6 best Manus AI alternatives in 2025 (Free & Paid options)

Let’s be honest, autonomous AI agents like Manus AI are pretty exciting. The idea that they can handle complex stuff like research, data analysis, and even coding all by themselves is a huge deal. But there’s a big problem: Manus is invite-only, and if you browse Reddit, you’ll see a lot of complaints about its high and unpredictable credit costs. This leaves a lot of us searching for powerful AI agents we can actually get our hands on today without emptying our pockets.

If you’re hunting for practical and affordable Manus AI alternatives, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve spent time testing some of the top options out there to see how they perform in the real world, from automating customer support queues to making internal workflows less of a headache. Let’s get into it.

What are AI agents and Manus AI alternatives?

Before we jump into the comparisons, let’s quickly get on the same page about what we’re talking about. An AI agent is a lot more than just a chatbot. It’s a system that can understand a goal, figure out the steps to get there, use tools (like a web browser or a code interpreter), and see a plan through with very little hand-holding.

For instance, you could tell Manus AI to "research the US SaaS market and create a slide deck." It would then go off, do the research, pull together the important findings, and build the presentation. The alternatives we’re about to explore can do similar things, but they all differ in how you access them, how much they cost, and what they’re best used for, from business operations to open-source coding projects.

Our criteria for the best Manus AI alternatives

To make this a fair fight, I looked at each tool from the perspective of someone who just wants to get work done. It’s not just about what an AI agent can do on paper, but how easily and reliably you can make it a part of your daily routine. Here’s what I focused on:

• Ease of setup: How long does it take to go from signing up to having a working AI agent? I leaned towards tools that let you get started on your own, without needing to sit through sales demos or get a developer involved.

• Customization and control: Can you actually control what the AI does, how it sounds, and which tasks it automates? The best tools give you options to fine-tune things without being a massive pain to configure.

• Integration with existing tools: A good AI agent should fit into your current workflow, not make you switch all your software. I looked for smooth connections with common tools like help desks, knowledge bases, and chat apps.

• Pricing transparency: Is it clear what you’re paying for? I preferred platforms with simple, predictable pricing over the confusing credit systems and per-task fees that make Manus a headache for many.

• Practical business value: Does this thing actually solve a real problem and save you time or money? I focused on alternatives that offer real benefits beyond just being a neat piece of tech.

Manus AI alternatives comparison table

Here’s a quick look at how the top Manus AI alternatives compare based on my testing.

Tool	Best For	Ease of Setup	Pricing Model	Key Advantage
eesel AI	Customer Service & ITSM Automation	Minutes (Self-serve)	Flat-rate subscription	Risk-free simulation & deep help desk integration
Lindy.ai	Custom Workflow Automation	Moderate (No-code builder)	Credit-based tiers	Building multi-step agents for ops tasks
Genspark	Creative Content Generation	Easy	Freemium (Credits)	Fast, visually appealing reports & web pages
Saner.AI	Personal Knowledge Management	Easy	Subscription	Capturing & synthesizing research from multiple sources
Suna AI	Developers & Open-Source Users	Complex (Self-hosted)	Free (Open-source)	Full control, privacy, and unlimited customization
ChatGPT Agent	General-Purpose Tasks	Easy (for Plus users)	Subscription + usage limits	Broad capabilities within the familiar ChatGPT interface

The 6 best Manus AI alternatives in 2025

After putting these tools through their paces, here’s my breakdown of the best options on the market right now.

1. eesel AI

While a lot of AI agents try to do everything, eesel AI is built specifically to automate support, which makes it an incredibly useful alternative for any business with a support team. It plugs directly into your help desk (like Zendesk or Freshdesk), your knowledge bases (whether that’s Confluence or Google Docs), and your chat tools (Slack or Teams) to work as your first line of support.

eesel AI integrates with various help desks, knowledge bases, and chat tools, making it one of the top Manus AI alternatives for support teams.

What I really like about eesel AI is its focus on giving you control and confidence. Instead of just turning on an AI and hoping it works, you can use its simulation mode to test the agent on thousands of your past tickets. This shows you exactly how it would have performed and what its resolution rate would be before it ever touches a live customer conversation.

The simulation mode in eesel AI allows users to test its performance on past tickets, a key feature for Manus AI alternatives.:

The whole setup is self-serve, so you can be up and running in minutes without ever talking to a salesperson. That’s a huge difference from the waitlist and mystery of Manus. Plus, the pricing is a simple flat rate, so you don’t have to worry about the unpredictable credit costs people complain about with Manus.

• Pros:

  • Go live in minutes: A true self-serve setup with one-click integrations.

  • Risk-free testing: Simulate how the agent will perform on your past tickets before you activate it.

  • Total control: You decide exactly which tickets the AI handles and what it’s allowed to do.

  • Transparent pricing: Predictable monthly or annual plans without extra fees for every ticket it solves.

  • Unifies knowledge: Learns from old tickets, help center articles, and docs in places like Notion or SharePoint.

• Cons:

  • It’s focused on customer service, ITSM, and internal support, so it’s not the right tool if you need an agent for creative writing or coding.

• Pricing:

  • Team: $299/month ($239/month billed annually) for up to 1,000 AI interactions, 3 bots, and integrations with Slack and your help desk.

  • Business: $799/month ($639/month billed annually) for up to 3,000 AI interactions, unlimited bots, AI Actions, and the ability to train on past tickets.

  • Custom: Custom pricing for more advanced integrations and unlimited AI interactions.

  • A 7-day free trial is available on all plans.

2. Lindy.ai

Lindy.ai is a no-code platform for building your own AI agents to automate business tasks. Honestly, think of it as Zapier on steroids. You can create "Lindies" to manage your inbox, schedule meetings, update your CRM, and handle other repetitive jobs. Its main appeal is the drag-and-drop workflow builder and its massive library of over 4,000 integrations.

Compared to Manus, Lindy gives you more direct control to build very specific, repeatable automations. It’s a great pick for founders and operations folks looking to get administrative work off their plates. The catch is that its credit-based pricing can get a bit tricky if you use it a lot, and it does take some upfront effort to get your agents working just right.

• Pros: The no-code builder is easy for non-technical folks to pick up; has a huge number of integrations.

• Cons: Credit-based pricing can be hard to predict; setting up complex workflows takes time.

• Pricing:

  • Free: 400 credits/month.

  • Pro: $49.99/month for 5,000 credits/month.

  • Business: $199.99/month for 20,000 credits/month.

  • Enterprise: Custom pricing for unlimited credits and dedicated support.

3. Genspark

Genspark is all about speed and creating things that look good. It’s an AI "super-agent" that’s really good at generating interactive reports (it calls them Sparkpages), presentations, and even simple websites from a single prompt. If you need to quickly brainstorm, summarize some research, or whip up a landing page, Genspark spits out polished results in seconds.

For marketers, freelancers, and content creators who care about moving fast and having nice visuals, it’s a solid Manus alternative. The interface is simple, and the Sparkpages are a cool way to share what you’ve found. On the downside, some users have mentioned problems with managing their credits, and it doesn’t have the deep security features that larger companies need.

• Pros: Incredibly fast for creating visual content; no-code and easy to use.

• Cons: Not really built for complex business workflows; some have reported issues with credit tracking.

• Pricing:

  • Genspark has a free plan with daily credits. It’s a freemium model, but the paid plan details aren’t public, so you have to sign up to see what the upgrades cost.

4. Saner.AI

Saner.AI goes in a different direction. It’s not really a task-doer; it’s more of a "proactive AI assistant" for your notes, emails, and calendar. It helps you grab random thoughts, turn them into organized tasks, and build your own personal knowledge base. It’s even designed to be ADHD-friendly, aiming to cut down on the feeling of being overwhelmed by connecting related bits of information for you.

This makes it a great Manus alternative for researchers, students, and anyone working solo whose biggest problem is organizing information, not creating a final product. It won’t write a report or code an app for you, but it’s fantastic at laying the groundwork for those bigger tasks.

• Pros: Great for capturing and organizing messy information; ADHD-friendly design is a nice touch.

• Cons: Doesn’t create final outputs like presentations or code; it’s more of a personal productivity tool.

• Pricing:

  • Free: Includes 30 AI messages/month and up to 100 notes.

  • Starter: $8/month ($6/month billed annually) for 30 AI messages/day and 1,000 notes.

  • Standard: $16/month ($12/month billed annually) for unlimited AI messages and notes.

5. Suna AI

For anyone who wants total control, privacy, and to pay nothing, Suna AI is a really interesting open-source Manus alternative. It’s a self-hosted platform, which means you run it on your own server, tweak the code however you want, and make sure your data never leaves your sight. It comes with a solid set of tools for browser automation, managing files, and scraping websites.

This is the perfect choice for developers and tech-savvy users who don’t mind getting their hands dirty with a command-line setup. It doesn’t have the slick interface of the paid products and takes some real effort to get going, but you can’t beat the flexibility and freedom of an open-source project. Just a heads-up: the project is on GitHub and is different from the Suna.ai trading platform.

• Pros: 100% free and open-source; completely private since you host it yourself; highly customizable.

• Cons: You need to be technical to install and run it; no user-friendly interface.

• Pricing: Free. You only pay for your server and any third-party APIs you decide to use.

6. ChatGPT Agent

If you already pay for a ChatGPT plan, you have access to its Agent feature, which turns the chatbot you already know into a more independent tool. It can browse the web, analyze files, write code, and make things like spreadsheets and slide decks. Because it’s built into a tool millions of people already use, it’s probably the easiest way to start playing with AI agents.

It’s a good all-rounder for individuals who need help with a bunch of different web-based tasks. The downside is that your usage is pretty limited on the cheaper plans, and it doesn’t have the specialized features or deep integrations that a business-focused platform would offer. It also tends to forget your personal context from one session to the next.

• Pros: Built into a very popular platform; can handle a wide variety of tasks.

• Cons: Strict usage limits on cheaper plans; not designed for specific business workflows; doesn’t have a great long-term memory.

• Pricing:

  • Plus: $20/month with limited access to the ChatGPT Agent.

  • Pro: $200/month with more access to the agent.

  • Business: Starts at $25/user/month (billed annually) and includes full agent access for teams.

How to choose the right Manus AI alternative for you

With all these choices, the "best" one really just depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. Here’s a simple way to think about it:

• If you run a customer support or IT team, you need something that is reliable, gives you control, and plugs right into your help desk. You need a tool that will show a real impact without messing up your current processes. In that case, a specialized platform like eesel AI is the obvious choice because of its simulation feature and straightforward pricing.

• If you’re a founder or an operations manager, you’re probably trying to automate all sorts of internal business tasks. A no-code builder like Lindy.ai will give you the flexibility to build custom agents for everything from sales to HR.

• If you’re a content creator or marketer, you care about getting ideas out quickly and making them look good. Genspark is built for turning ideas into polished, shareable content in a flash.

• If you’re a developer or just really care about data privacy, an open-source tool like Suna AI gives you the ultimate freedom to build, change, and control your own AI agent.

Just think about your biggest headache right now. Is it clearing the support ticket queue? Getting rid of boring admin work? Or having a flexible tool to build with? Your answer will point you to the right solution.

Get started with a Manus AI alternative you can actually control

The promise of autonomous AI agents is massive, but tools like Manus AI prove that potential doesn’t always mean practical. High costs, long waitlists, and a lack of control are real roadblocks for businesses that need solutions that work today.

The good news is that the market is already full of great Manus AI alternatives that are built for real-world problems. For businesses trying to improve their customer support and internal operations, choosing a platform that is self-serve, lets you test without risk, and has predictable pricing just makes sense.

Ready to see what a purpose-built AI agent can do for your team? Sign up for eesel AI and simulate your first AI agent on your own data in a matter of minutes.