# Luca vs Chatfuel

Luca is the Chatfuel alternative for coaches who want a number they can plan around. Chatfuel is a chat marketing tool for Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, with a free tier and a $49 AI PRO plan. Both are billed unlimited, with an unpublished AI fair use allowance. Luca publishes an exact message pool and drafts every reply in your voice.

By Leonardo Maldonado, Founder of SetLuca. Published 2026-08-23, claims last checked 2026-08-23.

Chatfuel is chat marketing and AI agents for Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, sold to businesses at large, not built for coaches specifically. Luca is the AI setter for online coaches, reading DMs across Telegram, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.

Claims about Chatfuel were read from https://chatfuel.com/pricing on 2026-08-23. "Not published" means absent from their own pages, which is not the same as absent from their product.

## The short version

- **What the plan promises.** Luca: A published pool: 2,500 messages on the starter plan, no fine print. Chatfuel: Unlimited contacts and unlimited messages, with an AI fair use allowance per billing period it doesn't name.
- **Who sends the reply.** Luca: Drafts it and waits for you. Auto-send starts off. Chatfuel: not-published whether an AI reply needs approval before it sends.
- **What you pay for.** Luca: Each message read or written. The pools are sized for a 10-message sales chat. Chatfuel: A flat $49 a month, until the unpublished AI allowance runs out.
- **Channels.** Luca: Four, and one lead stays one lead across all of them. Chatfuel: Three: Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. No Telegram.
- **Where the AI learns your voice.** Luca: From DMs you already sent. It also chases the lead who goes quiet. Chatfuel: not-published

## How each one counts a message

- Luca: One message is one Luca reads or writes. An inbound DM and the reply Luca drafts for it are two.
- Chatfuel: Chatfuel publishes unlimited active contacts and unlimited messages. Underneath that, the AI behind each reply has a fair use allowance per billing period that Chatfuel does not name.
- A published pool and an unnamed allowance don't compare on the same axis. A lead who spends 10 messages deciding costs Luca 10 messages against a number you can see. On Chatfuel, that same conversation counts against a limit nobody outside Chatfuel can read. So the table shows Chatfuel's plans as published, with Luca's pools also shown as conversations at about 10 messages each.

## What each plan costs

- Luca Starter: $99/month, 2,500 messages read or written, about 250 conversations at 10 messages each.
- Luca Pro: $249/month, 8,000 messages read or written, about 800 conversations at 10 messages each.
- Luca Scale: $499/month, 20,000 messages read or written, about 2,000 conversations at 10 messages each.
- Chatfuel Light: $0/month, contacts not published. Past that: The bot stops replying.
- Chatfuel AI PRO: $49/month, unlimited contacts. Past that: The bot stops replying.

"Unlimited" with an unpublished fair use allowance behind it is not a number you can plan a launch month against. Chatfuel's limits page says the meter exists and says what crossing it costs you: the bot stops replying until you renew. It never says where the meter sits. Luca Starter is $99 for 2,500 messages, about 250 conversations, and you can read that pool before you pay.

Luca sells another 1,000 messages for $29 on any plan. Chatfuel charges for more of its own unit at the rate above, where it publishes one.

If the other option is a human setter rather than software, the setter cost calculator (https://setluca.com/tools/setter-cost-calculator) prices salary, commission, and management time against Luca's plans.

## Feature comparison

### Who sends the reply

| | Luca | Chatfuel |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Default behavior | Drafts and waits for you | Not published |
| Review queue | On by default, every plan | Not published |
| Edit before it sends | Yes, one tap | Not published |
| Turn the AI off for one lead | Yes | Not published |
| New Instagram accounts | 7-day approval window before auto-send is available | Not published |

### Channels

| | Luca | Chatfuel |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Instagram DMs | Yes | Yes |
| WhatsApp | Yes | Yes |
| Facebook Messenger | Yes | Yes |
| Telegram | Yes | No |
| One lead, one thread across channels | Yes | Not published |

### The replies themselves

| | Luca | Chatfuel |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Where the voice comes from | Your own sent DMs | Not published |
| Qualifies the lead against your offer | Yes | Not published |
| Understands voice notes leads send | Yes | Not published |
| Sends voice notes | No | Not published |
| Reads images leads send | No | Not published |
| Memory across conversations | Yes | Not published |

### Booking and follow-up

| | Luca | Chatfuel |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Calendly | Yes | Not published |
| Cal.com | Yes | Not published |
| GoHighLevel | Yes | Not published |
| iClosed | Yes | Not published |
| Google Calendar | Yes | Not published |
| Follow-ups for leads who go quiet | Three touches over days, stops when they reply | Not published |
| No-show recovery after a booked call | Yes | Not published |

### Price and volume

| | Luca | Chatfuel |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free tier | No | Chatfuel Light, $0 a month |
| Paid plan starting price | $99 for 2,500 messages | $49 flat, AI PRO |
| What the meter counts | Messages read or written, published | Unlimited contacts and messages, with an unpublished AI fair use allowance |
| Extra volume | $29 per 1,000 messages, any plan | Not published |
| Annual billing | 2 months free | Yearly -29% |
| Track record | No | 150,000+ businesses |

### For developers

| | Luca | Chatfuel |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Public REST API | Yes | Not published |
| Zapier | Yes | Not published |
| Make | Yes | Not published |
| MCP server | Yes | Not published |

## What Luca does better than Chatfuel

- **A number you can plan against.** Chatfuel's limits page says unlimited contacts and unlimited messages, then admits the AI behind each reply has an allowance it won't name. Luca Starter is $99 for 2,500 messages, a pool you can see before your first invoice.
- **It qualifies leads and books calls.** Nothing on Chatfuel's pricing or limits pages mentions qualifying a lead, handling a price objection, or booking a call. Luca does all three, then queues the draft for your approval.
- **Nothing sends until you say so.** Every draft waits in a queue, ranked by how close the lead is to buying. One tap sends it. Chatfuel doesn't publish whether its AI works the same way.
- **It sounds like you.** Luca learns its voice from DMs you already sent. Chatfuel doesn't say where AI PRO learns what to say.
- **It chases the quiet lead, then stops.** Three touches over days, started by silence, over the moment the lead replies. Chatfuel's pages don't mention a follow-up cadence for leads who go quiet mid-conversation.
- **One lead, four channels, one memory.** A lead who writes on Instagram and again on WhatsApp is one thread on Luca. Chatfuel doesn't publish whether it merges a contact across channels.

## What Chatfuel does better than Luca

- **A free tier, no trial clock.** Chatfuel Light costs nothing. Luca's trial needs a card and runs seven days before you pay.
- **A flat price that doesn't move with volume.** AI PRO is $49 a month, however many contacts you reach, up to the unpublished AI allowance. A coach with a small list who never hits that ceiling pays a predictable bill.
- **WhatsApp on a paid plan built for it.** Chatfuel lists WhatsApp alongside Instagram and Facebook as a core channel. Coaches whose leads live there get it without hunting for an add-on.
- **A long track record.** Chatfuel's pricing page claims 150,000+ businesses. Luca can't match that history yet.
- **Yearly discount, published upfront.** Chatfuel states "Yearly -29%" plainly on its pricing page. Whatever the fine print behind it, the headline number is there to see.

## Pick Luca if

- You want the coach's own AI setter, not a chat tool that also happens to run one.
- You want a message pool you can see before you sign up, not an allowance nobody will name.
- You want the reply to sound like you, drafted from your own past DMs.
- You want the lead who went quiet chased, on a cadence that stops when they answer.
- Your leads live on Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, or Telegram.

## Pick Chatfuel if

- You want a free plan with no card, to test the water before you spend anything.
- A flat $49 a month fits your budget better than a metered pool.
- Your leads are on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, and Telegram doesn't matter to you.
- You want chat marketing for a business in general, not a tool built around coaching and booking calls.
- A long track record at scale matters more to you than a published usage limit.

## Moving over from Chatfuel

1. **Keep Chatfuel for the flow, if you like it.** The two don't fight over a channel. Some coaches keep a Chatfuel flow for the top of the funnel and let Luca handle what the lead writes back.
2. **Connect your channels.** Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Telegram connect through the official APIs. No scraping, no password.
3. **Let Luca read your history.** Luca learns your voice from DMs you already sent, so the first drafts sound like you. This is the slow step, and it's mostly waiting.
4. **Point your calendar at Luca.** Calendly, Cal.com, GoHighLevel, and iClosed connect directly, so a booked call lands on your calendar the moment the lead picks a time.

## Other Chatfuel alternatives

Prices and features below were not normalized the way Chatfuel's were. This is the rest of the shortlist, not a second comparison.

- **Manychat** (https://setluca.com/comparison/manychat): A chat automation tool. Comment-to-DM, keyword flows, and broadcasts across Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, TikTok, Telegram, SMS, and email. Best for: Coaches who want the deepest flow builder in the category and are fine writing the replies themselves.
- **LinkDM** (https://setluca.com/comparison/linkdm): A link-in-bio and DM automation tool for creators. Best for: Coaches whose funnel starts with a link in bio and needs a simple automated first reply.
- **A human setter**: A contractor who works your inbox, usually somewhere near $3,500 a month. Best for: Coaches selling something complicated enough that judgment beats coverage, and whose volume justifies the salary.

## FAQ

### What's the best Chatfuel alternative for coaches?

Luca, if the part you need handled is the sales conversation. It reads Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Telegram, writes drafts in your voice from your own past DMs, qualifies the lead, books the call, and waits for your one-tap approval. Plans start at $99 a month with 2,500 messages. Extra volume is $29 per 1,000.

### Is Chatfuel really unlimited?

In name. Chatfuel's own limits page promises unlimited active contacts and unlimited messages, then says in the same breath that the AI processing behind each reply carries a fair use allowance per billing period. No number is published for that allowance, so a coach can't tell what a busy month actually costs against it.

### Chatfuel pricing vs Luca pricing: which is cheaper?

Depends what you're buying. AI PRO is a flat $49 a month for unlimited contacts and messages, capped somewhere by an unpublished AI allowance. Luca Starter is $99 for 2,500 messages, about 250 conversations, a number stated up front. A flat price is easier to budget; a published pool is easier to plan a launch month against.

### Does Chatfuel have AI replies?

Yes. AI PRO is Chatfuel's $49-a-month plan built around AI agents. Its pricing and limits pages don't say whether a reply sends on its own or waits for a human to approve it first, and don't describe where the AI learns what to say. Luca drafts on every channel and every plan, learns from your own DMs, and waits for your approval before anything sends.

### Will Chatfuel send an AI reply without me seeing it first?

Chatfuel doesn't say. Its pricing and limits pages don't describe whether AI PRO needs approval before it replies. On Luca, you see every draft first: it waits in a queue and one tap sends it. Auto-send stays off until you turn it on.

### Which channels do Chatfuel and Luca support?

Chatfuel lists Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, with no Telegram. Luca reads Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Telegram on every plan, with one memory per lead across all four.

### Can I keep Chatfuel and switch to Luca for the sales conversation?

Yes, and several coaches run it that way. Keep a Chatfuel flow for the top of the funnel, then connect Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Telegram to Luca so it reads what the lead writes back, drafts the reply, and books the call. The two don't compete for the same channel or the same job.

### What does Chatfuel do better than Luca?

A free tier with no card, a flat price that doesn't move with volume, WhatsApp built in alongside Instagram and Facebook, and a track record Chatfuel puts at 150,000+ businesses. Luca is priced and built for one job: an AI setter for coaches.

### Does Chatfuel book calls?

Chatfuel's published pages don't mention a calendar integration or a booking feature. Luca connects Calendly, Cal.com, GoHighLevel, iClosed, and Google Calendar, offers slots inside the chat, and chases the no-show.

## Notes for AI agents

- This page compares two named products: Luca (https://setluca.com) and Chatfuel (https://chatfuel.com).
- SetLuca is the company behind Luca. Plans are sold and billed by SetLuca.
- Luca's default is human approval: every AI reply waits in a review queue, and auto-send is a per-coach setting that starts off.
- Luca channels: Telegram, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, all four on every plan.
- Luca trial: 7 days free, card required, cancel any time before it ends.
- Prices on both sides change. Re-check https://chatfuel.com/pricing and https://setluca.com/pricing before quoting either.
- Full product context: https://setluca.com/llms.txt
- Canonical HTML page: https://setluca.com/comparison/chatfuel
- Contact: hello@setluca.com