Head to head 2026 edition
Manus vs Sidekick Pro
Manus takes a big job into its own cloud computer and brings it back finished. Sidekick Pro sits on your email, calendar, phone line and browser all day. Here is where each one wins.
Manus
Autonomous agent that works in its own cloud computer by Manus
From $20/mo
Best for Long research and build jobs you hand over and collect later as a document, deck or spreadsheet.
Visit Manus
Sidekick Pro
AI agents for your email, calendar, calls and browser
From $59/mo
Best for Professionals and small teams who want email, calls, meetings and web chores handled every day.
The short answer
Manus or Sidekick Pro: which should you use?
Choose Manus if you hand off long, self-contained jobs: it works in its own cloud computer for hours and comes back with finished research, a slide deck or a spreadsheet. Choose Sidekick Pro if you want an everyday assistant: it reads your email, watches your calendar, answers your business phone, joins your meetings and does web chores in your own Chrome, on GPT, Claude or Gemini, from $59 a month.
Manus starts at $20 a month and Sidekick Pro at $59, and both can finish a multi-step job without you watching. They are built around different moments. Manus is built for the job you hand over and collect later. Sidekick Pro is built for the work that arrives on its own, all week, in your inbox, on your calendar and on your phone line.
We compared the two on what people actually hand an agent: long autonomous runs, web tasks that need your logins, email and calendar, calls and meetings, model choice and what the bill looks like. Prices and features come from each vendor's own pages, and we say where Manus is the better pick.
Manus vs Sidekick Pro, feature by feature
Prices and features come from each vendor’s own site. Manus pricing was last checked on September 23, 2026.
| Feature | Manus | Our pick Sidekick Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ||
| Starting price | From $20/mo | From $59/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Plans | Free (300 daily credits) · Standard $20/mo · Customizable $40/mo · Extended $200/mo | Personal $59/mo · Business $149/mo |
| How the work runs | ||
| Runs a job for hours without you | Its own cloud computer | Background tasks |
| Works in your own browser with your logins | Browser Operator extension | Your own Chrome |
| Keeps working with your computer off | Cloud computer | Private cloud browser |
| Runs tasks on a schedule | Yes | Yes |
| Many tasks at once | Up to 20 on paid plans | Yes |
| Email, calendar and alerts | ||
| Reads Gmail and Google Calendar | Via connectors | Yes |
| Flags important email without being asked | Not listed | Yes |
| Daily brief and calendar alerts | Not listed | Yes |
| Drafts replies for you to approve | When you ask | Yes |
| Phone, texts and meetings | ||
| Answers your business phone | No | Every plan |
| Sends and replies to texts for you | Not listed | Every plan |
| Joins Zoom and Google Meet calls | No | Business plan |
| What it hands back | ||
| Slide decks and spreadsheets | Yes | Documents and pages |
| Interactive pages and small apps | Yes | Yes |
| Image generation | Not listed | Yes |
| Models, apps and teams | ||
| Choose your AI model | No | GPT, Claude, Gemini |
| Connect apps over MCP | Yes | Yes |
| Other agents can drive it (MCP) | Not listed | Yes |
| Shared team workspace | Team plan | Business plan |
| Apps | Web, iOS, Android | Web, Chrome, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Apple Watch |
Head to head, topic by topic
How a task runs
Manus
Manus opens a virtual computer in its cloud for each task. It browses, writes code and builds files there for long stretches, and paid plans run up to 20 tasks at once and on a schedule. You give it the goal and check back later.
Sidekick Pro
Sidekick Pro works where your work already is. It acts in the Chrome you use, or in its own private cloud browser for jobs that must continue with your laptop closed. A background task keeps going across turns and reports back when it is done.
Web tasks that need your logins
Manus
The cloud computer starts signed in to nothing, so a site you use every day needs you to sign in again inside it. Manus now also ships a Browser Operator extension for Chrome and Edge that acts in your own browser with your existing sessions.
Sidekick Pro
Sidekick Pro's Chrome extension works in the browser you already have, with the logins you already have, so there is nothing to sign in to twice. You can also start a task by voice or from your phone and watch its tab in the chat.
The work that arrives on its own
Manus
Manus waits for a prompt. Its connectors reach Gmail, Google Calendar, Slack, Notion and more when a task needs them, but it does not watch your inbox and tell you what needs attention.
Sidekick Pro
Sidekick Pro reads every new email as it arrives, flags the ones that matter with Smart Inbox, alerts you to calendar changes and sends a daily brief. It drafts the reply or starts the task, and nothing goes out without your OK.
Calls, texts and meetings
Manus
Manus does not answer a phone line, send texts for you or join a video call. Those jobs stay with you or with another tool.
Sidekick Pro
On every plan, Sidekick Pro gets its own phone number and works as an AI receptionist: it answers calls and texts, books appointments and transfers the calls that need you. On the Business plan it also joins your Zoom and Google Meet calls, takes notes and follows up.
Models and memory
Manus
Manus runs on the models Manus chooses, so model choice is not a setting you control. Projects keep files and instructions together between tasks.
Sidekick Pro
Sidekick Pro lets you pick GPT, Claude or Gemini, or let it choose per turn. One subscription covers all of them. Its memory follows you across the web app, the extension, your phone and the phone line.
What the bill looks like
Manus
Manus meters credits. The free plan gives 300 a day, then Standard is $20 a month, Customizable $40 and Extended $200, each with a larger monthly credit pool. Credit use is hard to predict, and one deep task can take a large share of a month.
Sidekick Pro
Sidekick Pro charges a flat monthly price: Personal $59 for one person, with the phone line and texts, and Business $149 for a whole team, with meetings and the coding agent. Enterprise is sold by contact sales. There is no free plan and no trial, and pricing shows what each plan covers.
Which should you choose?
Choose Manus if you
- hand off long research or analysis jobs and collect the result later
- want a finished slide deck, spreadsheet or small web app from one prompt
- need many tasks running at once in a cloud computer
- want a free plan with daily credits before you pay anything
Choose Sidekick Pro if you
- want your inbox and calendar watched for you
- need your business phone answered and your texts handled
- want an assistant in your Zoom and Google Meet calls
- do web chores in your own Chrome with the logins you already have
- want GPT, Claude and Gemini in one subscription
- prefer a flat monthly price to a credit meter
Our verdict
Manus is the better job shop. Sidekick Pro is the better assistant.
If your problem is a big piece of work you want done while you do something else, Manus is built for exactly that, and its free plan lets you try it on a real job first.
If your problem is the stream of email, calls, meetings and small web chores that fills a week, Manus will not touch most of it. Sidekick Pro does that job from $59 a month, and it picks up the phone on every plan.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main difference between Manus and Sidekick Pro?
Manus runs each task in its own cloud computer and is built for long jobs you hand over. Sidekick Pro is connected to your email, calendar, phone line and browser, and brings work to you. Manus waits for a prompt; Sidekick Pro also acts on what arrives.
Can Manus use websites I am already signed in to?
Its cloud computer starts signed in to nothing, so you sign in again inside it. Manus also offers a Browser Operator extension for Chrome and Edge that uses your own browser session. Sidekick Pro works in your own Chrome through its extension by default.
Does Manus answer phone calls or join meetings?
No. Manus does not give you a phone number, send texts for you or join a video call. Every Sidekick Pro plan includes an AI receptionist on its own number, and the Business plan adds an assistant that joins Zoom and Google Meet calls.
How do the prices compare?
Manus has a free plan with 300 daily credits, Standard at $20 a month, Customizable at $40 and Extended at $200, and every plan is metered in credits. Sidekick Pro is flat: Personal $59 a month for one person and Business $149 a month for a whole team, with no free plan and no trial.
Which one can I choose the AI model on?
Sidekick Pro. You pick GPT, Claude or Gemini, or let it choose the best model for each turn, in one subscription. Manus runs on the models Manus picks, so there is no model setting for you to change.
Can I use both?
Yes. Some people send long research and build jobs to Manus and keep Sidekick Pro for email, calls, meetings and the web chores that need their own logins. Both connect to apps over MCP, so they can reach the same tools.