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Self-host Zapier

Workflow automation / iPaaS · Category: PaaS & app hosting

Zapier's wedge is the integration catalog (8000+ apps). Self-hosted automation tools have caught up on the engine; the gap is purely the breadth of pre-built integrations.

Zapier pricing anchor: $19.99/mo Starter (750 tasks); $49/mo Professional (2k tasks).

n8n n8n-io/n8n alive

GitHub
★ 187.3k · last commit today · 1480 open issues
License
Sustainable Use License
Fair-code: source-available, free for internal business use including self-host. Reselling as a SaaS or competing with n8n's commercial offering is restricted.
Setup time
10min docker-compose
Monthly cost
$5 VPS for low-volume; $10-20 once you cron-trigger workflows on minute intervals.
Migration sketch. Zapier doesn't export Zaps, so workflow migration is manual. n8n has 400+ integrations including Gmail, Slack, Notion, Airtable, OpenAI, HTTP. Map each Zap trigger → n8n Trigger node, each action → n8n Action node. Webhook-based Zaps port directly to n8n's Webhook node.
Full migration guide →
Good fit forDevs and ops who want code-extensible workflows (every node can call a Function step) and aren't blocked by the SUL.
Weak atLicense is non-OSI; if your use case is commercial reselling, this won't qualify.

Activepieces activepieces/activepieces alive

GitHub
★ 22.1k · last commit today · 482 open issues
License
MIT
Core engine is MIT; some enterprise features (custom branding, audit logs) are paid.
Setup time
10min docker-compose
Monthly cost
$5-10 VPS — Node.js + Postgres + Redis stack.
Migration sketch. Manual rebuild from Zapier — Activepieces ships ~280 pieces (their term for integrations) including the major SaaS connectors. Each piece has a TypeScript SDK, so missing connectors can be added in ~50 lines of code and shared back to upstream.
Good fit forTeams that want a true MIT license without the commercial-reselling restriction n8n carries.
Weak atSmaller integration catalog than n8n; younger project so some pieces are thinner than the Zapier equivalent.

Huginn huginn/huginn alive

GitHub
★ 49.3k · last commit today · 694 open issues
License
MIT
Setup time
20min (Rails app + Postgres)
Monthly cost
$5 VPS.
Migration sketch. Workflow concepts differ — Huginn is built around long-lived 'agents' that emit events. Zapier triggers map to RSS / Webhook / Email / Twitter agents; actions become Post / Email-Send / Shell-Command agents. No GUI workflow builder.
Good fit forSingle-user / personal automation, especially monitoring and scraping workflows.
Weak atNot a Zapier-shaped UI; multi-user is awkward; agent ecosystem is much smaller than Zapier's.

In a terminal? npx os-alt zapier prints this table — how the CLI works →