Manus
manus.im ↗Manus in short
What it is: Best for trying long tasks on free daily credits; monthly credits reset and go to zero if you cancel. Price: Free tier. Free: 300 refresh credits daily; paid from $20/mo (4,000 credits/mo), $40/mo (8,000) and $200/mo (40,000), each plus 300 daily credits; annual billing saves 17%; Team and Enterprise plans available. (checked 2026-11-03). Best for: research a topic and write a report; build a website or slides from a prompt. Watch out: monthly credits reset each billing cycle and do not roll over.
Our verdict
Best for trying long tasks on free daily credits; monthly credits reset and go to zero if you cancel.
Manus's pricing page and help center describe a credit-based agent with a free daily allowance and paid monthly credit packs that do not roll over.
Based on public docs and pricing pages, not hands-on testing. How we checkStrengths
- 300 free refresh credits a day to try it
- Paid plans list up to 20 concurrent and 20 scheduled tasks
- Credits for tasks that fail on Manus's side are refunded, per the help center
- Web, desktop and mobile apps plus a Slack integration
Limitations
- Monthly credits reset each billing cycle and do not roll over
- If you cancel, monthly credits drop to zero and add-on credits go inactive until you resubscribe
- Free daily credits cap at 1,500 a month and only work with Manus 2.0 lite
- Credit cost per task varies with complexity
Manus pricing
Free: 300 refresh credits daily; paid from $20/mo (4,000 credits/mo), $40/mo (8,000) and $200/mo (40,000), each plus 300 daily credits; annual billing saves 17%; Team and Enterprise plans available.
From the official pricing page, checked 2026-11-03. Plans change, so confirm before you buy.
Is Manus free?
Yes, it lists a free way to start. Free: 300 refresh credits daily; paid from $20/mo (4,000 credits/mo), $40/mo (8,000) and $200/mo (40,000), each plus 300 daily credits; annual billing saves 17%; Team and Enterprise plans available. (official pricing page, checked 2026-11-03)
Good for
Note: Credit rules: https://help.manus.im/en/articles/11711097 and https://help.manus.im/en/articles/12268225
Compare all AI assistants: pricing, credits, approvals and data use →
What users say
Community sentiment (opinion, not verified facts)Credits burn faster than expected
The most common complaint: single tasks, loops or reruns using far more credits than users expected.
- r/ManusOfficial on Reddit: Credits are melting away very fast
- r/ManusOfficial on Reddit: Manus: how many credits have you lost?
Show all 4 posts
- @MrKitty26, Oct 8, 2026 on X
I burn through all my credits too fast
- @leo_aryan0, Sep 29, 2026 on X
Billing, refunds and an August outage
Some users report trouble getting refunds or billing answers, and an outage in late August. One account posting these claims says they are unverified.
- @LordofAds, Aug 26, 2026 on X
- @galati_janet, Sep 3, 2026 on X
Show all 3 posts
- @manusaihigai, Oct 20, 2026 on X
Free credits draw people in
Others point to the free daily credits as a reason to try it.
- @CodeWithTamara, Sep 30, 2026 on X
- @yizhou_yu, Oct 15, 2026 on X
Full community section and how we gathered it, in the AI assistants guide →
Alternatives in Assistants
- Muse (Meta): Best for trying a personal agent for free, with approvals and an audit trail; it is offered in North America, Japan and, since Oct 27, 2026, Singapore.
- Dots (OpenAI): Best for ChatGPT Pro users who want always on agents in ChatGPT, Slack and Teams; not offered in the EEA, Switzerland or the UK.
- Grok Bot: Best for running several agents that share a cloud computer, tools and files; the weekly pool is shared with Grok and Cursor.
- ChatGPT Work (OpenAI): Best for turning your tools and files into documents, presentations and web apps; the Free plan is desktop only, and usage is shared with Codex.
- Claude (Anthropic): Best for work on your own files and browser when you want to choose between approving each action and automated checks; local files and the browser need Claude Desktop open.
- Lindy: Best for teams that want an assistant in Slack and email that waits for approval on outside actions; every active user is billed.
- Motion: Best for planning your week with calendar scheduling; trials bill unless you cancel.
- Alexa+ (Amazon): Best for Prime households that want errands like takeout, reservations and rides done by voice; check approvals yourself, since Amazon's pages do not describe them.
- Claude Duet (Anthropic): Best for US Claude Pro, Max or Ultra subscribers who want morning briefs and check-ins; it is a waitlisted research preview that shares your Claude limits.
- Comet (Perplexity): Best for an assistant inside a free browser; agent work in Work mode runs on paid credits.
- Copilot Cowork (Microsoft): Best for Microsoft 365 Premium or Pro subscribers; Personal and Family plans lose access, and it is still a preview.
- Gemini (Google): Best for Google AI Pro or Ultra subscribers who want background tasks with apps like Instacart and OpenTable; not offered in the EEA, Nigeria, Switzerland or the UK.
Compare Manus
FAQ
Is Manus free?
Yes, it lists a free way to start. Free: 300 refresh credits daily; paid from $20/mo (4,000 credits/mo), $40/mo (8,000) and $200/mo (40,000), each plus 300 daily credits; annual billing saves 17%; Team and Enterprise plans available. (official pricing page, checked 2026-11-03)
How much does Manus cost?
Free: 300 refresh credits daily; paid from $20/mo (4,000 credits/mo), $40/mo (8,000) and $200/mo (40,000), each plus 300 daily credits; annual billing saves 17%; Team and Enterprise plans available. (from manus.im/pricing, checked 2026-11-03).
What is Manus used for?
Listed use cases: research a topic and write a report; build a website or slides from a prompt; run many parallel research tasks; schedule recurring tasks.
What are the best alternatives to Manus?
Other AI assistants in this directory: Muse (Meta), Dots (OpenAI), Grok Bot, ChatGPT Work (OpenAI). We list them in data order, not ranked.
Did you test Manus?
No. Verdicts are based on each vendor's public docs and pricing pages, not hands-on testing, unless a page says otherwise.