Last updated: 2026-08-26
Manus is an autonomous AI agent built by Singapore's Butterfly Effect, launched in March 2025, that plans, researches, and executes multi-step tasks end-to-end from one prompt inside an isolated cloud sandbox. It scored 70.1% on GAIA benchmark Level 2, keeping working asynchronously after you close the browser.
About Manus
Manus is a general-purpose autonomous AI agent built by Singapore-based Butterfly Effect Pte. Ltd., launched on March 6, 2025. Unlike chatbots that answer questions, Manus executes entire tasks: give it a goal like "build a competitor analysis report" and it plans, researches, writes, and delivers a finished file without further input. In its first eight months, the platform processed 147 trillion tokens, powered 80 million virtual computers, and crossed $100M in annualized revenue. Manus runs on a multi-agent architecture powered by Anthropic's Claude 3.7 Sonnet, inside an isolated Linux sandbox with 29 tools (browser, Python interpreter, file system, external APIs). A Planner Agent breaks your request into sub-tasks, an Executor Agent runs them in parallel, and a Knowledge Agent handles research and synthesis. Tasks run asynchronously in the cloud: close your browser and Manus keeps working, notifying you when done. On the GAIA benchmark, the industry standard for real-world AI agent performance, Manus scored 86.5% at Level 1, 70.1% at Level 2, and 57.7% at Level 3, outperforming OpenAI's best agent at every tier. It is best suited for solo researchers, product teams prototyping web apps, freelancers producing client deliverables, and small agencies running content or data pipelines. Pricing starts free with a recurring daily credit allowance, then scales through three paid Pro tiers plus a per-seat Team plan; exact rates and credit allotments live in the pricing FAQ below. Meta agreed to acquire Butterfly Effect for roughly $2 billion in December 2025, but China's National Development and Reform Commission ordered the deal unwound in April 2026 over national-security concerns. The separation formally closed in June 2026, and Manus resumed independent operations in August 2026, including a scheduled deletion of Meta-era account data for affected users. Manus is now SOC 2 Type I and Type II attested and ISO 27001 / 27701 certified. Manus's latest agent architecture update introduced a high-performance Max mode, native mobile app building, and Design View for interactive image creation.
Pricing
Free: 300 daily credits plus 1,000 starter credits, 1 concurrent task, 2 scheduled tasks. Pro Standard $20/mo (4,000 credits). Pro Customizable $40/mo (8,000 credits). Pro Extended $200/mo (40,000 credits); all three Pro tiers get 20 concurrent and 20 scheduled tasks plus access to Manus 1.6 / 1.6 Max / 1.6 Lite. Team $20/seat/mo (4,000 credits per seat, pooled); 17% off with annual billing on every paid tier.
Key Features
- Autonomous End-to-End Task Execution: Manus takes a single natural-language goal and independently plans, executes, and delivers a finished result: building an 8-page market analysis with source citations in approximately 15 minutes.
- Async Cloud Operation: Tasks continue running in Manus's cloud environment after you close your browser or app, sending a notification when complete, eliminating the need for constant supervision.
- Manus's Computer Transparent Interface: A live view shows every step the agent takes in real time, letting users watch decision-making unfold and intervene at any point in the workflow.
- Wide Research Mode: Runs parallel searches across dozens of sources simultaneously, producing structured reports with citations that outperform ChatGPT on research depth in independent tests.
- Full-Stack App & Slide Builder: Generates deployable web apps, native iOS/Android apps, and structured presentations from a single prompt, producing downloadable Word, Excel, or code files.
- Mail Manus Email Automation: Users forward emails to trigger autonomous actions such as resume screening, meeting prep, or custom workflows, using configurable prompt rules.
- Manus 1.6 / 1.6 Max Agent Line: The May 2026 Manus 1.6 update adds a Max tier with a stronger planning architecture (19.2% higher user satisfaction in double-blind tests) plus new Mobile Development and Design View modes for building native apps and editing images visually.
- Desktop App: My Computer: Launched March 16, 2026 for macOS (M-series) and Windows, My Computer lets the agent read local files, run terminal commands in Python/Node/Swift/Xcode, and act on your machine directly, with every command requiring explicit approval.
- Multi-Agent Architecture with 29 Tools: Routes tasks across specialized Planner, Executor, and Knowledge sub-agents running in an isolated Linux sandbox, reasoning on Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 4 / Opus 4.x line with a fine-tuned Qwen model handling cheaper sub-tasks.
Pros
- Leads the GAIA benchmark at 86.5% Level-1 accuracy, surpassing OpenAI's best agent by 12.2 percentage points across all three difficulty tiers
- Async cloud execution means multi-hour tasks complete without keeping your browser open, a workflow advantage no chatbot competitor offers
- Reached $100M+ ARR in 8 months from zero, demonstrating real enterprise adoption beyond hype
- Free tier gives real daily access to core agent features without requiring a credit card, unlike agent platforms that gate everything behind a paid plan
- Downloadable output files (Word, Excel, code) make results immediately usable rather than copy-paste dependent
Cons
- Credit consumption is unpredictable: complex agent tasks burn 500-900 credits each with no cost preview, and unused monthly credits expire with no rollover
- SOC 2 Type I, SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 and ISO 27701 are now published on Manus's trust center; no formal GDPR certification is listed, so EU-regulated teams should review the DPA directly.
- Server instability under peak load ('tasks cannot be created' errors) affects reliability for time-sensitive workflows
- Reasons on Anthropic's frontier models rather than a proprietary architecture, so Anthropic's API changes or pricing shifts still flow through to Manus's capabilities and costs.
- Production code quality is unreliable: architectural decisions (database schema, API design) are made autonomously and often need significant revision before deployment
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Manus's pricing plans in 2026?
Paid plans start at Pro Standard for $20/month (4,000 credits), Pro Customizable at $40/month (8,000 credits), and Pro Extended at $200/month (40,000 credits), each unlocking 20 concurrent and 20 scheduled tasks. A Team plan runs $20 per seat monthly with pooled credits, and annual billing takes 17% off every paid tier.
What do you get on Manus's free tier?
The free tier includes 300 daily credits plus a 1,000-credit starter bonus, enough for 1 concurrent task and 2 scheduled tasks. There's no credit card requirement, though credits reset daily rather than rolling over, and any unused monthly credits are gone once the cycle turns over.
What are the best alternatives to Manus?
OpenClaw is the closest named alternative on HokAI: an MIT-licensed, self-hosted agent for teams that want to run infrastructure themselves rather than use a managed cloud service. For research-heavy workflows, Manus's Wide Research mode is built to outperform ChatGPT on research depth per its own testing, though ChatGPT remains the more general-purpose pick for teams already inside OpenAI's ecosystem.
Manus or OpenClaw: which should you pick?
Manus is the better fit if you want a managed, async cloud agent that keeps working after you close your browser, complete with native iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows apps out of the box. OpenClaw is the better fit if your team needs to self-host under an MIT license and audit or modify the underlying code, something Manus's closed-source architecture doesn't allow.
What does it take to start using Manus?
Manus runs entirely in the browser at manus.im: create an account, type a single goal in plain language, and the agent plans, researches, and executes the task inside its own isolated sandbox without further prompting. The free tier needs no credit card, so a first task can be running within minutes of signing up.
Top Alternatives
- OpenClaw: Pick Manus for polished autonomous agent; pick OpenClaw for MIT-licensed self-hosted alternative.
HokAI guides covering Manus
- Best Agentic AI in 2026: Pick the Job, Not the Generalist: Manus, Genspark and seven other agentic AI tools compared on GAIA scores, credit costs and price, plus when a narrow vertical agent beats a generalist.
- What Manus Is Actually For, Now Meta Doesn't Own It: China made Meta unwind its $2B Manus deal in April 2026. Here's who owns the agent now, what it costs, and why its GAIA score is shakier than reviews claim.
- Genspark Just Shipped a $179 Hardware Recorder and a Free Office Suite: Genspark launched a $179 hardware recorder and a free open-source office suite within six weeks, even as Trustpilot users flag billing and credit complaints.