Zapier Alternatives
Short version: Make is the cheapest way to run multi-step workflows, at $12 a month billed yearly. n8n is the open-source pick, and you can host it yourself for free. Lindy suits you if you'd rather hand tasks to an AI assistant than build workflows. Bardeen is now built for sales prospecting, and Composio is for developers who want their AI agents to use other apps.
Why people look around: Zapier says it connects more than 9,000 apps, but it bills for every action step, and the free plan only runs two-step Zaps. Multi-step Zaps start on Professional, from $19.99 a month billed yearly for 750 tasks. We compared Zapier, Make and n8n in detail here.
What you pay
| Tool | Free option | Cheapest paid plan | Next step up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zapier (for reference) | 100 tasks a month, two-step Zaps only | Professional, from $19.99/mo billed yearly ($29.99 monthly) for 750 tasks | Team, from $69/mo billed yearly ($103.50 monthly), up to 25 users |
| Make Affiliate link: we may earn a commission | 1,000 credits a month | Core, $12/mo billed yearly ($16 monthly) for 10,000 credits | Pro: see Make's pricing page |
| n8n | Self-hosted Community Edition, free | Starter, $20/mo billed yearly ($24 monthly) for 2,500 executions | Pro, $50/mo billed yearly ($60 monthly) |
| Lindy | $50 in credits that last 7 days, no card | Team, from $49.99/mo per user for 5,000 credits | More credits per user, such as 15,000 for $99.99/mo |
| Bardeen | 100 credits, always | Basic, $10/mo billed monthly | Premium, $50/mo billed monthly for 1,000 credits ($480/yr billed yearly) |
| Composio | 100,000 tool calls and 50,000 triggers a month, no card | Pro, $29/mo, which includes a $29 monthly usage credit | Enterprise, custom pricing |
Prices are in US dollars, before tax. Checked October 22, 2026. Make's Core price is for 10,000 credits a month, and the price changes as you add or remove credits. For Make's Pro price and each plan's limits, see Make's pricing page.
Each tool counts usage differently. Zapier counts tasks, one per action step. Make counts credits, one per module action in most cases. n8n counts executions, one per full workflow run. Lindy and Bardeen count credits by the size of the job, and Composio counts tool calls and trigger events.
The options
Make. You build scenarios on a drag-and-drop canvas, with routers to split a scenario into branches. Core costs $12 a month billed yearly for 10,000 credits, against Zapier's $19.99 billed yearly for 750 tasks. The catch: a scenario that checks for new data on a schedule uses a credit on every check, even when there's nothing new. If you run out of credits before your next billing cycle, your options are to upgrade, buy extra credits or turn on auto-purchasing. For each plan's run limits, see Make's pricing page.
n8n. It bills per workflow run, not per step, so a 20-step workflow uses one execution, the same as a 2-step one. The Community Edition is free to run on your own server, and every plan includes unlimited users and workflows. There's no free cloud plan, only a trial with 1,000 executions. If you self-host, you're the one who updates and secures the server.
Lindy. This is a different kind of tool. Instead of building a workflow step by step, you ask Lindy to do the work, in Slack or iMessage. It handles inbox triage, meeting notes, scheduling and research, and it connects to more than 1,500 apps. Every active user in a workspace is billed, from $49.99/mo per user for 5,000 credits each, and the credits go into one shared pool. When the pool runs low, Lindy pauses instead of sending you a bigger bill.
Bardeen. Bardeen is now aimed at sales teams: its AI agents scrape lead lists and enrich contacts. Everyone gets 100 free credits. Basic is $10 a month billed monthly, and Premium is $50 a month billed monthly for 1,000 credits, or $480 a year for 12,000. Each row a scraper creates costs 1 credit, enriched rows cost 3, and unused credits expire at the end of each billing period.
Composio. This one is for developers. It gives AI agents ready-made connections to more than 1,500 apps, with logins and tokens handled for you. The free Hobby plan includes 100,000 tool calls and 50,000 trigger events a month and simply pauses at the cap, so you won't get a surprise bill. Pro is $29/mo, which includes a $29 monthly usage credit. Past the free amounts, each tool call costs $0.0003, and you can set spend caps.
Which one should you pick?
- You want multi-step workflows for the least money: Make Core.
- You want open source, or to pay nothing by hosting it yourself: n8n's Community Edition.
- Your workflows run often or have many steps: n8n, since each run counts once.
- You'd rather describe the job than build the workflow: Lindy.
- You mostly scrape and enrich sales leads: Bardeen.
- You're building an AI agent or app that needs to use other apps: Composio.
- The app you need is obscure: stay on Zapier, since it lists the most apps.
Every tool here has a free way in, so rebuild one Zap you already use in two of them before you switch. For more tools, see our lists of the best AI tools for automation and scheduling and the best AI tools for building AI agents.
Questions
- What's the cheapest Zapier alternative?
- If you'll host it yourself, n8n's Community Edition is free. On a paid cloud plan, Make Core is the cheapest workflow builder here at $12 a month billed yearly for 10,000 credits. Prices checked Oct 22, 2026.
- Is there a free Zapier alternative?
- Yes, several. Make's free plan has 1,000 credits a month, Bardeen gives everyone 100 credits, and Composio's free Hobby plan includes 100,000 tool calls and 50,000 trigger events a month. n8n is free if you host it yourself.
- Which Zapier alternative does the task for you instead of building a workflow?
- Lindy. You ask it to do the work in Slack or iMessage instead of building a workflow step by step. Every active user is billed, from $49.99/mo per user for 5,000 credits.