Alternatives to Cliengo for beauty salons: is it worth switching?

Cliengo is an Argentine platform with years of experience, especially in web chat for capturing leads. If your salon receives inquiries through the web, it's an option that works. But if your day-to-day happens on WhatsApp, you might be missing out on something simpler and cheaper.

In this comparison we focus on your industry: aesthetics. We're not talking in general terms, but about what works for you to respond quickly, not lose appointments, and handle several clients at once. And yes, it's written by the Wando team, so you know where we're coming from.

What Cliengo offers and where it hurts

Cliengo started with website chat and is still strong there: it converts anonymous visitors into leads with a chatbot that qualifies them. If your website is your main lead generation channel, it makes sense.

The problem for a beauty salon is twofold. First, the price: its entry plan is already high for an SME that only needs WhatsApp. Second, the automation is through pre-programmed flows with an AI layer on top, not generative AI that understands free language. In other words, you have to configure and maintain those flows.

Also, although it has WhatsApp among its channels, its center of gravity remains the web. To handle WhatsApp inquiries naturally, it falls short.

• Web chat to capture leads: its turf, and it dominates it.
• High entry price if you only need WhatsApp.
• Flow-based automation, not pure generative AI.

Prices, verified one by one

• Cliengo Starter: US$45/month — 2 users and 500 conversations.
• Cliengo Premium: US$119/month — more volume and marketing features.
• Cliengo Business: US$259/month — the highest tier, aimed at teams.
• Cliengo free trial: 14 days.

• Wati Growth: US$45/month when paying annually — 3 users and 500 active contacts, without the possibility of adding more.
• Wati Pro: US$95/month — US$24 for each extra user.

• Whaticket Single plan: US$49/month with monthly billing — minimum 3 users and 1 WhatsApp connection; 20% less when paying annually.
• Whaticket free trial: 14 days.

• ManyChat Essential: US$14/month — 250 contacts.
• ManyChat Pro: US$29/month — 2,500 contacts.
• ManyChat free: Real Free Plan: 25 active contacts and 1 user.

• Botmaker Standard: US$149/month — 3,000 conversations.
• Botmaker Scale: US$249/month — 5,000 conversations.
• Botmaker Pro: US$499/month — 10,000 conversations.
• Botmaker Enterprise: upon request — custom.
• Botmaker free: The account is created for free and includes up to 300 initial conversations at no charge.

• Wando Starter: US$9.99/month — 500 contacts, 1 user.
• Wando Pro: US$19.99/month — 5,000 contacts, 3 users.
• Wando Enterprise: US$49.99/month — 25,000 contacts, unlimited users.
• Wando free trial: 14 days without a card.

Wando: AI that learns from your responses, for WhatsApp

Wando is an Argentine SaaS focused on WhatsApp Business using Meta's official API. The key difference: AI suggests responses based on what your team actually replies, and you approve them with one click. It's not a chatbot you have to program with flows; it learns on its own from your style.

For a beauty salon, this means typical inquiries (prices, appointments, hours, promotions) are answered quickly and in your tone, without having to build a decision tree. And if a client asks something unusual, the AI gives you a suggestion and you decide.

It also includes features that organize your day: message inbox with suggestions, templates for campaigns (like appointment reminders), contacts with tags, statistics, and multi-agent. It also has scheduled auto-replies, ideal for when the salon is closed.

• AI suggestions that learn from your real responses.
• You approve each response with one click: it doesn't reply on its own without supervision.
• Integrations with Make, Zapier, n8n, Slack, Google Sheets, and Mercado Pago.
• Free 14-day trial without a card.

What Wati has and why it's not for your salon

Wati is a global platform with a very polished no-code flow builder. If you need complex automations and speak English, it's a solid option.

But for a beauty salon in Argentina, it falls short for several reasons. Its entry plan doesn't allow adding extra users or contacts: if you grow, you jump up a tier. And it's paid in dollars or euros, with support and materials designed for an English-speaking audience.

Additionally, its automation is flow-based, not AI that understands free language. In other words, you're still tied to configuring and maintaining those flows, which is exactly what Wando saves you from.

• Mature no-code flows, but you have to configure them.
• Limited entry plan: no additional users or contacts.
• Designed for an English-speaking audience, not for the day-to-day of a local SME.

Whaticket, ManyChat, and Botmaker: real alternatives?

Whaticket is a shared multi-agent inbox, ideal if you have a large team. But its minimum plan is for 3 users: if you're a single person or have one assistant, you pay more. And its automation is also flow-based.

ManyChat has a truly free plan and is the reference for Instagram and Messenger. If your salon lives off those networks, it might work. But it's not designed to handle WhatsApp inquiries as a main channel, but rather for marketing funnels.

Botmaker is powerful and omnichannel, but its smallest plan is already expensive and its complexity is for large companies. For a beauty salon, it's like using a bulldozer to hang a picture.

• Whaticket: good for teams, but minimum 3 users.
• ManyChat: free plan and strong on Instagram, weak on WhatsApp as support.
• Botmaker: for large companies, high price and complexity.

When is it better to stick with Cliengo?

If your main source of customers is your website chat and you've already built flows that work for you, there's no reason to switch. Cliengo is good at that and has a track record.

But if you want to handle WhatsApp naturally, with an AI that learns from your responses and at an affordable price, Wando is the option designed for your business. The free 14-day trial without a card lets you see it with your own inquiries.

• Choose Cliengo if your website is your main lead generation channel.
• Choose Wando if you want to reply to WhatsApp quickly, without flows, and at an SME-friendly price.

In the end, the decision depends on where your day-to-day happens. If it's on the web, Cliengo delivers. If it's on WhatsApp, Wando gives you an AI that learns from your way of working, without you having to program anything. Try it for free and see if it simplifies your life.