# Manus pricing, credit limits and alternatives Canonical URL: https://industrycontents.com/guides/manus-alternatives-cost/ Language: en-GB Published: 2026-10-12 Structure updated: 2026-10-25 > Dated article snapshot. Canonical web page may receive later updates. Vendor figures retain their stated source-check dates. Illustrations are not product benchmarks. Published: 2026-10-12 · Structure updated: 2026-10-25. Vendor prices and source checks retain the dates stated below. ## Quick answer Manus’s subscription price does not establish the cost of a completed task. Compare measured credit use, retries and accepted results, and check refresh, add-on and cancellation rules before buying more capacity or choosing an alternative. ## Key terms **Monthly credits**: Monthly credits is subscription units refreshed on the plan’s monthly cycle. **Add-on credits**: Add-on credits is separately purchased capacity with its own subscription-access rules. **Accepted task**: Accepted task is a completed result that passes the stated quality checks. IC Guides · AI Agents · Personal assistants Documentation researchedNo hands on testChecked 14 October 2026 Related guides: [comparison of six AI assistants](/personal-ai-assistants-compared/) ## Estimate Manus usage with a repeatable task Monthly credits alone make a poor basis for comparing assistants. Run the same defined task in each candidate product and record credits consumed, successful completion, manual intervention and any paid extras. The figures below describe Manus's documented plans. They price the units and leave the cost of any particular task open. ## Compare Manus plans and monthly credits | Plan | Price | Credits | | --- | --- | --- | | Free | $0 a month | 300 daily refresh credits capped at 1,500 a month, 1 concurrent task, 2 scheduled automations, Manus 2.0 Lite in Agent Mode | | Pro, entry | From $20 a month, with a 17% discount billed annually | From 4,000 monthly credits, 20 concurrent tasks, 20 scheduled automations | | Pro, higher | From $40 a month, with a 7 day trial and a 17% discount billed annually | From 8,000 monthly credits, same task limits | | Team | From $20 a seat a month | Pro features plus SSO, data training opt out, usage analytics, access control and shared slide templates | Caption: Manus plan prices and credit allowances, including the concurrency and automation limits described in the guide. ## Understand what consumes Manus credits Manus says credits are consumed by LLM tokens for planning and output, virtual machines for browsing, files and code, and third party APIs. The amount a task uses follows its complexity and duration, and credits are consumed only during active processing. Manus refunds credits in full for tasks that fail because of a technical problem on its side. The help centre gives no per task price list. ## Calculate the cost of a sample Manus task Manus task cost depends on actual credit consumption and accepted output; the listed credit ratio alone does not predict task capacity. At the documented entry prices, $20 for 4,000 credits and $40 for 8,000 credits both come to $5.00 per 1,000 credits, so the higher plan buys volume at the same rate. A free user receives 300 daily credits with a cap of 1,500 a month, which equals five days of the daily allowance. Take a Pro user on 4,000 credits who runs tasks at 500 credits each. Eight tasks use the full 4,000, and a ninth cannot start at a zero balance. Real tasks vary in size, so one that starts with a small balance left can overrun it and leave the balance negative until the next refresh. Manus publishes no per task price list, so the 500 credit figure is our assumption. ## Check rollover, refunds and credit limits Monthly credits do not roll over, so the 4,000 credits on a $20 Pro plan need using before the next monthly date. Manus spends credits in a fixed order, starting with event credits, then daily, monthly, add on and free credits. Daily refresh credits work only with Manus 2.0 Lite. Free users can use 1,500 of them a month, and paid users face no limit. A task can finish an action that costs more than your balance. That leaves the balance negative, a negative balance clears at the next refresh, and no new task can start while it sits at or below zero. Annual plans refresh credits monthly on the subscription start date, and anything left at the end of the annual term resets. ## Confirm what happens to add on credits after cancellation The help centre says add on credits need an active paid subscription, become inactive if the subscription lapses and can roll over while you stay subscribed. The product documentation says add on credits never expire. Ask Manus which applies before you buy a large pack. ## Budget a mixed month Do not forecast from one successful task. For an invented month, assume ten short tasks at 100 credits and four longer tasks at 600. That is 3,400 credits. If two long tasks each need a full 600-credit retry, usage reaches 4,600, above the entry allowance. Those rates are assumptions; measure your mix before selecting a plan. ### The accepted-task cost A $20 subscription completing eight acceptable tasks allocates $2.50 to each before human review. If only four pass review, it is $5. Unused expiring allowance still belongs in the cost. Divide the paid monthly spend by accepted results rather than multiplying a nominal credit price by the successful attempt alone. ## When to use an alternative Separate missing capacity from a poor workflow fit. Upgrade capacity only when acceptable tasks consistently exceed the allowance. Consider another assistant when the problem is source quality, integration access, review burden or team control. Buying more of the same credits does not fix those gaps. For a trial, use the same research question, source packet and output criteria across products. Include an inaccessible source, contradictory figures and an instruction requiring approval before an external action. Record corrections and handoff effort as well as credit usage. Compare the result through the [team-assistant comparison](/ai-teammates-pricing/). ### Before you cancel Export outputs, source links, task instructions and any scheduled-workflow configuration. Check the current add-on-credit terms in writing before prepaying. The help centre says paid subscription status affects access to add-ons; a statement that credits do not expire does not by itself guarantee they stay usable on a free account. ## Compare Manus with other AI assistants Compare Manus alternatives using the same tasks, quality requirements, sharing model and credit-expiry window. - What is the billing unit, whether credits, seats, tokens, tasks or outcomes? - What does one typical task of yours consume, measured on a trial? - Do unused allowances roll over, expire or lapse with the subscription? - What happens at zero, whether a stop, a negative balance, throttling or automatic overage? - Are failed tasks refunded? - Which model tier does the price include, and is the best one extra? - Can several people share one pool? Depth update, 25 October 2026: rechecked Manus’s linked membership and credit-rule help pages. Mixed-task and acceptance calculations are hypothetical; no task-performance benchmark was conducted. ## Sources - [Manus Help Center, membership pricing](https://help.manus.im/en/articles/11711111-what-is-the-current-membership-pricing-for-manus), read 14 October 2026. - [Manus Help Center, credit rules](https://help.manus.im/en/articles/11711097-what-are-the-rules-for-credits-consumption-and-how-can-i-obtain-them), read 14 October 2026. - [Manus documentation, plans](https://manus.im/docs/introduction/plans), read 14 October 2026. It lists no prices. The help centre says the live pricing page prevails over its figures. We worked from the help centre and documentation, so check the live page before you buy. See the [AI Agent Pricing Tracker](https://industrycontents.com/ic-lab/ai-agent-pricing-tracker/) for tracked companies and the [glossary](https://industrycontents.com/guides/ai-agent-glossary/) for billing terms. ## Frequently asked questions ### Does a higher credit allowance guarantee more completed tasks? No. Completion depends on the task mix, retries and acceptance standard. Measure credit use and accepted results together. ### When should I consider a Manus alternative? Consider another tool when integration, source quality, team control or review burden is the problem. More credits alone do not fix those gaps. IC Lab · AI Agent Pricing Tracker AI agent prices change. We keep track. Every entry links to the company's pricing page and shows when we checked it. [Open the tracker](/ic-lab/ai-agent-pricing-tracker/), or read our weekly TalkHead newsletter on AI in business. **Related guides** [Lindy vs Manus](/ai-teammates-pricing/) · [AI assistants compared](/personal-ai-assistants-compared/) · [Lindy pricing](/guides/lindy-pricing-seats-credits/) · [Free AI agents](/guides/free-ai-agents/) · [AI agent glossary](/guides/ai-agent-glossary/) · [Which AI agent, and what it costs](/guides/which-ai-agent-what-it-costs/) · [AI Agent Pricing Tracker](/ic-lab/ai-agent-pricing-tracker/) · [All AI agent guides](/guides/) ## Continue with the evidence **[The billing unit changes cost](https://industrycontents.com/ai-agents-breaking-saas-user-definition/)** An AI worker can consume credits without being a licensed employee. Our analysis examines how that changes enterprise software economics. **[Compare the pricing models side by side](https://industrycontents.com/ai-teammates-pricing/)** Compare billing units and linked company sources before budgeting.