Why people look for an alternative
ManyChat's pricing scales with the number of active contacts in your account. That works well for a small list and gets expensive when a post takes off, which is exactly when comment-to-DM is most valuable. Third-party pricing breakdowns published between June and November 2026 describe the current plans like this (ManyChat's own site blocks automated checks, so treat these as a guide and confirm on manychat.com/pricing):
| ManyChat plan | Monthly | Active contacts included | Overage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 25 | n/a |
| Essential | $17 ($14 yearly) | 250 | $0.10 per extra contact |
| Pro | $39 ($29 yearly) | 2,500 | $0.05 |
| Business | $99 ($69 yearly) | 7,500 | $0.025 |
| Advanced | $199 ($139 yearly) | 25,000 | up to $0.004 |
Sources: blotato.com/blog/manychat-pricing (28 Sep 2026), replyrush.com/post/manychat-pricing-2026 (Jun 2026), activepieces.com/blog/manychat-pricing-2026 (2 Nov 2026). Older ManyChat accounts may still be on the previous Free/Pro/Elite structure.
What Scorper does instead
That is the setup. It can be typed into Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or the Claude app, or done with buttons on the dashboard's Auto-DM page. The automation watches comments on the post through Meta's webhooks and replies to each commenter by DM through Meta's private-reply capability. Early commenters are caught, two-step flows (button then link) are supported, and “list”, “pause” and “delete” manage it.
| Scorper | ManyChat | |
|---|---|---|
| Comment-to-DM on Instagram | Yes, included on every plan | Yes (Comments Growth Tool, now the Post and Reel Comments trigger) |
| Pricing basis | Flat per brand: Pro $15, Max $25, Studio $55 (3 brands) | Monthly active contacts, with overage |
| Contact cap | None | 25 to 25,000 depending on plan |
| Setup | One sentence to your AI, or the dashboard | Visual flow builder |
| Multi-step chatbot flows | No (two-step button-then-link only) | Yes |
| WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS, email | No | Yes |
| Posting and scheduling to 5 platforms | Yes, from your AI or the dashboard | No (ManyChat is messaging, not a scheduler) |
| Carousel and video generator | Yes | No |
| Free trial | 7 days on every plan, card required | Free plan with 25 active contacts; 14-day trial on Essential and Pro (third-party reports) |
How to switch, in five minutes
- Connect your AI (or skip to the dashboard):
npx scorper@latest initin Claude Code, Codex or Cursor; email code sign in; pick a plan, 7 days free. - Connect Instagram and grant the messaging permission once: “connect my instagram”, then
scorper connect --dm. - Arm your next post with the keyword and link you used in ManyChat.
- Turn off the ManyChat automation on that post so commenters do not get two DMs.
Who should stay on ManyChat
Anyone running real conversational flows: collecting emails inside DMs, branching on answers, WhatsApp or Messenger support bots, SMS campaigns, or a team working an inbox with seats. Scorper does not do those and is not trying to. It does the comment-to-DM job and the posting job, in one account, from the AI you already use.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Scorper a full replacement for ManyChat?
- For Instagram comment-to-DM (keyword in a comment triggers a DM with a link), yes, and it is included in every plan with no contact cap. For multi-branch chatbot conversations, WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS or email flows, no. ManyChat is a chatbot platform; Scorper is a posting connection with the comment-to-DM job built in.
- How does ManyChat charge?
- By monthly active contacts. According to third-party pricing breakdowns from September to November 2026, the plans are Free (25 active contacts), Essential $17/mo (250), Pro $39/mo (2,500), Business $99/mo (7,500) and Advanced $199/mo (25,000), with per-contact overage above each cap. ManyChat's own site blocks automated checks, so verify on manychat.com/pricing.
- What does a viral post cost on each?
- On Scorper, nothing extra: 5,000 commenters get 5,000 DMs on the same plan. On a contact-based plan, 5,000 new active contacts in a month would push a Pro account past its 2,500 included contacts into overage, per the third-party breakdowns above.
- Can I set up Scorper's automation without a terminal?
- Yes. The dashboard's Auto-DM page does the same thing with buttons. The terminal and Claude-app routes are there for people who already work in an AI agent.
- Does Scorper use official Instagram APIs?
- Yes. Meta's private-reply capability for replying to a commenter by DM, and Meta's webhooks for watching comments. Nothing unofficial.
- What else do I get?
- Posting and scheduling to Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, X and YouTube from Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or the Claude app, a carousel and video generator, and a dashboard calendar. Comment-to-DM is one feature of the account, not the product.
Arm your next post in one sentence
Comment-to-DM included. No contact caps.
npx scorper@latest initStart free for 7 days 7 days free on every plan. The AI-agent connection is on Max ($25/month) and Studio.