7 best Zapier alternatives
This page compares seven workflow automation tools people use in place of Zapier, including visual builders, enterprise platforms, and self-hosted and open source options. Free plans, starting prices and usage allowances were taken from each vendor's official pricing page on October 12, 2026. All research for this page was done with Firecrawl Alexandria.
Zapier alternatives compared
Starting prices as each vendor lists them on its pricing page, checked October 12, 2026.
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Open source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Make | Visual multi-step workflows at a lower price per action | Yes (free plan) | Core from $12/month for 10,000 credits per month | No (open source) |
| n8n | Technical teams that want to self-host | Yes (free plan) | Starter at $20/month, billed annually, for 2,500 workflow executions | No (open source) |
| Activepieces | Open source automation you can self-host | Yes (free plan) | Plus at $20/month flat, billed monthly, for 10,000 credits per month | Yes (open source) |
| Microsoft Power Automate | Organizations standardized on Microsoft 365 | No (free plan) | Power Automate Premium at $15.00/user/month, paid yearly | No (open source) |
| Workato | Enterprise integration with IT governance | No (free plan) | Custom pricing | No (open source) |
| Gumloop | AI agents that work across business tools | No (free plan) | Pro starts at $37/month with 20,000 credits per month | No (open source) |
| IFTTT | Low-cost personal and smart home automations | Yes (free plan) | Pro at $2.99/month, $35.88 billed annually | No (open source) |
| Zapier(for reference) | Workflow automation | Yes (free plan) | Free plan at $0/month with 100 tasks per month; Professional starts from $19.99/monthZapier pricing | See vendor |
Track your own competitors
This page compares 8 vendors' pricing, read from their own pricing pages with Firecrawl. Do the same for your market and see what changed whenever a competitor updates a plan.
Ask your AI
Compare Zapier alternatives in ChatGPT or Claude. Connect Firecrawl and your assistant can read live pricing pages and query Firecrawl Alexandria providers for you.
Why people look for Zapier alternatives
Costs climb with task volume
Every successful action step in a Zap counts as a task, so a five-step workflow running often uses up a plan quickly. Going over the limit switches the account to pay-per-task billing, which Zapier charges at 1.25 times the subscription rate per task.
Source: Zapier Community: Pricing and Packaging Improvements
AI steps use several tasks per run
Since June 15, 2026, AI by Zapier steps are priced by model tier. The default Advanced tier uses three times the base task cost per run, Premium uses five times, and tool calls add to that cost.
Source: Zapier Help Center: AI by Zapier model-based pricing
The free plan stops at two-step Zaps
Zapier's Free plan includes 100 tasks per month and only two-step Zaps. Multi-step workflows, webhooks and premium apps require a paid plan, so a small team that needs them has to upgrade or pick another tool.
Source: Zapier pricing
Complex logic and debugging
Reviewers on TrustRadius mention that loops and branches slow workflows down, that error messages can be unclear when a Zap fails, and that pricing tiers get complicated. Some also report rebuilding a Zap from scratch to change it.
Source: TrustRadius: Zapier reviews
The 7 best Zapier alternatives in detail
1. Make
Visit siteBest for Visual multi-step workflows at a lower price per action
Make builds automations as visual scenarios with routers, filters and iterators on a drag-and-drop canvas. It bills in credits, where most module actions use one credit, and connects to more than 3,500 apps.
Strengths
- Visual canvas shows branching and data flow
- 10,000 credits on the entry paid plan
- Routers and error handler modules use no credits
Watch out for
Each module action still consumes credits, so scenarios with many steps can use up an allowance faster than expected.
- Starting price
- Core from $12/month for 10,000 credits per month
- Free plan
- Yes
- Note
- Free plan includes 1,000 credits per month with a 15-minute minimum interval between runs. Make offers monthly and annual billing, and annual saves 15% or more.
- Source
- Make pricing
2. n8n
Visit siteBest for Technical teams that want to self-host
n8n is a node-based workflow and AI agent builder that runs on n8n Cloud or on your own servers. Cloud plans bill per full workflow execution, so a run counts once no matter how many steps it has.
Strengths
- Free self-hosted Community Edition
- Execution-based billing ignores step count
- Code nodes for JavaScript and Python
Watch out for
n8n uses the fair-code Sustainable Use License, which limits commercial redistribution, and self-hosting means you handle servers, updates and backups.
- Starting price
- Starter at $20/month, billed annually, for 2,500 workflow executions
- Free plan
- Yes
- Note
- The self-hosted Community Edition is free. n8n Cloud offers a free trial with no credit card. The Business plan starts at $800/month, billed annually.
- Source
- n8n pricing
3. Activepieces
Visit siteBest for Open source automation you can self-host
Activepieces is a no-code automation builder with an MIT-licensed core. It runs on Activepieces' hosted cloud or on your own servers. Integrations, called pieces, are open source TypeScript packages, and any app with an API can be reached through the HTTP piece or a webhook.
Strengths
- MIT-licensed core for self-hosting
- Flat monthly pricing on paid plans
- Custom pieces written in TypeScript
Watch out for
Enterprise features such as access controls and audit logs sit in a separately licensed edition, so the free self-hosted build covers the automation core only.
- Starting price
- Plus at $20/month flat, billed monthly, for 10,000 credits per month
- Free plan
- Yes
- Note
- Free plan includes 1,000 credits a month, unlimited flows and up to 5 users. Overage on paid plans is $0.007 per credit. The self-hosted Community Edition is free.
- Source
- Activepieces pricing
4. Microsoft Power Automate
Visit siteBest for Organizations standardized on Microsoft 365
Power Automate builds cloud flows across Microsoft 365, Dynamics and third-party connectors, and adds desktop flows for robotic process automation. It is licensed per user or per bot.
Strengths
- Native connectors for Microsoft 365 and Dynamics
- Desktop flows for RPA on legacy apps
- Per-user or per-bot licensing
Watch out for
Licensing across users, bots and premium connectors takes time to work out, and the product fits best inside a Microsoft tenant.
- Starting price
- Power Automate Premium at $15.00/user/month, paid yearly
- Free plan
- No
- Note
- A 30-day free trial is available. Process licenses start at $150.00/bot/month, paid yearly.
- Source
- Power Automate pricing
5. Workato
Visit siteBest for Enterprise integration with IT governance
Workato is an enterprise integration and automation platform with recipe lifecycle management, separate dev, test and production environments, and on-premise connectivity agents. Higher editions add data pipelines, an API platform, MCP servers and an agent studio.
Strengths
- SAML SSO, MFA and role-based access on every edition
- Dev, test and production environments
- On-premise agents for internal systems
Watch out for
Prices are not published, and the platform is sized for larger companies, which makes it a poor fit for individuals and small teams.
- Starting price
- Custom pricing
- Free plan
- No
- Note
- Workato lists four editions (Standard, Business MCP, Enterprise MCP and Workato ONE) without public prices and asks buyers to request a quote. A free trial signup is available.
- Source
- Workato pricing
6. Gumloop
Visit siteBest for AI agents that work across business tools
Gumloop is an AI agent builder. Its agents can use 35+ models and connectors to work across company tools, and workflows remain available as a legacy feature. Usage is metered in credits, and you can bring your own model API keys.
Strengths
- Agent-first design with 35+ models
- Unlimited seats on Pro
- Bring your own API keys
Watch out for
Credit costs vary with the models and tools an agent calls, so monthly spend is harder to predict than a fixed per-run price.
- Starting price
- Pro starts at $37/month with 20,000 credits per month
- Free plan
- No
- Note
- Pro includes a 14-day free trial, unlimited agents, unlimited seats and an 8% orchestration fee. Enterprise is custom pricing.
- Source
- Gumloop pricing
7. IFTTT
Visit siteBest for Low-cost personal and smart home automations
IFTTT runs simple automations called Applets that link a trigger in one service to actions in others, with a large catalog of smart home and consumer integrations. Paid plans add multi-action Applets, webhooks, filter code and AI services.
Strengths
- Lowest paid entry price in this list
- Unlimited Applet runs, even on Free
- Wide smart home device coverage
Watch out for
Applets are built for short trigger and action chains, so IFTTT does not suit complex business workflows with branching logic.
- Starting price
- Pro at $2.99/month, $35.88 billed annually
- Free plan
- Yes
- Note
- Free plan includes 2 Applets with unlimited runs. Pro includes 20 Applets; Pro+ is $8.99/month ($107.88 billed annually) for unlimited Applets.
- Source
- IFTTT plans
How this page is built
Every price on this page comes from the vendor's own pricing page, read with Firecrawl and checked on October 12, 2026. Each figure links to the page it came from.
To run the same research yourself, connect Firecrawl to ChatGPT and ask it to compare any tool's alternatives. It reads live pricing pages and pulls data from Firecrawl Alexandria providers such as AlternativeTo. Developers can make the same calls through the API.
Try these prompts in ChatGPT
“Compare the current starting prices of Zapier, Make and n8n from their official pricing pages.”
“Which Zapier alternatives have a free plan, and what are the limits?”
“Find open source or self-hosted alternatives to Zapier and list their licenses.”
“Read Zapier's pricing page and explain what each plan includes.”
Zapier alternatives FAQ
- What is the best free alternative to Zapier?
- Make, n8n, Activepieces and IFTTT all have free options. Make's Free plan includes 1,000 credits per month, Activepieces' Free plan includes 1,000 credits a month with unlimited flows, and IFTTT's Free plan allows 2 Applets with unlimited runs. n8n and Activepieces also offer self-hosted Community Editions that cost nothing in license fees.
- Is there an open source alternative to Zapier?
- Activepieces is the closest open source option, with its core released under the MIT license and a self-hosted Community Edition. n8n is often called open source, but it uses the fair-code Sustainable Use License, which allows self-hosting and internal use while restricting some commercial redistribution.
- Is Make cheaper than Zapier?
- On listed prices, Make's Core plan starts at $12 per month for 10,000 credits, while Zapier's Professional plan starts from $19.99 per month at its lowest task tier. Both meter each action step, so the cost difference depends on how many steps your workflows run each month.
- Can I self-host a Zapier alternative?
- Yes. n8n and Activepieces both publish self-hosted Community Editions that run on your own servers, which keeps workflow data inside your infrastructure. Zapier, Make and IFTTT run only as hosted cloud services.
- How does Zapier count tasks?
- Zapier counts a task each time a Zap successfully completes an action, so a Zap with three actions uses three tasks per run. Triggers and polling for new data do not use tasks, built-in filter and formatter steps are excluded, and AI by Zapier steps can use several tasks per run depending on the model tier.