ManyChat vs. Zinglo: Choosing Your 2025 Conversation Engine

Back in 2016, ManyChat set the standard for Messenger-style chatbots. That architecture still powers the product today, so building anything beyond simple flows usually means dragging nodes around a visual builder

Back in 2016, ManyChat set the standard for Messenger-style chatbots. That architecture still powers the product today, so building anything beyond simple flows usually means dragging nodes around a visual builder—and, in practice, having someone technical on staff to maintain them. Even after its recent $140 million growth round aimed at “bringing AI to social channels,” the new features feel bolted-on rather than deeply integrated, which is why reviews still mention Instagram/WhatsApp glitches and fragile Shopify workarounds. Zinglo, by contrast, was built in the post-GPT era. Everything is text-prompt driven, AI sits at the core, and the interface behaves like a shared human inbox rather than a tree of bot states. Setup takes about two minutes, costs start at free (and that free tier already covers most everyday use cases), and every premium module is opt-in—so total ownership cost is noticeably lower than stacking ManyChat’s $15 Pro plan with a $29 AI add-on. For teams that want tighter, smarter control without hiring a specialist, Zinglo is the straightforward pick.

If you have a professional technical team and the time to build complex flow diagrams, ManyChat is still a usable option—assuming you’re willing to manage its recurring bugs and the 1,000-contact limit. However, if you're looking for smarter control, a human-centered conversation experience, and 2-minute deployment, Zinglo is the more logical, future-ready choice. And having a professional team doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get better results with ManyChat—its limitations stem from a legacy architecture built in 2016, not from how skilled your team is.