Do I need @BotFather to use ManyChat on Telegram?

Yes. The connection uses a Telegram bot token. You create the bot in @BotFather, or use one you already have, and paste the token into ManyChat's settings.

Can I import leads from another tool into ManyChat on Telegram?

Yes, by Telegram ID. ManyChat's docs require a Pro subscription to import, and the feature is not available on trial accounts. A username does not work as an identifier.

Can a ManyChat bot message anyone on Telegram?

No, and that is not a ManyChat limit. It is a Telegram rule: bots cannot start conversations. The person has to message the bot first, on any tool.

Does Flow4You have an English interface?

No. The Flow4You app and pricing are in Portuguese and Brazilian reais. If your team works in English, keep that in mind when comparing.

ManyChat for Telegram: what works and what changes

Yes, ManyChat works on Telegram, and that holds even on the Free plan. The useful question is a different one: what changes when you run ManyChat on Telegram instead of Instagram, and when should you stay or move to a Telegram-only tool? This article answers that.

Notice: this is the blog of Flow4You, which competes with ManyChat on Telegram. So the facts about ManyChat come from official pages, checked in October 2026, with links. We read the docs. We did not run a hands-on test of the dashboard.

What ManyChat for Telegram includes

As of October 2026, ManyChat’s help center confirms:

Token connection. In Settings > Telegram, you create or connect a bot with a token from @BotFather.
Free plan with Telegram. The Free plan allows up to 2 channels, and Telegram is on the list, along with Instagram, TikTok and Messenger.
Broadcasts. The broadcast tool includes Telegram, with audiences filtered by tags, activity, language and other conditions.
Live chat. The Inbox brings conversations together, Telegram included.
AI. The AI Step supports Telegram.
No 24-hour window. According to the messaging windows article, Telegram doesn’t have the limitation Instagram and Messenger have.

So if someone tells you ManyChat doesn’t support Telegram, that information is wrong.

What changes compared to Instagram

Here is what tends to catch people who come from Instagram and copy their flows:

Quick replies aren’t available on the channel. The response reference says quick replies are not supported on Telegram. If your flow depends on them, switch to buttons.

Neither are galleries. The same reference says galleries are not supported on Telegram, and the buttons article confirms that card and gallery blocks belong to Messenger and Instagram. A swipeable product showcase becomes a sequence of messages.

Buttons become your main tool. On the upside, a Telegram text block takes up to 10 buttons, against 3 on Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. You can design a bigger menu.

The entry point is different. On Instagram, automation often starts from a comment or story reply. On Telegram, the person has to press Start on the bot, because bots can’t start conversations. Your whole entry work changes: bio, ad, channel and post all need to lead to the bot link.

That isn’t a defect. It follows from a tool that serves many channels and respects what each one allows.

Pricing: what we found

ManyChat’s own sources disagree here, so we are showing both:

Pricing page, opened from Brazil in October 2026: a free plan for up to 1,000 contacts, Pro from R$ 149/mo, and an AI package as a R$ 299/mo add-on.
Help center, March 2026 model: Free with up to 25 Active Contacts per month, and Pro at US$ 39/mo (US$ 29 billed yearly) with up to 2,500 Active Contacts, AI included and a 14-day trial.

The help center warns that plans vary by region and that the new model is rolling out gradually. Check the price in your own account before you decide. The Free plan deserves a careful read too: it has 1 user, up to 4 live automations, and “Powered by Manychat” branding on the first message.

ManyChat and Flow4You side by side

Criterion	ManyChat	Flow4You
Channels	Several; Free picks up to 2	Telegram only
Free plan	Yes	No
Language	Site and help in several languages; dashboard not confirmed	Portuguese-only app
Currency	R$ on the pricing page seen from Brazil; US$ in the help center	R$
Bot entry	Start button opens the welcome message; other triggers not checked	One link per flow, plus optional `/start`
AI on Telegram	AI Step	AI Agent with Prompt, Goal and two exits, billed by usage
Live chat	Inbox	Live chat with an operator
Broadcast	By tags and other conditions	By tag and bot, with an audience estimate
Payments	Buy button in the technical reference; dashboard use not confirmed	Button linking to your checkout

What a Telegram focus brings in Flow4You

Flow4You does nothing on other channels. In exchange, everything in the product starts from Telegram:

One link per flow. Each flow has an address like t.me/yourbot?start=ref_…. An ad, a bio and a partner can open different conversations, as the bot deep link guide explains.
AI Agent inside the flow. You set the Prompt, the Goal and the Time Limit. The conversation exits through “Goal reached” (“Objetivo atingido”) or “Not reached” (“Não atingido”), and the flow continues from there. See the AI Agent guide.
Chat with an operator. The operator uses the “Join the conversation” button (“Entrar na Conversa”) and the automation stops replying. Then the “Resume the bot” button (“Retomar Bot”) hands it back, or the bot returns by itself about 30 seconds after the operator’s last message.
Built for Portuguese-speaking teams. Dashboard and billing are in Portuguese and R$. That helps a team in Brazil and rules Flow4You out for a team that doesn’t read Portuguese.

And where it loses to ManyChat: no free plan, no Instagram or WhatsApp, no charging inside the conversation, and a Portuguese-only interface. If you mainly sell on Instagram, you should probably stay on ManyChat. A Flow4You subscription starts at R$ 99/mo, based on active contacts, with the AI Agent billed separately.

When to stay and when to switch

Stay on ManyChat if:

Instagram, TikTok or WhatsApp also bring sales and you want everything in one place.
Telegram is a secondary channel and simple flows do the job.
You are still experimenting and want to start without paying.

Consider a Telegram-only tool if:

Telegram is where the sale happens and you have many different entry points.
The person running the bot prefers a dashboard in their own language, and that language is Portuguese.
Human support is part of your sales process, not an exception.

For options beyond these two, see our comparison of the best Telegram bot builders.

How to migrate without breaking what’s live

If you decide to switch, in either direction:

Create a test bot. Build your main flow there before you touch the bot in use.
Rewrite flows, don’t copy them. Each tool has its own blocks. Use the move to cut what nobody uses.
Export your list and check the format. ManyChat imports Telegram leads by Telegram ID; Flow4You imports by CSV, also with the Telegram ID (telegram_id) on each line. Check what your source tool gives you.
Switch one entry point at a time. Start with the lowest-traffic link and see whether the conversation flows.
Tell your operators. Whoever handles chats needs to know where conversations will appear from now on.

If you are starting a bot from scratch, how to create a Telegram bot covers the path up to connecting the token.

Common mistakes when comparing

Deciding on “works on Telegram” alone. It works, but check whether the feature you rely on exists on the channel.
Copying an Instagram flow to Telegram. Trigger, format and pace are all different.
Comparing only the entry price. Add AI, chat seats and the cost per contact as your list grows.
Switching tools to fix an offer problem. If the message doesn’t sell on ManyChat, it won’t sell elsewhere either.