Activepieces

Activepieces calls themselves the open-source version of Make or Zapier and it's an accurate comparison. If you're familiar with either platform, the visual workflow editor will feel similar as it's another canvas-based approach to putting automation sequences together. The library of pieces (Activepieces-terminology for integrations) includes over 280 integrations, a much smaller number than Make or Zapier, but it covers the most common use cases. Where the tool truly shines though is with its licensing/self-hosting option. Activepieces' Community Edition is licensed under MIT which allows you to use, adapt, embed in your product and deploy with absolutely zero licensing fees. You can host it on your own servers to unlimited workflows, unlimited executions and total control of your data without having to pay for each operation or execution. The cloud version is intended for teams that prefer an out-of-the-box Activepieces solution without the overhead of infrastructure management and the prices are competitive with Make at scale. They are incorporating AI features with native OpenAI and Anthropic pieces allowing for LLM operations in visual workflows and the interface is clean and accessible for non-developers while being part of a technically focused system. An unfortunate constraint is the smaller community/third-party integration catalog compared to Make and Zapier, meaning fewer templates and community discussions for support when debugging issues or edge cases. However, for a small company wanting Make-esque visual automations but zero hosting costs (for self-hosting) or a developer looking for a true open-source automation platform they are free to fork and improve upon, Activepieces is unmatched in the space.

• Category: Workflow Automation
• Pricing: Freemium
• Rating: 4.5 / 5 (0 reviews)
• Platforms: Web

Key features

• MIT licence open-source — Fully open-source with MIT licence allowing commercial use embedding in products and code modification without licensing fees
• Self-hosted Community Edition — Run unlimited workflows and unlimited executions on your own infrastructure with no usage caps
• 280 plus app pieces — Integration library covering major productivity CRM communication and database platforms for common automation use cases
• Visual flow builder — Canvas-based drag-and-drop workflow builder similar to Make for non-technical users building automation without code
• Native AI pieces — OpenAI Anthropic and other AI model integrations as first-class pieces within the visual workflow builder
• Cloud version — Hosted Activepieces without self-hosting overhead for teams that want the platform without infrastructure management
• Branching and loops — Conditional logic and loop structures for building non-linear workflow logic beyond simple trigger-action sequences
• Webhook triggers — Accept inbound HTTP requests as workflow triggers for integration with any external service

Pros & Cons

Pros

• MIT licence allows genuine commercial use without licensing fees which is rare among visual automation platforms at any tier
• Unlimited self-hosted executions with no usage caps make it the most cost-effective platform for high-volume automation on your own infrastructure
• Visual builder similar to Make in approach makes the learning transfer easy for users already familiar with canvas-based automation design
• Native AI pieces for OpenAI and Anthropic integrate LLM steps without requiring custom API configuration
• 4.5 out of 5 G2 rating reflects strong satisfaction from technical users who value the open-source model and self-hosting control

Cons

• 280 plus app integrations is significantly narrower than Make at 1500 plus or Zapier at 8500 plus requiring custom HTTP steps for many less common platforms
• Smaller community than Make or n8n means fewer templates and less community troubleshooting support available for edge case problems
• Self-hosting requires server administration knowledge including Docker setup and ongoing maintenance overhead
• Cloud pricing while competitive may not hold an advantage over Make for teams that do not need the MIT licence or self-hosting benefits

Visit Activepieces