05 per conversation (Richpanel pricing).
Pricing
$99 per seat per month on annual billing, plus AI usage with a $200/month minimum.
Pros
- Low-cost AI for social comments and DMs
- Full helpdesk with returns and self-service
Cons
- Support-first: fewer selling flows like product cards and drops
- Seat-based pricing grows with your team
Best for: support teams drowning in social comments. See Richpanel alternatives.
4. Chatfuel
Chatfuel is a chatbot builder for Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook, with AI that answers customers 24/7, automatic replies to post and reel comments, a shared inbox and a CRM (Chatfuel pricing).
Pricing
Business is $18/month on yearly billing, with $20 in AI credits a month. Agency plans start at $90/month.
Pros
- Low price with AI credits included
- Official WhatsApp API access
Cons
- No Shopify integration listed on its pricing page
- General-purpose rather than built for ecommerce
Best for: small businesses and agencies that want a cheap bot across Instagram and WhatsApp.
When to stay on ManyChat
Stay if Instagram is mainly a top-of-funnel channel for you: lead magnets, content giveaways, sending people to a landing page. If fewer than a few thousand people message you a month and you don't need order data in DMs, ManyChat's Pro plan at $29/month billed annually is hard to beat.
Instagram rules every tool has to follow
No tool can get around Meta's messaging rules, so be wary of any that claims to. The ones that shape your strategy:
- The shopper starts the conversation. A business can message someone only after they DM you, comment, or reply to or mention your story. You can't message people for following you or liking a post.
- No cold order or cart messages on Instagram. Order confirmations and abandoned cart reminders can't be sent on Instagram unless the shopper has messaged you first. That's why brands pair Instagram with WhatsApp or email for post-purchase messages.
- The 24-hour window. Automated follow-ups work best within 24 hours of the shopper's last message, so the first reply has to be fast and useful.
How to choose
| If you want... | Choose |
|---|---|
| Comments and DMs that turn into orders, with checkout in the DM | BIK |
| Instagram, WhatsApp and email automation plus a helpdesk in one tool | BIK |
| Instagram inside an existing Shopify helpdesk | Gorgias |
| AI answering social comments for a support team | Richpanel |
| The cheapest bot for a small business | Chatfuel, or stay on ManyChat |
| Lead magnets and creator-style growth flows | Stay on ManyChat |
Moving from ManyChat to BIK: a checklist
- List your live automations: keyword triggers, comment-to-DM flows, story flows, broadcasts.
- Connect Instagram and your catalog. In BIK, connect your Facebook account linked to your Instagram page, with your Facebook catalog set up, so product cards work.
- Start from templates. Copy the matching pre-built journeys, such as PP automation, story mention and story reply flows, lead capturing and checkout, then adjust the wording.
- Map posts to products. Let BIK's AI map posts to products from captions, and check your top posts by hand.
- Switch over one trigger at a time. Turn off the ManyChat version as you turn on the BIK one, so shoppers never get two replies.
- Move support into the inbox. Set handoff rules so order questions reach an AI agent or your team.
- Compare results after two weeks: messages sent, links clicked, orders and revenue per post.
FAQ
What is the best ManyChat alternative for Shopify stores?
For selling and support on Instagram, BIK: it sends product cards from your catalog, supports checkout in DMs and tracks orders. For Instagram inside a Shopify helpdesk, Gorgias.
Does ManyChat integrate with Shopify?
Not natively anymore. A ManyChat community moderator confirmed in June 2025 that the native Shopify integration is no longer supported. Brands use Zapier, Make, custom API requests or third-party apps.
Is ManyChat cheaper than BIK?
Yes, for small audiences. ManyChat Pro is $29/month billed annually for 2,500 active contacts. BIK starts at $250/month and includes WhatsApp, email, a helpdesk and AI agents. Compare the full cost, including Zapier or Make and any separate helpdesk.
Can I automate "price please" comments on Instagram?
Yes. BIK's PP automation replies to the comment and sends the product card to the shopper's DM, on posts, reels and ads.
Can I sell inside Instagram DMs?
Yes. BIK's pre-built flows let shoppers browse products, share details and pay through a payment link inside the DM.
Can I send abandoned cart messages on Instagram?
Only to shoppers who have messaged you recently. Meta doesn't allow business-initiated messages otherwise, so most brands recover carts on WhatsApp or email.
See BIK vs ManyChat, ManyChat pricing explained, or book a demo.
