Activepieces and Zapier both automate workflows across apps, but they are built for different buying decisions. Activepieces is an open source automation…
| activepieces | Zapier | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary category | DevOps | DevOps |
| Rating | Not documented | Not documented |
| Pricing model | Freemium (usage-based) plus a free open-source self-hosted edition | freemium |
| Starting price | Free (10 active flows); $5 per active flow/month after that | Free (100 tasks/month); paid plans from $19.99/month billed annually |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Not documented | Not documented |
| Platforms | Web | Not documented |
| Team collaboration | Not documented | Not documented |
| AI features | Yes | Yes |
| Public API | Yes | Not documented |
Deployment flexibility
activepieces: Activepieces documents both cloud and self-hosted deployment options
Zapier: Zapier is documented only as a cloud platform with no self-hosted option mentioned
Self-hosting affects data residency, compliance, and infrastructure control
Open source availability
activepieces: Activepieces lists Open Source as a documented feature
Zapier: Zapier has no documented open source offering
Open source code allows inspection, customization, and avoids vendor lock-in
Pricing structure
activepieces: Activepieces charges per active flow per month, starting at $5, with zero cost per execution
Zapier: Zapier uses tiered monthly plans, Free, Professional at $19.99 starting, Team at $69 starting, and custom Enterprise
Per-flow pricing scales differently than per-seat tiered pricing as usage grows
Free tier availability
activepieces: Activepieces has no documented free plan; its lowest listed price is $5 per active flow per month
Zapier: Zapier documents a Free plan at $0 per month including 100 real tasks
A free tier lets buyers validate an automation before committing budget
Product line complexity
activepieces: Activepieces is documented as a single product with Standard and Ultimate pricing tiers
Zapier: Zapier documents three separate product lines, Zaps, Zapier Agents, and Zapier Chatbots, each priced independently
More separately priced products can make total monthly cost harder to estimate
Integration library breadth
activepieces: Activepieces documents a large integrations library called pieces, with Gmail given as a prebuilt example
Zapier: Zapier documents thousands of app integrations connected via Zaps
Integration count determines how many existing tools can be connected without custom work
AI agent and chatbot offerings
activepieces: Activepieces provided facts do not document a dedicated AI agent or chatbot product
Zapier: Zapier documents Zapier Agents for autonomous multi-step tasks and Zapier Chatbots for embeddable AI chatbots, both priced separately
Dedicated AI agent and chatbot products reduce the need to build these capabilities from scratch
Enterprise governance controls
activepieces: Activepieces documents enterprise governance and management features for larger organizations
Zapier: Zapier offers a custom-priced Enterprise plan, but the provided facts do not document specific governance features
Documented governance controls matter for larger organizations evaluating security and administration needs
Cost predictability at scale
activepieces: Activepieces pricing is usage-based per active flow, which the provided facts note can be harder to predict at scale than a flat per-seat fee
Zapier: Zapier uses flat tiered monthly plans by product line, which can add complexity across Zaps, Agents, and Chatbots combined
Both models have documented tradeoffs for forecasting monthly automation spend
| Feature | activepieces | Zapier |
|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted deployment | Available | Unavailable |
| Cloud-hosted deployment | Available | Available |
| Open source codebase | Available | Unavailable |
| Feature | activepieces | Zapier |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Unavailable | Available |
| Usage-based execution pricing | Available | Not documented |
| Custom Enterprise pricing | Available | Available |
| Feature | activepieces | Zapier |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger and action workflow builder | Available | Available |
| Documented integration library size | Limited | Available |
| Feature | activepieces | Zapier |
|---|---|---|
| Dedicated AI agent product | Not documented | Available |
| Embeddable AI chatbot builder | Not documented | Available |
| Feature | activepieces | Zapier |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise governance and management controls | Available | Not documented |
| Named enterprise-tier plan | Available | Available |
| Feature | activepieces | Zapier |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier to test before paying | Unavailable | Available |
| Documented FAQ on deployment options | Available | Not documented |
| Feature | activepieces | Zapier |
|---|---|---|
| Single unified product line | Available | Unavailable |
| Separately priced AI add-on products | Not documented | Available |
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Pros
Cons
Pros
Cons
Zapier has a lower cost of entry with a $0 Free plan covering 100 real tasks per month, while activepieces starts at $5 per active flow per month with no free tier documented; at scale, activepieces usage-based per-flow pricing may be more predictable than combining Zapier tiered plans with its separately priced Agents and Chatbots products.
Yes, activepieces is documented as an open source platform that can be deployed either self-hosted or in the cloud.
Yes, Zapier offers Zapier Agents, a product for autonomous multi-step tasks that is priced separately from its core Zaps automation and by activity volume.
Yes, activepieces documentation confirms it supports both self-hosted and cloud deployment, unlike Zapier which is documented only as a cloud platform.
Zapier's Free plan, which includes 100 real tasks per month, makes it accessible for beginners to validate an automation before paying, whereas activepieces has no documented free tier and starts at $5 per active flow.
Zapier documents a library of thousands of app integrations, a specific figure not matched in the available activepieces facts, which describe a large integrations library called pieces with Gmail given as an example but no total count.
Read the full activepieces review · Read the full Zapier review