Automation

Contents

1. 01WelcomeWhat these tools do, how many we grade and what to know before choosing
2. 02Our top threeThe three we'd look at first, and who each one suits
3. 03What they costWhat paid plans start at, the best buy at each budget and the free plans
4. 04The gradesThe highest graded, and how the whole category does on each subject
5. 05Keep or make?Which are worth paying for, and which you could make yourself
6. 06Every toolAll of them, best graded first, with what each costs
7. 07Quick answersThe questions people ask when choosing, each answered in a line or two
8. 08About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from each tool’s own pages, their app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on the Automation page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 9, 2026.

Connect your apps and automate the repetitive steps between them.

Before you choose, here are 8 things to know about automation tools, worked out from every one we grade.

1. 1

   We grade 41 automation tools

   32 of them are free or have a free plan, and 9 more let you try before paying. Everything in this guide comes from their own pages and our grades.

2. 2

   Paid plans start at $18.50 a month in the middle

   From $1.50 (Pushcut) to $600 (Zenphi), going by what each one's paid plans start at.

3. 3

   Best value: IFTTT and Node-RED

   Nothing on our chart scores higher than these without costing more.

4. 4

   2 of 41 have iPhone and Android apps

   32 run in a web browser and 8 have a Windows app. Check the one you need before you fall for anything.

5. 5

   The middle GPA is 2.4

   3 score 3.0 or higher. The highest is IFTTT, at 3.0.

6. 6

   Best free option: IFTTT

   IFTTT has the highest GPA of the free ones, 3.0. Simple trigger-and-action automations for apps and smart devices.

7. 7

   41 worth keeping, 0 you could make

   By our keep-or-make rules, 41 do something you couldn't reasonably build yourself, 0 are simple enough to make with an AI app builder, and 0 are a close call.

8. 8

   2 price changes in the past year

   That's how many price moves we've recorded for automation tools in twelve months. Prices change, so check the maker's page before you pay.

Part 02 · Top three

Our top three

The three we'd look at first, and who each one suits

The three automation tools we'd look at first. First place suits the most people; second and third are the best picks for the people it leaves out. Each has an Insider's Guide of its own.

1. 1st

   

   2.8GPA

   Make

   Free plan · from $9/mo

   For: Most people

   Make builds automations, called scenarios, on a visual canvas, linking app modules with routers and filters so the branching is visible, and it lists more than 3,000 apps. The Free plan has no time limit and covers 1,000 credits a month. The paid plan starts at $9 a month, billed annually, for 5,000 credits, with unlimited active scenarios and teams and roles. It runs on the web, iPhone and Android. Know the limits: the Free plan allows only 2 active scenarios with at least 15 minutes between scheduled runs, most module actions use 1 credit, credits expire at the end of each term, and extra credits cost 25% more than those in the plan.

   The Make Insider’s Guide

2. 2nd

   

   2.6GPA

   Zapier

   Free plan · from $19.99/mo

   For: Anyone connecting less common apps

   Zapier connects more than 9,000 apps, where Make lists more than 3,000, so it is the one to check when your stack includes less common tools. A workflow, called a Zap, starts from a trigger and runs one or more actions, and triggers and built-in data tools do not count as tasks. It is second because it costs more: Professional starts at $19.99 a month, billed annually, for 750 tasks, where Make's paid plan is $9 for 5,000 credits, and the Free plan is limited to 100 tasks a month on two-step Zaps. Free and Professional cover a single user, and sharing Zaps with colleagues needs Team, from $69 a month, billed annually, for 2,000 tasks and 25 users.

   The Zapier Insider’s Guide

3. 3rd

   

   2.8GPA

   Activepieces

   Free plan · from $16/mo

   For: Teams that want open-source automation on their own servers

   Activepieces is open source, and its self-hosted Community edition is free, with unmetered credits and unlimited users, on your own servers with Docker or Kubernetes. If you would rather not run a server, its cloud has a Free plan with 1,000 credits a month for up to 5 users, where one flow run costs one credit, and Plus is a flat $16 a month, billed yearly, for 10,000 credits, also for up to 5 users. It is third because it reaches fewer apps than the two above, with more than 760 integrations, and it is listed for the web only. The Community edition leaves out agents, chat and MCP, AI steps cost 2, 10 or 20 credits, and SSO starts on Team at $166 a month, billed yearly.

   The Activepieces Insider’s Guide

Going by our grades, IFTTT and Node-RED give the most for the money among automation tools: no tool on this chart scores higher without costing more.

Paid plans start at a middle price of $18.50 a month across the 30 that charge, from $1.50 (Pushcut) to $600 (Zenphi). 3 more cost nothing at all.

8 of the 33 score above the category's average while starting at or below its middle price. 5 cost more than the middle price and score below the average.

Every tool gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. Here are the 12 highest graded automation tools, then how the whole category does on each subject.

Tool	Value	Free	Features	Ease	Platforms	GPA
IFTTT	A	C	B	B	B	3.0
Node-RED	A	A	B	D	B	3.0
Ui.Vision	A	A	C	C	B	3.0
Activepieces	B	B	B	C	B	2.8
Apple Shortcuts	A	A	C	C	C	2.8
Latenode	B	B	B	C	B	2.8
Make	A	C	B	C	B	2.8
Microsoft Power Automate	B	B	B	C	B	2.8
OttoKit	A	C	B	C	B	2.8
Huginn	A	A	C	D	C	2.6
Macro Recorder	A	C	C	B	C	2.6
Pabbly Connect	B	C	B	C	B	2.6

Some software does something you couldn’t reasonably build yourself. Some is simple enough that an AI app builder could make the core of it in an afternoon. Here’s where automation tools land, by the same rules for every tool.

• 41

  Keep it

  It does something you could not reasonably make for yourself, or it costs nothing.

• 0

  Your call

  You could make the core of it, and you would give something up.

• 0

  You could make this

  What it does is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well, and it charges every month.

Every automation tool we grade, with its GPA and what it costs. Each one has a page of its own on toolgpa.com, with its Insider’s Guide.

1. 1IFTTTFree plan · from $2.99/mo3.0
2. 2Node-REDFree3.0
3. 3Ui.VisionFree plan · from €11.90/mo3.0
4. 4ActivepiecesFree plan · from $16/mo2.8
5. 5Apple ShortcutsFree2.8
6. 6LatenodeFree plan · from $0.000122.8
7. 7MakeFree plan · from $9/mo2.8
8. 8Microsoft Power AutomateFree plan · from $15/mo2.8
9. 9OttoKitFree plan · from $9/mo2.8
10. 10HuginnFree2.6
11. 11Macro RecorderFree plan · from $99.95 one-time2.6
12. 12Pabbly ConnectFree plan · from $16/mo2.6
13. 13TinesFree plan2.6
14. 14UiPathFree plan · from $25/mo2.6
15. 15viaSocketFree plan · from $18/mo2.6
16. 16WindmillFree plan · from $10/mo2.6
17. 17ZapierFree plan · from $19.99/mo2.6
18. 18AlbatoFree plan · from $15/mo2.4
19. 19AutomateFree plan · from $4.99 one-time2.4
20. 20Google Workspace StudioFree trial · from $7/mo2.4
21. 21IntegratelyFree plan · from $19.99/mo2.4
22. 22MacroDroidFree plan · from $1.492.4
23. 23n8nFree plan · from €20/mo2.4
24. 24RoboTaskFree plan · from $149 one-time2.4
25. 25TaskerFree trial · from $4.49 one-time2.4
26. 26Zoho FlowFree plan · from $25/mo2.4
27. 27Browse AIFree plan · from $19/mo2.2
28. 28BuildShipFree trial · from $19/mo2.2
29. 29Coupler.ioFree plan · from $24/mo2.2
30. 30PushcutFree plan · from $1.99/mo2.2
31. 31SkyvernFree plan · from $29/mo2.2
32. 32SkyviaFree plan · from $79/mo2.2
33. 33UnitoFree trial2.2
34. 34WhalesyncFree trial · from $16/mo2.2
35. 35ZenphiFree trial · from $600/mo2.2
36. 362syncFree trial · from $7/mo2.0
37. 37Axiom.aiFree trial · from $15/mo2.0
38. 38MailparserFree trial · from $24.95/mo2.0
39. 39ParseurFree plan · from $49/mo2.0
40. 40RobomotionFree plan · from $49/mo2.0
41. 41SheetgoFree plan · from $35/mo2.0

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

• 3,189

  tools graded

• 94

  categories

• 426

  price changes on record

• 579

  apps priced in 12 countries