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 →