Tools that connect apps so one event triggers actions in others, or scrape and enrich web data. Zapier bills tasks, Make credits, n8n runs and Bardeen output rows.
Cheapest paid plan billed month to month, in USD, as listed on each profile.
Automation AI tools connect apps so an event in one triggers actions in others, or collect data from websites into lists, with AI steps that classify, summarize or draft text. The billing unit sets the cost: Zapier charges a task per successful action, Make a credit per module run, n8n one execution per workflow run and Bardeen a credit per output row. A trigger plus three actions run 10 times a day uses about 900 tasks, 1,200 credits or 300 executions a month.
17 tools
Clear filtersLindy is an AI teammate for delegated team tasks, with shared workspace credits, versioned files and channel-specific approval controls.
Bardeen is a Chrome extension that scrapes websites, enriches contacts and qualifies leads with AI, billed in credits per output row.
n8n is a workflow automation platform you can run on managed Cloud or self-host for free, billed per whole workflow run rather than per step.
Make is a cloud automation builder that links app modules in visual scenarios and bills each module run in credits.
Zapier is a no-code automation service that connects web apps so an event in one triggers actions in others, billed by successful tasks.
First decide what kind of automation you need. Zapier, Make and n8n connect apps: an event in one, such as a new form entry, triggers actions in others. Bardeen works on websites instead: a Chrome extension scrapes pages, researches each lead with web search, enriches contacts from data providers and scores rows with AI, then exports the list to CSV, Google Sheets, Airtable or Notion. It bills 1 credit per output row and 3 per enriched row, so enriching 1,000 contacts takes 3,000 credits, while the 100-credit free grant needs an account-level check of eligible actions before planning a scrape.
For app-to-app workflows, start with the billing unit, because the same workflow is counted three different ways. Zapier charges a task for each successful action step, while triggers, filters, paths, formatter and delay steps are free. Make charges credits for module runs, normally one per ordinary module for each bundle it processes. n8n counts one execution per complete workflow run, however many steps it has. Take a trigger plus three actions that runs 10 times a day, one record per run: over 30 days that is about 900 Zapier tasks (3 x 10 x 30), about 1,200 Make credits (4 modules x 10 x 30) and 300 n8n executions. That lands above Zapier Professional's entry tier of 750 tasks and Make Free's 1,000 credits, but well inside n8n Starter's 2,500 executions.
Next, decide who hosts it and how you will start for free. Make Free never expires (1,000 credits a month, 2 active scenarios, a 15-minute minimum interval) and Make runs only as a hosted service. Zapier Free includes 100 tasks a month with two-step Zaps and 15-minute polling. n8n Cloud offers only a 14-day trial; its lasting free route is the self-hosted Community edition, where servers, updates and restores are your job.
Finally, plan for failures, because a workflow broken by a changed app field can go quiet rather than raise an error. Zapier logs every run and lets you replay failed ones, with automatic replay on paid plans. Make attaches Skip, Retry, Resume, Commit or Rollback handlers to the failing module, and n8n runs a separate error workflow that can send an email or Slack alert. Log history is short on the entry tiers: 7 days on Make Free and n8n Starter.
Read the Zapier profile, the Make profile and the n8n profile for plan cards and usage arithmetic, and Make vs n8n for a head-to-head on credits versus executions. For lead lists built from websites, read the Bardeen profile. Write down the trigger, required apps, approval steps and expected runs per day before choosing. For the content-producing step of a workflow, use the writing category or the research category.
Sources: Make Code rates and access; Make pricing.
Free access, starting price and the date we last checked pricing, taken from each profile and listed A–Z. Not a ranking: prices keep the period, unit and currency the vendor shows.
| Tool | Free access | Paid plans from | Pricing checked | Consider it for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Activepieces | Free access available | $20/month | Teams that want Zapier-style flows and AI agents with the option to self-host the open source core | |
| Bardeen | Free access available | $10 per month | Building and enriching lead lists from websites | |
| Fathom | Free access available | $19/user monthly; $15/user/month on annual billing | Meeting owners who verify commitments | |
| Gumloop | Free trial only | From $37/month; confirm checkout currency and tax | Agent tasks that need an inspectable file handoff | |
| Jace AI | Free trial only | $25 per month | Inbox triage and draft replies for busy professionals | |
| Lindy | Free trial only | USD 29.99 per user per month | Teams drafting work from shared context | |
| Make | Free access available | Not confirmed | Visual automation for app workflows | |
| Mindflow AI | Free access available | Not confirmed | Adults with ADHD who want a talk-to-it daily planning and check-in companion on their phone | |
| MuleRun | Free access available | $20 per month | Delegating multi-step research and file tasks to an AI agent | |
| n8n | Free access available | EUR 20 per month | Self-hostable workflow and AI-agent automation | |
| ParakeetAI | Free trial only | $22.90/month per tool | Live calls where AI help is permitted | |
| Pine AI | Free access available | $9.00 per week billed monthly; $6.10 per week billed annually | US consumers and small teams who want an assistant to make support calls, cancel subscriptions and negotiate bills, and who will check how credits and the 25% savings fee apply to their plan | |
| Power Automate | Free access available | $15/user/month | Organisations on Microsoft 365 that want to automate Teams, SharePoint, Outlook and Excel work, with RPA for desktop apps | |
| Relevance AI | No free tier | $19/month billed yearly | Sales, support and operations teams that want AI agents acting in their CRM and inbox with per-tool approvals | |
| Tabbit | Free access available | US$30 per month | Browser tasks and research handed to an AI agent | |
| Togal.AI | Not verified | $299 per month per user | Estimators and trade contractors who measure quantities from PDF or image plans and want AI to do the repetitive counting and measuring | |
| Zapier | Free access available | USD 19.99 per month | Connecting web apps without code |
Read the documented differences, then follow the links to each profile for its sources and plan details.
Task pages whose documented shortlist includes at least one tool from this category.
Our editorial judgement about what matters in this category, based on the plan structures we documented while building these profiles.
A Zapier task is one successful action step. A Make credit normally pays for one ordinary module processing one bundle, so a module that handles 20 records uses 20. An n8n execution is one complete workflow run, whether it has 2 steps or 20. Convert by counting actions, modules and records per run.
They count different things, so compare the same workflow in each unit. A trigger plus three actions run 10 times a day, one record per run, is about 900 Zapier tasks, 1,200 Make credits and 300 n8n executions a month. That exceeds Zapier Professional's 750-task entry tier and Make Free's 1,000 credits, but fits n8n Starter's 2,500 executions.
Zapier Free includes 100 tasks a month with two-step Zaps, and Make Free includes 1,000 credits a month with up to 2 active scenarios; neither has an end date. n8n Cloud offers a 14-day trial with 1,000 executions, and its lasting free option is the self-hosted Community edition. Bardeen offers 100 credits, but the grant does not establish free access to enrichment or premium scrapers.
Estimate monthly events, billable actions, bundles and code runtime, then price the necessary package in each tool. Add AI-provider charges and hosting work where relevant. For example, six ordinary Make steps run 100 times use about 600 credits; a long workflow at low volume can still fit a small allowance. Step count alone cannot identify the cheapest service.
Bardeen charges per output row: 1 credit for each scraped, searched or AI-processed row and 3 for each enriched row. Basic costs $10 a month for 100 credits and builds your own scrapers; Premium costs $50 a month for 1,000 credits, or $480 a year for 12,000, and adds premium scrapers and enrichment. CSV downloads use no credits.
Each tool records runs: Zapier's Zap history lists every run with its status, Make's scenario history shows each module's output and credit use, and n8n's execution list filters failed runs for retry. Set up an alert as well, such as an n8n error workflow or a Make error handler, because a changed field can stop data without an obvious error.
Test that the tool exposes the exact CRM trigger, action and fields you need, not just the app name. Run sample records to count tasks, credits or executions per run, and attach an error handler or alert, because a changed field can stop data without an obvious error. Bardeen documents no direct two-way CRM sync; its data moves through CSV or spreadsheet import.
Not the right category? Browse every tool in the directory, put two options side by side, or read how we check and correct these profiles.
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