Activepieces review
Activepieces is the best value automation tool for teams that want Zapier-style connections without Zapier's per-task pricing, but building custom connectors requires TypeScript coding knowledge.
The short answer
Report outdated infoActivepieces is an open-source automation platform: it connects your apps and passes information between them automatically, for example adding every new form entry to your CRM. It connects to hundreds of apps and has AI built in, with AI steps, AI agents and an MCP server that lets assistants like Claude build automations for you. The free plan includes 1,000 credits a month and up to 5 users. Plus costs $20 a month flat for 10,000 credits. It suits teams moving off Zapier or Make who want simple pricing, AI features and the option of an open-source tool.
Reviewed by the Aheri Systems team for small businesses and growing teams.
- Starting price
- $0/mo
- Free plan
- Yes, no card needed
- Best for
- Operations teams that have outgrown Zapier or Make's per-task pricing and want predictable flat-rate automation costs regardless of execution volume
- Not ideal for
- Solo entrepreneurs running 2 to 5 simple automations who will find Zapier or Make faster to start with and easier to maintain without reading documentation
- Setup
- Low-code, 15-30 min
- AI features
- AI steps in automations +5 more
Our Verdict
Activepieces is the right tool for operations teams, developers, and growing businesses that are hitting unpredictable cost ceilings on Zapier or Make and want to switch to a per-workflow pricing model that stays flat as volume grows. The self-hosted option is particularly valuable for businesses in Africa, Asia, and Latin America that need to keep customer data on their own servers for compliance with local data protection laws. Solo entrepreneurs with only 2 to 5 automations will find Zapier or Make easier to start with, since Activepieces' deeper customisation options add setup complexity that beginners do not need at small scale.
Aheri Systems team review
How Activepieces scores
At a glance
AI Features ⓘ Native AI features built into this tool. Does not include features added via third-party integrations.
Setup ⓘ How much technical skill is needed to set up and use this tool effectively.
Low-codePricing Access ⓘ Whether pricing is accessible for small and growing businesses. Considers free tier quality and entry-level plan value.
Free / from $20/mo
Risk Reversal
The self-hosted Community Edition is free to download, install, and run indefinitely with no credit card, no expiry, and no usage limits, meaning you can build and test your full automation system at zero financial risk before deciding whether to use the managed cloud version.
The Catch
Everything runs on credits. Each run costs 1 credit and each AI step costs 2, 10 or 20 more, so AI-heavy automations use up the free plan's 1,000 credits fast. When Free runs out, automations wait until your credits refresh.
The Problem Activepieces Solves
The Pain
You are running a business on Zapier or Make and your automation bill has grown from $20 per month to $200 per month as your workflows scaled, because both tools charge per task (every individual action your automation performs), making cost completely unpredictable and punishing you for growing.
The Fix
Activepieces charges a flat fee per active workflow (the number of automations running simultaneously) rather than per action, so a workflow that runs 10,000 times per month costs the same as one that runs 10 times, making your automation budget as predictable as a fixed monthly subscription. The self-hosted Community Edition (the free, downloadable version of the software you install on your own server) is permanently free with no run limits, no task limits, and no credit card required, covering all the automation needs of most small and mid-market teams.
What is Activepieces?
Activepieces is an open-source automation platform (software whose code is publicly available and free to modify) that connects business apps using a visual drag-and-drop workflow builder, where each workflow is a series of steps triggered by an event in one app that automatically cause actions in other apps. It solves the task-pricing trap found in Zapier and Make, where costs scale unpredictably as automation volume grows, by charging a flat fee per active workflow (the number of automations running) rather than per individual action performed. For small businesses and teams globally, the option to self-host the entire platform on their own server means data never leaves their infrastructure, making it one of the few automation tools that meets GDPR (European data protection rules) and data sovereignty (the legal right to control where your data lives) requirements without an expensive enterprise contract.
Pros and Cons
+ What We Love
- ✓ Open source, so you can also host it yourself; the cloud version has a free plan with no card needed
- ✓ Simple credit pricing: each run costs 1 credit however many steps it has, and paid plans are a flat monthly price
- ✓ Hundreds of ready-made connectors, including Google Workspace, Slack, HubSpot, Notion, GitHub, Stripe and Shopify
- ✓ AI steps and AI agents are built in on every plan, paid with credits; on Plus and up you can use your own AI keys to cut the cost
- ✓ Model Context Protocol (MCP) support allows large language models like Claude to directly interact with your internal tools and trigger workflows through natural language instructions
- ✓ Human-in-the-loop approvals (a feature that pauses an automation and sends you a notification before completing a critical action like approving an invoice) prevent costly automation errors
- ✓ Open-source codebase (MIT licence) means you own your automation infrastructure and can modify, audit, or extend it without depending on a vendor's roadmap
- ✓ 270 plus community contributors on GitHub regularly add new connectors and fix bugs, with the connector library growing faster than most proprietary alternatives at equivalent price points
- ✓ Dark mode, clean modern interface, and vertical flow canvas make it more approachable than n8n or other self-hosted alternatives for non-developer team members
- ✓ Execution logs and retry logic built in, so when a third-party API fails temporarily, Activepieces automatically retries the failed step rather than losing the data
- Watch Out For
- ! The free plan's 1,000 credits run out fast if your automations run often or use AI steps, which cost 2 to 20 credits each
- ! Complex multi-branch workflows (automations with many conditional paths) can become difficult to read in the vertical canvas layout, requiring more scrolling than tools with a horizontal canvas
- ! Building a custom connector for an app that is not in the library needs TypeScript coding, so non-technical teams will need a developer
- ! Enterprise governance features including SSO, full audit logs, and RBAC are locked behind the custom-priced Enterprise plan, making the tool unsuitable for regulated industries on self-service plans
- ! As a platform launched in 2023, some enterprise integrations and advanced features that mature tools like Zapier or Make have built over years are still being developed or are missing
- ! No native mobile app means you cannot monitor, trigger, or troubleshoot automations from a smartphone, which matters for teams managing operations away from a desk
Top features
Visual Flow Builder
A drag-and-drop canvas where you build automations by adding steps in sequence, connecting one app's output to another app's input visually, so non-developers can create complex multi-step workflows without writing code.
Hundreds of connectors (pieces)
Ready-made connections to business apps such as Google Workspace, Slack, HubSpot, Stripe, Shopify and Notion, each with its own triggers and actions. Every connector can also be used as a tool by an AI agent.
Self-Hosted Community Edition
A fully functional, permanently free version of the platform you install on your own server using Docker (a tool for running software in a self-contained environment), keeping all automation data on your infrastructure with no limits on flows or runs.
Human-in-the-Loop Approvals
A workflow step that pauses an automation and sends a notification to a team member asking them to approve or reject before the next action executes, used for high-stakes tasks like approving expense claims or confirming refunds before they are processed.
Custom Code Steps
Add a JavaScript or TypeScript code block as a step in any workflow to perform calculations, data transformations, or API calls that no pre-built connector handles, so developers can extend automations without leaving the visual builder.
What Can You Do With Activepieces? (Examples)
A few ways growing businesses use Activepieces. This is not an exhaustive list.
Activepieces Pricing
Free
$0/mo
1,000 credits; up to 5 users; AI steps and agents; MCP server and API access
Best for
Trying automations and light use
Plus
$20/mo
10,000 credits a month; up to 5 users; use your own AI keys (AI steps then cost 1 credit)
Best for
Small teams running automations every day
Team
$200/mo
50,000 credits a month; 25 users included
Best for
Growing teams with heavier automation
Ultimate
Custom
Credit pool sized with you, billed yearly; unlimited users
Best for
Large companies
Who Is Activepieces For?
Best For
- ✓Operations teams that have outgrown Zapier or Make's per-task pricing and want predictable flat-rate automation costs regardless of execution volume
- ✓Businesses in Africa, Asia, and Latin America that need all automation data stored on their own servers to comply with local data protection laws
- ✓Developers who want to build custom connectors for internal tools or APIs that are not in Zapier's library, using TypeScript (a programming language) to write their own integration
- ✓Marketing and sales teams that run high-volume automations (10,000 plus executions per month) that would cost hundreds of dollars on per-task platforms
- ✓Startups and scale-ups migrating from manual processes to automated workflows for the first time, who want a no-code builder that can grow into a developer-grade tool as the team matures
- ✓Agencies managing client automation workflows who want to self-host the platform and offer automation as a managed service under their own brand
- ✓Companies with GDPR, HIPAA, or local data sovereignty requirements that cannot send customer data through third-party cloud automation platforms
- ✓Non-profit organisations and budget-conscious small businesses that need enterprise-grade automation capability without enterprise-grade licensing costs
Not Ideal For
- ✗Solo entrepreneurs running 2 to 5 simple automations who will find Zapier or Make faster to start with and easier to maintain without reading documentation
- ✗Teams that need a mobile app to manage their automations on the go, as Activepieces is browser-only with no iOS or Android application
- ✗Businesses that rely on enterprise software (such as SAP, Oracle or Workday) that may not be in Activepieces' connector library yet
- ✗Organisations that need a fully managed, zero-maintenance automation service with 99.9% uptime SLA on the free tier, as SLA coverage requires the Enterprise plan
- ✗Teams whose primary automation need is connecting to obscure niche tools not yet in the connector library and who cannot write TypeScript code to build custom pieces
Activepieces Integrations
Tools Activepieces connects with, and what each connection actually does for your business.
Google Sheets
Reads from and writes to your spreadsheets automatically when a trigger fires, so new customer data, order confirmations, or form submissions appear in the correct sheet row without anyone touching a keyboard.
Gmail
Sends emails, reads new messages, and creates drafts automatically as part of a workflow, allowing you to send personalised notifications, receipts, and follow-ups without logging into Gmail manually.
Slack
Posts messages to any channel or sends direct messages to specific team members when a trigger fires, so the right person gets an instant notification the moment something important happens in any connected app.
HubSpot
Creates, updates, and reads CRM (customer relationship management) records automatically, so new leads from your website, form tool, or payment processor appear in HubSpot without any manual data entry.
Notion
Creates and updates pages or database entries in your Notion workspace automatically, keeping your project tracker, knowledge base, or content calendar in sync with other tools without copy-paste work.
AI in Activepieces
Activepieces is an automation tool with AI built into it. You can add AI steps to any automation, build AI agents that use your apps as tools, and let assistants like Claude build automations for you through its MCP server. AI use is paid with the same credits as normal runs, and paid plans let you use your own AI keys to cut that cost.
AI steps in automations
Add an AI step to any automation, for example to sort, summarise or write a reply. Each step costs 2, 10 or 20 credits depending on how strong the AI model is.
Plan: All plans, including Free · Extra cost: Uses credits (2, 10 or 20 per step) · Source
AI agents
Give an agent a goal and choose its tools: any app action, one of your automations, an MCP server or files you upload. Agents do not remember anything between runs.
Plan: All plans, including Free · Extra cost: Uses credits (1 per agent action) · Source
Chat to automation
Describe an automation in a chat and Activepieces helps build it. Activepieces does not describe this feature in more detail on its pricing page.
Plan: All plans, including Free · Extra cost: Uses credits · Source
Built-in MCP server
Lets AI assistants such as Claude, Cursor or Windsurf build and test your automations, manage tables and check failed runs from plain-language requests. Passwords and keys are never shown to the assistant.
Plan: All plans, including Free · Extra cost: None stated · Source
Apps as AI tools
Every app connection can be used both as an automation step and as a tool an AI agent or assistant can call.
Plan: All plans · Extra cost: Uses credits when run · Source
Use your own AI keys
Connect your own AI provider account. Each AI step then costs only 1 credit and the AI model cost goes on your provider's bill instead.
Plan: Plus ($20/mo) and up · Extra cost: Your AI provider's charges · Source
Checked against Activepieces's own website on 15 October 2026. AI features change often, so we re-check every 6 months.
Quick Facts
Alternatives to Activepieces
Before You Sign Up
What the marketing page does not tell you.
Wins vs Loses
Replaces a Zapier Professional subscription at $49 to $99 per month (billed annually) or a Make Business plan at $59 per month for teams running high-volume automations where per-task pricing creates monthly bill spikes.
Hidden Costs
Activepieces prices by credits. Each automation run costs 1 credit no matter how many steps it has, and AI steps add 2, 10 or 20 credits depending on the AI model. Free is $0 with 1,000 credits and up to 5 users. Plus is $20 a month flat with 10,000 credits, and Team is $200 a month with 50,000 credits and 25 users. Extra credits on Plus and Team cost $0.007 each. Ultimate is custom, billed yearly. On Plus and up you can use your own AI keys, which cuts each AI step to 1 credit.
Your Data
Activepieces cloud uses 256-bit SSL encryption (a security standard that scrambles data so only the intended recipient can read it) and is GDPR compliant. The self-hosted Community Edition keeps all workflow data, execution logs, and API credentials on your own infrastructure with no data leaving your environment, satisfying the data residency requirements of African, European, and Asian data protection regulations. No SOC 2 certification is publicly listed for the cloud offering as of 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Activepieces free? +
Can I use and pay for Activepieces from any country? +
What is Activepieces used for? +
How much does Activepieces cost? +
Is Activepieces easy to use for non-technical people? +
What integrations does Activepieces have? +
What is the best alternative to Activepieces? +
Does Activepieces have a mobile app? +
How long does it take to set up Activepieces? +
Is Activepieces worth it for a solo entrepreneur? +
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