ViralDM vs ManyChat
ManyChat Alternative Built for India
ManyChat is the most complete chat builder there is. ViralDM is built for a sale that happens in Hinglish and gets paid over UPI.
First month of Starter free, no card. Then code LAUNCH100 takes ₹499 off your first payment.
The short version
ManyChat is an official Meta Business Partner with the widest set of channels and triggers in this category — Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, TikTok, Telegram, SMS and email, plus a Follow to DM beta. Since March 2026 it charges in US dollars by active contacts: the Free plan covers 25 a month, Essential is $17 a month ($14 billed yearly) for 250, and Pro is $39 ($29 yearly) for 2,500, with WhatsApp and Manychat AI. ViralDM charges in rupees with unlimited DMs on every plan (Starter ₹499 a month), takes UPI payments inside the DM, understands nine Indian languages and voice notes, and can phone a lead. Checked on both pricing pages on 15 October 2026.
Watch it work
Side by side
ViralDM vs ManyChat, feature by feature
What each product offers, checked against both companies’ own pages on 15 October 2026. Prices change, so check both pricing pages on the day you decide.
| Feature | ViralDM | ManyChat |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ✓Free ₹0 forever · Starter ₹499/mo (first month free, no card) · Growth ₹1,499 · Agency ₹4,999 | Free $0 · Essential $17/mo ($14 yearly) · Pro $39 ($29) · Business $99 ($69) · Advanced $199 ($139) |
| How you are billed | ✓Rupees through Razorpay: UPI, cards, netbanking, GST invoice; yearly = pay for 10 months | US dollars by active contacts, tax extra; cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover); UPI not listed |
| Free plan | ✓Forever · 1 Instagram account, unlimited DMs, 1 automation (3 keywords) on Reels, posts, story replies and DM keywords, 25 leads a month | ✓25 active contacts a month, 4 live automations, 2 channels, “Powered by Manychat” |
| What a growing account costs | ✓Same flat price however many people DM you | Rises with active contacts; extra contacts billed per contact above the plan |
| Instagram triggers | ✓Comments on Reels & posts, story replies, DM keywords, next-post and caption-code triggers (Free); Live comments, shares & story mentions (Starter) | ✓Comments (one post, all posts, next post), story replies and mentions, DM keywords, Share to DM |
| Live comments | ✓Live comments → private DM while you are live (Starter) | ✓While the Live is running |
| DM to new followers | Not available (not in Meta’s API for us) | ✓Follow to DM beta — Meta decides which accounts get it |
| Public reply under the comment | ✓Public reply under the comment, random variants (Free); AI Comments thank every compliment (Starter) | ✓Rotating public replies |
| Follow-gate and lead capture | ✓Follow-gate with a reminder (Free) · Email or WhatsApp number before the link: 25 a month on Free, unlimited from Starter | ✓Follower check; email and phone collection from Essential |
| Replies in Indian languages | ✓9 Indian languages + English detected on every plan; AI replies in the follower’s own language from Starter | AI auto-detects many languages; Hindi and Hinglish not named |
| AI replies | ✓From your price list, FAQ, pages or PDFs: 3,000 a month on Starter, unlimited on Growth | ✓Manychat AI on Pro and up (their AI page still calls it a $29 add-on) |
| Voice notes followers send | ✓Voice notes understood in Hindi, Hinglish and English (Starter) | Not on their site |
| AI phone call to a lead | ✓“Call me” in a DM → your AI phones them in Hindi (3 calls a month on Starter, 10 on Growth) | Not on their site |
| Payments inside the DM | ✓UPI QR + Pay button inside the DM, 0% cut; screenshot checked by AI from Starter (on Free you confirm it) | Buy Button through Stripe or PayPal; UPI not listed |
| Store and bio page | ✓Store on Free: files, courses, memberships, events, 1:1, Telegram/Discord access — 0% platform fee · Link-in-bio page that works as a small website (Free) | Not on their site |
| Booking inside the DM | ✓Booking inside the DM from your real free slots, with reminders (Free) | Not on their site |
| Broadcasts, sequences, tags | ✓DM and email broadcasts, live segments, tags and multi-step sequences (Free) | ✓Broadcasts, sequences, tags and segments |
| A/B testing | ✓A/B tests of replies (Growth); random reply variants on Free | ✓Randomizer block, up to 6 paths |
| Analytics and revenue | ✓Every rupee from DMs and the store in one number (Free); which keyword earned which rupee (Growth) | Flow stats and an Instagram analytics beta; Conversions API integration |
| Comment moderation | ✓Comment Shield hides scam links and abuse as they arrive (Free) | Their blog says spam comments are handled by hand |
✓WhatsApp Bridge moves a buyer to WhatsApp in one tap (Free) · WhatsApp number auto-replies coming soon | ✓WhatsApp channel from Pro, with Instagram → WhatsApp handoff | |
Facebook Page connect + posting live (Meta approved 9 Oct 2026) · Messenger automation not yet | ✓Messenger automation | |
| Team and agencies | ✓Team inbox: assign chats, round-robin, 5 seats on Agency (unlimited on Agency Pro) · 10 client accounts, client logins, monthly PDF report (Agency ₹4,999); white-label + your own domain (Agency Pro ₹12,999) | ✓1–5 inbox seats by plan (+$25 a seat); client workspaces for agencies |
| API and integrations | ✓REST API, webhooks, n8n node, Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable, Slack, Mailchimp, ConvertKit | ✓API (their pages disagree on Pro or Advanced); Zapier, Make, HubSpot, Klaviyo |
| MCP server for AI assistants | ✓MCP server, 58 tools, OAuth — every plan (read-only on Free, read and write from Starter) | Not on their site; Claude and ChatGPT steps inside flows |
| Creator money tools | ✓Media Kit with suggested rates, Brand Deals tracker, affiliates for your products, Priority DM (all Free) | Not on their site |
| Company | Vyzonek Technology Private Limited, India | Manychat, Inc. (Delaware, US) |
Something here out of date? Write to [email protected] and we will correct it.
In detail
ViralDM and ManyChat, in detail
What ManyChat does well
- The widest trigger set in Instagram automation: next post, Live comments, Share to DM and a Follow to DM beta.
- One builder across Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, TikTok, Telegram, SMS and email.
- Going over your contact limit does not stop automations, there is a 14-day trial of Essential and Pro, and a 30-day refund window.
- A large integration ecosystem (Zapier, Make, HubSpot, Klaviyo) and a Randomizer for A/B tests.
Where ViralDM is different
- A flat rupee price with unlimited DMs — a viral Reel does not move you into a higher plan.
- UPI inside the DM, with the payment screenshot checked by AI from Starter.
- Nine Indian languages detected, AI replies in the follower's own language, and voice notes understood.
- “Call me” in a DM gets an AI phone call in Hindi.
- A store, bio page, booking, media kit and brand-deal tracker on the Free plan, with 0% taken from your sales.
Which one should you pick?
Pick ManyChat if you sell across many channels (WhatsApp, TikTok, SMS, email) or need its Follow to DM beta and its ecosystem. Pick ViralDM if your buyers are in India, ask in Hinglish, and pay by UPI — and you want one rupee price that does not grow with every new commenter.
Everything in ViralDM
All 204 features, by plan
The plan shown is the lowest one that has the feature; every plan above it has it too. Checked against our own code on 20 October 2026.
Plans, accounts and apps
- Unlimited DMs on every plan, Free included Free
- 1 automation with 3 keywords on Free Free
- Unlimited automations and keywords Starter
- Connected accounts: 1 Free, 2 Starter, 3 Growth, 10 Agency Free
- Unlimited connected accounts Agency Pro
- First month of Starter free, no card, with API and MCP access Free
- Yearly billing: pay for 10 months, get 12 Starter
- Free: “via viraldm.app” only on the first DM to each person Free
- No ViralDM branding on your DMs Starter
- Instagram Login — no Facebook Page needed Free
- Connect a Facebook Page through Facebook Login Free
- WhatsApp Business number auto-replies Free Coming soon
- Facebook Page comment and Messenger automations Free Coming soon
- Android app with push notifications Free
- Dashboard in English, Hindi and Hinglish Free
- In-app guide for every feature, with demos Free
- Choose which tools show in your sidebar Free
- AI help chat with hand-off to a support ticket Free
- Email support Starter
- Priority support Growth
- Dedicated manager and 24/7 WhatsApp support Agency
Triggers and auto-replies
- Comment → DM on Reels and posts, by keyword Free
- Public reply under the comment Free
- Story reply → DM Free
- DM keyword replies Free
- Live comment → private DM while you are live Starter
- Shared post or story mention → thank-you DM Starter
- Link an automation to your next post before you publish Free
- Caption code: one automation for every post carrying the code Free
- DM links (ig.me) that open your DM and fire the right reply Free
- Ads-only automations for people who came from your ads Growth
- Follow-gate: reply after they follow, with a reminder Free
- Smart Reply: several versions, one picked at random Free
- One reply per comment; cap per person per post (1–3 a day) Free
- Personalised replies with {{name}} and custom fields Free
- Images, video, files and your recorded voice note in replies Free
- Quick-reply buttons, cards and carousels in DMs Free
- Mood Shield: an upset follower gets a gentle hand-over Free
- Visual Flow Builder with If/Else branches Growth
- AI decision branches in flows Free
- Ready-made automation and flow templates Free
- Snapshots: save your whole setup and restore it in one click Free
- YouTube comment auto-replies (public replies) Free Google review
- YouTube live-chat answers Starter Google review
- YouTube scam-comment auto-hide Free Google review
AI
- Language detection for 9 Indian languages + English Free
- AI replies in the follower’s language — 3,000 a month Starter
- Unlimited AI replies in DMs Growth
- AI Brain: answers from your price list, FAQ, pages or PDFs Starter
- Understands “kitne ka hai?” without a keyword (intent routing) Starter
- AI Comments: a warm public reply to every compliment Starter
- Voice notes understood: Hindi, Hinglish and English Starter
- Ready-made AI agents for 7 business types Starter
- AI Calls: “call me” in a DM and your AI phones them Starter
- Calls included each month: 3 Starter, 10 Growth, 25 Agency, 60 Agency Pro Starter
- “Ye wala?” photo → product card — 500 a month Starter
- Unlimited photo → product searches Growth
- AI Studio: captions, calendar, humanizer, best times — 30 a month Starter
- Unlimited AI Studio generations Growth
- AI DM writer in your own tone Starter
- AI rephrasing so canned replies read fresh Starter
- Inbox AI Copilot: chat summary, drafted reply, tag ideas Starter
- AI trend detector for your niche Growth
- AI hook generator for your niche Free
- AI profile audit (3 tips on Free, full report on paid) Free
- AI sales-closer reply suggestions Free
- AI assistant that acts in your dashboard Free
- Mood detection and a 0–100 lead score on every conversation Free
Selling and payments in the DM
- UPI QR and Pay button inside the DM, 0% cut Free
- Payment screenshot: you confirm it with one tap Free
- Screenshot checked by AI: amount, your UPI ID, UTR Starter
- Link, file or invite delivered once payment is approved Free
- Checkout link for any product inside a DM Free
- DM coupons: codes handed out inside DMs Starter
- Booking in the DM from your real free slots Starter
- Booking reminders by DM inside the 24-hour window, and by email Starter
- Google Calendar sync for bookings Starter Google review
- WhatsApp Bridge: move a buyer to WhatsApp in one tap Free
- Clicked but didn’t buy: one gentle follow-up DM Growth
- Links that open in the app (YouTube, Amazon, WhatsApp…) Growth
- Shopify order and stock look-up (Android app, API, MCP) Free
Store and bio page
- Link-in-bio page at viraldm.app/@you (with a small “Made with ViralDM” badge on Free) Free
- Bio page without the “Made with ViralDM” badge Starter
- Bio page as a website: top menu, brand colours, desktop view Free
- Bio blocks: gallery, reviews, FAQ, countdown, contact form Free
- Spotify, Calendly and Instagram embeds on your bio page Free
- Meta Pixel and Google Analytics on your bio page Free
- Store: files, locked links, courses, events, 1:1 — 1 product on Free Free
- Unlimited products in your store Starter
- Shop page, plus a sales page per product with reviews and FAQ Free
- Course drip lessons and a completion certificate Free
- Event tickets with a calendar file and reminder Free
- Telegram and Discord invites delivered on payment Free
- Fixed, pay-what-you-want or free pricing Free
- Store coupons, order bumps and country-wise prices Free
- Cards, UPI and netbanking through your own Razorpay Free
- Memberships that renew by UPI Autopay or card Growth
- Paid Telegram group: lapsed members removed automatically Free
- PDFs stamped with each buyer’s email and phone Free
- GST invoices with the buyer’s GSTIN Free
- Mark an order refunded and its access stops Free
- Sold-out waitlist and one abandoned-checkout reminder Free
- Instant delivery with a receipt email Free
- You keep 100% of sales; buyers pay your UPI Free
- Leads inbox: bio, forms, bookings, orders and waitlist Free
Growth tools and leads
- Lead gate: email or WhatsApp before the link — 25 a month Free
- Unlimited lead-gate leads Starter
- Friend Loops: invite codes, both sides rewarded Free
- Creator Circle: shout-outs with creators in your niche Free
- Giveaways with a repeatable draw and proof file Starter
- Comment Rewind: DM everyone who commented in the last 7 days Starter
- Forms that score each lead Starter
- Pipeline: Lead, Qualified, Customer, Repeat — fills itself Starter
- Funnels: see which step people drop at Starter
- One person across Instagram, forms and WhatsApp Free
- Audience list with tags, custom fields and CSV export Free
- Live segments: hot leads, gone quiet, abandoned checkout Free
- DM broadcasts with the recipient count shown first — 100 recipients a month on Free Free
- Unlimited broadcast recipients Starter
- Email broadcasts to the same list, with consent Free
- Sequences: 1 follow-up sequence with 2 steps on Free Free
- Unlimited multi-step sequences Starter
- DM Planner: schedule DMs for later Starter
- DM templates library Starter
- Spin-the-wheel prize picker for followers Free
Inbox, alerts and team
- Inbox: reply by hand inside the 24-hour window Free
- Reply 24 hours to 7 days after their last message Free Waiting on Meta
- Inbox auto-translate for your own replies Free
- Saved replies typed as /shortcut Free
- Hand a chat to a human; automations pause for it Free
- Comments page: reply, hide, unhide or delete by hand Free
- Comment Shield: scam links and abuse hidden as they arrive Starter
- Alerts when a DM fails: bell, phone and email Free
- Reason shown when a reply does not go out Free
- Monday report: DMs sent, new people, what needs you Free
- Today page: what needs you and your next step Free
- Team seats without sharing passwords — 5 on Agency Agency
- Unlimited team seats Agency Pro
- Team inbox: assign chats, round-robin, wait-time alerts Agency
- See when a teammate is on the same chat Agency
Analytics and insights
- Analytics: sends, failures and what fired when Free
- Per-automation stats and leads captured Free
- Instagram Insights: followers, reach, profile views, top posts Free
- Audience Pulse: what followers ask, want to buy, complain about Growth
- Who is still waiting for your reply Free
- Alert when negative comments suddenly pile up Free
- Money: every rupee from DMs and the store in one number Free
- Buyers: Champions, Loyal, At risk, Lapsed, due to reorder Free
- Ads: messages, comments and leads per Instagram or Facebook ad Free
- Revenue attribution: which keyword earned which rupee Growth
- A/B tests of replies Growth
Content and publishing
- Scheduled posts: 10 a month on Free, 60 on Starter, unlimited on Growth Free
- Post everywhere: one post to every place at once — 15 a month on Starter Starter
- Schedule Instagram posts, Reels, Stories and carousels Free
- Schedule and publish Facebook Page posts Free
- Schedule and publish LinkedIn posts Free
- Client approval link before a scheduled post goes out Free
- Upload and schedule YouTube videos and Shorts Free Coming soon
- Reel Lab: score a hook against your own Reels Free
- Reel Lab: AI hook rewrites and video captions Starter
Brand deals and creator money
- Media Kit: one link with your real Instagram numbers Free
- Rate card with suggested ₹ rates from your Reel views Free
- Sponsor report for the brand after each paid post Free
- Brand Deals: collab DMs tracked from first message to paid Free
- ASCI #ad checklist and a UPI pay link on each deal Free
- Priority DM: fans pay to ask you one question Free
- Affiliates for your products, at a commission you set Growth
- Partner programme: recurring commission for referring ViralDM Free
Agencies
- Client accounts you create, open and switch into — 10 Agency
- Unlimited client accounts Agency Pro
- Client logins with their own password Agency
- Monthly PDF report for each client Agency
- Your own calling number for AI Calls Agency
- White-label: your name, logo and colour on client pages Agency Pro
- Your brand on client reports and buyer receipts Agency Pro
- Your own domain (app.yourbrand.com) with branded sign-in Agency Pro
Developers and integrations
- REST API with personal API keys Growth
- 58 MCP tools for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and Gemini CLI (read-only on Free) Free
- OAuth consent per AI agent; revoke any time Free
- n8n community node Growth
- Calling API with prepaid call packs Growth
- Developer API plans with a free sandbox tier Free
- Outgoing webhooks to n8n, Make or your own server Starter
- Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable, Slack and Discord Starter
- Mailchimp and ConvertKit list sync Starter
- Razorpay payment events matched to followers Starter
Safety, consent and compliance
- Official Instagram API — no password, no scraping Free
- Up to 600 replies an hour from day one, no warm-up Free
- Surge Guard: viral spikes paced, never dropped Free
- Your own Surge Guard spike threshold, cap and switch Growth
- Working hours and a 24-hour cooldown per person Free
- Human-like delays, typing indicator, comment liked first Free
- Skips suspicious accounts Free
- Auto-pause when sends start failing; resumes by itself Free
- Missed comments re-checked and failed DMs retried Free
- Instagram connection renewed before it expires Free
- Content safety check before a DM or broadcast goes out Free
- STOP opt-out honoured in every send Free
- DPDP consent ledger with the exact wording shown Free
- DPDP data-rights requests handled from the dashboard Free
- Dispute evidence pack: chat, consent and payment in one PDF Free
- Export all your data; delete your account Free
- Two-factor sign-in, device list, sign out everywhere Free
- Audit log of logins and key changes Free
Is there a free ManyChat alternative for Instagram?
Yes. ViralDM's Free plan has no time limit and no DM cap: one Instagram account, one automation with three keywords on Reels, posts, story replies and DM keywords, and 25 leads a month. ManyChat's Free plan covers 25 active contacts a month (manychat.com, 15 Oct 2026).
ManyChat pricing in India?
ManyChat charges in US dollars, tax extra, by active contacts: Free for 25 a month; Essential $17 a month, or $14 billed yearly, for 250; Pro $39, or $29 yearly, for 2,500 with WhatsApp and Manychat AI; Business $99 ($69); Advanced $199 ($139). Its pricing page says the final price depends on your billing country. Read on manychat.com and its help centre on 15 October 2026.
Is ViralDM cheaper than ManyChat for Indian users?
It depends on how many people DM you. ViralDM Starter is ₹499 a month in rupees with unlimited DMs and contacts; Growth is ₹1,499. ManyChat's price rises with active contacts, so an account whose Reels pull hundreds of commenters a month moves up its plans, while ViralDM's price stays the same.
Can I move from ManyChat to ViralDM?
There is no importer, so you rebuild the automations — a comment-to-DM setup takes a few minutes from a template. While you switch, run each tool on different posts: Instagram allows one private reply per comment, so two tools on the same post race each other.
Does ViralDM reply in Hindi and Hinglish?
Yes. Every plan detects nine Indian languages plus English. From Starter the AI answers in the language the follower wrote in, from your own price list and FAQs, and understands voice notes in Hindi, Hinglish and English.
Will my Instagram account be safe?
ViralDM uses Instagram's official API with permissions approved in Meta App Review — no password, no scraping — and paces replies at up to 600 an hour with Surge Guard for viral spikes. No tool can promise that Instagram will never restrict an account; staying inside Meta's published limits is what keeps it unlikely.
Sources
Where these facts come from
ManyChat’s own pages, read on 15 October 2026. Ours come from our own code and pricing page.
- ManyChat pricing
- ManyChat: Free plan
- ManyChat: Essential plan
- ManyChat: Pro plan
- ManyChat: pricing is changing (20 Apr 2026)
- ManyChat AI
- ManyChat: Post and Reel Comments trigger
- ManyChat: Live Comments trigger
- ManyChat: Follow to DM (beta)
- ManyChat: Buy Button
- ManyChat: Randomizer
- ManyChat: integrations
- ManyChat Terms of Service
Try ViralDM on your next Reel
Your first month is free, no card needed. Then code LAUNCH100 takes ₹499 off your first payment.



