Google Workspace Studio vs Zapier

Google Workspace Studio

• Organizations that already pay for Google Workspace
• Automating routine work in Gmail, Chat, Drive and Sheets without code
• People who want Gemini to draft an automation from a description

Zapier

• Connecting a wide range of cloud apps, including less common ones
• Solo users with light needs who can stay within 100 tasks a month
• Teams that want shared workflows with single sign-on and admin controls

Google Workspace Studio

• Studio is not sold on its own: it comes with Workspace Business Starter, Standard and Plus, Enterprise Standard and Plus, and some Education editions.
• A user can create at most 25 flows, a flow can have at most 20 steps, and flows stop once a daily run limit is reached until it resets.
• Flows have to be created on a computer in a supported web browser; once turned on, they can run on any device.
• Third-party integration steps are in beta, and personal Google accounts need Google Workspace Experiments to use Studio.

Zapier

• The Free plan is limited to 100 tasks a month and two-step Zaps, and checks for new data only every 15 minutes.
• Free and Professional include a single user; sharing workflows with colleagues needs the Team plan.
• Cost rises with volume: Professional runs from $19.99 a month for 750 tasks to $3,389 a month for 2 million, billed annually.
• Tasks beyond the plan limit are billed at 2.5x the base rate on monthly plans and 1.25x on annual plans.

Google Workspace Studio

Flows created with Gemini

Describe what you want automated in plain language and Gemini builds a flow for it. Flows can also be started from a template or built from scratch.

Starters and steps

A starter launches the flow from an event, a schedule or a manual trigger. Steps then carry out actions or send notifications, with conditional steps and variables to pass data along.

AI steps

Steps that use Gemini can analyze new emails, write summaries, pick out action items or draft replies as part of a flow.

Managed from Workspace apps

Flows can be changed and their activity tracked from inside Gmail, Chat and Drive, as well as in Studio itself, and a test run tries a flow before it is turned on.

Third-party integrations

Integration steps, in beta, act in services such as Asana, Mailchimp and Salesforce and are connected through the Google Workspace Marketplace. Webhooks reach other services.

Sharing and approvals

Flows can be shared with other people. Depending on the policies an administrator sets, some steps wait for user approval before they run.

Zapier

Zaps

Workflows that start from a trigger and run one or more actions. Free accounts are limited to two-step Zaps; Professional adds multi-step Zaps, filters, paths and webhooks.

App directory

Zapier connects more than 9,000 apps, including Google Sheets, Gmail, Slack and HubSpot. Premium apps are unlimited from the Professional plan.

Task-based billing

A task is counted when a Zap completes a unit of work; triggers, polling and built-in data tools are not counted. Extra tasks are billed at 1.25x the base rate on annual plans and 2.5x on monthly plans.

Tables, Forms and Canvas

Tables store the data that workflows read and write, Forms collect it, and Canvas maps out a process. Tables and Forms are unlimited on every plan, including Free.

Agents, Chatbots and MCP

AI agents take actions across connected apps, and Zapier MCP gives assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT access to them. Agents and Chatbots are optional add-ons with free tiers.

Team and admin controls

Team covers 25 users with shared Zaps, folders and app connections plus SAML SSO. Enterprise adds SCIM provisioning, app controls and custom data retention.

Google Workspace Studio

• Business Starter$7

  per user / month, 1-year commitment ($8.40 flexible)

  Google Workspace suite plan that includes Workspace Studio, with 30 GB of pooled storage per user. Business editions cover up to 300 users.

• Business Standard$14

  per user / month, 1-year commitment ($16.80 flexible)

  Google Workspace suite plan that includes Workspace Studio, with 2 TB of pooled storage per user.

• Business Plus$22

  per user / month, 1-year commitment ($26.40 flexible)

  Google Workspace suite plan that includes Workspace Studio, with 5 TB of pooled storage per user.

• Enterprise Standard and PlusCustom

  Enterprise editions of Google Workspace that include Workspace Studio. Pricing is available through Google sales and resellers.

Zapier

• Free$0

  100 tasks a month for 1 user, limited to two-step Zaps, with unlimited Zaps, Tables and Forms and 15-minute polling.

• Professional$19.99

  per month, billed annually, for 750 tasks ($29.99 monthly)

  1 user. Multi-step Zaps, unlimited premium apps, webhooks, filters and paths, AI by Zapier and 2-minute polling. Task tiers run up to 2 million a month.

• Team$69

  per month, billed annually, for 2,000 tasks ($103.50 monthly)

  25 users, shared Zaps, folders and app connections, SAML single sign-on, priority support and 1-minute polling.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Unlimited users, advanced admin and app controls, SCIM provisioning, custom data retention and annual task limits.

Google Workspace Studio

• Annual discount

  Lower rate with a 1-year commitment

  Business Starter costs $7 per user per month on the Annual/Fixed-Term Plan versus $8.40 on the Flexible Plan. Standard is $14 versus $16.80 and Plus $22 versus $26.40.

Zapier

• Annual discount

  33% off with annual billing

  Zapier's pricing page says annual subscriptions are billed yearly at 33% off the monthly rate: Professional is $19.99 a month instead of $29.99, and Team $69 instead of $103.50.

• Nonprofit

  Extra 15% off for nonprofits

  The pricing page lists an additional 15% discount for non-profit organizations. It does not apply to pay-per-task charges.