AI workflow automation tools
Workflow automation used to mean if this, then that. Now a step can read, decide and write. Zapier, Make and Power Automate are the big hosted builders, each with AI and agents on top of years of integrations. n8n and Activepieces do the same job and also run on your own servers. Dify is built around LLM calls and retrieval over your documents. Gumloop and Lindy skip the flowchart: you describe the job and an agent does it. Check the billing unit before anything else. n8n bills per run, Activepieces a credit per run plus extra for AI steps, Zapier per successful step, Make per action. Relay.app shut down in September 2026 and Pipedream now sells integrations for agents rather than workflows, so neither is here. 8 tools, in the order they appear in the directory. This is not a ranking.
Grouped by job: AI Agent Infrastructure
n8n
Fair-code workflow automation for AI agents and workflows: a visual canvas with JavaScript or Python code steps, an AI Agent node, MCP server and client nodes, human approval for tool calls and 1,500+ integrations. Self-host the free Community Edition or use n8n Cloud from €20 a month billed annually. Billed per workflow execution, however many steps it has.
Zapier
No-code workflow automation across 9,000+ apps: Zaps for trigger-and-action workflows, AI by Zapier steps on paid plans, Zapier Agents that do work across the same apps, and Zapier MCP for your own AI tools. Free for 100 tasks a month on two-step Zaps; Professional from $19.99 a month billed annually. Agents are billed in activities, apart from tasks.
Make
Visual workflow automation: build scenarios on a canvas across 3,000+ apps and add Make AI Agents, on every plan, with a Reasoning panel that shows each decision and manual approvals where you want them. Free for 1,000 credits a month; Core from $9 a month billed annually for 10,000 credits. Most actions cost 1 credit, some AI features more.
Microsoft Power Automate
Microsoft's low-code workflow automation: cloud flows across Microsoft 365 and other apps, desktop flows for RPA, process mining, Copilot to build flows from plain language, AI Builder document processing and generative actions in preview. Premium is $15 per user a month paid yearly; unattended bots on Process are $150 a bot a month. 30-day free trial.
Activepieces
Open-source workflow automation with flows, AI agents, tables and MCP servers across 770+ integrations, plus chat-to-automation building. A run costs 1 credit however many steps it has; AI steps cost more unless you bring your own keys. Free for 1,000 credits a month, Plus $20 a month for 10,000. Self-host the MIT-licensed Community Edition or use the cloud.
Dify
Platform for agentic workflows and RAG pipelines: a visual Workflow Studio, a Knowledge Pipeline for searchable knowledge bases, a marketplace of models and tools, and workflows started by schedule, webhook or plugin triggers. Free Sandbox with 200 message credits; Professional $590 per workspace a year. Self-host the Community Edition with Docker under Dify's modified Apache-2.0 license.
Gumloop
AI agent builder for teams: describe the work in plain language and get agents that connect to Slack, Gmail, Salesforce, HubSpot and 100+ MCP integrations, run on triggers and produce dashboards, documents and web apps, on any of 35+ models or your own keys. Its older workflow builder is now marked legacy. Pro from $37 a month with 20,000 credits; usage bills at list cost plus an 8% orchestration fee.
Lindy
AI employee that works in Slack, your inbox and your meetings: memory, 40+ skills plus your own, and routines that automate recurring work on a schedule, across 1,500+ integrations and MCP. Anything with outside impact, like sending an email, waits for your approval. $50 in free credits for 7 days, then $49.99 per user a month for 5,000 pooled credits.
What it is, what the AI does, what's free, what it costs, where it runs.
Straight from each vendor's own pages. Plans move often, so the check date is below.
| Tool | What it is | AI and agents | Free to start | Paid from | Self-host |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n8n | Visual workflow canvas with JavaScript and Python code steps and 1,500+ integrations. | AI Agent node, Agents (preview), MCP Server Trigger and MCP Client, human approval for tool calls, evaluations. | Community Edition is free to self-host. Cloud trial: 1,000 executions, no card. | Starter €20/mo, Pro €50/mo, billed annually. Billed per execution, not per step. | Yes. Community Edition under the Sustainable Use License. Business (€667/mo) is self-hosted only. |
| Zapier | No-code Zaps across 9,000+ apps, plus Tables, Forms and Canvas. | AI by Zapier steps on paid plans, Copilot to build Zaps, Zapier Agents, Chatbots, Zapier MCP at 2 tasks per tool call. | 100 tasks/mo on two-step Zaps. Agents: 400 activities/mo. | Professional $19.99/mo for 750 tasks, Team $69/mo for 2,000, billed annually. Agents Pro about $33.33/mo. | No self-hosted plan listed. |
| Make | Visual scenarios across 3,000+ apps. | Make AI Agents on all plans, with a Reasoning panel for each decision, manual approvals and stop points. | 1,000 credits/mo. | Core $9, Pro $16, Teams $29 a month billed annually, each for 10,000 credits. Most actions cost 1 credit; some AI features more. | No self-hosted plan listed. |
| Microsoft Power Automate | Low-code cloud flows, desktop flows (RPA) and process mining, tied into Microsoft 365 and Copilot Studio. | Copilot builds flows from plain language, AI Builder document processing, generative actions (preview). | 30-day trial. | Premium $15 per user/mo, Process $150 per bot/mo, Hosted Process $215 per bot/mo, paid yearly. | Cloud service. Unattended desktop flows run on your machines, or on a Microsoft-hosted VM with Hosted Process. |
| Activepieces | Flows, AI agents, tables and MCP servers across 770+ integrations. | Chat to automation, agents, MCPs. AI steps cost 2, 10 or 20 credits by model tier, 1 with your own keys on Plus and up. | 1,000 credits/mo, up to 5 users, unlimited flows. | Plus $20/mo for 10,000 credits, Team $200/mo for 50,000, then $0.007 per credit. | Yes. Community Edition under MIT; paid plans run on cloud or on-prem. |
| Dify | Visual builder for agentic workflows, a Knowledge Pipeline for RAG, a marketplace of models and tools. | Message credits for OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, xAI and Tongyi models, then your own key. Schedule, webhook and plugin triggers. | Sandbox: 200 message credits, 5 apps, 3,000 trigger events. | Professional $590 per workspace a year, Team $1,590. | Yes. Community Edition on Docker, modified Apache-2.0: no multi-tenant service without a commercial license. |
| Gumloop | AI agent builder for teams. The older workflow builder is marked legacy. | 35+ models or your own keys, plain-English triggers, skills, artifacts, a cloud browser, Gumloop MCP and CLI. | 14-day Pro trial. | Pro from $37/mo with 20,000 credits and unlimited seats. List cost plus an 8% orchestration fee, 16% with your own model keys. | No self-hosted plan listed. Enterprise offers a virtual private cloud. |
| Lindy | An AI employee in Slack, email and meetings, with memory, 40+ skills and scheduled routines. | Pick the model per task, 1,500+ integrations plus MCP, phone calls. Anything with outside impact waits for approval. | $50 in free credits for 7 days, no card. | $49.99 per user/mo for 5,000 credits, pooled across the team. Top-ups $10 per 1,000. | No self-hosted plan listed. |
Checked 2026-11-03. Sources: n8n pricing, n8n on GitHub, Zapier pricing, Zapier Agents, Make vs Zapier pricing (Make), Make pricing FAQ, Make AI Agents, Power Automate pricing, Power Automate generative actions, Activepieces pricing, Activepieces license, Dify pricing, Dify license, Gumloop pricing, Gumloop llms.txt, Lindy pricing.
Pick it if.
- n8nYou want to self-host, drop into code when the canvas runs out, and pay per run instead of per step.
- ZapierYour stack is a long tail of SaaS apps and the people building automations don't write code.
- MakeYou want branching scenarios on a canvas and agents whose reasoning you can read, at a low entry price.
- Microsoft Power AutomateYou live in Microsoft 365 and need desktop RPA next to cloud flows.
- ActivepiecesYou want an MIT-licensed core you can self-host, with each run billed as one credit.
- DifyThe workflow is mostly LLM calls and retrieval over your own documents.
- GumloopYou'd rather describe an agent than wire a flow, with any model on one bill.
- LindyYou want an assistant that does the work in Slack and your inbox and asks before anything goes out.
Each listing.
The directory page, alternatives in the same category, and a head-to-head where we have one.
- n8nAlternatives
- ZapierAlternatives
- MakeAlternatives
- Microsoft Power AutomateAlternatives
- ActivepiecesAlternatives
- DifyAlternatives
- GumloopAlternatives
- LindyAlternatives
Category pages list every tool in that category, including ones left off this page. Built one of these? Get it featured in its category.
The 2 biggest AI stories, every morning.
One short email: the two stories that matter, and why.
You're in.
The Daily AI Brief will land in your inbox soon. If you don't see it, check Promotions or Spam and move it to your main inbox.