Guides · Alternatives

Manus alternatives (2026)

What Manus costs today, seven alternatives side by side, and which one fits you. Plain English, every fact linked to the vendor's own page.

By Loay Deeb, AI agent architect · Last checked 21 Oct 2026 · Every fact links to its source; anything we couldn't verify says unknown.

The longer answer. Manus is a credit-based agent: Free gives 300 credits a day and one task at a time, and Pro starts at $20 a month for 4,000 credits13. If you already pay for ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work covers the same "give me a finished deliverable" job3. If you mostly work in Gmail and documents, Claude is the closest swap at the same price4 14. If you want something that keeps working in your own logged-in tools, look at Grok Bot6. Free and open source: OpenClaw or Hermes Agent11 12.

What Manus costs today (so you know what you're replacing)

Free, $0: 300 credits a day, 1 task at a time, 2 scheduled automations, and only the Manus 2.0 Lite model in Agent Mode13.
Pro, from $20 a month: from 4,000 credits a month, 20 tasks at a time and 20 scheduled automations. A $40 tier gives 8,000 credits and a 7-day free trial. Annual billing saves 17%13.
Team, from $20 per seat a month: adds SSO, a data-training opt-out, usage analytics and access controls13.

How many tasks 4,000 credits buys depends on the task; Manus doesn't publish a fixed number per task: unknown.

Manus alternatives compared

Alternative	Best for	Price	How it works
ChatGPT Work	Finished documents, spreadsheets, decks, reports and Sites from one request	Free: limited Work in the desktop app1. Plus: $20 a month2	Runs in the cloud on web and mobile; the desktop app can use local files and apps with your permission3
Claude (with Cowork built in)	Writing, documents and work across Gmail, Calendar and Drive	Pro: $20 a month, or $17 a month billed yearly4	Scheduled tasks on every paid plan, running in the cloud even when your computer is off5
Grok Bot	An always-on assistant that signs into your own tools and runs routines	Premium: $30 a month; Super $100; Ultra $2006	Has its own persistent cloud computer and keeps working when your laptop is closed6
Gemini Agent	People already paying Google for storage and Gmail	Google AI Ultra only, US and English only7	Tasks in Gemini on Pro and Ultra in select countries8
Notion Custom Agents	Teams whose docs and projects already live in Notion	Notion Business: $20 per member a month; Custom Agents free to try, then $10 per 1,000 Notion credits9	Runs on a schedule or trigger, whether you're online or not10
OpenClaw (open source)	Tinkerers with a spare computer	Free, MIT-licensed software; you pay for the AI model unless you pick a free one11	Runs on your own Mac, Windows or Linux machine and chats over WhatsApp, Telegram and more11
Hermes Agent (open source)	Tinkerers who want memory and scheduling	Free, MIT-licensed; model providers charge separately12	Memory, scheduling, web browsing and messaging apps12

US list prices checked 21 Oct 2026 unless the source date says otherwise. Genspark and other credit-based agents are left out: we couldn't load their pricing pages for a reliable check.

Which Manus alternative should you pick?

You already pay for ChatGPT Plus: try ChatGPT Work before paying for a second agent. It researches, analyzes and builds documents, spreadsheets, presentations, reports and Sites, and can run on a schedule or when a new Gmail message arrives3.
You want help in your inbox and docs: Claude's Gmail connector can search, draft, send, reply and forward, and asks for your approval before each send by default14.
You want an assistant that works while you sleep: Grok Bot runs routines on a schedule from its own cloud computer, and you can teach it a workflow by doing it once while it watches6.
Your team lives in Notion: Notion's Custom Agents run on triggers or schedules across your workspace and connected tools10.
You want free and open source: OpenClaw or Hermes on a spare computer, with a model you already pay for11 12. Read is OpenClaw safe? first.

Head to head: ChatGPT vs Manus. Not sure? The 1-minute quiz gives you a pick.

FAQ

Questions people ask

What is the best alternative to Manus?

For most people who already pay for ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work, because it produces the same kind of finished deliverables (documents, spreadsheets, presentations, reports and Sites)3 and Plus costs $20 a month2, the same as Manus Pro's starting price13.

Is there a free Manus alternative?

Yes. OpenClaw and Hermes Agent are free, MIT-licensed software, though you pay for the AI model unless you choose a free one11 12. Manus itself has a free plan with 300 credits a day13.

Is there an open-source Manus alternative?

OpenClaw and Hermes Agent are both open source under the MIT license11 12. They run on your own machine, so setup and security are your job. See our OpenClaw vs Hermes guide.

How much does Manus cost?

Free is $0 with 300 daily credits. Pro starts at $20 a month for 4,000 credits, with a $40 tier for 8,000 credits. Team starts at $20 per seat a month. Annual billing saves 17%13.

Manus vs ChatGPT: which is better?

ChatGPT's old "agent mode" is no longer available; OpenAI now points people to ChatGPT Work15. Pick ChatGPT if you already pay for it and want Gmail, Slack or GitHub triggers3; pick Manus for a cheap credit plan with up to 20 tasks running at once on Pro13.

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Sources

Where these facts come from

We read each vendor's own pricing page, help center, docs or release notes. No review sites, no paid placement. Research and drafting were assisted by an AI agent (Grok Bot, one of the products covered); every fact was checked against the linked source.

ChatGPT plans & pricing (re-checked) chatgpt.com/pricing · checked 21 Oct 2026
What is ChatGPT Plus? (re-checked) help.openai.com/en/articles/6950777-what-is-chatgpt-plus · checked 21 Oct 2026
ChatGPT Work and Codex (OpenAI Help Center) help.openai.com/en/articles/20001275-chatgpt-work-and-codex · checked 21 Oct 2026
Claude pricing & plan comparison (re-checked) claude.com/pricing · checked 21 Oct 2026
Schedule recurring tasks in Claude Cowork (Claude Help Center) support.claude.com/en/articles/13854387-schedule-recurring-tasks-in-claude-cowork · checked 20 Oct 2026
Grok Bot product page and FAQ (x.ai) x.ai/bot · checked 21 Oct 2026
Google AI plans (re-checked) one.google.com/about/google-ai-plans/ · checked 21 Oct 2026
Google AI plans (re-checked) one.google.com/about/google-ai-plans/ · checked 20 Oct 2026
Notion pricing www.notion.com/pricing · checked 21 Oct 2026
Notion AI and Custom Agents (product page and FAQ) www.notion.com/product/ai · checked 21 Oct 2026
OpenClaw homepage (re-checked) openclaw.ai/ · checked 21 Oct 2026
Hermes Agent homepage and Nous Portal plans (re-checked) hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/ · checked 21 Oct 2026
Manus Help Center: current membership pricing help.manus.im/en/articles/11711111-what-is-the-current-membership-pricing-for-manus · checked 21 Oct 2026
Claude: use Google Workspace connectors (Gmail, Calendar, Drive) support.claude.com/en/articles/10166901-use-google-workspace-connectors · checked 21 Oct 2026
ChatGPT agent (OpenAI Help Center: "no longer available") help.openai.com/en/articles/11752874-chatgpt-agent · checked 21 Oct 2026