Activepieces

Overview

Activepieces is an automation platform for building team workflows and AI agents, with options to run it in the cloud or on your own infrastructure. It suits teams that need branching workflows, integrations, and tighter control over deployment and credentials.

Flows can be built by describing an outcome in chat, then shaped with branching, retries, waitpoints, subflows, error handling, human approvals, and inline TypeScript. That range makes Activepieces more than a simple connector tool: teams can handle exceptions and approval steps as part of an automation. The trade-off is that its Free plan is for one user and pauses additional runs when its monthly credits run out.

Key features

The catalog contains 764 integrations, including Gmail, Slack, OpenAI, Notion, Google Sheets, HubSpot, and Salesforce. Every piece is included on every plan, including Free and self-hosted deployments, so integration access does not require upgrading. Multi-step workflows, conditional logic, and webhook triggers support automations that respond to events and route work through different paths. The minimum run interval is five minutes, which makes it a poor fit for tasks that require more frequent scheduled runs.

Connected apps can be exposed through one Activepieces MCP server to Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and other MCP clients. Agents refer to connections by name; credentials are resolved inside the worker while a step runs. Activepieces says customer automations, runs, documents, and prompts are not used to train models. Its security page states SOC 2 Type 2, AES-256 encryption at rest, TLS in transit, and a 2026 penetration test.

Deployment is flexible: use Activepieces Cloud, customer infrastructure, or an air-gapped environment. Cloud runs in Frankfurt by default, with other regions available on request; self-hosted deployments can use a customer-chosen region. The recommended Docker Compose installation requires Docker Compose v2, at least 2 vCPU, and 4 GB RAM, so self-hosting brings infrastructure responsibility as well as control.

Pricing

The Free plan costs nothing, forever. It includes 1,000 credits a month, unlimited flows, one user, and community support. That is enough to explore or run modest personal automations, but it is restrictive for a team: there is no second seat, and runs wait until credits refresh the next day once the monthly allowance is exhausted.

Plus costs $20 a month and includes 10,000 credits a month, up to five users, unlimited flows, and community support. Additional usage is $0.007/credit over quota. It is the practical step up for small teams that need shared access and more volume, though the over-quota charge makes high or unpredictable usage worth monitoring.

Team costs $200 a month for 50,000 credits a month, 25 users, unlimited flows, unlimited projects, and email support. It suits teams that need project separation and a larger shared allowance; the price jump from Plus is substantial, so smaller groups should weigh the extra seats and projects against their actual usage.

Ultimate has custom pricing and includes unlimited users and flows, with dedicated support. Embed has custom pricing and includes 760+ integrations. Enterprise control has custom pricing and includes SSO and SCIM, custom RBAC, audit logs, and secret managers. These are options for broader deployment or governance needs rather than low-cost extensions of the entry plans. There is no free trial.

Platforms

Activepieces is available on web and API, and can be self-hosted. Its cloud option reduces the need to run infrastructure, while self-hosting offers control over deployment location, including air-gapped use. The latter is best for organizations able to meet the stated Docker Compose, CPU, and memory requirements.

Who it's for

Activepieces is a strong fit for teams building multi-step automations that need branching, human approvals, or AI agents alongside broad app connectivity. It is particularly compelling when deployment location, credential handling, or model-training boundaries matter. Solo users can start free, but the one-user cap, 1,000-credit allowance, and five-minute minimum run interval rule it out for larger teams or time-sensitive schedules. Organizations that want a hosted, lower-maintenance setup can use its cloud; those that need infrastructure control should be prepared to operate a self-hosted deployment.

Pros and cons

• Pros: All 764 catalog integrations are included on every plan, so moving to self-hosted or Free does not narrow connector access.
• Pros: Branching, retries, approvals, and error handling allow flows to cover exceptions rather than only straight-through tasks.
• Pros: Cloud, self-hosted, and air-gapped deployment options accommodate different infrastructure and data-control requirements.
• Cons: Free is limited to one user and 1,000 monthly credits; after exhaustion, runs wait for the next day's refresh.
• Cons: The five-minute minimum run interval is too slow for automations that need more frequent scheduled execution.
• Cons: The recommended self-hosting setup requires Docker Compose v2 and at least 2 vCPU and 4 GB RAM, making it a managed-infrastructure choice rather than a zero-operations option.

Alternatives

Consider Camunda if its self-managed development plan and broader listed platform support better match your development environment; its free plan covers local development and testing, while production usage is also listed.

Relevance AI is another freemium web option; its Free plan includes 100 credits per day, one user, and 10MB of knowledge, making it worth comparing if those limits suit your workload.

Latenode offers a free plan with 10,000 CPU seconds per month, five active workflows, and one parallel execution. Pick it if those execution limits are a better fit for your needs.

n8n is a freemium alternative with a self-hosted Community Edition available through GitHub; consider it if that distribution model is your priority.

Flowable offers Apache 2.0-licensed engines written in Java, making it the alternative to consider when that open-source engine foundation matters.

Flozic has a $9 a month Standard plan with 8,000 tasks a month, 40 AI agents, and a five-minute run interval; compare it if those task and agent allowances fit your use.

Vellum offers a free tier with first tasks included and pay-as-you-go credits, plus a $30 a month Mighty plan; consider it if that pricing structure better matches your starting workload.

Tray.ai is a paid alternative with a free trial and plans that include workspace and insights allowances; compare it if those controls are more relevant to your team.

Browse more options in AI Workflow Automation Software, Task Automation Software, Integration Platform as a Service Software, and Workflow automation tools.

Verdict

Choose Activepieces if your team wants flexible workflow logic, a large integration catalog included across plans, and meaningful deployment and security controls. Its main advantage is combining those controls with cloud, self-hosted, and air-gapped options; look elsewhere if you need more frequent than five-minute runs, a generous shared free tier, or a simpler self-hosting commitment.