Pay $3.99 a campaign instead of $14 a month
ManyChat bills every month whether you launch or not. UnlockDM bills per campaign — your first is $1.99 — so the months you post nothing cost nothing.
ManyChat pricing last verified August 25, 2026
ManyChat pricing vs UnlockDM pricing
ManyChat bills per active contact. UnlockDM bills per campaign, so a month with no launch costs nothing.
ManyChat
The largest multi-channel chat marketing platform, billed by how many people message you each month.
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 25 active contacts |
| Essential | $14/mo | 250 active contacts |
| Pro | $29/mo | 2,500 active contacts |
| Business | $69/mo | 7,500 active contacts |
| Advanced | $139/mo | 25,000 active contacts |
UnlockDM
Pay per campaign, no subscription. Your first drop is free for the first 50 unlocks.
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| spark | $3.99₹299 in India · per campaign | 500 unlocks |
| drop | $8.99₹699 in India · per campaign | 2,000 unlocks |
| viral | $18.99₹1499 in India · per campaign | Unlimited unlocks |
No monthly fee. A campaign is billed once, when you launch it.
ManyChat vs UnlockDM, feature by feature
“Unclear” means the vendor does not state it publicly. We would rather say that than guess.
| Feature | ManyChat | UnlockDM |
|---|---|---|
| Comment-to-DM | Yes | Yes |
| Follow gate | Yes | Yes |
| Referral rewards | No | Yes |
| Story replies | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple IG accounts | Yes | No |
| White label | No | No |
| Campaign analytics | Yes | Yes |
| Beyond Instagram | Yes | No |
| Official Meta API | Yes | Yes |
| Platforms | Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, TikTok, Telegram, SMS, Email |
Which one should you actually pick?
Pick ManyChatif…
- You automate across WhatsApp, Messenger or SMS as well as Instagram
- You need branching conversational flows rather than a keyword and a reward
- You post constantly, so a monthly subscription is being used every week
- You want an agency ecosystem and a large hiring pool of people who know the tool
Pick UnlockDM if…
- You launch in bursts and do not want to pay in the months you post nothing
- You want a viral post to make a campaign cheaper per person, not more expensive
- You want follow-gating and referral rewards as the product, not as add-ons
ManyChat strengths
- The deepest flow builder in the category, with branching logic and conditions
- Genuinely multi-channel: one automation can span Instagram, WhatsApp and SMS
- Huge template library and the largest community, so answers are easy to find
Where it falls short
- Billing is tied to active contacts, so a post that performs well raises next month’s bill
- Overage is charged per additional active contact once a plan’s limit is passed
- The free plan’s 25 active contacts is a demo allowance, not a working tier
ManyChat vs UnlockDM: common questions
For bursty Instagram campaigns, yes. ManyChat charges $14 to $139 a month based on active contacts, billed whether or not you run anything. UnlockDM charges per campaign from $3.99, so a month with no launch costs nothing. If you automate every week across several channels, ManyChat is the better value.
ManyChat counts active contacts, meaning anyone who messages your automation in a billing month. A reel that reaches more people creates more active contacts, which pushes you toward the next plan or into per-contact overage. Per-campaign billing does not move with reach.
No. ManyChat has a far deeper flow builder and runs on WhatsApp, Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, SMS and email. UnlockDM is Instagram only and is built around one job: comment triggers a DM, follow unlocks the reward, referrals earn a bonus.
Yes. Both run on Meta’s official Instagram Graph API, so neither depends on unofficial access that can break or put an account at risk.
The figures on this page come from our full write-up. Read the ManyChat review
Your first drop is free
No monthly fee. Set a keyword, pick a reward, and pay only when you launch a campaign.