Alternatives to ManyChat for WhatsApp in Spanish and for Latin America

ManyChat is a tool for automating Instagram and Messenger, but if your business lives on WhatsApp, you might feel like you're forcing a tool that wasn't made for that. Also, the material and support are mostly in English, and for a Latin American SME that can be a real pain.

The good news: there are several alternatives that speak your language and are designed for the region. Some are team inboxes, others are flow chatbots, and there's one that uses AI that learns from your real responses. We'll tell you about them without beating around the bush.

What does someone who currently uses ManyChat look for?

If you already use ManyChat, you probably value campaign automation and funnels, especially on Instagram and Messenger. But when a customer writes to you on WhatsApp, do you serve them just as well? Often not, because the tool isn't designed for a team to answer inquiries, but rather to send batch messages.

Also, ManyChat's free plan is real but limited: 25 active contacts and a single user. When you grow, the jump to the paid plan is felt, and the English-speaking audience and support don't help.

• You want to handle WhatsApp with the same ease you handle Instagram.
• You need the team (or yourself) to answer inquiries without stepping on each other.
• You're looking for a tool that understands Spanish and the local context.

Prices, verified one by one

• 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.

• Wati Growth: US$45/month billed annually — 3 users and 500 active contacts, no option to add more.
• Wati Pro: US$95/month — US$24 per extra user.

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

• 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.

• 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: on 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.

Wati: the global flow builder

Wati is a very polished global platform for automating WhatsApp, with a no-code flow builder that is among the best out there. If your business has an English-speaking audience and you need elaborate flows, Wati is a racehorse.

But watch out: the entry plan doesn't let you add extra users or contacts. If you grow, you must move up a tier, no exceptions. And the support and materials are designed for abroad, not for a local SME.

• Ideal if you handle English and need complex flows.
• No free plan or published trial.
• The entry plan is limited for growth.

Whaticket: the team inbox that holds its own in LatAm

Whaticket is a shared inbox, multi-agent and multichannel, very present in Latin America. If you have a team of several people handling the same number, Whaticket solves the mess of two agents answering the same chat.

The downside: the minimum plan is for 3 users. If you're a one-person business, you pay for two you don't use. And automation is flow-based, not AI that understands free language.

• Shared inbox well solved for teams.
• Designed for LatAm, with local support.
• Not suitable for a one-person business.

Cliengo and Botmaker: options for capturing leads and for large companies

Cliengo is Argentine and its strength is the web chatbot to convert visitors into leads. If your priority is capturing leads from the site, Cliengo rocks, but the entry price is high for an SME that only needs WhatsApp.

Botmaker is something else: an omnichannel platform for medium and large companies, with high volume and corporate-level support. The smallest plan is already expensive, and the platform's complexity is the flip side of its power.

• Cliengo: ideal for capturing leads from the web, with true multichannel.
• Botmaker: for companies with high volume and a large budget.
• Both have a high entry price for a small SME.

Wando: the local alternative that learns from your replies

Wando is an Argentine SaaS that uses AI to help you reply to WhatsApp Business, but with a twist: the AI suggests replies and you approve them with one click. It doesn't reply on its own without supervision, and it learns from the actual replies you give, so it suggests better each time.

It's designed for SMEs in Latin America, in Spanish, with local support. It has a message inbox with AI suggestions, templates, campaigns, contacts with labels, statistics, multi-agent, and even audio transcription. And it integrates with Make, Zapier, n8n, Slack, Google Sheets, and Mercado Pago.

The entry price is affordable, and there's a free 14-day trial without a card. For plan details, you can check wando.online/pricing.

• AI that suggests replies and you approve them (human-in-the-loop).
• Learns from your actual replies, no need to program flows.
• In Spanish, for LatAm SMEs, with local support.

Look, there's no perfect tool: it depends on what you need. If your business lives on Instagram and Messenger, ManyChat is great. If you handle WhatsApp with a team, Whaticket or Wando might work for you. And if you want AI to help you reply faster, without programming anything, Wando is the option designed for the region. Try the free trial and see if it makes your life easier.

What about Meta's templates and prices?

When you use a tool with the official WhatsApp API, there are two things that do not depend on the tool: template approval and the price per conversation.

Templates (the messages you send outside an active conversation, like campaigns) are reviewed by Meta. Approval can take up to 48 hours. If your campaign depends on a template, plan it with extra time.

The cost per conversation is set by Meta and varies by country. It is not decided by Wando or any alternative. If you want the details, go to Meta's official documentation. And be careful: some tool plans include certain costs, but Meta's price is separate.

• Templates are approved within up to 48 hours; do not schedule campaigns at the last minute.
• Meta's per-conversation price varies by country; check the official documentation.
• No tool can avoid this cost; they only integrate it differently.

A concrete example: an ice cream shop that receives 80 messages per day

Let's take the case of an ice cream shop in Córdoba. It receives orders, schedule inquiries, and complaints via WhatsApp. Before, one person handled everything, and sometimes messages were missed.

With Wando, the inbox brings all chats together in one place. When a message arrives, the AI suggests a response based on how the business has responded before. The owner approves it with a click and sends it. If it's an audio from a customer asking for a quarter kilo of dulce de leche, Wando transcribes it and suggests a response.

Over time, AI learns that orders arrive at certain times and suggests faster responses. The two-person team handles things without stepping on each other, and promotional campaigns are sent with templates approved by Meta.

Common mistakes when switching from ManyChat to another tool

One of the most common mistakes is expecting the new tool to do everything exactly like ManyChat. Many alternatives have a different logic: inboxes instead of flows, or AI instead of scheduled automations. It's not that one is better; they are just different.

Another mistake: not checking contact and user limits. If your business grows, a small plan will fall short, and you'll have to jump to a higher price no matter what. Look carefully at how many active contacts you need today and how many you'll need in six months.

And the most expensive mistake: not calculating Meta's cost. Many think the tool's plan covers everything, and then the conversation bill arrives. That cost is separate and depends on the country.

• Don't expect the new tool to exactly replicate ManyChat.
• Check contact and user limits before choosing a plan.
• Separate the tool's cost from Meta's per-conversation cost.

What if my business is small and I don't have a team?

If you're a one-person business, tools like Whaticket aren't suitable because the minimum plan is for 3 users. You'd be paying for two you don't use.

Wando, on the other hand, has an initial plan of US$9.99/month with 1 user and 500 contacts. It's enough to get started, and if you grow, you move to the Pro plan with more contacts and users.

The key is not to pay for features you won't use. For a small business, a simple inbox with AI that helps you respond faster is usually more than enough.

How do I know if Wando's AI is reliable?

Wando's AI doesn't respond on its own: it suggests responses and you approve them with a click. That's called human-in-the-loop and it's the key difference from a chatbot that responds automatically.

Plus, the AI learns from your real responses. If you correct a suggestion, next time it will suggest better. There's no need to program flows or maintain them: the AI adapts on its own.

That said, the quality of suggestions depends on how much you use it. At first it may suggest generic responses, but over time it improves. It's not magic, it's learning.

What happens with Instagram and Messenger if I switch to Wando?

Wando is not just WhatsApp: it also handles Instagram and Messenger. But its main focus is WhatsApp Business, so if your business lives on Instagram, you might want to keep ManyChat for that and use Wando for WhatsApp.

The good news is that Wando integrates with Make, Zapier, and n8n, so you can connect the two tools and let the data flow. For example, a lead that comes in through Instagram can move to Wando to follow up via WhatsApp.

It's not all or nothing: you can use ManyChat for Instagram and Wando for WhatsApp, no problem.