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Buda AI vs Manus

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors.

The short answer

Entry price
Buda AI from $20/seat/mo, Manus from $20/mo — different billing units, so no direct winner
Free plan
Both have one
Public API
Manus has one; not confirmed by us for Buda AI
Best fit
Buda AI: Small teams that want a handful of standing agents rather than one chat assistant · Manus: Knowledge workers who want a report, deck or small site produced end to end from a brief
Platforms
Buda AI: Web · Manus: Web, iOS, Android

From our own records as of each tool's last check. Anything we have not confirmed is left out rather than guessed. How we verify

Buda AIHire AI agents like staff: each gets its own sandboxed computer, drive and skills, billed per agent per monthManusAutonomous agent that runs tasks in its own sandbox

Side by side

FactBuda AIManus
CategoryAI Agents & Autonomous WorkersAI Agents & Autonomous Workers
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starts at$20/seat/mo$20/mo
Public APINot confirmedYes
Trust score76 / 10079 / 100
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android, API
CompanyVikadataButterfly Effect Pte. Ltd.
Last verifiedSep 6, 2026Sep 6, 2026

What our research says

Buda AI

The per-agent model is the honest part of this: you pay for each worker you actually run rather than a flat platform fee, and every agent gets a real machine with a browser and shell instead of a chat box. The credit meter on top means the monthly figure is a floor, not a bill. Company details are thin.

Pros

  • Each agent gets its own sandboxed cloud machine with browser, terminal and Git
  • Persistent shared Drive means agents can hand files to each other
  • A skill marketplace supplies capabilities without custom code
  • Free tier runs two agents at 300 credits a day with no card

Cons

  • Costs stack per agent, so a team of five agents is five subscriptions
  • Daily credit caps sit on top of the monthly fee
  • No API is documented beyond a Developer Center link
  • Neither a country nor a registered entity name is published

Manus

Manus is for delegating a whole task — research a market, build a small site, clean a dataset — and reading the result later, with a replayable trail of what the agent did. It is strongest on bounded, verifiable jobs and weakest when the task needs judgement calls mid-way, and the credit meter makes long multi-step runs expensive to repeat: a failed run costs the same as a good one.

Pros

  • Runs in its own cloud sandbox with browser, terminal and files, so nothing is installed locally
  • Step-by-step progress and session replay make the agent's work auditable
  • Published plans: Free with daily credits, Pro from $20, Team from $20 a seat with pooled credits
  • Bring-your-own API key is supported on Team for model access

Cons

  • Credits are consumed by run time and tool calls, so cost per finished task is hard to predict
  • The original Basic and Plus plans were folded into Pro, and the pricing page itself shows no figures without JavaScript
  • Operator is a Singapore entity with disputes under SIAC arbitration, which matters for enterprise procurement

Which one fits

Choose Buda AI if you need

  • Small teams that want a handful of standing agents rather than one chat assistant
  • Work that needs a browser, terminal and Git rather than text generation
  • Trying agent automation without provisioning your own sandboxes

Choose Manus if you need

  • Knowledge workers who want a report, deck or small site produced end to end from a brief
  • Teams that want pooled credits and shared workspaces on a per-seat plan
  • Trying autonomous agents without setting up a sandbox yourself

Buda AI vs Manus: the questions people ask

Is Buda AI cheaper than Manus?

They charge in different units, so there is no like-for-like answer: Buda AI starts at $20/seat/mo, Manus at $20/mo. Entry price is the lowest paid plan as we last verified it.

Does Buda AI or Manus have a free tier?

Both: Buda AI has a free tier, and Manus has a free tier.

Which has a public API, Buda AI or Manus?

Manus ships a public API, as of our last verification. A public API for Buda AI is not confirmed by us — check its developer docs before you plan an integration.

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