Zapier is a popular and effective tool, helping users to connect apps, automate workflows, and increase productivity. However, there are many other free Zapier alternatives that, although may not be as well known, still offer a range of impressive features that give Zapier a run for its money. 🤑
In this article, we are going to explore seven such alternatives and find out about the services they offer. We will consider the top features of each solution, as well as pros and cons when compared against Zapier. 🖱️
Tool | Pricing | Customer Support | Workflows | Available Tools |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pabbly Connect | $0-$67/month | Via Email | Multi-step | Supports over 2000 integrations |
Automatisch | $0-$550/month | Community support on Discord | Multi-step and automated | Supports 57 integrations |
Make | $0-$34.12/month | Via Email, 24/7 customer support for the Enterprise plan | Automated | Over 1,000 apps and services |
Parabola | $0-$800/month | Via Email | Free multi-step workflows | Centralized data management |
Activepieces | $0-$1,200+/month | Community forum on the site | Automated | Supports 221 integrations |
Pipedream | $0-$74/month | Via website, via email for advanced plan, support engineer for business plan | Unlimited | Over 1000 integrations, code options |
IFTTT | $0-$14.99/month | Live chat for Pro accounts | Unlimited number of workflows via Applets | Connect over 700 services, Applets, IFTTT App |
Our roundup 💾
1. Pabbly Connect
With a straightforward, user-friendly UI and highly customizable workflows, Pabbly Connect is an excellent workflow automation tool. It offers integration for many different apps, including the most well-known ones like Facebook Lead Ads, Salesforce, JotForm, WhatsApp and more. Using Pabbly Connect you can set up your automation workflows in just three simple steps.
- Advanced features – Pabbly Connect has all the advanced features like scheduling, delays, and routers – even on the free plans.
- Multi-step workflows – You can create multi-step workflows and customize them as per your needs.
- Supports over 2000 integrations – It supports integration across 2000+ applications, including popular CRM tools, marketing software, payment portals, and form builders.
- Free triggers and unlimited internal tasks – Unlike Zapier, triggers and internal tasks are not counted as tasks in Pabbly Connect. In practice, this means you have no cap on them, which is not the case with Zapier.
- Free plan – Unlike Zapier, which only offers a limited free trial of their premium version, Pabbly Connect offers a free plan where you can access all of its features before upgrading, and without feeling rushed.
- Dedicated YouTube channel – Pabbly Connect has over 3,370 automation video tutorials on their YouTube channel, which can help anyone become an automation expert.
- No live chat support – While Pabbly Connect offers support via email, it lacks live chat support. However, they do have a Facebook Group with 13,000+ members where you can get instant help.
Pabbly Connect has an attractive pricing structure. Entry free version gives you 100 tasks every month. Most popular Ultimate version starts from 50,000 tasks per month and it costs $59.
2. Automatisch
Automatisch dubs itself as the open source Zapier alternative and while it might not be quite at Zapier’s level just yet, it still offers enough for most people and businesses. The other nice aspect of it is that if you don’t want to fiddle with the open source version, they also have two premium plans that you can pay for and take advantage of.
- Secure data storage – Automatisch lets you to store your data on your own servers. This is crucial for companies dealing with sensitive user data, such as those in healthcare or finance, or those based in Europe who need to abide by GDPR.
- 57 integrations – Although this is nowhere near close to Zapier’s 7,000+, it covers a nice range of some of the most widely used apps and tools on the web, including Discord, Ghost, GitHub, GitLab, Google Suite, HubSpot, OpenAI, Reddit, Slack, Trello, Twitter, WordPress, YouTube, and more.
- User-friendly documentation – The docs have everything you need to get started with Automatisch. There are topics on everything from installation to creating your first work flow.
- Open source flexibility: Due to its open source nature, Automatisch gives you the freedom to modify, extend, or integrate the platform according to your specific needs. This environment not only supports your creativity and technical skills but also encourages collaboration and innovation across the community.
- Vendor independence – Another significant advantage of Automatisch is its approach to vendor lock-in. You have the freedom to choose or change your technology providers without restrictions, which increases your flexibility and can help reduce long-term costs.
- Complexity in setup and use – While Automatisch supports no-code automation, setting up and managing more complex workflows might require some technical knowledge, especially when integrating various services or when you need custom modifications. This could be challenging if you’re not technically inclined.
The open source version of Automatisch is obviously free. If you want to go with one of the paid plans for convenience, you can get started with the Single user plan for only €20 per month.
3. Make (formerly Integromat)
Make (formerly Integromat) is an advanced online automation platform that currently helps over half a million users integrate their apps, services, and systems. Used by businesses around the globe, Make’s customers include Meta, Adidas, Spotify and Heineken, to name a few. But these corporate customers aren’t what earned Make a spot on this list of the best free Zapier alternatives. It also has a fantastic range of features:
- Visual editor – Make’s user-friendly editor allows users to visually create automated workflows without having to touch a line of code. This helps users understand the steps of each automation, what is happening, and how the end results are delivered.
- Apps – Make integrates with hundreds of apps and services. It also provides HTTP/SOAP and JSON modules allowing you to connect to almost any web service, and again without having to code.
- Templates – Choose from hundreds of templates, enabling you to quickly set up workflows. These can be used as they come, or customized to suit your project.
- Automated workflows and tasks – On the free plan, Make allows up to 1,000 operations (tasks completed in a workflow) a month. In comparison, Zapier only offers 100 tasks per month.
- Apps – Connections to the full suite of over 1,000 apps and services are included in the free Make plan. However, on the free Zapier plan, there are some premium apps that you won’t be able to include in your workflows.
- Support – Both Make and Zapier provide extensive knowledge bases and email support for their users. However, Make reserves priority support for those on their top tier premium plans.
After the free plan, Make offers three paid plans ranging from $9 per month to $29 per month. They also offer an Enterprise level plan, but the price is not listed. You have to contact their sales team to get more info.
4. Parabola
Parabola is an automation dashboard that helps you collect, manage, and analyze data from a variety of sources. Many of the best features are limited to the paid plans, but there are some impressive features you can access as a free user:
- Easy workflow design – The drag-and-drop builder makes it easy to create even the most complicated workflows in a matter of minutes. You’ll even get suggestions for building certain types of workflows and access to a variety of workflow recipes.
- Complex workflows – You can use the builder to create workflows with up to 25 steps on the free plan. This increases to 75 steps per workflow if you invest in a paid plan.
- Centralized data management – Parabola organizes all of your data in one well-organized database. Visual organization tools make it easy for you to manage different types of data.
- Free multi-step workflows – You get up to 25 steps per workflow on the free plan.
- No limit to the number of times you can run a workflow – You can run a workflow 10, 1,000, or 10,000 times without paying a dime.
- Limited workflows – You can only have three active workflows at a time on the free plan.
- You have to run the workflows yourself – If you want workflows to trigger at a specific time or after a specific event, you’ll need to pay for the premium version.
- The cost is steep – You’ll pay more for the premium version of Parabola than any other app on this list.
You can enjoy Parabola free forever. There are also two paid plans. The Solo plan, which costs $80 per month and the Team plan, which goes for $800 per month. You can also request a demo for an Advanced plan if you need more.
5. Activepieces
Activepieces differentiates itself with a flexible user interface that allows for both simple and complex workflow automations without the steep learning curve often associated with more complex platforms like Make. ActivePieces supports a variety of automation needs, from daily business tasks to specific actions like posting to social media or handling customer interactions.
- Easy to navigate integrations – There are 221 integrations, called “pieces,” and they are organized into 16 different categories. The categories can be used as search filters to make it easier to find what you’re looking for.
- Variety of workflows – ActivePieces is designed to facilitate a wide range of tasks, including CRM management, employee onboarding, and data migration between apps like Google Drive and Dropbox, providing a comprehensive solution for automating workflows.
- Cost-effective pricing model – ActivePieces offers a free tier and a pay-as-you-go model, making it economically feasible for both small startups and large enterprises.
- Extensible – Because ActivePieces is open source, it means you can view and modify the code according to your needs. If you have some development exeprience, then you can extend the software with new functionalities or integrations that aren’t available in the base model.
- Request a feature – The community support forum has an area that lets users request new features. This is a nice way to make users feel included and to improve the tool.
- Power of choice – The fact that you can choose to use the open source version and self host it or go for the cloud version and pay a bit of money is nice. There are people who prefer either / or so having the option is appreciated.
- Community reliance for extensions – Because Activepieces is open source, you need to rely on other users for help with troubleshooting or for developing certain integrations. This can be a drawback if you’re used to more traditional customer service.
One of the key advantages of ActivePieces is its pricing model. If you use the self-hosted version, it’s completely free. If you go with the cloud option, you’ll be met with a generous free tier that gives you 1,000 free tasks every month. For each additional 1,000, it’s only $1 USD. This makes it accessible for both small businesses and larger enterprises.
6. Pipedream
Pipedream is an automation tool specifically designed for developers. This tool earns its place on this of the best free Zapier alternatives by providing an impressive set of tools:
- Numerous integrations – You can connect Pipedream to over 1,000 apps. All integrations are available on the free plan and there’s no limit to the number of apps you can have connected to Pipedream at any one time.
- Endless workflow possibilities – Pipedream has thousands of triggers and actions that you can use to build your workflows. You can also create custom triggers and actions to automate specialized areas of your business.
- Code options – More technically inclined users will enjoy access to custom code options.
- Unlimited workflows – You can create as many workflows as you need to run your business, even on the free plan.
- 10,000 monthly invocations – Pipedream calls automated actions “invocations” and allows you to run up to 333 of them per day and 10,000 per month. This is much more generous than the free Zapier plan, which is limited to 100 tasks per month.
- Limited organization tools – The Pipedream dashboard is quite simple and doesn’t offer a lot of custom organization options.
- Limited support – Pipedream offers a range of community support options and an extensive knowledgebase, but if you want technical support from the actual Pipedream team you’ll need to sign up for a Team plan.
Along with the free plan, Pipedream offers two main paid plans: Basic for $29 per month (billed annually at $348) and Advanced for $49 per month (billed annually at $588). You can also seek custom pricing if you need more than five team members to have access.
7. IFTTT
IFTTT is one of the truly great free Zapier alternatives available. It helps millions of people and thousands of businesses transform their products into integrated, connected services. By creating a standard, low-code way for diverse apps and services across the world to communicate, IFTTT helps to make your life easier. Using IFTTT, you can organize your social media posts, make your voice assistant more personable, or design a smart home that reacts to real-life cues.
- Connect services – IFTTT will enable you to connect over 700 services, which include apps, business tools, cloud platforms, and email providers, as well as physical appliances, to name a few.
- Applets – These purpose-built workflows enable you to connect services and make them work together.
- IFTTT App – Download the app from the App Store or Google Play to access IFTTT on the go.
- Unlimited applet runs – You can run an unlimited number of workflows via Applets. However, in comparison, Zapier’s free plan only allows you to execute 100 tasks per month.
- Build a smart home – IFTTT can connect physical home appliances including fridges, dishwashers, washer dryers, and many more. Zapier is yet to see this kind of integration.
- Creating an applet – Zapier enables you to create new custom Zaps in minutes. However, with IFTTT if you can’t find an Applet that fits your requirements, creating a new Applet is not, in comparison to Zapier, a straightforward task.
IFTTT has three plans. There’s a free forever plan, and then there are two paid plans – the Pro and the Pro+. The Pro will set you back $2.92 per month (billed annually at $34.99) and with that you get 20 applets. The Pro+ will cost you $12.50 per month (billed annually at $149.99), but you’ll get unlimited applets.
Zapier: A quick overview
Zapier’s main aim is to save users time and effort, easily automating everyday tasks in workflows called Zaps. By connecting your apps and creating workflows specific to your needs, you can consequently improve productivity across every area of work and life.
🧩 Here are some of its top features (though not all are free)…
- Connect over 7,000 apps (free and premium)
- User-friendly workflow editor for creating workflows/Zaps (free)
- Zapier built-in apps (free)
- Multi-step workflows and conditional logic (premium)
- Collaboration tools for organizations and teams (premium)
- Extensive support (free)
💳 Pricing: Zapier provides four plans catering to various size groups, from individuals and professionals to large teams and companies. The cost ranges from free to $3,999 a month (billed annually at $47,988). That’s quite the range, but it speaks to Zapier’s ability to cater to pretty much every type of client. They also offer a 15% discount for non-profit organizations.
So what do you think? 🤔
As you can see, there are numerous free Zapier alternatives, all of which offer different features that suit a plethora of needs. So which solution caught your eye?
Have we missed out any great free Zapier alternatives? If so, please share in the comments below…
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