Zapier vs Apify
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Zapier and Apify.
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Verdict: Apify wins
Apify scores 4.3/5, edging out Zapier at 4.1/5. Developers and data teams who need web data as a recurring pipeline — prebuilt scrapers to start, custom Actors and proxy infrastructure as they scale.
Zapier Connect your apps and automate work | Apify Web scraping and automation platform | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.1 (1 review) | 4.3 (1 review) |
| Pricing Model | freemium | freemium |
| Starting Price | From $19.99/mo | Free tier available |
| Best For | Non-technical teams automating mainstream business apps who value predictable, easy-to-learn glue over raw flexibility or low per-task cost. | Developers and data teams who need web data as a recurring pipeline — prebuilt scrapers to start, custom Actors and proxy infrastructure as they scale. |
| Free Tier | ||
| API Access | ||
| Team Features | ||
| Open Source | ||
| Tags | no codefree tierteam features | free tierapi accessopen source |
| Visit Zapier → | Visit Apify → |
Zapier
Pros
- + Connector depth beats raw counts: every HubSpot and Typeform field I needed was pre-mapped in my rebuild, where two rivals required manual ID mapping or raw HTTP
- + By far the easiest editor to learn — a teammate with no automation background shipped a working 3-step Zap in about ten minutes in my test
- + Honest, published tiering (750 tasks at $19.99/mo annual up to 1M tasks at $2,199/mo) with a documented rates page, at time of writing on zapier.com/pricing
- + Error handling and history are dependable: configurable autoretry on paid plans and searchable Zap history; I lost no data across weeks of runs
- + Company stability is unusual for this category — profitable, ~$1.4M total outside capital, running since 2011
Cons
- - Task metering bills every action step, so a 10-step Zap consumes 10 tasks per record; 100K tasks/month runs $489/mo billed annually
- - Polling latency: standard triggers checked every 1–15 minutes in my tests, so 'instant' downstream alerts were often 2–5 minutes behind
- - Free plan (100 tasks, single-step Zaps) is a trial in practice — any real workflow needs Professional immediately
- - Architecturally shallow at the high end: no self-hosting, weak state management, and clunky sub-workflow composition
- - Long-tail connectors are thin; two smaller vendors' integrations lagged their own APIs by months in my checks
Apify
Pros
- + Genuine free sandbox: $5 monthly credit covers real test runs of store Actors, not just a feature tour
- + Store breadth — flagship scrapers (Google Maps, Instagram, SERP) show 4.6–4.7 ratings across hundreds of reviews in their own store stats
- + Billing is itemized per compute unit, proxy GB and storage operation, so I could attribute a run's cost down to cents
- + First-class developer tooling: Crawlee (open source), Python and JS SDKs, CLI deploys, scheduling, webhooks, REST API
- + Proxy network (datacenter, residential, Google SERP) is integrated rather than a third-party add-on, with country-level rates published
Cons
- - Real cost is a stack of meters (Actor per-event price + compute units + proxy GB + storage) and is hard to forecast without test runs
- - Store catalog is noisy with heavy duplication — one reviewer counted 12,000+ job scrapers alone; long-tail quality is unvetted
- - Anything past running a prebuilt Actor requires coding skills and proxy knowledge
- - SSO is Enterprise-only; personal training is $150/hour; support is community-only below the $19 tier
- - Vendor's headline customer and catalog counts are self-reported and undefined — I could not verify them independently
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better, Zapier or Apify?▼
Apify scores higher at 4.3/5 vs 4.1/5 for Zapier, making it the better-rated option in our comparison.
What is the difference between Zapier and Apify?▼
Zapier: Zapier connects thousands of web apps so you can automate repetitive tasks without code, such as sending form entries to a CRM. Free plan with 100 tasks a month. Apify: Apify is a marketplace and platform of ready-made web scrapers and automation actors, with tooling to build and host your own.
Is Zapier or Apify more affordable?▼
Zapier starts at €19.99/mo, Apify starts at €0/mo. Check the comparison table above for current pricing.
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