Orbit8 vs ManyChat: a ManyChat alternative for Instagram DMs

What ManyChat does well

A fair comparison starts with what the other product does well. Here are four things ManyChat does really well, one of which we’d happily borrow.

• The simple builder. Its easiest automations open as a three-question form (when someone comments on, and this comment has, they will get) with a phone preview beside it that follows you from the post, to the comments, to the DM. It’s the clearest first ten minutes in this category, and we say that as a competitor.
• The template gallery. Around two dozen Instagram templates, filtered by goal (grow your followers, engage your audience, drive traffic) and by what starts them (post or Reel comment, DM, Story reply, Live comment). You begin from something that already works.
• Range. Multi-step flows, conditions, delays, randomisers, tagging, quizzes, follow gates, email and phone capture, moving a conversation to WhatsApp or SMS, and automations that run on comments during an Instagram Live. That range is theirs, and it’s impressive.
• A clear view of the paid features. Templates carrying an upgrade badge still open, and still edit, on a free account. The paid parts are specific blocks and options, like collecting an email, requiring a follow, or starting on any or the next post, plus going live. You learn what you’d be paying for by using it.

Where the two products differ

Feature grids tend to flatten everything into ticks. This one is written so the rows you care about point you to the right tool, including the rows where that’s ManyChat.

The question nobody planned for

One everyday case shows the difference best, and it’s most of a creator’s inbox.

Someone messages late in the evening: “does the linen shirt shrink if I tumble dry it?”

Both products can use AI for a question like this. The useful test is what happens when the answer is missing: what does it say, what information supports it, and how easily can you take over?

Orbit8 answers it from what you’ve told it. If you added care instructions for that shirt, the answer goes out right away, in your style. If you haven’t, the conversation is saved in your Inbox, so you can reply in Instagram and tell Orbit8 the answer for next time.

We put the most care into that second path. Your followers get your real answers, and the new questions come to you.

Your followers get your real answers, and the new questions come to you.

What each one costs

Basic: £0 / $0. Creator: £7.99 / $9.99 per month. Pro: £22.49 / $29.99 per month. Basic includes 50 AI replies a month. Creator and Pro start when paid plans launch.

Plans are sized by the AI replies Orbit8 sends for you each month. Keyword link sends, contacts, followers and teammates are included on every plan.

We’re leaving ManyChat’s prices off this page, because pricing pages change and an old number helps nobody. Read theirs, read ours, and compare what each plan counts.

Pick ManyChat if

• You run campaigns: giveaways, entry mechanics, or a launch sequence with a nudge two days later.
• You want to collect email addresses or phone numbers, as well as clicks.
• You want people to follow before they get the freebie.
• Your audience is on WhatsApp or SMS as well as Instagram, and you want one tool for all of it today.
• You automate around Instagram Live.
• You run several accounts for several clients and want templates you can reuse.

Pick Orbit8 if

• Most of your DMs are questions: sizing, shipping, price, availability, the next drop.
• The replies you’d automate are ones you’ve typed by hand two hundred times.
• You want replies that follow your tone, your phrases and your emoji habits.
• You’d like the conversations that need you gathered in one Inbox, with an alert.
• You want your link in someone’s DMs right after they comment your word.

You can also use both. If a ManyChat giveaway flow already works for you, keep it, and give each tool its own keywords.

Check it on your own inbox

1. 01

   Open your DMs and read the last fifty. Count how many are one of your five everyday questions, and how many only you could answer.

2. 02

   If nearly all of them are the everyday five, keyword automations may cover you, in either tool.

3. 03

   If many need a real answer, ask each tool what it replies when a question is new. Then try it on your own questions before you switch it on.