14 tools to consider instead of Zapier, with who each one suits, where it falls short and a source for every price. No scores or star ratings.
Updated 27 Sep 2026 · Next review 26 Dec 202614 tools · 20 min read
Disclosure: We make startbuddi, so we've put it first and been upfront about where it falls short. There are no scores or star ratings here. Every price and feature below comes from the tool's own website or our own test account, and each one links to its source.
TL;DRThe short answer
Small businesses that want automations across their own CRM, inbox and money without an integration tool?startbuddi.
Teams building visual, multi-step automations between their apps?Make.
Technical teams building AI agents and workflows who want the option to self-host?n8n.
Organisations on Microsoft 365 automating cloud and desktop tasks?Power Automate.
Individuals and small businesses linking apps and smart devices with simple rules?IFTTT.
Budget-conscious teams automating tasks between web apps?Pabbly Connect.
Find your fit · 2 questions
Which alternative suits you?
1. Do you need a free plan?
2. Which sounds most like you?
Answer both to see a suggestion. It only uses the facts on this page.
Teams that want an AI assistant to handle email, meetings and routine work
$29.99 USD, per user per month (Plus, 3,000 credits)
Trial only
Prices are list prices as each company publishes them, never converted. startbuddi's price is shown in your currency where we can.
The alternatives
01
startbuddi
Our productBest for small businesses that want automations across their own CRM, inbox and money without an integration tool
Best for
Small businesses that want automations across their own CRM, inbox and money without an integration tool
Starting price
Free plan. Paid from $29 a month Starter plan, our pricing
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Web
Automations runs one engine across startbuddi's modules: a form, booking, payment or deal change can trigger emails, WhatsApp messages, tasks and more. Chip can build an automation from a plain description.
Strengths
Triggers and actions across every startbuddi module
Chip builds automations from a description
Templates for common follow-ups
Limitations
Automates startbuddi's own modules, not hundreds of outside apps
Best for teams building visual, multi-step automations between their apps
Best for
Teams building visual, multi-step automations between their apps
Starting price
$9 USD, per month for 10,000 credits (Core plan, shown with monthly billing)
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Web
Make is a visual automation platform that connects 3,000+ apps in multi-step scenarios. Plans are priced by monthly credits, and AI agents can be built on every plan using Make's AI provider or your own model key.
Strengths
Free plan with 1,000 credits a month
Connects 3,000+ standard apps and 350+ AI apps
AI agents (beta) on all plans
Core plan adds unlimited active scenarios and a 1-minute run interval
Limitations
Free plan allows 2 active scenarios and runs at most every 15 minutes
Usage is metered in credits, so costs rise with volume
Team roles and shared templates start on the Teams plan ($29 per month)
Best for technical teams building AI agents and workflows who want the option to self-host
Best for
Technical teams building AI agents and workflows who want the option to self-host
Starting price
€20 per month, billed annually (Starter)
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Web (cloud), self-hosted
n8n is a workflow automation tool with a visual editor, code nodes and AI agent building. The Community Edition is free and self-hosted, and n8n Cloud plans are priced by workflow executions. An execution is one run of a whole workflow, however many steps it has.
Strengths
Free self-hosted Community Edition
2,273 integrations listed
Executions count whole workflow runs, not individual steps
Unlimited users on cloud plans
Limitations
Cloud Starter is capped at 2,500 executions and 5 concurrent executions a month
SSO, Git version control and multiple environments start on Business (€667 per month billed annually)
Best for organisations on Microsoft 365 automating cloud and desktop tasks
Best for
Organisations on Microsoft 365 automating cloud and desktop tasks
Starting price
$15.00 USD, per user per month, paid yearly (Premium)
Free plan
Trial only
Platforms
Web, Windows (desktop flows)
Power Automate is Microsoft's automation service for cloud flows between apps and desktop flows (RPA) that mimic clicks and keystrokes. Premium adds attended desktop flows, process and task mining and Dataverse storage per user. Unattended bots and a Microsoft-hosted virtual machine are sold separately per bot.
Strengths
Cloud flows and attended desktop (RPA) flows in one Premium licence
Standard, premium and custom connectors on paid plans
Process and task mining with 50 MB storage included in Premium
Unattended RPA available per bot, including on a Microsoft-hosted virtual machine
Limitations
The free option is a 30-day trial limited to standard connectors
All listed prices are paid yearly
Unattended automation costs $150.00 or more per bot per month, and the process mining add-on is $5,000.00 per tenant per month
Best for individuals and small businesses linking apps and smart devices with simple rules
Best for
Individuals and small businesses linking apps and smart devices with simple rules
Starting price
$2.99 USD, per month, $35.88 billed annually (Pro)
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Web, iOS, Android
IFTTT connects apps and devices through Applets, simple if-this-then-that automations, across more than 1,000 services. The free plan allows 2 Applets; Pro raises that to 20 with multi-action Applets and webhooks. Pro+ adds unlimited Applets, AI services, queries and filter code.
Strengths
Free plan with 2 Applets and unlimited Applet runs
Over 1,000 services, including smart home devices as well as business apps
Pro adds multi-action Applets and webhooks at a low monthly price
Pro+ adds AI services, multiple accounts per service, and queries and filter code
Limitations
The free plan is limited to 2 Applets, and Pro to 20
AI services, filter code and connecting multiple accounts per service are Pro+ only
Automations are simple trigger-and-action Applets rather than multi-step branching workflows
Best for budget-conscious teams automating tasks between web apps
Best for
Budget-conscious teams automating tasks between web apps
Starting price
₹1,138 per month (Standard, shown against 'normally ₹1,799 /mo')
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Web
Pabbly Connect links web apps so data moves between them automatically, with triggers, actions, routers, filters and code steps. It counts only action steps as tasks, and sells both subscriptions and one-time lifetime plans.
Strengths
Connects with 2,000+ applications
Only action steps count towards the monthly task allowance
Free plan includes 100 tasks a month with instant webhooks, routers and JavaScript and Python steps
Lifetime one-time plans are available (Standard Lifetime: 3,000 tasks a month)
Limitations
Free plan is limited to 100 tasks a month and 2-step workflows
The page states the team member feature is not available on monthly plans
Best for non-technical users who want ready-made automations between common apps
Best for
Non-technical users who want ready-made automations between common apps
Starting price
$19.99 USD, per month, billed annually (Starter)
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Web
Integrately connects 1,500+ apps with millions of ready-made automations that you pick and switch on. The free plan runs single-step automations; paid plans add multi-step automations, webhooks and faster update times.
Strengths
1,500+ supported apps with ready-made automations
Free plan with 100 tasks a month
Starter adds multi-step automations, webhooks and 2,000 tasks a month
The team offers to build automations for you at no extra cost
Limitations
Free plan is single-step only, with a 15-minute update time and no webhooks
Starter and Professional are limited to 1 user; unlimited users start on Growth ($99 a month)
Best for large organisations automating across many business apps and AI agents
Best for
Large organisations automating across many business apps and AI agents
Starting price
Pricing on request
Free plan
Trial only
Platforms
Web
Workato is an enterprise platform for connecting apps and data, automating workflows and running AI agents with central governance. Pricing is not published; the pricing page asks you to schedule a demo.
Strengths
Connects to 17,000+ apps, APIs, databases, files and MCP servers, per the site
Agent Studio, workflow automation and low-code apps
Central identity, policy, approvals, observability and cost controls
Limitations
No published prices; you need a demo or sales call
Best for teams that want open-source automation they can self-host or run in the cloud
Best for
Teams that want open-source automation they can self-host or run in the cloud
Starting price
$20 USD, per month, flat (Plus plan)
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Web (cloud); self-hosted with Docker or Kubernetes
Activepieces combines flows, AI agents, chat and tables in one workspace, with 760+ open-source integrations called pieces. The code is MIT-licensed, so it can run on your own servers with Docker or Kubernetes, or on the hosted cloud in Frankfurt.
Strengths
Free plan with 100 credits a day, unlimited flows and one user
760+ MIT-licensed pieces, plus an HTTP piece for any REST or GraphQL endpoint
Self-hosting with Docker or Kubernetes, or a fully air-gapped deployment
Plus plan is a flat $20 a month for up to 5 users and 10,000 credits
Limitations
Free plan is limited to 1 user and 100 credits a day
Plus is capped at 10,000 credits a month, then $0.007 per credit
The Team plan costs $200 a month; Ultimate pricing is custom
Best for enterprise IT teams building governed integrations and AI agents
Best for
Enterprise IT teams building governed integrations and AI agents
Starting price
Pricing on request
Free plan
Trial only
Platforms
Web
Tray.ai is an integration and automation platform for connecting systems, automating processes and deploying AI agents with governance controls. Plans differ by workspaces, insights and log retention, and all prices are on request.
Strengths
700+ connectors
Low-code visual builder plus a headless option for coding assistants
Merlin Agent Builder and Agent Gateway for MCP (as an add-on)
24/7/365 support on Team and Enterprise
Limitations
No published prices; you need to contact sales
Pro is limited to 3 workspaces and 7-day log retention
SSO, HIPAA and regional hosting are only on Enterprise
Best for small teams automating app-to-app workflows on a low budget
Best for
Small teams automating app-to-app workflows on a low budget
Starting price
$15 USD, per month, billed annually (Pro)
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Web
Albato connects apps with automations and AI agents, from a free plan up to a custom plan. It also sells an embedded, white-label version that SaaS companies put inside their own products.
Strengths
Free plan with 100 transactions and 5 active automations a month
Pro includes unlimited automations and steps, AI agents and parallel execution
1,000+ pre-built connectors
Chat copilot that builds automations from a plain-language description
Limitations
Free plan: 2 steps per automation and a 15-minute update interval
Pro checks for new data every 5 minutes; 1-minute updates need the Custom plan
The Teams plan with shared seats was not yet available
Best for sales and GTM teams automating lead scraping, enrichment and qualification
Best for
Sales and GTM teams automating lead scraping, enrichment and qualification
Starting price
$10 USD, per month, billed monthly (Basic, 100 credits per month)
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Not published
Bardeen is an AI automation tool aimed at go-to-market teams. It scrapes leads from websites, researches them with AI web search, enriches them with contact details and qualifies them against a description of your ideal lead. Results can be exported to CSV, Google Sheets, Airtable or Notion.
Strengths
Build your own scrapers or use premium scrapers from the Basic plan
Contact enrichment and AI qualification in the same workflow
100 free credits per billing period
Exports to CSV, Google Sheets, Airtable and Notion; CSV downloads are free
Limitations
Usage is credit-based: 1 credit per row for scraping, web search and AI tools, 3 credits per row for enrichment
Unused credits expire at the end of each billing period
Focused on lead sourcing and outreach rather than general-purpose app-to-app automation
Best for teams building AI agents that work across their business apps without code
Best for
Teams building AI agents that work across their business apps without code
Starting price
$37 USD, per month (Pro, 'starts at')
Free plan
Trial only
Platforms
Web
Gumloop is a no-code builder for AI agents and triggered workflows that connect to apps such as Slack, Gmail, Salesforce, HubSpot and Google Sheets. It supports 35+ AI models and bring-your-own API keys.
Strengths
Unlimited agents, seats and teams on Pro
35+ AI models, with bring-your-own API keys
100+ MCP integrations; works as an MCP client and server
Enterprise options include SSO, audit logs and VPC deployment
Limitations
No free plan listed, only a 14-day trial of Pro
Usage is credit-based: Pro includes 20k credits a month, with an 8% orchestration fee
Gumloop says not to use it for one-off text generation without tools or as a general web search API
Best for teams that want an AI assistant to handle email, meetings and routine work
Best for
Teams that want an AI assistant to handle email, meetings and routine work
Starting price
$29.99 USD, per user per month (Plus, 3,000 credits)
Free plan
Trial only
Platforms
Web, Slack, iMessage
Lindy is an AI assistant that drafts and replies to email, joins meetings to record and transcribe them, and runs scheduled workflows across connected tools. Each seat includes a monthly credit allowance, and new teammates who join through Slack get a 7-day free trial.
Strengths
Drafts, schedules and replies to email
Joins Meet, Zoom and Teams calls to record and transcribe
1,000+ integrations, including MCP servers
SOC 2 and GDPR compliant, per the pricing FAQ
Limitations
No free plan; the 7-day trial only applies to teammates joining through Slack, and direct sign-ups are billed right away
Unused credits do not roll over, and credit-using actions stop when the pool runs out
General advice that applies to most moves. Check what your new tool can import before you start.
Export
Contacts and companies
Deals or projects, with their stages
Notes, tasks and files
Rebuild
Only the automations you really use
The reports you check every week
Email templates
Run both
A short overlap while your team switches
Then cancel the old plan
Keep an archived export
Check your contract first
Many paid plans bill yearly. Check your renewal date so you don't pay for months you won't use.
How we chose these tools
Built for or usable by small businesses and small teams
A published product page and pricing page we could check
Actively maintained, with a working sign-up or trial
Covers the core job this list is about, not just a feature of it
A mix of free, low-cost and established options
About this list
Where the facts come from
Every price, plan and feature comes from the tool's own website, pricing page or docs, or from our own test account. Each tool links to its sources and shows the date we checked them.
What we leave out
No scores, star ratings or review counts. If we can't confirm a fact from an official source, we leave it out and mark it "not published".
When it's reviewed
Last updated 27 Sep 2026. Next review due 26 Dec 2026. We review every list at least every 90 days.
Spotted something out of date?
Prices and plans change. Tell us and we'll check it again.
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