Parabola
Streamline workflows, automate tasks, enhance productivity effortlessly.. [Freemium]
Last verified:
What is Parabola?
Parabola is an AI-powered workflow builder designed for operations and finance teams to automate manual, repetitive data work. It turns messy operational data from PDFs, emails, spreadsheets, and multiple systems into reliable, repeatable workflows with visible, inspectable steps. Users describe what they need to automate in plain English through Prowork (Parabola's AI builder), which asks follow-up questions and constructs a visual workflow that documents every decision.
Key features include 50+ native integrations (ERPs, spreadsheets, databases, ecommerce platforms like Shopify, shipping tools, and more), drag-and-drop workflow building, scheduled or triggered automation runs, AI-powered data extraction from unstructured inputs, and role-based team access with enterprise-grade security (SOC 2 Type II, SSO/SAML). Parabola handles reconciliations, invoice auditing, order/inventory management, financial operations like month-end close and accruals, and reporting dashboards. Workflows run on a schedule (hourly, daily, weekly) or on triggers (new email, new file, webhook), with automatic retries, failure alerts, and run logging.
Parabola is specifically built for ops and finance teams at mid-market companies, particularly in retail and e-commerce. Common users include VP Tax, CFOs, accounting leaders automating reconciliations and close processes, and supply chain/logistics leaders managing inventory, order routing, and vendor data processing. Teams like Brooklinen, Caraway, On Running, Flexport, Uber Freight, and hundreds more use Parabola to automate work they thought would always be manual.
Parabola pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
Parabola offers 4 plans: Basic ($0/free) includes single user, up to 1,000 credits/month, limited AI steps/features, and Parabola visualizations. Explorer ($20/month) includes everything in Basic plus full AI steps/features, flow scheduling up to daily frequency, self-guided onboarding, 1,500 credits/month included, and 250MB data storage in Parabola tables. Collaborator ($400/month) includes everything in Explorer plus up to 3 users, priority chat support, custom flow scheduling, distinct user roles/permission sets, and 30,000 credits/month included. Business (contact sales) offers custom pricing with unlimited users, tailored onboarding, custom/annual credit allotments, usage analytics/reporting, priority flow queuing, dedicated account manager, and auto-enrollment/domain capture. All plans allow unlimited active flows. Credits are consumed only when flows run, not while building.
Parabola pros
- AI-powered workflow building from plain English descriptions
- Visible, inspectable steps that document every decision
- 50+ native integrations including ERPs, Shopify, spreadsheets, databases
- Handles messy inputs like PDFs, emails, inconsistent spreadsheets
- No-code drag-and-drop interface for non-technical users
- Scheduled automation runs (hourly, daily, weekly) or event triggers
- Enterprise-grade security with SOC 2 Type II, SSO & SAML
- Role-based access control for team collaboration
- Runs the same way every time with automatic retries and failure alerts
- Extracts structured data from unstructured inputs like PDFs and emails
- Builds workflows 100x faster than manual building from scratch
- Each workflow doubles as a living SOP with auto-generated documentation
- Handles millions of rows like Excel but for cloud automation
- Prowork adapts around your changes without re-prompting everything
- Free Basic plan available with no time limit to get started
Parabola cons
- Limited AI steps and features on free Basic plan
- Only 1,000 credits per month on Basic plan
- 1,500 credits per month may be insufficient for complex workflows on Explorer
- Only 250MB data storage in Parabola tables on Explorer plan
- Collaborator plan at $400/mo is expensive for very small teams
- Custom pricing for Business plan requires talking to sales (no transparent pricing)
- Credits consumed based on step complexity may be hard to predict upfront
- Primarily targeted at ops/finance teams in retail/e-commerce, less general-purpose
Frequently asked questions about Parabola
What is a flow?
A flow is an automated workflow built using Parabola. Typically, a flow ingests data from a database or unstructured data source like a PDF or email, extracts relevant datapoints, transforms this data into the format you need, and then sends that data to your desired destination. Outputs from flows can be sent into 3rd party apps like Google Sheets, Snowflake, or Shopify, used to power Slack and Email alerts, or stored in Parabola's internal databases called Parabola Tables. Flow outputs can also include visualizations and charts that can be easily shared.
What is a credit?
Credits are calculated every time you run a Parabola flow or have AI complete complex tasks. The amount of credits used in a given flow run depends on the number of unique steps and the complexity of the process being automated. If a step isn't successfully executed, or has zero input and output rows, it does not count toward credit usage.
How many credits will I use?
The number of credits you need depends on the number of flows you have active and how frequently those flows run. The more flows, the more complex the tasks being automated, and the more frequently flows run, the more credits you'll use. Each plan is designed to give you enough credits based on average usage from existing customers. If you have higher usage flows automating lots of manual work, Parabola will notify you before you reach your plan's credit limit.
Do I use credits when building a flow?
No, credits are only consumed when a flow is run. Parabola never uses credits when you are editing a flow or working on a flow draft, so you can build and experiment without worrying about credit consumption.
How are credits calculated?
Individual steps within a Parabola flow consume credits at a flat rate, while AI steps use credits proportional to the amount of work done by the AI. Information about credit usage and guidance for best practices are visible in tooltips while building a flow, helping you understand and manage your credit consumption.
What happens if I run out of credits?
Parabola sends proactive email and in-product alerts as you approach your plan's credit limit. Once you hit your credit limit on the Basic plan, your use of Parabola will stop until your billing period resets. On all other plans (Explorer, Collaborator, Business), you will switch to pay-per-credit billing instead of stopping.
Do you offer a free trial?
Parabola's Basic plan is free to get started with no time limit. You can use Parabola for free before deciding to upgrade to another plan, so there's no need for a separate time-limited trial.
Do you limit the number of flows I can run?
No, all plans can have an unlimited number of flows active at the same time. There is no limit on the number of flows you can build and run concurrently, regardless of which plan you're on.
Which plans allow for unlimited users?
Unlimited users are only available on the Business plan. The Basic and Explorer plans are for single users, while the Collaborator plan supports up to 3 users. For teams needing more than 3 users, the Business plan with custom pricing is required.
What happens if I cancel?
If you no longer need to use Parabola, you can cancel at any time. When you cancel, you will downgrade immediately to the Basic plan rather than losing access entirely, so you can continue using Parabola for free with the Basic plan's limitations.