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Activepieces vs Pipedream

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors. Activepieces starts at $16, Pipedream at $29. Both have a free tier. Both ship a public API.

ActivepiecesMIT-licensed workflow automation with around 700 connectors, runnable on your own serversPipedreamA developer platform for wiring APIs into automated workflows and AI agents, now owned by Workday.

Side by side

FactActivepiecesPipedream
CategoryWorkflow Automation PlatformsIntegration & iPaaS
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starts at$16 month$29 month
Public APIYesYes
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, API
CompanyActivepieces Inc.Pipedream, Inc.
Launched20222019
Last verifiedSep 6, 2026Sep 1, 2026

What our research says

Activepieces

The strongest reason to pick it over Zapier or Make is the MIT licence: if the pricing stops working for you, you move the same flows onto your own hardware. The connector count is real and the free cloud tier is genuinely usable. The catch is credit metering — AI steps cost 2 to 20 credits each, so agent-heavy flows burn the allowance far faster than plain integrations do.

Pros

  • MIT-licensed with self-hosting via Docker, Helm or any cloud
  • Around 700 connectors covering Gmail, Slack, HubSpot, Salesforce and Shopify
  • Free forever cloud tier with unlimited flows and daily credit refresh
  • SOC 2 Type II and GDPR attestation on the hosted version, plus API access on every tier

Cons

  • Everything is credit-metered, and AI steps cost up to 20 credits per call
  • The jump from Plus at $16 to Team at $166 a month is steep for small teams
  • Self-hosting means you own upgrades, scaling and uptime yourself

Pipedream

Pipedream is a mature, code-friendly automation platform — write a few lines of real code where no-code tools fall short, drawing on a large library of pre-built integrations. Its recent acquisition by Workday is worth watching, since roadmap priorities may shift toward Workday's own enterprise customers over time.

Pros

  • Over 3,000 pre-built app integrations and 10,000+ ready actions cut down custom integration work
  • Supports actual Node.js/Python code alongside no-code steps, not one or the other
  • Connect lets other companies embed Pipedream's integrations into their own products
  • SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, and GDPR compliance claims support production and enterprise use

Cons

  • Credit-based pricing makes costs harder to predict than a flat per-seat plan
  • Recently acquired by Workday, so long-term independent roadmap and pricing are uncertain
  • Free tier's credit allowance is small enough that real workflows need a paid plan quickly

Which one fits

Choose Activepieces if you need

  • Teams that want Zapier-style flows without sending data to a vendor's cloud
  • Developers who need to write their own connector rather than wait for one
  • Embedding automation inside another product under a permissive licence

Choose Pipedream if you need

  • Developers who want to drop into real code instead of being boxed into pure no-code steps
  • Teams building AI agents that need to call many third-party APIs
  • Companies embedding third-party integrations into their own product via Connect

More comparisons

All Activepieces alternatives →All Pipedream alternatives →Browse all Workflow Automation Platforms →