Top 10 Zapier Alternatives to Automate Your Work
Apr. 20, 20201. Integromat
This is the service which comes closest to Zapier in terms of UI and usability. The animations are fluid and everything is easy to locate and use. In terms of functionality, I have found it to be more reliable than Zapier, especially when it comes to complex tasks. In fact, in my short time of using Integromat, I can confidently say that it is much easier to set up complex tasks using this than any other services on the list. The best part about using Integromat is thatit gives you a full visual profile of the tasksyou have created. Every node on the task is represented by a circle which is connected other using dotted lines. It looks like asif you have created a mind map. This gives you a quick overview of what automated tasks (scenarios as they call it) you are running.
You can create any number of scenarios and any scenario at a given time can have n numbers of steps or operations. It is a true multi-step automation tool. For example, I created a task in which whenever an article is posted on Beebom, it will retrieve it using the RSS feed and email it to me. This was a simple two-step automation. Let us take it up a notch and create a complex schedule.
I have added a router which allows me toassign different outcomes for the same trigger. I have defined the router to send any iOS article to Evernote and Android article to Google Drive. See how easily I created a path to automate things. Now I have everything I need right in my three favourite places. This is just an example, the possibilities are endless. You have to give it a try to fully understand its use cases.
Automate.io is one of the best Zapier alternatives which offers a similar level of third-party integration while keeping the pricing low for startups and businesses. Earlier, its focus area was only marketing, but now Automate.io offers services in all categories,be itsocial media, campaigning, payment automation, basic email automationand more. And just like Zapier, with Automate.io, you can create conditional workflows which means you can integrate several web apps and hook them with suitable flowchart. The best part about this process? Well, you don’t need to write a single line of code. As Zapier does it, you can create a number of multi-app workflows by just a few clicks. The APIs are easily understandable and you can get going within minutes.
If you are looking for something which is strictly for personal use, check out this offering from Microsoft. The app is extremely well designed. It is best if you are just getting started, as it has a big assortment of templates with pre-created flows you can use to automate your tasks. It is especially useful if you already use various Microsoft servicessuch as Office 365, OneDrive and OneNote, as witha single authentication you can connect all your apps. In other apps, you will have to give permission to all the apps you are adding one by one, which might be a little time consuming at first. However, this also brings us to one of the drawbacks of this app, you can only login into the app using your Microsoft account, there’s no other way. But this drawback is nullified when seeing its feature set.
Apart from Microsoft apps,it also supports more than a hundred other apps. It might be less if you consider other apps on this list, but is plenty from an individual user’s perspective. You can create multiple step automation defining exact commands which you want. Also, it has anapp for bothAndroidandiOSplatforms, which are similar to functionality to its web app. I do consider that it’s easier to create and manage your flows on the website, as you get more screen real-estate to work with. Also, did I tell you thatit’s totally free? It is the only automation app you will find in the market which is free without any restriction. If you are looking to play the automation game, do give this one a chance.
VisitMicrosoft Flow (Free)
IFTTT is generally known as a consumer-facing product for automation, but what if I tell you that the company offers a separate platform for businesses too? Well, with its business platform, you canconnect more than 600 apps and in the same user-friendly manner as you get on the consumer app. And the best part about IFTTT is that, unlike Zapier, it’s not just limited to web apps. Instead, IFTTT allows you to integrate mobile apps too which makes it even more capable. Since smartphones have become a primary communication device for most of the users, this feature is a welcome addition.
If you are looking for a free alternative to Zapier then I would highly recommend n8n.io. It’s a free and open workflow automation tool that works pretty well across popular web apps and services. To make it clear, it’s an open-source tool but licensed under the Fair-code principle. Simply put,the service is completely free and you can use it for both personal and business purposeswithout paying a dime. Talking about the workflow, unlike other open-source alternatives to Zapier, n8n offers a seamless and visual editor to create a workflow which is basically called node on this tool. You can search for services and integrate them with webhook in basically 3 to 4 clicks. There is also an option for triggers where you can define multiple conditions as to when and where the actions will be executed.
And if you are an advanced user then you can directly tweak the code, set the parameters directly and also import JSON data without any issue. And the best part about n8n is that it has integration with manypopular web apps like Google Doc, Gmail, Slack, GitHub, Asana, Freshdeskand more. Simply put, n8n.io is a great workflow automation tool and a solid alternative to Zapier given that it’s completely free to use. Further, if you are looking for another open-source Zapier alternative then Huginn (Free) would be a good choice, but keep in mind, it’s not that user-friendly.
Visitn8n.io (Free)
Tray.io is not your ordinary integration service, but a full-fledged webhook andautomation platform for large businesses and growing startups.On every aspect, it stands head and shoulder above Zapier and brings many of the user-friendly features that Zapier is popular for. Similar to Zaps, here on Tray.io, you have something called a Tray Connector. It uses a drag-and-drop editor to create a seamless workflow visually. This way, you will have a much better idea about what your webhook is supposed to do. Further, you can integrate multiple services into one webhook and automate the task according to your preferences.
Zoho Flow is yet another Zapier alternative that looks promising and brings many advanced features in a user-friendly interface. Similar to Tray.io, Zoho Flow allows you to integrate your apps and create workflow scenarios on a visual editor.You can build a flowchart of actions, edit them seamlessly using conditional triggersand set the workflow in motion with just a few clicks. You can get emails, files, reports from one service to another in just a matter of seconds. The best part about Zoho Flow is that it allows you to create logic elements to define a variable, in case you want to go deep into the webhook integration. If you are an advanced user, you can surely get the most out of Zoho Flow.
And for beginners, there is nothing to worry about. Zoho Flowoffers a huge range of pre-built workflowswhich you can get started in no time. Just choose the template and authorize the integration. That’s it. Coming to web apps support, it has integration with almost all the popular services out there including Google Calendar, Asana, Slack, Trello, Gmail and more. And if you use Zoho’s own CRM andQuickBooksthen the automation would even be easier and deeply integrated. So to conclude, Zoho Flow is a user-friendly automation tool and you can surely give it a try. More so, when it costs almost one-sixth of what Zappier offers.
You will notice a trend with all these automation services is that they focus mainly on the business side of things. I just wanted to get that out of the way, as while visiting these services, one might be overwhelmed with their business first approach. Apiant supportsover 15000 different appsand which might be overwhelming for some users. But do not worry, you can start with your own small-scale automations and then take it from there.
You will find that all your apps have Apian integration. You can create triggers and actions. It goes without saying thatthere can be multiple triggers and actionsin the same sequence. One unique feature of Apiant is that you canorder custom services for yourselfbased on your requirement. This especially makes sense if you own a business which uses a different set of tools than those already supported by the platform.
You can use Apian for personal usage but it is best for business owners as it is a little but hard to get around and has a little bit of learning curve associated with it. Also, it has no free account usage. However, you can use it for a trial period.
Further, Workato brings its own SDK package for apps and websites to make them compatible with the Workato workflow. You can embed the SDK with any API enabled app and build new customized connectors for Workato. Other than that,Workato also uses AI and bots to improve your organization’s productivity.In case you are unaware, Workato is used by a number of large-scale companies like Cisco, Autodesk, Visa and more. So coming to the fore, it’s clear that Workato is a powerful alternative to Zapier and if you run an enterprise with thousands of employee then this is a perfect pick.
PieSync boasts itself as a direct competitor to Zapier, so much so that it has a whole page on its website dedicated to explaining how it is better than Zapier. According to the website, while services like Zapier push data to different apps only one way, PieSync focuses onsyncing data between the apps both ways. More than focusing on if this than that functions, PieSync allows your apps to talk to each other by syncing data between then on a real time basis. This isbest for a business who has a team working remotely. All their work will be synced across apps giving everyone access to the data instantly. It is also intelligent enough to find and manage duplicate data points and remove them.
For example, suppose that two members of a team update the same data. While syncing the data, PieSync will know that the data is same and will save only one set of data, thereby removing any duplication. This makes it a tool good for business but not so for individual usage. If you own a business which relies upon employees working remotely, this might be the app for you. If you are looking for something for personal use only, look at other apps on our list.
VisitPieSync (Free trial, $14/month)
Automation is a big tool which we can use to get more things done in a limited amount of time. Doing repetitive tasks not only kills our time but alsomakes our work boring. We should use automation wherever possible to stop ourselves from falling into the traps of doing repetitive tasks. Remember being productive and being busy are two very different things all together. Well, the aforementioned Zapier alternatives should definitely make things more productive for you. Every tool we have mentioned in our article has a free trial of some sort, so try them out and decide which one is the best for you. Let us know in the comments which one you chose and why.
Passionate about Windows, ChromeOS, Android, security and privacy issues. Have a penchant to solve everyday computing problems.
