Activepieces
Activepieces is an open-source tool designed to automate business processes without the need for code. Positioned as a direct alternative to Zapier, it invites ...
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What is Activepieces?
Activepieces is an open-source, AI-first no-code business automation tool that serves as an alternative to Zapier and Make. It enables teams to build automated workflows connecting apps, APIs, and webhooks without writing code. The platform features a drag-and-drop workflow builder with over 749 pre-built integrations (pieces) covering categories like communication (Slack, Discord, Telegram), productivity (Google Workspace, Airtable, Notion), AI (OpenAI, Google Gemini, OpenRouter), developer tools (Supabase, HTTP, Webhook), and marketing (Facebook Pages, Instagram for Business)
Key features include AI agents with enterprise integrations, Model Context Protocol (MCP) support for ~400 MCP servers, human-in-loop capabilities with delay execution and approval workflows, extensive flow control options, and the ability to build custom pieces using TypeScript with hot reloading for local development. The platform offers enterprise-grade security with Single Sign-On (SAML 2.0, Google), SCIM provisioning for automated user sync, advanced RBAC with granular role-based access control, audit logging, and event streaming to webhooks
Activepieces is designed for marketing, sales, operations, HR, finance, and IT teams who want to automate workflows. It supports both cloud deployment (SOC 2 Type II & GDPR compliant, EU & US data regions) and self-hosted deployment on your own infrastructure for full data control. The tool is MIT-licensed open source with 60% of pieces contributed by the community, making it extensible without vendor lock-in
Activepieces pricing
Pricing model: Free
Activepieces offers a free tier with self-hosted deployment at $0 per execution - you can run millions of executions paying the same. The cloud option is fully managed with SOC 2 Type II & GDPR compliance, always-on with zero maintenance, available in EU and US data regions. Paid plans include Platform and Enterprise editions which add features like API key management for multiple projects, dedicated workers for priority tasks, and advanced enterprise controls. You can start free on cloud or talk to sales for enterprise fitting. Self-hosted on your servers gives full control with data staying in your network and support for any compliance requirement via Helm, Docker, or any cloud provider.
Activepieces pros
- Open source under MIT license with no vendor lock-in
- Self-hosted option for full data control and security
- 749+ pre-built integrations (pieces) across all categories
- 60% of pieces contributed by the community
- Pieces written in TypeScript with hot reloading for development
- AI-native with built-in AI pieces and intelligent agents
- ~400 MCP servers available for AI agents
- Drag-and-drop no-code workflow builder
- Intuitive interface for both technical and non-technical users
- Enterprise features: SSO, SCIM, advanced RBAC
- Human-in-loop capabilities with delays and approvals
- Custom piece development with full SDK access
- SOC 2 Type II and GDPR compliant cloud option
- EU and US data regions for cloud deployment
- More affordable than Zapier and Make
- Clean, intuitive UI/UX cleaner than n8n
- Handles intricate multi-step workflows effectively
- Predictable costs that scale past prototype stage
- Active community support on Discord
- Event streaming for customizable alerts and audit logs
Activepieces cons
- Requires technical setup for self-hosted deployment
- Hardware requirements need proper server infrastructure
- Less mature than established competitors like Zapier
- Some advanced features only in Platform/Enterprise editions
- API keys managed through platform dashboard only
- Limited documentation for some newer pieces
- Self-hosted requires manual maintenance and updates
- Webhook and some input types don't support data from previous steps without switching to dynamic input
Frequently asked questions about Activepieces
What is Activepieces and how does it compare to Zapier?
Activepieces is an open-source (MIT licensed) no-code business automation tool that serves as an open-source replacement for Zapier. Unlike Zapier, Activepieces can be self-hosted on your own infrastructure for full data control, is more affordable with predictable costs, offers more advanced options similar to Make, has a cleaner UI/UX than n8n, and provides no vendor lock-in since all pieces are open source and available on npmjs.com.
How do I build custom pieces in Activepieces?
Custom pieces are built using TypeScript with the same SDK Activepieces uses for their 500+ integrations. Pieces are npm packages in TypeScript offering full customization with the best developer experience including hot reloading for local piece development. You can fork the repository, set up development environment, create piece definitions with actions and triggers, add authentication, and publish to community via npm or keep private. The documentation provides step-by-step guides for development setup, creating actions/triggers, and publishing.
What deployment options does Activepieces offer?
Activepieces offers two deployment options: Cloud (fully managed, start in minutes, SOC 2 Type II & GDPR compliant, always-on with zero maintenance, EU & US data regions, option to add dedicated workers) and Self-Host (your servers with full control, data stays in your network, supports any compliance requirement, deploy via Helm, Docker, or any cloud, with free dev & staging environments). Self-hosted provides no third-party dependencies and maximum security with network-gapped architecture.
What enterprise security features are included?
Enterprise security features include Single Sign-On with SAML 2.0 and Google integration, SCIM provisioning for automatic user and group sync from identity providers, advanced RBAC with granular role-based access control defining who can do what across the organization, audit logging tracking every action on the platform, event streaming to forward audit events to webhooks, and the ability to override OAuth2 apps using your own credentials instead of default Activepieces apps.
How does AI integration work in Activepieces?
Activepieces is AI-native with native AI pieces and agents built into the platform. It includes AI pieces for popular providers like OpenAI, Google Gemini, and OpenRouter. You can integrate AI into flows seamlessly and simply, experiment with popular providers, or quickly create custom agents using the easy-to-use AI SDK. The platform also supports Model Context Protocol (MCP) with ~400 MCP servers available for AI agents, allowing AI assistants to connect to Activepieces and use automation tools.
What is the human-in-loop feature?
Human-in-loop allows you to delay execution for a period of time or require approval before a flow continues. These are built as pieces on top of the piece framework, meaning you can build many similar pieces. The Delay piece lets you pause flow execution, and the Todos piece creates tasks for project members to take actions, useful for approvals, reviews, and manual actions performed by humans.
How do I pass data between flow steps?
To use data from a previous step in your current step, place your cursor in any input and the Data to Insert panel will pop up showing available data. If you can't find data in the panel but want to use it, you can write a JSON path using the syntax {{step_slug.path.to.property}} where step_slug is found by moving your cursor over flow steps (shows to the right of the step). Some input types like dropdowns don't let you select data from previous steps; you can bypass this by switching the input to dynamic mode using the provided button.
What is the community contribution model?
Activepieces has an open ecosystem where all pieces are open source and available on npmjs.com. Approximately 60% of pieces are contributed by the community. When you contribute pieces to Activepieces, they become automatically available as MCP servers for use with LLMs through Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf. Community members can publish pieces to the community NPM, contribute to the main repository, or share pieces privately. The platform welcomes contributions with clear documentation for building and sharing pieces.
How does Activepieces handle flow versioning?
Activepieces includes flow versioning that tracks changes and allows you to manage different versions of your workflows. The versioning system helps you understand what changes were made, when, and by whom. You can access version history to review past versions and understand the evolution of your flows. This is important for maintaining reliability in critical automations and enables teams to collaborate safely on workflow changes.
Can I embed Activepieces in my own application?
Yes, Activepieces offers embedding capabilities through an embedded SDK. You can configure embedding before provisioning users, show or hide specific pieces in your embedded app, create or update connections, customize navigation, and send API requests to your Activepieces instance from the embedded app using the SDK. The Embed Builder helps initialize the SDK, and you can provision users to automatically authenticate your SaaS users to your Activepieces instance. This enables building automation capabilities directly into your own applications.