A scorecard of the documented anti-user billing practices across the incumbents we replace — every figure sourced, quoted, and dated.
We don't accuse — we show you the receipts. Every claim below links to a public source. We present the facts; what they mean is up to you.
Documented practices, by company. A flag (✗) means it's sourced below; a dash means we found no public evidence of it (so we make no claim).
Scroll the table sideways →
| Documented practice | Zapier$19.99–$69+/mo | ManyChat$14–$139/mo | Grammarly$12–$30/mo | Intercom$29–$139/seat | Linktree$8–$35/mo | the moatshonest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surprise / unnotified chargesbilled without warning | ✗$800 annual "without notification" | — | ✗"charged 2× higher… without any notifications" | — | — | ✓advance renewal notice, always |
| No user-set spend capcost can run away | ✗runaway Zaps: $400–$1,200 charges | ✗bills grow as contacts accumulate | — | ✗Fin: $0.99/outcome, no cap | — | ✓you set the ceiling |
| Hard / "gotcha" cancellationcharged after you cancel | — | ✗"billing issues after cancellation" | ✗narrow cancel window; charged after cancel | — | ✗cancel needs a YouTube how-to | ✓one-click cancel, pause-not-delete |
| Hidden fees on top of the pricethe bill is bigger than the sticker | — | ✗WhatsApp fees "they hide" | — | ✗actual spend 60–80% higher | ✗9–12% seller fee on most tiers | ✓the price is the price |
| Per-unit "tax"metered on top of subscription | ✗every step = 1 task; overage 1.25× | ✗billed per inbound contact | — | ✗$0.99 per resolution, 50/mo minimum | ✗9–12% of every sale | ✓flat, predictable |
| Billing change forced on existing usersterms changed under you | — | ✗Mar 2026 model applied to current subs | — | — | — | ✓grandfathered, never silently raised |
The sharpest sourced fact for each — in their customers' own words where we could attribute it. Prices and quotes verified 2026-06-28.
Every step in a workflow is billed as a "task." Hit the cap and you're switched to pay-per-task at 1.25× — with no hard monthly spend cap.
"credit card bill of over $800 for an annual plan charged without notification."
— Trustpilot 1★ reviewer, cited in vibedex.ai (Apr 2026) · pricing: zapier.com/pricing
An "Active Contact" is counted when anyone DMs your account — even unrelated, non-keyword messages — so the bill grows from contacts you never set out to acquire.
"They charge per contact and count every person who DMs you, even if they aren't… interacting with a bot flow."
— Trustpilot reviewer, trustpilot.com · Mar 2026 billing change: r/FacebookAds
BBB and Reddit document a pattern of $144 annual renewals charged after users believed they had cancelled, via a narrow "gotcha" cancel window.
"Be ready to be charged 2 times higher for the next period without any notifications."
— Trustpilot reviewer, trustpilot.com · BBB complaints: bbb.org
The Fin AI agent costs $0.99 per resolution with a 50-outcome monthly minimum and no cap. Analysts put real spend 60–80% above the sticker.
"Base plans start at $29, but hidden AI and add-on fees push bills to $600–$2000+."
— spurnow.com (2025) · pricing: intercom.com/pricing
Linktree takes a 9–12% cut of every digital product you sell on the Free, Starter, and Pro tiers — only the $35/mo Premium plan drops the seller fee to 0%.
A dedicated YouTube tutorial exists just for cancelling a Linktree subscription — the process is non-obvious by design.
pricing + seller fee: linktr.ee/s/pricing · linklay.io (2026)
Every moat is built as the deliberate inverse of the patterns above — same job, none of the traps.
No seller fee skimmed off your sales, no fee buried in setup. Your link-in-bio, your money.
No passive contact tax, AI included, and we don't change the model under you mid-subscription.
A real spend cap you control — no surprise overage at 1.25×, no runaway-loop horror story.
No gotcha window. Pause, don't delete. Advance renewal notice every time, no exceptions.
It's not a slogan — it's the whole reason this page can name names. Every figure above is true, sourced, and dated, so there's nothing here to sue over.
Everything above is truthful comparative advertising — the kind the U.S. Federal Trade Commission explicitly encourages. Its official policy, 16 C.F.R. § 14.15:
"Commission policy in the area of comparative advertising encourages the naming of, or reference to competitors, but requires clarity, and, if necessary, disclosure to avoid deception."
Here's exactly how we stay inside the lines — on purpose:
No affiliation. None. manymoats is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or connected to any company named on this page. All product names, trademarks, and brand colors are the property of their respective owners, used here solely for accurate, truthful comparison.
Prices and features verified 2026-06-28. They change them often — we re-check and re-date. Verify current terms with each provider too.