12 Top Manychat Alternatives for Customer Engagement in 2026

Customer engagement is key if you want high revenue, returning business, and a worry-free future for your company. One of the ways you can do that is by getting a standalone chatbot tool with AI features that can handle much of the customer communication on your behalf.

Manychat is a popular option for many reasons, including its free plan, integrations with apps like Facebook Messenger, and the ability to handle complex queries with ease. But at the same time, Manychat suffers from poor customer support, a lack of customization options, integrations that break, and a range of other issues.

Why settle for less? These are some of the best Manychat alternatives that money can buy in 2025. 👇

TL;DR The best Manychat alternatives for customer communication

• ✨ Featurebase – Best modern AI support & product suite for fast-growing startups
• Tidio - Best live chat and chatbot automation for small to mid-sized businesses
• Intercom - Best real-time support platform with deep integrations
• Chatfuel - Best for automating Messenger and Instagram conversations
• Chatbase - Best AI chatbot builder trained on your own data
• Drift - Best for B2B sales teams qualifying leads via chat
• LiveChat - Best simple and reliable live chat for websites
• Birdeye - Best for local businesses managing reviews and CX
• Kayako - Best for small teams needing a unified view of interactions
• Landbot - Best for creating custom chat flows on web and WhatsApp
• Freshworks - Best connected suite with chat, CRM, and support tools

Why look for Manychat alternatives in the first place?

Manychat has a great feature set and a pretty attractive pricing for smaller teams, but it's far from perfect. Looking at customer reviews, we found the most common reasons people look for Manychat alternatives:

1. The customer support is not very good

For a company that sells a tool for automated messaging and support, it's ironic that their own customer support is subpar. There are multiple reviews mentioning that some of the integrations and settings in Manychat can break, and from that point, you're all on your own.

The documentation isn't always clear, and there are many broken links. When you want to talk to an actual human being, it's going to be a while before someone responds.

• "Unfortunately, the user experience is disappointing. Account integrations often fail or don’t work as expected, and the customer support is virtually non-existent. Many help links are broken or outdated, making it difficult to troubleshoot issues independently." (G2 review)
• "Automation are contanstly glitching, leaving users uspet and expectations unmet. This would be fine if there was any support to help fix things. It is literally non-existent. You get run through the gauntlet of qualifying questions only to "submit a request" into the void and never hear back again." (G2 review)
• "...While Manychat offers excellent customer support, there have been a few instances where I experienced delays in receiving assistance, which can be frustrating when facing urgent issues. Strengthening their support response time would undoubtedly enhance the overall user experience." (G2 review)

1. The templates for communication leave much to be desired

There are quite a few complaints about templates. Whether it's the lack of templates, how they work and the ability to customize them, Manychat users are not big on the standard provided selection of templates.

• "...Although Manychat provides a wide range of pre-built templates, I have occasionally encountered limitations in customizing these templates to align precisely with my brand's unique voice and aesthetics. More flexibility in customizing templates or the ability to create chatbot designs from scratch would greatly enhance the platform's versatility." (G2 review)
• "The templates can be confusing. I dont use the contact function and yet I cant turn it off." (G2 review)

The best Manychat alternatives for engaging your customers in 2025

If you want all the features of Manychat but without the headaches of nonexistent customer support, the web chat tool industry is pretty crowded. This is why we singled out only the best Manychat alternatives for customer communication. 👇

1. Featurebase ✨

Featurebase is a modern Manychat alternative that combines AI-powered support, feedback, documentation, surveys, and changelogs into a single platform for startups. It's loved by thousands of support teams from companies like Lovable, Raycast, and Beehiiv. 💫

Top features:

• Unified inbox – manage your live chat & email conversations in one AI-enchanced inbox with your whole team
• Mobile app – respond to customers, receive notifications, and unblock users on the go
• AI agent & automations – fully automate your support with AI and endless custom workflows, like extending trials, offering discounts, qualifying leads, etc.
• Messenger widget – provide AI and human support from anywhere with a customizable in-app widget
• AI-powered Help Center – a knowledge base with instant AI answers that can be multilingual and private
• Feedback portal & roadmaps – centralize & keep track of all customer requests in one place, and show a public roadmap
• Product updates – publish and schedule release notes, push in-app notifications, and automatically email users
• Embedded surveys – run multi-step NPS, CSAT, or custom surveys targeted by user behavior or events
• Integrations – Slack, Linear, Jira, Discord, HubSpot, and many more

How it’s better than Manychat: Unlike Manychat, which is primarily for social media support, Featurebase enables you to replace all your customer-facing tools by bringing your omnichannel support, help center, product updates, and feedback collection together in one place, providing powerful ecosystem advantages in modern support.

Pricing: Featurebase offers a generous Free plan, which includes unlimited support conversations. The paid plans start at a flat fee of $49/month with no hidden costs. You can start free without a credit card, so there's no downside to trying it. 👇

✨ Automate your support with the fastest AI-enhanced Inbox today →

2. Tidio

Tidio is a customer communication platform that combines live chat, chatbots, and email marketing in one place. It’s a good choice for small to mid-sized businesses that want to automate conversations while still keeping a personal touch through real-time support.

Top features

• Live chat widget: Engage with visitors in real time through a customizable chat window.
• AI chatbot builder: Automate responses to FAQs and repetitive queries without coding.
• Email marketing tools: Send targeted email campaigns directly from Tidio’s dashboard.
• Integration library: Connects with Shopify, WordPress, Wix, and other major platforms.
• Mobile app: Manage chats and respond to customers from iOS and Android devices.

How it’s better than Manychat: Tidio offers a broader range of communication tools, not just social media automation, which makes it more versatile for businesses that need live chat and email alongside chatbot features.

Pricing: Tidio's pricing starts at $29 per month for the Starter plan, with extra charges for AI tools.

3. Intercom

Intercom is a customer messaging platform built for companies that want to offer personalized, real-time support at scale. It combines live chat, chatbots, and a help desk into one system, making it a strong option for growing businesses and enterprise teams.

Top features

• Business Messenger: A customizable live chat widget for websites and apps spanning across multiple channels.
• AI-powered bots: Use natural language processing to automate responses, qualify leads, and route conversations to the right team.
• Help desk tools: Manage tickets, SLAs, and customer queries in one place.
• Product tours: Guide new users with step-by-step walkthroughs directly inside your app.
• Extensive integrations: Works with popular tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack and various sales and marketing automation tools.

How it’s better than Manychat: Intercom is built for customer support and engagement across web and apps, not just social channels, making it more suitable for teams that need a full-service communication hub. It has a steeper learning curve, and small businesses may take a while to get started.

Pricing: Intercom pricing starts at $29 per seat per month when paid annually (Essential plan).

4. Chatfuel

Chatfuel is a chatbot platform that helps businesses build automated conversations for Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. It’s a solid choice for companies that want to boost engagement on social media and automate replies without heavy technical work.

Top features

• Drag and drop interface for building bots: Create chatbots quickly with a visual interface.
• Social media focus: Native support for Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
• Broadcasting tools: Send bulk messages and updates to segmented audiences, powering up your sales and marketing strategies.
• AI responses: Automatically detect keywords and trigger relevant replies.
• E-commerce integrations: Connects with Shopify and WooCommerce to support orders and sales.

How it’s better than Manychat: Chatfuel is more focused on social media automation, giving businesses strong options for Messenger and Instagram campaigns with simpler bot-building tools.

Pricing: starts at $23.99 per month for Facebook as a channel.

5. Chatbase

Chatbase is an AI chatbot builder that lets businesses create bots trained on their own data. It’s especially useful for companies that want to provide automated support or Q&A through websites, apps, or messaging channels without needing advanced coding skills.

Top features

• Custom AI training: Upload documents, links, or text to train your chatbot.
• Multi-channel deployment: Add bots to websites, WhatsApp, Slack, or custom apps.
• Analytics dashboard: Track user questions, performance, and engagement metrics.
• No-code builder: Build and launch messenger bots quickly without technical expertise.
• API access: Extend chatbot functionality and connect with other business tools.

How it’s better than Manychat: Chatbase goes beyond social messaging by letting you create AI bots trained on your content, making it more flexible for knowledge delivery and customer support use cases.

Pricing: Chatbase pricing starts at $32 per month when paid annually.

6. Drift

Drift is a conversational marketing platform designed for B2B companies that want to connect sales and support directly with website visitors. It emphasizes real-time conversations to capture leads, qualify them, and speed up the sales process.

Top features

• Live chat and chatbots: Engage visitors instantly with automated or human-led conversations.
• Account-based marketing tools: Personalize outreach for high-value accounts.
• Meeting scheduler: Book sales calls directly through the chat interface.
• Custom chat routing: Send conversations to the right rep based on rules or account data.
• CRM and marketing integrations: Connect with Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo, and other systems.

How it’s better than Manychat: Drift is built for B2B sales and lead generation, offering advanced tools like account-based marketing and CRM integrations that Manychat doesn’t provide.

Pricing: undisclosed as a part of the Salesloft package.

7. LiveChat

LiveChat is a customer service software built to help businesses connect with website visitors through real-time chat. It’s widely used by support and sales teams who want a reliable, straightforward tool for customer communication.

Top features

• Live chat widget: Fast and customizable chat window for websites.
• Chat routing: Automatically direct conversations to the right team member.
• Ticketing system: Handle unresolved chats as support tickets.
• Integrations: Connects with 200+ tools, including CRM and e-commerce platforms.
• Reporting: Track performance, response times, and customer satisfaction.

How it’s better than Manychat: LiveChat is designed for human-to-human conversations backed by automation, making it stronger for companies that prioritize real-time support over social media automation.

Pricing: starts at $19 per seat per month.

8. Birdeye

Birdeye is a reputation management and customer experience platform that helps local businesses attract and retain customers. It focuses on gathering reviews, managing online presence, and engaging with customers across multiple channels.

Top features

• Review generation: Request and collect reviews from Google, Facebook pages, and other sites.
• Messaging hub: Centralized inbox for SMS, email, webchat, and social messages.
• Surveys and feedback: Capture customer insights to improve experiences.
• Business listings: Sync business information across directories.
• AI-powered insights: Analyze reviews and conversations for trends, directly from chat support.

How it’s better than Manychat: Birdeye is built for reputation and customer experience management, offering tools for reviews and feedback that Manychat doesn’t cover.

Pricing: not disclosed publicly.

9. Zendesk

Zendesk is a full-scale customer service solution that provides ticketing, live chat, and knowledge management. It’s ideal for growing businesses and enterprises that need advanced workflows and multichannel support.

Top features

• Ticketing system: Organize and track customer issues from start to resolution.
• Live chat and messaging: Provide real-time support across web and apps.
• Help center: Build searchable knowledge bases for self-service.
• Automation and SLAs: Automate tasks and track service-level agreements.
• Analytics and reporting: Measure agent performance and customer satisfaction.

How it’s better than Manychat: Zendesk covers the full customer support lifecycle with ticketing, knowledge bases, and advanced automation, far beyond the conversational marketing scope of Manychat.

Pricing: Zendek's pricing starts at $19 per seat per month.

10. Kayako

Kayako is a customer service software that brings email, live chat, and social support into a single platform. It’s built for smaller teams that want to give agents a unified view of each customer’s history across different channels.

Top features

• Unified inbox: Access all conversations from email, chat, and social in one place.
• Customer journey view: See full interaction history for better context.
• Live chat: Engage with website visitors in real time.
• Self-service portal: Let customers find answers through a knowledge base.
• Automation: Assign tickets, set priorities, and manage workloads automatically.

How it’s better than Manychat: Kayako provides deeper ticketing and multi-channel support features, making it better suited for teams that want full customer service workflows instead of just social chatbots.

Pricing: starts at $79 per seat per month.

11. Landbot

Landbot is a no-code chatbot builder designed to create conversational experiences for websites, WhatsApp, and Messenger. It’s especially useful for lead generation and interactive forms that guide users through custom flows.

Top features

• Drag-and-drop builder: Build chatbots visually with no coding.
• Website bots: Replace static forms with interactive conversational flows.
• WhatsApp integration: Automate customer communication on WhatsApp.
• Conditional logic: Personalize user journeys with if/then rules and do lead qualification before someone can contact sales.
• Integrations: Connect bots to Zapier, Slack, Google Sheets, and more.

How it’s better than Manychat: Landbot gives more flexibility in designing custom conversation flows and works natively with WhatsApp, which makes it a stronger option for businesses focused on that channel.

Pricing: starts at 40EUR per month.

12. Freshdesk

Freshdesk is a customer engagement tool that combines live chat, messaging, and AI-powered automation. It works well for teams that want multichannel support with close ties to CRM and help desk features.

Top features

• Omnichannel messaging: Handle chats across web, mobile, and social channels.
• AI chatbots: Automate conversations and deflect repetitive queries.
• Campaigns: Trigger messages to re-engage website visitors or app users.
• Integration with Freshdesk and CRM: Seamlessly connect support and sales.
• Analytics: Track chat performance, resolution times, and customer satisfaction.

How it’s better than Manychat: Freshdesk offers full integration with customer support and CRM tools, making it more powerful for businesses that want both engagement and service management in one ecosystem.

Pricing: Freshdesk's pricing starts at $19 per seat per month.

Conclusion

Manychat has a lot going for it. A free plan, basic features catering to small businesses and enough to set up basic sales automation and chatbot flows. But at the same time, the customer support may not be there when you really need them, and the integrations with your specific tech stack can break. Why risk it when the future of your relationship with your customer is at stake?

Featurebase is a modern Manychat alternative with an affordable AI-powered live chat & help center. It comes with a mobile app, omnichannel support, custom automations, and much more. It's loved by thousands of companies like Lovable, Polymarket, and Raycast.

What's best is that it comes with a Free plan and unlimited free AI resolutions, so there's no downside to trying it out! 👇

✨ Start today and get the fastest AI-powered inbox & knowledge base →