The cheapest automation tool depends on your volume and whether you'll self-host. At 1,000 runs/month the lowest price we track is Activepieces; at 100,000 runs it's Activepieces. Self-hosted tools (n8n, Activepieces, Automatisch, Node-RED) cost only the server they run on — a roughly flat bill regardless of volume. The full ranked matrix is below; prices come straight from each vendor's pricing, generated live.
Lowest-cost qualifying plan per tool, 3-step workflows, generated live from our data. Cheapest per column is highlighted.
| Tool | 1,000 runs | 5,000 runs | 20,000 runs | 100,000 runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Activepieces | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| IFTTT | $4.99 | $4.99 | $4.99 | $4.99 |
| Latenode | $0 | $0 | $1.2 | $10.8 |
| n8n | $8 | $8 | $25 | $45 |
| Automatisch | $8 | $8 | $25 | $45 |
| Node-RED | $8 | $8 | $25 | $45 |
| Pabbly Connect | $19 | $19 | $79 | $79 |
| Make | $10.59 | $18.82 | $64.71 | $214.31 |
| Zoho Flow | $29 | $37 | $96 | $241 |
| Pipedream | $45 | $75 | $153 | $309.6 |
| Relay.app | $98 | $198 | $498 | $938 |
| Zapier | $73.5 | $193.5 | $433.5 | $1,149 |
Cheapest at each volume — 1,000 runs: Activepieces · 5,000 runs: Activepieces · 20,000 runs: Activepieces · 100,000 runs: Activepieces.
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