Side-by-side comparison · Automation & Workflows
Activepieces vs Make vs Zapier
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Activepieces
4.0Pick it if: Small teams who like how Zapier works but want to own their automations or avoid per-task pricing.
Make
4.3Pick it if: Marketers and operators who've outgrown simple automations and want to see what their workflows are doing.
Zapier
4.2Pick it if: Anyone who's sick of copying data between apps and has never written a line of code.
Overview
| Attribute | Activepieces | Make | Zapier |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | A Zapier-style automation builder that's open source and charges per run, not per step. | Draw automations as a flowchart, with branches and loops, for less than Zapier charges. | When something happens in one app, Zapier does the next step in another. No code needed. |
| Pricing model | Open source | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $20/mo flat | From $9/mo | From $19.99/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Activepieces | Make | Zapier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.0 | 4.3Winner | 4.2 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 |
| FeaturesHow much it can do, and how well the pieces fit together. | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Activepieces | Make | Zapier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | No | – | – |
| Desktop app | No | No | No |
| Browser extension | No | Yes | Yes |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | Yes | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | – | – | – |
| Makes images | No | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | Yes | No | Yes |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | No | No | No |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | – |
| Capabilities score | 10/ 17 | 9/ 17 | 9/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Activepieces | Make | Zapier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free Small teams getting started, or anyone who will self-host. | Free Free Learning the canvas and running a couple of light scenarios. | Free Free Testing one or two simple automations. |
PlusOur pick $20/mo flat A small business running automations every day. | CoreOur pick From $9/mo billed yearly One person automating a small business. | ProfessionalOur pick From $19.99/mo billed yearly, or $29.99/mo One person running real automations for a business. | |
Team $200/mo flat A larger team that needs SSO and roles. | Pro From $16/mo billed yearly Anyone whose automations have become business-critical. | Team From $69/mo billed yearly, or $103.50/mo A team that shares Zaps and app connections. | |
Ultimate Custom Companies with heavy volume or strict security needs. | Teams From $29/mo billed yearly A team sharing scenarios and connections. | Enterprise Custom Large companies with security and compliance needs. | |
Enterprise Custom Companies that need SSO, audit logs and an uptime guarantee. | |||
| Which plan to pick | The Free plan is unusually generous, so start there. Move to Plus when you want monthly credits instead of a daily cap and the option to use your own AI keys. Self-host only if someone on the team is happy running a server. | Core is enough for most small businesses, and 10,000 credits goes a long way when routers and error handlers are free. Move to Pro if a failed run costs you money and you want priority execution and better logs. | Start on Free to confirm your apps connect, then move to Professional on yearly billing. Buy the smallest task tier and let Zapier tell you when you are close to the limit, because it is easy to overestimate how many tasks you need. |
Key features
| Attribute | Activepieces | Make | Zapier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standout features |
|
|
|
Pros and cons
| Attribute | Activepieces | Make | Zapier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pros |
|
|
|
| Cons |
|
|
|
Who each one is for
| Attribute | Activepieces | Make | Zapier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for |
|
|
|
| You'll find it used by |
|
|
|
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability. The "Visit" buttons may use affiliate links, which never affect a score.
Swap in another tool
More automation & workflows tools from the library.
