9 popular IFTTT alternatives compared: Pros, cons, & pricing

Whitney Hazard
Whitney Hazard
Growth & Marketing
IFTTT alternatives thumbnail

The best IFTTT alternatives you must try are Relay.app, Zapier, Make, Power Automate, Pipedream, Pabbly Connect, Workato, Zoho Flow, and n8n.

IFTTT is the leader in no-code mobile automation. The software lets you create custom “if this, then that” connections between apps, devices, and services from anywhere.

Even though 900+ brands use IFTTT and the community is 27 million strong, the platform is made for simple workflows and has multiple drawbacks.

In this article, we discuss why companies look for IFTTT alternatives and break down the best ones in detail, including features, pricing, integrations, and tradeoffs.

Let’s do it ⤵️

Why do you need an IFTTT alternative?

There are three major reasons why you might need an IFTTT alternative:

1. IFTTT is for simple use cases

For any IFTTT automation, every single link in the chain must function properly, or the entire chain will break.

The more complex an applet (applets are the pre-built automations in IFTTT), the more likely it is to fail, and IFTTT doesn’t allow for rigorous testing.

The platform also provides little information on some applets, making it difficult to know what each applet does.

For complex workflows, it’s recommended to look for an alternative.

2. The free plan only includes 3 automations

Many G2 users have complained about the limited free plan, which lets you create only 3 automations.

It also offers basic features and limited integrations. Most notably, only paid users can create multistep applets.

IFTTT vs Relay.app free plan limits

3. IFTTT can be unreliable

Both in its pricing and product, IFTTT is known to make changes that affect its customers.

Updates are a normal part of any technology company, yet customers who need product stability and predictable pricing can be frustrated by IFTTT’s sudden changes.

The 9 best IFTTT alternatives in 2024

  • Relay.app: a modern, crafted automation tool with deeper integrations, better features than existing solutions, and more flexibility.
  • Zapier: Helps small and medium-sized businesses automate processes and workflows.
  • Make: No-code workflow automation builder.
  • Power Automate: End-to-end automation platform.
  • Pipedream: Low-code AI-powered automation software.
  • Pabbly Connect: Simplifies integrating multiple apps to build workflows.
  • Zoho Flow: Create customized workflows and automation across cloud apps and on-premises systems.
  • Workato: Cloud-native enterprise iPaaS solution.
  • N8n: Enterprise-grade low-code automation software

1. Relay.app

Relay.app (hey, that's us!) is a modern, crafted automation tool that offers deeper integrations, better features, and more flexibility than traditional automation platforms.

It stands out as a fast and collaborative alternative to IFTTT, enabling users to create complex business automations easily.

The platform is designed to make automation easy and efficient, with features like instant trigger responses, batch triggers, and flow control options such as paths and iterators.

"Honestly, Relay is hands down my preferred automation tool (wayyyyy better than Zapier)." — Lincoln, Small Business Owner (G2)

One of our key features is the ability to incorporate "human-in-the-loop" steps, allowing for human decision-making or input within workflows.

This feature, along with collaborative automations and AI tasks, makes Relay.app the ideal choice for teams looking to automate processes easily at scale while involving non-technical team members.

Features

  • Relay.app's linked objects feature provides a more intuitive way to access and use related data, eliminating the need for complex API calls.
  • With features like paths and iterators, Relay.app provides more sophisticated flow control options, allowing for more complex workflows.
  • Human-in-the-loop functionality enables personalized and effective automation, which is not available in IFTTT.
  • A built-in AI feature with various models to choose from, including GPT-4o and GPT-3.5 Turbo, allowing for AI-powered actions within your workflows.
  • Natively integrates with 50+ applications like Asana, Lemlist, Airtable, Calendly, and many more.

Pricing

Relay.app’s free plan gives you 100 free runs and access to all features.

To onboard your team and get more than 100 runs, choose from three paid plans:

  • Starter: $9 per month (for up to 2 users)
  • Team: Starting at $59 per month
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing

How does Relay.app compare to IFTTT?

IFTTT vs Relay.app

IFTTT is a top choice for simpler workflow needs like cross-posting from Facebook to LinkedIn.

However, it has a limited free version and can’t handle complex flows.

People switch to Relay.app for its ability to build complex workflows collaboratively, unlimited automations, VIP support, and built-in AI capabilities.

Pros and cons

✅ Gives you 100 free runs and unlimited runs in its paid plans.

✅ Easy for users with no workflow automation experience or technical abilities.

✅ Out-of-the-box AI inputs with all leading AI models

✅ Can pull roles and assignments from internal tooling.

❌ Fewer integrations than market leaders (we’re adding new integrations regularly).

2. Zapier

Zapier website screenshot
(Source: Zapier)

Zapier is a leading workflow automation software designed to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) automate processes and workflows with ease.

Its intuitive, no-code automation builder has made it the preferred choice for over 2.2 million companies worldwide.

Features

  • An intuitive workflow builder allowing you to drag and drop apps, actions, and triggers.
  • Connect 6,000+ apps together.
  • 70+ pre-built automation templates for lead management, custom service processes, sales pipelines, and more such use cases.
  • Easily customize workflows using AI-powered data formatting, code steps, and webhooks.
  • Use conversational AI to automate anything using descriptive text-based commands.

Pricing

For creating automation and workflows, Zapier offers a free forever plan and five paid plans:

  • Basic: Free forever
  • Starter: $29.99 per month
  • Professional: $73.50 per month
  • Team: $103.50 per month
  • Company: Custom pricing
👀 Note: The final price actually depends on the number of tasks you need to automate per month, which can significantly increase the cost of Zapier’s plans.

Pros and cons

✅ A generous free forever plan with basic and some premium features.

✅ It’s easy to create automations as a beginner.

❌ Can be expensive at scale.

3. Make

Make website
(Source: Make)

Make is an innovative no-code solution that transforms workflow automation into an engaging experience with its intuitive visual "drag-and-drop" builder.

It allows users to create and manage complex workflows effortlessly, making automation accessible even to those without coding knowledge.

Designed for businesses of all sizes, Make offers a seamless way to connect thousands of apps, automate repetitive tasks, and boost productivity.

Its real-time execution and monitoring capabilities ensure smooth operations, while pre-built templates enable quick deployment and integration into existing systems.

Features

  • Makes building and testing workflows fun and accessible through a drag-and-drop builder.
  • Has thousands of in-app integrations and allows no-code apps to connect via Webhooks or HTTP.
  • Offers a rich library of pre-built templates you can easily incorporate into your system.

Pricing

You can try Make for free, but it’s limited to 1000 monthly operations and includes only the most basic features, such as the visual drag-and-drop builder.

If you need more complex functionality and more automations, you can choose between four plans:

  • Core: $10.59 per month
  • Pro: $18.82 per month
  • Teams: $34.12 per month
  • Enterprise: Custom Pricing
👀 Note: These are not definitive prices, as they can go up based on the number of automations you need to run per month.

Pros and cons

✅ The visual builder makes building workflows fairly easy.

✅ Allows for creating more complex workflows thanks to data manipulation, flow control, conditional logic, etc.

❌ Building complicated workflows can slow down the interface significantly.

❌ Can get costly for large-scale users.

4. Power Automate

Power automate website
(Source: Microsoft)

Microsoft’s Power Automate is a robust end-to-end automation platform designed to streamline and orchestrate processes across desktops, apps, and websites.

Ideal for businesses that rely on Microsoft products, Power Automate integrates seamlessly with the Microsoft ecosystem, ensuring a smooth and cohesive automation experience.

Power Automate excels in automating repetitive tasks and enhancing productivity by leveraging AI-driven insights and recommendations.

With its extensive library of pre-built API connectors, users can easily connect cloud apps and legacy systems, making it a powerful tool for organizations that require comprehensive and scalable automation solutions.

Particularly beneficial for enterprises that need to maintain high levels of security and governance within their automated workflows..

Features

  • The AI copilot helps create, edit, and extend process automation using natural language.
  • Mix-and-use AI Copilot with robotic process automation (RPA) and digital process automation (DPA) to automate legacy systems and cloud apps.
  • Comes with 1,000+ pre-built API connectors and lets you build custom APIs for seamless connection between cloud apps.
  • Use AI to get quick recommendations on optimization and automation opportunities.
  • Offers built-in security features like governance, admin control, and 360-degree monitoring to scale automation across your organization.

Pricing

Microsoft Power Automate offers a 30-day free trial, after which you can upgrade to one of its paid plans:

  • Power Automate Premium: $15 per month
  • Power Automate Process: $150 per month

Pros and cons

✅ Great option for businesses who run on Microsoft 365.

✅ Offers real-time analytics and alerts.

❌ Lacks advanced customization options for creating complex workflows.

❌ Hard to use and manage for teams with software from various providers.

5. Pipedream

Pipedream website
(Source: Pipedream)

Pipedream is an AI-powered automation software ideal for developers and marketing teams.

Its low-code, no-code platform allows users to quickly build and launch automations without extensive coding knowledge.

Pipedream's intuitive interface streamlines complex workflows and enhances marketing processes, making it accessible to both technical and non-technical users.

This platform empowers teams to stay agile and productive by automating tasks ranging from data processing to real-time event handling.

Features

  • Lets you add custom logic using Node.js, Python, Go, or Bash to your workflows, allowing complete code-level automation control.
  • Access to millions of npm and PyPi packages facilitating workflow customization via Node.js or Python.
  • Thousands of pre-built triggers, actions, queues, data stores, and one-click private networks allow you to build simple workflows.
  • Hundreds of read-made workflow templates for easy development and quick deployment.
  • The AI lets you generate custom blocks of code using simple descriptions of what you want to do.

Pricing

Pipedream offers a free forever plan and three paid plans:

  • Basic: $29 per month
  • Advanced: $74 per month
  • Business: $149 per month

Pros and cons

✅ Has a vast collection of workflow elements and templates.

❌ Pipedream’s low-code interface has a steep learning curve.

❌ Credit-based pricing is a major turndown for users who need to scale processes.

6. Pabbly Connect

Pabbly connect website
(Source: Pabbly Connect)

Pabbly Connect is a no-code automation platform that seamlessly integrates your workplace apps and automates workflows with powerful integrations.

Through its intuitive interface, you can effortlessly create custom workflows to sync data and functionalities across multiple tools.

With Pabbly Connect's user-friendly setup, establishing integrated, automated operations takes just minutes, providing an instant productivity boost to your business.

Features

  • The intuitive no-code workflow builder simplifies automation, making it easily accessible to all users.
  • Supports more than 1,500+ applications for seamless real-time data transfer from one platform to another via workflows.
  • Lets you schedule workflows for a specific day, once a day, or every minute if needed.
  • Gives you the ability to create advanced workflows with routers and paths.

Pricing

Pabbly Connect comes with a free plan, but it’s limited to 100 tasks per month.

If you want access to greater limits and premium features, choose from its premium plans:

  • Standard: $49 per month
  • Pro: $99 per month
  • Ultimate: $199 per month

Pros and cons

✅ Comes with an API to integrate with any application.

✅ Add time delays to workflows.

❌ Setting up complex workflows in Pabbly Connect is hard and limited.

❌ Does not allow for team-based collaboration.

7. Zoho Flow

Zoho flow website
(Source: Zoho Flow)

Zoho Flow is an automation platform that lets you create customized workflows and automation across cloud apps and on-premises systems.

The platform’s highly visual workflow builder canvas lets you build automation without coding knowledge by dragging and dropping apps, logic elements, triggers, and actions.

Features

  • Has a gallery of over 850 apps and 1,300+ workflow templates to customize and deploy automation quickly.
  • Use Deluge, Zoho's scripting language, to create complex workflows with advanced decision trees, mathematical calculations, or data formatting.
  • Get recommendations on the next best alternative paths for your workflows in case of errors or failed steps.
  • Zoho Flow’s On-Prem agent lets you securely connect cloud apps with apps on your local network.
  • Access and monitor vital metrics, like workflow status, delays, and execution summary, via intuitive dashboards.

Pricing

Zoho Flow provides a 15-day free trial and two paid subscription plans:

  • Standard: $29 per month
  • Professional: $49 per month

Pros and cons

✅ A flexible platform with no-code/low-code features for marketers and developers.

✅ Offers real-time collaboration via in-app comments.

❌ Only offers a 15-day free trial.

❌ Clunky interface.

8. Workato

Workato website
(Source: Workato)

Workato is a cloud-native enterprise iPaaS solution that is best for creating purely automated systems managed by IT.

It excels in automating IT workflows that require single-path automation and enterprise-grade scale.

Features

  • A drag-and-drop workflow builder makes it easy to integrate apps, triggers, and action elements for IT and marketing people.
  • Comes with an extensive library of ready-to-use accelerators and 1,200+ pre-built connectors for SaaS, databases, ERPs, APIs, and more.
  • Workato’s partnership with Slack and MS teams lets you create Workbots to automate in-app workflows and processes.
  • The AI-powered tools, like AssistIQ and ReceipeIQ, help you build complex workflows and integrations with ease.

Pricing

Workato doesn’t reveal its pricing online. Contact Workato’s sales team for a quote.

Pros and cons

✅ Come with several integrations you can use when building workflows.

✅ Smart-versioning allows you to keep track of changes in workflow recipes.

❌ Workato has a steep learning curve.

9. n8n

n8n website
(Source: n8n)

N8n is an enterprise-grade low-code automation software.

It offers AI-powered workflow building that is best suited to IT, security, DevOps, and sales teams.

Features

  • A visual workflow editor with a drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy to build complex, multi-trigger workflows without coding.
  • Offers 800+ ready-made workflow templates tailored for teams in sales, IT, marketing, and security departments.
  • Set up custom actions or alternative workflows for when an execution fails, saving time and eliminating bottlenecks.
  • Has a library of 990+ native integrations to popular data sources, messaging, e-commerce, and management apps.
  • Supports webhooks and APIs, allowing users to integrate their workflows with custom applications and services.
  • Real-time data preview alongside visual canvas makes it easy to track, iterate, and monitor workflow changes.

Pricing

N8n offers three paid plans to choose from:

  • Starter: $24 per month
  • Pro: $60 per month
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing

Pros and Cons

✅ Allows your team to view and edit the same workflow as you.

✅ Complete visibility into workflows with version control using Git and comprehensive audit logs.

❌ n8n doesn’t offer a free plan.

Time to switch from IFTTT?

IFTTT is a solid option. But the options on this list provide more robust and user-friendly solutions for automating complex tasks and multi-step workflows across hundreds of services.

Why not start with Relay.app? As the #1 choice for no-code automation, Relay.app empowers you to seamlessly create custom workflows with powerful integrations—in minutes, not hours!

Why not give it a try? Sign up for Relay.app's free trial and upgrade your automation game today.

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IFTTT alternatives FAQs

Is IFTTT like Zapier?

Yes, IFTTT (If This Then That) and Zapier are similar in that they are both automation platforms that allow users to create connections between different apps and services to automate tasks. Both platforms use a trigger-action model, where an event in one app triggers an action in another app. However, there are some key differences between the two platforms.

What is the free alternative to IFTTT?

Relay.app offers a free alternative to IFTTT with more advanced integration capabilities ideal for power users and business processes. Other popular options include many of the list above, like Zapier, and Make.

Is IFTTT going away?

As of now, there is no indication that IFTTT is going away. However, like any other technology company, its future is subject to change. It's always a good idea to stay updated with the latest news and announcements from IFTTT to ensure you are aware of any changes that may affect your usage of the platform.

What is the difference between IFTTT and N8N?

IFTTT and N8N are both automation platforms, but they have some key differences. IFTTT is known for its simplicity and user-friendly interface, making it ideal for beginners. On the other hand, N8N is more geared towards developers and offers more advanced customization options. Additionally, N8N is self-hosted, meaning users have more control over their data and security compared to IFTTT.

What will you automate?

Sign up and get started with your first Relay.app workflow today.
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