Zapier vs Windmill
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Zapier and Windmill.
🏆
Verdict: Windmill wins
Windmill scores 4.2/5, edging out Zapier at 4.1/5. Engineering teams who want code-first internal tools, workflows and APIs on infrastructure they control, with no per-execution billing.
Zapier Connect your apps and automate work | Windmill Open-source workflow automation for developers | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.1 (1 review) | 4.2 (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. | Engineering teams who want code-first internal tools, workflows and APIs on infrastructure they control, with no per-execution billing. |
| Free Tier | ||
| API Access | ||
| Team Features | ||
| Open Source | ||
| Tags | no codefree tierteam features | open sourcefree tierapi access |
| Visit Zapier → | Visit Windmill → |
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
Windmill
Pros
- + Script-first model: typed functions become endpoints, jobs and flow steps with auto-generated UIs — my nightly pipeline was rebuilt in one Docker session
- + Free self-hosted tier carries unlimited executions, not a trial disguised as a plan
- + Rust execution engine kept orchestration overhead sub-second between flow steps in my tests
- + Worker-group model scales throughput with replicas and tag routing instead of redesigns
- + Transparent per-unit Enterprise pricing ($20/builder, $10/non-builder, $50/worker) with published SLA terms
Cons
- - Zero no-code path — teams without developers cannot use it at any price
- - Prebuilt Community Edition images bundle proprietary Windmill Labs terms (no resale/wrapping/modifying), separate from the AGPLv3 source build
- - Worker groups and role configuration have a real learning curve before the platform pays off
- - Small vendor (under twenty employees in 2024 reporting, ~$15M raised) relative to the incumbents it replaces
- - Flow durability is lighter than Temporal for mission-critical long-running orchestration
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better, Zapier or Windmill?▼
Windmill scores higher at 4.2/5 vs 4.1/5 for Zapier, making it the better-rated option in our comparison.
What is the difference between Zapier and Windmill?▼
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. Windmill: Windmill is an open-source platform that turns scripts in Python, TypeScript, Go and other languages into workflows, internal apps and scheduled jobs. It is aimed at developers who prefer code over drag-and-drop builders.
Is Zapier or Windmill more affordable?▼
Zapier starts at €19.99/mo, Windmill starts at €0/mo. Check the comparison table above for current pricing.
Stay in the loop
Get weekly updates on the best new AI tools, deals, and comparisons.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.