Zapier and Make alternatives with AI in 2026

The best Zapier alternative depends on who will build and maintain the automations. For technical teams that want control and code, n8n; for building everything on a visual canvas, Make; for teams that live in Microsoft 365 or run a legacy system, Power Automate; for processes with forms and approvals, Pipefy; for anyone who wants open source, Activepieces. And if the work changes every day and doesn’t fit a workflow, the answer may be a right hand, like Hey Will.

I build Will, which isn’t an automation tool. That’s why it comes at the end, as a different way to solve the problem. Everything else comes only from each product’s official pages, and the sources are listed at the end.

What does Zapier do today?

Zapier is the name everyone uses as the benchmark. Today it presents itself as automation for the agentic era: you start a workflow in ChatGPT, Claude or Cursor and use Zapier MCP to connect the AI to more than 9,000 apps. Zaps run on their own, and Zapier Agents, in beta, are billed by activity, depending on the plan.

Why look for a Zapier alternative?

If Zapier does the job, you may not need to switch. The reasons to look at other options usually come down to a specific need:

• the data has to stay on the company’s own servers;
• the team wants to write code in the middle of a workflow;
• the process has forms and approvals along the way;
• the company has a legacy system with no API;
• nobody has time to build and maintain the workflows.

What are the best alternatives to Zapier and Make?

The numbering follows the use case, not a score.

1. n8n, for technical teams that want control

n8n describes itself as AI agents and workflows you can see and control. You build visually and write JavaScript or Python when you need to, with more than 500 ready-made integrations. It runs on your company’s servers, even air-gapped, or in n8n’s cloud, and the source code is on GitHub. To keep the AI in check, it combines human-in-the-loop approvals with rule-based automation. Pricing is per workflow execution, not per step.

• Best for: technical teams that want control, code and their data in-house.
• Think twice if nobody on the team is technical: the page itself talks about technical teams.
• Official page: n8n.io

2. Make, for building everything visually

In Make, you draw the workflow on a visual canvas. Its AI agents work with more than 3,000 apps, are included on every plan, are built without code and show every decision, step by step. You can add rules, manual approvals and stopping points.

• Best for: anyone who wants to see the workflow laid out and follow every decision the AI makes.
• Think twice if your data has to stay on your company’s servers. In that case, compare it with n8n and Activepieces.
• Official page: make.com/en/ai-agents

3. Power Automate, for teams that live in Microsoft 365

Power Automate is Microsoft’s automation tool, with cloud flows and desktop flows, which use RPA to automate legacy systems through the screen. It has more than 1,400 certified connectors, including Dynamics 365, SAP and Salesforce, flows you create in natural language with Copilot, and approval processes for the whole company.

• Best for: teams that already use Microsoft 365 or need to automate a legacy system with no API.
• Think twice if your company doesn’t use anything from Microsoft: much of the value is in how it connects to Microsoft’s other products.
• Official page: microsoft.com/pt-br/power-platform/products/power-automate

4. Pipefy, for processes with approvals

According to the company, Pipefy was founded in 2015 in Curitiba and is now also based in São Paulo and San Francisco. It’s a no-code process platform, with workflows, forms, portals and AI Agents. The page talks about finance, procurement, HR and IT, automated approvals and purchasing connected to the ERP.

• Best for: processes with stages and approvals, such as purchasing, accounts payable and supplier onboarding.
• Think twice if you just want to connect two apps. In that case, Zapier or Make is usually the shorter path.
• Official page: pipefy.com/pt-br

5. Activepieces, for teams that want open source

Activepieces brings chat, agents, workflows and tables together in one place, with more than 760 integrations, all open source under the MIT license. It runs in its own cloud, on your servers or in an air-gapped environment. You add approvals to the steps that touch money, customers or production, and there’s a free plan with no credit card required.

• Best for: teams that want open source and approvals only where they matter.
• Think twice if your team depends on an uncommon app: it has more than 760 integrations, versus Zapier’s more than 9,000.
• Official page: activepieces.com

What about work that doesn’t fit a workflow?

All of these tools start from the same place: someone designs the process, and the automation follows the design. But a lot of the running around doesn’t work that way. In a fictional example, Lume Casa’s order #1842 stalled because Têxtil Norte was late with the linen, and the customer has already asked twice. No workflow saw that coming.

Automation follows the design. The running around is exactly what nobody designed.

Will is a different way to solve it: it does the chasing instead of building workflows. In the #1842 example, it finds the stalled order in Bling, reads about Têxtil Norte’s delay in Gmail, chases the new date, replies to the customer and lets Marina know: "I chased Têxtil Norte and replied to Ana Paula. I’ll let you know when the linen arrives." Nobody designed that path. Will reads the systems, works out what stalled and only calls you in when it’s missing context.

• Best for: the running around that changes every day, across the ERP, email and people.
• Think twice if you want to automate a fixed process across many apps. There, the tools above go further, and you can use both together.
• Learn more: Will, Zapier or Make? and Integrations

How do you choose the right Zapier alternative?

• Who will build and maintain the workflows? Without someone technical, go for the visual or no-code options.
• Can the data leave the company? If not, look at n8n and Activepieces.
• Does the process have approvals along the way? n8n, Make, Power Automate, Pipefy and Activepieces all cover this on their official pages.
• Do you have a legacy system with no API? Power Automate’s RPA automates it through the screen.
• Is the work always the same? If not, your company may need someone to do the chasing, not another workflow.

To understand the difference between automation and an agent, read what an AI agent for business is. If your question is whether to let an AI send messages on the company’s behalf, see how authorization works. And to see the general-purpose AI tools side by side, read the best AI tools for business.

Sources, checked on September 27, 2026: the Zapier home page and the Zapier Agents page; n8n’s home page and plans; Make AI Agents; Microsoft’s Power Automate; Pipefy’s home page, About page and August 2025 press release; and the Activepieces home page. Product names appear for comparison only, with no partnership. Tools change fast, so it’s worth opening the pages again before you decide.