Zapier Alternatives : Top 5 Free and Paid Tools in 2021. Automate your Mundane Tasks
Before we discuss Zapier alternatives, are you aware of what Zapier is? If you do, skip to the alternatives section. If not, please continue reading. We are going to introduce you to an interesting and most celebrated integration platform in the world.
What is Zapier, and Why do you need it?
In simple terms, Zapier is a web tool to automate your mundane tasks and focus your time on important tasks. Zapier integrates the multiple applications you use and creates an automated workflow called Zaps.
Enterprises commonly use it to automate their tasks. Instead of hopping around multiple applications on various platforms to collect data points/information/messages, you can use Zapier integrations and automation to save your time.
Does this sound complicated? Well, the process is actually straightforward. It is similar to drawing a flow chart on how you want things to be taken care of. You don’t need to have coding knowledge. Your logical thinking skills are enough to put together a Zaps.
How does Zapier work?
Let me illustrate few simple scenarios where automation and integration could save you some time on your routine.
Scenario 1
You like traveling with your friends. You go on mini road trips at least once a month. One of your friends is a photographer, and she/he is the one who usually takes the pictures.
After the trip is over, she/he’ll share the photos with you via mail, and you’ll save them on your cloud account and send her/him a thank you message.
If you use Zapier, you can automate the whole process. The moment you receive the mail from your friend, it’ll automatically store the photos on your cloud account and send a thank you message.
Scenario 2
Nowadays, there are multiple social media platforms. Posting the content on all those platforms would be a cumbersome process.
You can create a workflow to integrate all your social accounts. When you post something on one platform, it’ll automatically post the same on the others.
These are simple personal scenarios.
Imagine from the enterprise’s view. They’d have to use multiple platforms every day as they cannot rely on one product for all their needs. In such scenarios, they can automate tasks that would take ten steps to do using Zapier integrations. By automating mundane tasks, the employees can focus on getting other things done.
Thus, Zapier comes as a savior. A company uses different software for different departments. To connect all such platforms, Zapier offers integration options for more than 1000 applications. In simple words, they’ve got their bases covered.
Zapier Pricing
Zapier sounds awesome. But ultimately, everything boils down to the price, right?
A lot of products make the mistake of not giving multiple pricing options to potential customers.
To avoid such mistakes, Zapier offers five plans in 2 segments -for Individuals and Enterprises.
There is a lifetime free plan for individuals to encourage the starters, which can be shared between 2 individuals. Free doesn’t mean unlimited free. It comes with a catch, ofcourse. We can only use five Zaps (100 tasks/month).
The starter plan costs $19.99, in which 20 zaps (750 Tasks/month) can be used along with additional features like multi-step zaps, filters, access to 3 premium apps, and such.
The professional plan costs $49, which offers unlimited Zaps (2000 Tasks/month) and unlimited access to premium apps.
For the Enterprises, Zapier offers 2 plans. The Team plan at $299, and the Company plan costs $599. Depending upon the number of tasks you’d need for a month, you can choose accordingly. There are some additional features available to the Company user, such as CUSTOM DATA RETENTION, APPS ACCESS CONTROL, SSO, and SCIM.
Zapier Alternatives
What is the need to know about Zapier alternatives when Zapier itself is a perfect tool?
Yes, Zapier is one of the best integration platforms available in the market. But people’s choices vary as per their demand. It is determined by factors such as their needs, budget, team size, personal or enterprise preferences, customization, etc. After analyzing all the essential factors, you should choose your integration platform.
The idea behind this article is to shed light on the Zapier alternatives so that you could make an informed decision.
We have tabled five best Zapier alternatives.
1) Leadsbridge
3) Microsoft Flow/ Power Automate
4) Workato
5) IFTTT
1) Leadsbridge
The target audience of Leadsbridge is marketing and advertising companies. Most of its features and integrations are specifically tailor-made for this purpose. Leadsbridge offers more than 380 integration options to its customers.
Just as we discussed above, Zapier is a healthy competitor to Leadsbridge. It offers more than 1000 integration options. But if you want a platform customized for marketing and advertising, Leadsbridge is a better choice.
The 380+ integrations cover almost all the marketing platforms available in the market. But in rare cases where you can’t find an integration, Leadsbridge offers a custom-built integration for you.
On the pricing front, Leadsbridge offers four plans.
Leadsbridge pricing: The basic marketer plan starts at $29 for 1500 leads/month, and the Guru plan costs $111 for 15000 leads/month. There is a hero plan in the middle at $51 for 4500 leads/month.
The business plan starts at $699 and comes with custom volume. They also offer a 14-day free trial if you’d like to check your compatibility with the platform.
2) Automate.io
Automate.io is a powerful Zapier alternative integration tool to automate your tasks. Along with a drag and drop model to build your workflows, Automate.io comes with pre-built automation templates. You don’t need coding knowledge to piece them together.
Automate.io offers more than 200 integrations to build, share, and collaborate with your team.
Automate.io offers six plans on the pricing front, including a free plan for 300 actions/month. The personal and professional plans cost $9.99 and $19/month, respectively. You’d get 600 actions/month on the personal plan and 2000 actions/month on the professional plan.
For enterprises, you have three options.
1) $39/month-Suitable for Startups
2) $79/month-affordable for Growing companies
3) $159/month-Custom built for established businesses.
Unlike Leadsbridge, Automate.io tries to cover more ground by offering solutions to multiple departments such as product management, CRMs, E-commerce, forms, and marketing.
Let me clarify something before we cover the remaining three Zapier alternatives. You might have noticed the words, ‘Tasks, Leads, Actions’ while discussing the costs. To stand unique to their customers, these platforms use these fancy words. It all means the same. So don’t get confused.
3) Flow/Power Automate – Microsoft’s Zapier Alternatives
What is Microsoft Flow?
Its homepage says it all.
‘Take care of what’s important. Automate the rest.’
The mega factor boosting the advantage of Flow would be the brand Microsoft. The established software giant has been ruling the operating systems for the past two decades. With it comes trustworthiness and stability.
There are people out there who’d prefer to buy a product from brands they’re familiar and comfortable with. Thus, Microsoft Flow comes as a worthy competitor to Zapier.
Because of Microsoft’s deep pockets and its industry knowledge, you’ll find some features which are not available on other platforms. Flow has a mobile app version called ‘Power Automate.’ It is also available in desktop and web versions. The versatility of Microsoft Flow is unmatched.
Microsoft Flow offers three pricing plans. $15 per user/month, $40 per user/month, and $500 for five flows/month plans.
The application also offers Add-ons. It is a brilliant idea to capture those who are unwilling to shell out a lot of money on higher plans since they only want one or two additional features. It gives choices to its customers. If you wish, you can buy the add-ons instead of upgrading your existing plan because most people don’t use all the features available in a product.
On the whole Microsoft Flow is designed keeping the big enterprises in mind. If you’re an individual, Flow doesn’t offer much for you.
4)Workato
Next to Zapier, Workato is one of the top automation platforms which offers more than 400 integrations for its users. Its services range from IT, Marketing, Human resources, Finance, Sales, Support, and Product. It covers the wide range of spectrums and offers affordable options.
Workato is primarily enterprise-based. Hence its features are designed to suit the enterprise’s needs.
Instead of offering package plans, Workato has options to pay what you use. Unlike other platforms, Workato has a fair billing policy where you can buy individual packs.
5) IFTTT – A Budget Zapier Alternatives
IFTTT offers more than 600 integrations and comes close to Zapier in terms of versatility. But it differentiates itself from the competition through its pricing options.
For individuals, there is an IFTTT standard plan which is free of cost. The IFTTT pro plan costs $3.40/month and gives unlimited applets. This is the most affordable pro plan available in the market. Just as we discussed above, Applet is a fancy word IFTTT use to mean its actions.
It has three more premium IFTTT pricing plans for developers, teams, and enterprises. The developer option costs $199/year, and the team plan has the option to pay what you use. The enterprise plan is priced based on your custom needs.
Concluding Notes
Ultimately, it comes to you and your needs. Zapier is a standard, established all-in-one tool, but IFTTT costs less. The Zapier alternatives we’ve covererd in this article are unique on their own. They have both advantages and disadvantages over the others. If you’re in marketing and advertising, you would be satisfied with Leadsbridge than subscribing to Zapier. Flow would be for those who prefer Microsoft’s tried and tested platforms. Workato and Automate.io stand next to Zapier in terms of their versatility and pricing. All of them have great documentation and support teams you could access to learn more, and I hope we’ve shed shown some directions to your search towards Zapier alternatives.
