Quick verdict
Why people look for Zapier alternatives
Zapier pioneered no-code automation: connect two apps, define a trigger, done. But its billing model charges per task, so every step of every workflow run costs you. The free plan covers just 100 tasks a month, and Professional starts at $19.99/month (billed annually) for 750 tasks. The moment you automate something that runs hundreds of times a day — or build multi-step workflows — the bill climbs fast. That’s why a whole market of alternatives exists: tools that meter by credits, executions, or flow runs instead of tasks, or skip the subscription entirely.
The 8 best Zapier alternatives
1. Make — best all-around cheaper pick
Make (formerly Integromat) is the closest thing to a straight Zapier replacement, with a visual scenario canvas that handles branching, routers, and iterators that Zapier’s linear Zaps can’t. Its free plan includes 1,000 credits a month, and paid plans start at just $9/month billed annually for 10,000 credits — far cheaper per operation than Zapier’s tasks. If you want the familiar no-code experience without the pricing cliff, start here.
2. n8n — best for high volume and self-hosting
n8n counts one “execution” per whole workflow run, regardless of step count — so a 20-step workflow costs one execution instead of 20 tasks. Better still, the self-hosted Community Edition is free forever with unlimited executions; you pay only a few dollars a month for your own server. Cloud plans start at €20/month billed annually. It’s the cheapest option at serious scale, though self-hosting means you own the maintenance.
3. Pabbly Connect — best lifetime deal
Pabbly Connect looks and feels like Zapier, but the pricing is far friendlier: the free plan covers 100 tasks a month, Standard is $19/month for 10,000 tasks, and a $349 one-time lifetime deal buys 10,000 tasks a month forever. Crucially, internal steps like filters, routers, and formatters don’t consume tasks at all, so complex workflows stretch much further. If you hate subscriptions, this is your pick.
4. Integrately — best “cheaper Zapier” lookalike
Integrately is deliberately Zapier-like — a linear automation builder with a large app library — at roughly half the price per task. The free plan includes 100 tasks and 5 automations, and Starter is $19.99/month billed annually for 2,000 tasks. It won’t win on innovation, but if your team already thinks in Zaps, it’s the lowest-friction way to cut the bill.
5. Albato — best transparent usage pricing
Albato bills per transaction with published, transparent pricing: the free plan covers 100 transactions a month, and Pro starts at $15/month billed annually for 1,000 transactions, scaling up to 2 million. You pick your plan by how you work rather than getting pushed up pricing tiers, and it ships with built-in AI logic. A solid middle ground between Zapier’s simplicity and Make’s depth.
6. Pipedream — best for developers
Pipedream is the developer’s automation platform: real code steps in Node.js, Python, Go, or Bash, 3,000+ connectors, and compute-based billing (one credit per 30 seconds of compute) instead of per-step metering. The free tier covers development with every feature and no credit card, while production plans start around $99/month billed annually. Not for non-technical teams, but excellent for API glue and AI-agent workflows.
7. Bardeen — best browser automation
Bardeen lives in your browser as a Chrome extension, automating what you can see and click: scraping, form-filling, LinkedIn prospecting, and AI-generated “playbooks” built from plain-language descriptions. The free plan gives 100 credits a month permanently, with paid plans from $10/month. It trades Zapier’s 24/7 cloud reliability for browser-local speed and scraping superpowers.
8. IFTTT — best for smart home and personal use
IFTTT is the consumer automation veteran: dead-simple applets for smart-home devices, location triggers, and personal workflows, with no per-action metering — you pay by applet count. The free plan includes 2 applets, and Pro is $2.99/month billed annually for 20 applets. It’s far weaker than Zapier for business SaaS and complex logic, but hard to beat for “when I get home, do X” automations.
Zapier alternatives compared
| Tool | Starting price | Free tier | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Make | $9/mo annual | 1,000 credits/mo | All-around Zapier replacement |
| n8n | €20/mo annual (free self-hosted) | Unlimited self-hosted | High volume, technical teams |
| Pabbly Connect | $19/mo or $349 lifetime | 100 tasks/mo | Killing the subscription |
| Integrately | $19.99/mo annual | 100 tasks, 5 automations | Zapier familiarity, lower bill |
| Albato | $15/mo annual | 100 transactions/mo | Transparent usage pricing |
| Pipedream | ~$99/mo annual | Full-featured dev tier | Developers, API glue |
| Bardeen | $10/mo | 100 credits/mo | Browser automation, scraping |
| IFTTT | $2.99/mo annual | 2 applets | Smart home, personal use |
Prices change often — confirm on each vendor’s pricing page before buying.
Verdict: which Zapier alternative should you pick?
Most people should start with Make: it’s the closest to Zapier’s ease of use, the free tier is genuinely useful, and $9/month for 10,000 credits undercuts Zapier by an order of magnitude. If your automations run at serious volume and you have any technical help, n8n self-hosted is the cheapest long-term answer. Subscription-haters should look at Pabbly Connect’s lifetime deal, developers at Pipedream, and anyone automating browser work at Bardeen. Note: if you find older lists recommending Relay.app, skip them — it shut down in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to Zapier?
Yes. Make’s free plan (1,000 credits/month) is the most generous no-code option, and n8n’s self-hosted Community Edition is free with unlimited executions if you can run a server. Pabbly Connect, Integrately, and Albato all offer limited free tiers too.
Why is Zapier so expensive?
Zapier bills per task — every step of every workflow run. Multi-step workflows and high-frequency triggers multiply fast: 750 tasks a month on the $19.99/month Professional plan can vanish quickly at real business volume, and the next tiers jump steeply.
Can I migrate my Zaps to Make or n8n?
There’s no one-click importer; you’ll rebuild your automations. In practice most teams rebuild only their highest-volume Zaps first, which is where the savings live, and leave simple low-volume ones on Zapier’s free plan.
What happened to Relay.app?
Relay.app shut down in 2026 — free accounts ended in August and paid accounts in September, with staff joining Google’s Chrome team. If an old roundup recommends it, treat that list as stale.