Activepieces

Activepieces is an open-source workflow automation platform that pairs classic trigger-and-action flows with AI agents, data tables and a large library of MIT-licensed app integrations. It is often shortlisted as an alternative to Zapier for teams that want to self-host, and its AI features go beyond a single prompt step: agents can decide which connected apps or MCP servers to use, and you can describe an automation in chat to get a draft flow.

What is Activepieces used for?

Activepieces automates repetitive work across business apps, with AI where judgment is needed. Typical uses include:

• Routing and enriching leads between forms, CRMs and Slack
• Classifying support emails and drafting replies with an AI step
• Running agents that complete a described task with approval before payments or deletions
• Syncing data into Activepieces tables for agents and flows to share
• Answering questions from a knowledge base of company documents
• Letting Claude or Cursor trigger company flows through the Activepieces MCP server

Who Activepieces is best for

Activepieces fits operations teams, IT departments and agencies that want automation they can host themselves, keep inside a European cloud, or run air-gapped. Its per-run pricing helps teams with many small flows. Companies that rely on niche SaaS apps should first check that a piece exists, and teams that prefer a fully code-first workflow engine may like n8n's developer depth better.

Activepieces pricing

As of October 2026, Activepieces Cloud has a free plan with 1,000 credits a month, up to 5 users and unlimited flows, with no card required. Plus costs $20 per month with 10,000 credits and up to 5 users, and Team costs $200 per month with 50,000 credits and 25 users. Overage on Plus and Team is $0.007 per credit. A run costs one credit regardless of steps, and AI steps add 2, 10 or 20 credits depending on model tier. Ultimate uses a custom yearly credit pool, Embed starts at $36,000 per year for putting Activepieces inside your product, and the Community Edition is free to self-host.

Limitations to keep in mind

• The integration catalog is large but smaller than the biggest commercial automation platforms
• Bringing your own AI provider keys is not available on the free plan
• AI steps cost more credits with smarter models, so agent-heavy flows burn through quotas faster
• Self-hosting requires your own maintenance and upgrades

Activepieces vs alternatives

n8n is the better choice for developers who want deep code nodes, a mature self-hosted community and complex data handling. Zapier AI wins on the sheer number of app integrations and a familiar interface for nontechnical staff. Make suits people who like detailed visual scenarios with fine control over data mapping. Relevance AI focuses on AI agents for sales and operations rather than general automation. Activepieces is the pick when you want MIT-licensed integrations, simple per-run pricing and AI agents in a tool you can host yourself.

Tips for getting started with Activepieces

Try the chat builder to draft your first flow, then open it in the visual editor to check every step. Keep agent tasks narrow and add approval steps before anything that sends money or deletes records. Watch which AI tier each step uses, since the frontier tier costs ten times the fast tier per call. If you plan to self-host, test with Docker before moving to Kubernetes.

Activepieces FAQ

Is Activepieces free?

Yes. Activepieces Cloud has a free plan with 1,000 credits per month and up to 5 users, and the Community Edition is free to self-host. Paid plans start at $20 per month.

Is Activepieces open source?

Yes. Activepieces says its core is MIT licensed and every integration piece is MIT licensed, so you can read, fork and self-host the code.

Does Activepieces support MCP?

Yes. Agents can use connected MCP servers, and Activepieces provides its own MCP server so tools like Claude and Cursor can run your flows.

Activepieces vs n8n: which is better?

Activepieces is simpler for business users and has MIT-licensed pieces, while n8n offers deeper code and data handling for developer-heavy teams.