The main Zapier alternatives for a small business are Make, n8n, Activepieces and Microsoft Power Automate. Make is a visual builder. n8n and Activepieces are open source and free to host yourself. Power Automate fits a business on Microsoft 365. All four leave the upkeep to you: when a step keeps failing or a login expires, the workflow stops until someone notices and fixes it. If you want the work done without building it, AI agents can be set up and looked after for you.
Why small businesses look for Zapier alternatives
Zapier calls itself no-code automation across 9,000+ apps. You build a Zap: when something happens in one app, do something in another.
People look for Zapier alternatives for plain reasons. They want a free plan that goes further, or open source they can host themselves. They want to see a long workflow on one screen. Or they handle patient details, which Zapier says it can't take. Here are the four people look at most, in their own words.
The best Zapier alternatives
Each is a place to build your own automations.
Make
- How it works
- Make says you can build and manage AI agents and automations in one visual landscape, by drag and drop or by typing what you want. It connects to 3,500+ apps.
- Good for
- Seeing a long workflow, with its branches, on one screen. It has a free plan with no card needed.
- Where it breaks
- By default, Make turns a scenario off after 3 errors in a row, or after the first error if it starts the moment something happens. It stays off until someone finds the cause.
n8n
- How it works
- n8n calls itself the platform for agents and workflows you can follow. It has 500+ built-in integrations, reaches any app with an API, and takes your own code. Use n8n Cloud, or host the free Community Edition yourself.
- Good for
- A business with a technical person who wants full control.
- Where it breaks
- n8n's docs say hosting it yourself takes technical skill and that upkeep is your job, including an update at least once a month.
Activepieces
- How it works
- Activepieces puts chat, agents, flows, tables and 770+ apps in one workspace. Its pieces are MIT-licensed open source. Use its cloud in Frankfurt, or host it with Docker.
- Good for
- A free, open source start with no credit card. Its site says people who aren't developers can build with it.
- Where it breaks
- Hosting it yourself means keeping a server up and reading each release's list of what you need to do. Forum posts describe flows that stopped until someone signed in to the app again.
Power Automate
- How it works
- Microsoft calls Power Automate an end-to-end automation solution built for enterprise. It has more than 1,000 connectors and works inside Microsoft 365 and Teams.
- Good for
- A business that already runs on Microsoft 365, Outlook and Teams.
- Where it breaks
- Microsoft turns off a flow that keeps failing for 14 days. On basic licenses, a flow unused for 90 days can be turned off too.
Arkeo agents
- How it works
- You get agents that each do one whole job in your software, like keeping the CRM right or getting invoices out. We set them up with you, and when an app changes, we update them, not your team.
- Good for
- Owners of a 10 to 50 person business with nobody to look after workflows.
- Where it breaks
- Anything your rules keep for a person, like a big refund or a case it can't match, goes to your team in one message.
Zapier alternatives side by side
| Make | n8n | Activepieces | Power Automate | Arkeo agents | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps it connects | 3,500+ | 500+ built in, plus any API | 770+ | More than 1,000 connectors | Works in the software you already use |
| Open source or self-hosted | Runs in Make's cloud | Host it yourself or use n8n Cloud | Open source; host it yourself or use its cloud | Runs in Microsoft's cloud | No; we set it up and look after it |
| Who keeps it working | Your team | Your team | Your team | Your team | We do |
What Zapier alternatives still leave for you to do
A new builder changes where you build. It doesn't change who looks after the work afterwards. The vendors' own help pages show what is left to your team.
Most of them turn work off when it fails. Zapier turns a Zap off if it fails 95% of the time over more than 20 runs in a week; only Team and Enterprise plans get a warning first. Make turns a scenario off after 3 errors in a row. Power Automate turns off a flow that has failed for 14 days. Then someone has to find the cause and start it again.
Some stop for other reasons. When a Zapier account reaches its task limit, all its Zaps hold their actions until the billing month resets. Hosting n8n or Activepieces yourself adds updates, and each release can list changes you have to make.
Reviews agree. Trustpilot's summary of Zapier reviews says many people found workflows hard to set up and lost hours on basic errors. Make's reviews include scenarios that worked for months, then stopped. In a 20-person company, whoever built it ends up fixing it, on top of their real job.
Is there a free Zapier alternative?
Yes. Make, Activepieces and Zapier all have free plans. n8n and Activepieces have a free open source version you host yourself. Free to start is not free to run: someone has to keep the server updated.
HIPAA compliant Zapier alternatives for home care and clinics
Zapier's data privacy page says health data under HIPAA isn't supported, and that Zapier can't sign a business associate agreement, the contract HIPAA asks for.
Make's security page lists GDPR, SOC 2 Type II, SOC 3 and ISO 27001, but not HIPAA. Microsoft signs business associate agreements that cover Power Automate. With n8n or Activepieces on your own servers, meeting HIPAA is your job. Ask each vendor in writing first.
For home care, agents can work in your own AlayaCare account, building the schedule and getting visit hours ready for payroll.
Agents that do the jobs people build zaps for
Each one does a whole job inside your software, checks its work, and your team talks to them in Slack or Teams.
Your CRM stays right without anyone typing.
- Logs emails and callsas they happen
- Checks off the task when the reply landsright away
- Moves the deal to the right stageper deal
No more calculator. Invoices match the visits.
- Reads finished visitsper billing period
- Adds up the hours per patientper patient
- Builds and sends the invoicesame day
“Build the schedule for Seattle.”
- Fills open visitsevery week
- Matches the right caregiverper visit
- Puts the schedule in AlayaCareeach week
Questions
Is my customers' information safe?
Yes. Agents work in your own accounts and see only what each job needs. Customer details never go into public AI. Agents connect to AI through business-grade connections audited under SOC 2.
What is the best free Zapier alternative?
Make and Activepieces both have free plans. n8n and Activepieces have a free open source version you host yourself, but someone has to keep that server working.
Is there an open source Zapier alternative?
Yes. n8n has a free self-hosted Community Edition. Activepieces is open source, and its pieces are MIT-licensed.
Is there a HIPAA compliant Zapier alternative?
Zapier says it can't be used for health data under HIPAA. Microsoft signs business associate agreements that cover Power Automate. For other tools, ask the vendor in writing first.
What does it cost?
You get the price on the call, along with the hours it saves your team.
Sources
- zapier.com
- zapier.com: data privacy
- help.zapier.com: Zap is not running
- make.com: en
- help.make.com: Overview of error handling
- make.com: security
- docs.n8n.io: choose how to use n8n
- docs.n8n.io: update n8n
- activepieces.com: pricing
- activepieces.com: breaking changes
- community.activepieces.com
- learn.microsoft.com: limits and config
- learn.microsoft.com: offering hipaa hitech
- trustpilot.com: zapier.com
- trustpilot.com: make.com