The Activepieces Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Activepieces in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Activepieces
The Insider’s Guide
Open-source automation with flows, AI agents and tables
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among automation tools, read from Activepieces’s own pages.
Made by Activepieces · checked Oct 9, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02Insider tipsWhat most people miss: ways to pay less, settings worth changing and the catches
- 03What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 04What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 05Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 06The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 07Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 08About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Activepieces’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Activepieces’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.8
GPA, above 32 of the 40 other automation tools we grade
Activepieces is an open-source automation platform that combines a visual flow builder with AI agents, chat, tables and an MCP server. It runs on the company's cloud or on your own servers with Docker or Kubernetes, and its 760+ integrations, called pieces, are MIT-licensed. Cloud plans are priced at a flat monthly rate by credits instead of per seat: one flow run costs one credit, and AI steps cost more.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Activepieces, taken from its own pages and our grades.
Chat will draft a flow from a description, which helps.
- 1
Best for open-source automation at a flat price
Activepieces is an open-source automation tool with a visual flow builder, AI agents, tables and 762 integrations, and its cloud plans charge a flat rate, not per seat: Plus is $16 a month on the yearly plan for up to 5 users.
- 2
Paid plans start at $16 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $16 / month flat, billed yearly ($20 billed monthly), for up to 5 users.
- 3
There is a free plan
Cloud Free plan: 1,000 credits a month for up to 5 users, with unlimited flows, agents, chat, tables, MCP and API access. The self-hosted Community Edition is also free and unmetered, but leaves out agents, chat and MCP.
- 4
It runs on Web
Web.
- 5
Flow builder
A visual builder with branching, retries, waitpoints, subflows, error handling and human approvals. TypeScript can be written inline for a step that needs code.
- 6
AI agents and chat
An agent takes a task described in plain words and chooses tools from connected apps and MCP servers, with approval gates on the steps you pick. Chat drafts flows from a description.
- 7
Pieces
The integration directory lists 762 pieces, all open source under the MIT license. An HTTP piece reaches any REST or GraphQL API that does not have a piece yet.
- 8
A 2.8 GPA, above 32 of 40
That is against the other automation tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace Activepieces you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Activepieces at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $16 / month flat, billed yearly ($20 billed monthly), for up to 5 users
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- Activepieces
- Category
- Automation
- Our grade
- 2.8 GPA, good
The report card
Best for open-source automation at a flat price
Activepieces is an open-source automation tool with a visual flow builder, AI agents, tables and 762 integrations, and its cloud plans charge a flat rate, not per seat: Plus is $16 a month on the yearly plan for up to 5 users. The free self-hosted Community edition leaves out agents, chat and MCP, Team jumps to $166 a month, and Activepieces says it doesn't yet hold SOC 2.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B | Plus is $16 a month flat on the yearly plan and covers up to 5 users, where most tools here charge from $15 per seat. So five people pay about $3 each. The Team step is steep by comparison, at $166 a month, and AI steps on the pricier models cost 10 or 20 credits each. |
| Free plan and trial | B | The free cloud plan gives 5 users 1,000 credits a month with unlimited flows, agents, chat, tables and MCP, and runs just stop until credits refresh. If that's too tight, the self-hosted Community edition is free and unmetered, but it leaves out agents, chat and MCP. |
| Features | B | 762 integrations, a flow builder with branching, retries, subflows and human approvals, inline TypeScript, AI agents, tables, a knowledge base and an MCP server. The whole job, covered, and you can run it air-gapped. It isn't doing anything n8n or Make can't, mind. |
| Ease of use | C | No store rating on record, and there's setup in front of you: accounts to connect, a flow to build, and credits to keep an eye on, since AI steps cost 2, 10 or 20 each unless you bring your own AI keys. Chat will draft a flow from a description, which helps. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web only, with no phone or desktop app. It connects through 762 pieces, an HTTP piece for any REST or GraphQL API, API access on every plan and an MCP server for assistants like Claude and Cursor. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Activepieces is for
- Fits if you want automation you can read the source of and host yourself
- Works for teams of up to five who want one flat bill instead of one per seat
Who it is not for
- Skip it if you want agents on your own servers for free, as the Community edition leaves out agents, chat and MCP
- Pricey if you use AI steps on the dearer models, which cost 10 or 20 credits each without your own AI keys
- Not for you if you need a SOC 2 certificate today, because Activepieces says its program is still in progress
- Tight if you stay on the free cloud plan: 1,000 credits a month, and runs stop until they refresh
- Watch out: Plus to Team is a jump from $16 to $166 a month, SSO starts on Team, and SCIM and audit logs need Ultimate
Good to know
Good for
- Teams that want open-source automation they can host themselves
- Small teams that prefer a flat price to per-seat billing
- Building AI agents alongside trigger-and-action flows
Worth knowing
- The Free cloud plan covers up to 5 users and 1,000 credits a month; runs beyond the quota do not go through until credits refresh.
- AI steps cost 2, 10 or 20 credits depending on the model. Connecting your own AI keys, on Plus and above, brings each AI step down to 1 credit.
- The self-hosted Community edition leaves out Agents and Chat and MCPs. SSO starts on Team, and SCIM and audit logs need Ultimate.
- Activepieces says its SOC 2 program is still in progress and that it does not yet hold the certification.
Part 02 · Tips
Insider tips
What most people miss: ways to pay less, settings worth changing and the catches
7
Things most people miss, each from its own help pages
The things about Activepieces that are easy to miss until they cost you: ways to pay less, settings worth changing and the catches at renewal or when you leave. Each one is from Activepieces’s own pages, linked beside it.
Read on Oct 17, 2026. Read from Activepieces' docs (version history, project variables, tables, limits, telemetry and the embedding reference) and its pricing page FAQ on 17 October 2026. Not tried out: these tips are what its own pages say.
- 1
Easy to miss
Your edits do nothing until you press Publish
Changes to a live flow are saved as a draft so they don't break what's already running. Press Publish when you're done. The published version is locked, and the version history lets you go back to an older one and edit it as a new draft.
activepieces.com - 2
Easy to miss
Keep API keys and channel IDs in project variables
Make a variable once under Variables in the sidebar and drop {{variables['NAME']}} into any step of any flow. Change the value in one place instead of hunting through every flow. One catch: delete a variable and the steps still using it fail on their next run.
activepieces.com - 3
Easy to miss
Tables hold 10,000 records by default, and extra CSV rows vanish
A CSV bigger than the room left in a table still imports, but the rows past the limit are dropped with no error, so check the count afterwards. And importing a JSON template into an existing table wipes its fields and records first, with no undo.
activepieces.com - 4
Privacy
Run logs and files are deleted after 30 days on the cloud
Activepieces Cloud keeps run logs, step files and execution events for 30 days, then deletes them. Paused runs, like a step waiting for approval, can wait 30 days at most. Self-hosters can change both with environment variables.
activepieces.com - 5
Privacy
Self-hosted copies send usage analytics until you switch it off
Go to Platform Admin, Account, Configurations and turn off Product analytics. Licensed copies also send a daily snapshot of the server setup, with a separate switch in the same place. Its docs say neither includes your flows, data or connections.
activepieces.com - 6
Shortcut
Cmd+K opens a search for any flow, table or page
Press Cmd+K, or Ctrl+K on Windows, to open the command palette and jump straight to a flow, a table or a page in the dashboard, instead of clicking through folders.
activepieces.com - 7
Renewal
Upgrades charge you now, downgrades wait for the period to end
The pricing FAQ says upgrades and extra seats start straight away and are prorated, while a downgrade only takes effect at the end of the billing period. So on a yearly plan, dropping to a cheaper tier doesn't save anything until the year is up.
activepieces.com
Part 03 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$16
A month to start. There is a free plan too
Activepieces has a free plan. Paid plans start at $16 / month flat, billed yearly ($20 billed monthly), for up to 5 users.
If that's too tight, the self-hosted Community edition is free and unmetered, but it leaves out agents, chat and MCP.
Free
$0
Activepieces Cloud for up to 5 users: 1,000 credits a month, unlimited flows, and agents, chat, tables, MCP and API access. No card needed.
Community
$0
Self-hosted open-source edition: credits are not metered and users are unlimited, but Agents and Chat and MCPs are not included.
Plus
$16
flat per month, billed yearly ($20 billed monthly)
10,000 credits a month, then $0.007 per credit. Up to 5 users, and you can connect your own AI provider keys.
Team
$166
flat per month, billed yearly ($200 billed monthly)
50,000 credits a month, 25 users, unlimited projects, SSO, standard roles, global connections and email support.
Ultimate
Custom
Yearly credit pool sized to the customer, dedicated workers, execution priority, SCIM, custom roles, Git Sync, audit logs and dedicated support.
Embed
From $36k
per year
White-label flow builder, AI agents and the integration library placed inside your own product through one SDK. Sold through sales.
The free plan
Cloud Free plan: 1,000 credits a month for up to 5 users, with unlimited flows, agents, chat, tables, MCP and API access. The self-hosted Community Edition is also free and unmetered, but leaves out agents, chat and MCP.
Read from activepieces.com on Oct 9, 2026.
Ways to pay less
Annual discount
Save 2 months with annual billing
The pricing page's Annual option is labeled as saving 2 months: Plus is $16 a month billed yearly instead of $20, and Team is $166 instead of $200.
Stated on activepieces.com
How its prices have moved
- Oct 9, 2026Free plan: 1 user, 1,000 credits a month → Up to 5 users, 1,000 credits a monthThe archive copy of Activepieces' pricing page from October 5, 2026 lists the Free plan's users as "Just you"; the page read on October 9 says up to 5 users, in the plan card and the comparison table. Credits are unchanged.
Part 04 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
Open-source automation with flows, AI agents and tables. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: open source, self-hostable, public API, AI features, databases, workflow automation, AI agents.
The whole job, covered, and you can run it air-gapped.
- Flow builder
- A visual builder with branching, retries, waitpoints, subflows, error handling and human approvals. TypeScript can be written inline for a step that needs code.
- AI agents and chat
- An agent takes a task described in plain words and chooses tools from connected apps and MCP servers, with approval gates on the steps you pick. Chat drafts flows from a description.
- Pieces
- The integration directory lists 762 pieces, all open source under the MIT license. An HTTP piece reaches any REST or GraphQL API that does not have a piece yet.
- Tables and knowledge base
- Tables hold data that every flow and agent can read and write, and a knowledge base makes your documents searchable by agents.
- MCP server
- Tools built in Activepieces can be served over MCP, so assistants such as Claude and Cursor can run them. MCPs are part of the cloud plans, not the Community edition.
- Cloud, self-hosted or air-gapped
- Activepieces Cloud runs in Frankfurt. The same software can be installed on your own infrastructure with Docker or Kubernetes, including with no outbound network.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- Google Sheets
- Gmail
- OpenAI
- Slack
- Notion
- Google Drive
- Discord
- Airtable
Who makes Activepieces
Activepieces is made by a start-up of the same name that went through Y Combinator. The core of the product is open source under the MIT license; the company earns money from paid cloud plans and from licenses for the enterprise features in self-hosted installs.
- Founded
- 2022ycombinator.com
- Ownership
- Privately held. A privately held start-up backed by Y Combinator, whose company page lists it in the Summer 2022 batch; the Activepieces site calls it a backed company and names no parent.ycombinator.com
- Funding
- Y Combinator backed Activepieces in its Summer 2022 batch, according to YC's own company page. Neither the company's pages nor YC's give an amount, and no other round has been announced on them.ycombinator.com
- Founders and leaders
- Ashraf Samhouri, Founder/CEOycombinator.com
- Mohammad AbuAboud, Founder/CTOycombinator.com
- Lately
- Agents: Reusable, Chattable, and Yours to Place · September 2026
- AI-Ready Pieces: Tool Search, AI Metadata & Audience · August 2026
- Production Setup: Lightweight Workers, Bundled Pieces & Predictable Scaling · June 2026
- Waitpoints — Durable Pause & Resume for Flow Runs · April 2026
Read on Oct 18, 2026 from the company’s own pages and from news reports. What is not stated there is left out.
Part 05 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
32/40
Other automation tools it is graded above
Activepieces's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 32 of the 40 other automation tools we grade, and level with 5.
It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 29 of 40) and worst on ease of use (C, above 3).
Its paid plans start at $16 a month, against a middle price of $18.50 for the category: 11 of the 29 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 1 tool scores higher and costs less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 41 automation tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Activepieces’s own letter is outlined.
- BValue for moneyAbove 21 of 40
- BFree plan and trialAbove 29 of 40
- BFeaturesAbove 17 of 40
- CEase of useAbove 3 of 40
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 10 of 40
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 33 automation tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Activepieces is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Activepieces you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.8 is higher than 32 of the 40 other automation tools we grade. It costs $192 a year. Activepieces is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.
What you could not
- Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
- An AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it.
- Databases with views, filters and links between them.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Activepieces’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 06 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
n8n, Zapier, Make, Windmill and Node-RED
The 5 tools Activepieces is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.4GPA
n8n
Free plan · from €20/mo
Workflow automation and AI agents you can self-host.
- Activepieces is open source, according to its own site.
- Activepieces also covers databases and AI agents.
- 2.6GPA
Zapier
Free plan · from $19.99/mo
Workflow automation across 9,000+ apps, with AI agents.
- Only Zapier lists a browser extension.
- Activepieces is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Activepieces also covers AI agents.
- 2.8GPA
Make
Free plan · from $9/mo
Visual automation builder for multi-step scenarios and AI agents.
- Only Make lists iOS and Android apps.
- Activepieces is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Activepieces also covers databases and AI agents.
- 2.6GPA
Windmill
Free plan · from $10/mo
Open-source platform for scripts, workflows and internal apps.
- Activepieces also covers databases.
- Windmill also covers app builder.
- 3.0GPA
Node-RED
Free
Open-source, flow-based programming tool for event-driven apps.
- Only Node-RED lists Windows and Linux apps.
- Activepieces also covers databases and AI agents.
Part 07 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
14
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Activepieces free?
Activepieces has a free plan. Cloud Free plan: 1,000 credits a month for up to 5 users, with unlimited flows, agents, chat, tables, MCP and API access.
How much does Activepieces cost?
Activepieces lists 6 plans. Free: $0.
What platforms does Activepieces work on?
Activepieces is available on Web.
Does Activepieces offer any discounts?
Activepieces publicly lists the following: Save 2 months with annual billing.
Does Activepieces have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 9, 2026. Activepieces is listed for Web.
Does Activepieces have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 9, 2026. Activepieces is listed for Web.
Is Activepieces open source?
Yes. Activepieces is open source, according to its own site.
Does Activepieces have an API?
Yes. Activepieces offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Activepieces integrate with?
Activepieces's listing names Google Sheets, Gmail, OpenAI, Slack, Notion, Google Drive, Discord and Airtable.
Who makes Activepieces?
Activepieces is made by a company of the same name. A privately held start-up backed by Y Combinator, whose company page lists it in the Summer 2022 batch; the Activepieces site calls it a backed company and names no parent.
What are the alternatives to Activepieces?
The closest alternatives to Activepieces in our directory are n8n, Zapier, Make, Windmill and Node-RED.
How does Activepieces compare with other automation tools?
Activepieces's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 32 of the 40 other automation tools we grade, and level with 5.
Is Activepieces good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Activepieces B for value for money. Its paid plans start at $16 a month, against a middle price of $18.50 for the category: 11 of the 29 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Activepieces?
To replace Activepieces you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Activepieces’s own pages on Oct 9, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Activepieces' own pages on 9 October 2026. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-07-14.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Activepieces. Prices change, so check activepieces.com before you buy.
Part 08 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 categories
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
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Activepieces, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/activepieces
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Activepieces: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 9, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/activepieces
Know someone choosing between automation tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/activepieces/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded automation tools after Activepieces, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Automation Insider's GuideEvery one of the 41 automation tools we grade, compared
- IFTTT Insider's GuideSimple trigger-and-action automations for apps and smart devices3.0 GPA
- Node-RED Insider's GuideOpen-source, flow-based programming tool for event-driven apps3.0 GPA
- Ui.Vision Insider's GuideOpen-source browser and desktop automation with computer vision3.0 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Activepieces’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Activepieces is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Activepieces. Prices and plans change: check activepieces.com before you buy.