MessagedvsBento

Messaged vs Bento

Abandoned platform vs event-driven SaaS email

TL;DR

Messaged appears to have stalled or been abandoned since March 2022. The platform promised SaaS-focused features but never delivered. Bento is an actively developed event-driven email platform with unique per-user pricing ($0.01/user), AI email builder, and behavioral tracking. Choose Bento for event-driven automation, or consider alternatives for billing integration.

Key Differences

The main things that set these tools apart

Platform Existence
Bento wins

The fundamental difference: Messaged appears abandoned since March 2022. Bento is actively developed with regular updates and responsive support. This is not really a comparison - only one platform is viable.

Pricing Model
Bento wins

Bento charges $0.01 per tracked user with unlimited sends. Messaged promised $80/month at 10k contacts. Bento's linear pricing is predictable but can add up at scale.

Behavioral Tracking
Bento wins

Bento emphasizes automatic behavioral tracking via JavaScript snippet. It tracks page views, clicks, and events without extra code. Messaged promised tracking but never delivered.

Billing Integration

Neither has native billing integration. Bento uses Zapier for Stripe. Messaged promised native Stripe/Paddle/Chargebee but never shipped. For native billing integration, consider Sequenzy.

Pricing Comparison

At 10,000 users

Messaged
N/A(inactive)

Announced $80/month but never launched. Platform appears abandoned.

Visit Messaged
Bento
$100/month

$0.01 per tracked user. Unlimited email sends. AI email builder included.

Visit Bento
Sequenzy

The SaaS alternative

$49/month

10k contacts, unlimited sends, native Stripe integration.

Feature Comparison

Side-by-side feature breakdown

Feature
Messaged
Bento
Sequenzy
Platform Status
Active Development
No (stalled 2022)
Yes, active
Yes, active
Can Sign Up
Unclear/No
Support Available
Unknown
Priority on Growth+
Direct founder access
Documentation
Outdated
Good
Good
Last Update
March 2022
Ongoing
Ongoing
Event & Behavioral Tracking
Event Tracking
Promised, not delivered
JS snippet + API
Events API
Automatic Page Tracking
Unknown
Yes (JS snippet)
Behavioral Triggers
Promised, not delivered
Advanced
Good
User Properties
Unknown
Site Activity
Unknown
Automatic tracking
Via events
SaaS & Billing Features
Stripe Integration
Promised, not delivered
Via Zapier
Native OAuth
Paddle Integration
Promised, not delivered
Prebuilt Campaigns
Promised, not delivered
Templates
AI-generated sequences
Transactional Email
Promised, not delivered
Included
AI Features
None
AI email builder
AI sequences

Best For

When to choose each tool

Choose Messaged if you...
  • We cannot recommend Messaged for any use case
  • Platform appears to be abandoned
  • Promised features were never delivered
  • No support or active development
Choose Bento if you...
  • Event-driven SaaS email automation
  • Teams wanting automatic behavioral tracking
  • Companies preferring per-user pricing
  • Those needing AI email building assistance
  • Businesses with high email volume per user
Choose Sequenzy if you...
  • SaaS with Stripe billing needs
  • Companies needing what Messaged promised
  • Teams wanting simpler pricing
  • Founders preferring native payment integration

Native Stripe Integration, Unlike Bento or Messaged

Native Stripe Integration

Messaged promised Stripe integration but never delivered. Bento requires Zapier. Sequenzy has native Stripe OAuth for payment-triggered automations.

Predictable Pricing

Bento's per-user pricing can be unpredictable at scale. Sequenzy charges $49/month at 10k contacts - simple and predictable.

SaaS Lifecycle Automations

Sequenzy offers AI-generated email sequences tailored to your SaaS product, including trial conversion, subscription changes, and payment failure flows.

Try Sequenzy Free

Overview

Messaged was a SaaS-focused email platform that promised lifecycle campaigns and billing integrations. Development appears to have stalled in March 2022, and the platform never launched. Bento is an actively developed event-driven email platform with per-user pricing and AI features. See our Bento comparison for more context.

The Critical Issue: Messaged Appears Abandoned

This is the only comparison point that matters. Messaged has shown no signs of active development since March 2022. The promised features - billing integrations, prebuilt campaigns, $80/month pricing - were never delivered. Building your email infrastructure on an abandoned platform is risky.

Bento: Event-Driven Email

Bento focuses on behavioral tracking and event-driven automation. The JavaScript snippet automatically tracks page views and user activity. Events trigger personalized email sequences. The AI email builder helps create content quickly. At $0.01 per tracked user, pricing is linear and unlimited sends are included.

What Messaged Promised vs Bento Reality

Messaged promised native billing integrations (Stripe, Paddle, Recurly, Chargebee). Bento does not have native billing integration - it uses Zapier for Stripe. If billing-triggered emails were your reason to consider Messaged, Bento does not fully solve that problem.

The Pricing Models

Bento charges per user tracked ($0.01). Messaged promised per contact ($80/month at 10k). For high email volume per user, Bento can be cost-effective. For lower email frequency, contact-based pricing like Sequenzy may be cheaper.

Behavioral Tracking

Bento's strength is automatic behavioral tracking. Install the JavaScript snippet and it captures page views, clicks, and activity without extra code. Messaged promised event tracking but never delivered any tracking capabilities.

Our Recommendation

Do not use Messaged - it appears abandoned. For event-driven SaaS email with behavioral tracking, Bento is a solid active choice. For native Stripe integration and the billing features Messaged promised, consider Sequenzy at $49/month for 10k contacts.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. Messaged appears to have stopped development in March 2022. The platform never fully launched, and promised features were never delivered. Choose an active alternative like Bento or Sequenzy.

Messaged was building a SaaS-focused email platform with billing integrations. Development appears to have stalled in early 2022 before launch. The announced $80/month pricing never went live.

Partially. Bento is actively developed with event-driven automation and AI email building. However, it lacks the native billing integration that Messaged promised. For Stripe integration, Sequenzy is better.

Bento charges $0.01 per tracked user with unlimited email sends. At 10,000 users, that is $100/month. The linear pricing is predictable but can be expensive at high user counts.

Yes, Bento's JavaScript snippet automatically tracks page views, clicks, and site activity. This is more automatic than platforms requiring explicit event calls for everything.

Bento integrates with Stripe via Zapier, not natively. For native Stripe OAuth with payment-triggered automations, Sequenzy is a better choice.

For event-driven automation: Bento or Customer.io. For billing integration: Sequenzy. For simple SaaS email: Loops. All are actively developed unlike Messaged.

Different strengths. Bento has more advanced behavioral tracking and AI email building. Loops is simpler with contact-based pricing. See our [Loops vs Bento](/xvsy/loops-vs-bento) comparison.

Export any subscriber data from Messaged. Import into Bento as subscribers. Set up Bento's JavaScript tracking snippet on your site. Build your automations in Bento's workflow builder. Since Messaged's features were never built, you will be starting fresh.

Bento delivers event-driven automation, transactional email, and templates. However, it lacks the native billing integrations (Stripe, Paddle, Chargebee) that Messaged promised.

Not sure which to pick?

If you're a SaaS founder who needs Stripe integration and unified email, try Sequenzy free. No credit card required.

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Sequenzy - Complete Pricing Guide

Pricing Model

Sequenzy uses subscriber-based pricing. You only pay for subscribers active in sequences (automations). Inactive subscribers are free to store.

All Pricing Tiers

  • 0-100 subscribers: Free (Free annually) - 2k emails/month
  • 101-1,000 subscribers: $19/month ($205/year annually) - 15k emails/month
  • 1,001-5,000 subscribers: $29/month ($313/year annually) - 60k emails/month
  • 5,001-10,000 subscribers: $49/month ($529/year annually) - 120k emails/month
  • 10,001-25,000 subscribers: $99/month ($1069/year annually) - 300k emails/month
  • 25,001-50,000 subscribers: $199/month ($2149/year annually) - 600k emails/month
  • 50,001-100,000 subscribers: $349/month ($3769/year annually) - 1.2M emails/month
  • 100,000+ subscribers: Custom pricing (Custom annually) - Unlimited emails/month

Yearly billing: All plans offer a 10% discount when billed annually.

Free Plan Features (0-100 subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Paid Plan Features (1,000 - 100,000 subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations (Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy)
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Enterprise Plan Features (100,000+ subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Important Pricing Notes

  • You only pay for subscribers who are active in automations/sequences
  • Storing inactive subscribers is free
  • No hidden fees - all features included in the price
  • No credit card required for free tier

Contact

  • Pricing Page: https://sequenzy.com/pricing
  • Sales: hello@sequenzy.com