In one line: Zapier connects 9,000+ apps so that something happening in one (a new form entry, email or spreadsheet row) sets off actions in another, and its AI Copilot now builds those automations from a plain-English description, with a free plan that gives you 100 tasks a month, unlimited two-step automations and basic access to Zapier Agents.
What it is
Zapier is a no-code automation platform. You build Zaps: a trigger in one app ("new row in Google Sheets") followed by one or more actions in others ("send a Gmail email," "post in Slack"). It works with 9,000+ apps. The AI part has grown a lot. Copilot (in open beta) sits at the top of the Zap editor: you type or dictate what you want, like "if someone posts in Discord, send me a notification in Slack," and it picks the apps, sets up the steps, fills in the fields it can, and tells you what it couldn't do so you can finish it. You can choose Auto-build, or Ask as you build if you want to approve each suggestion, then test and publish. Zapier Agents are AI helpers you give instructions and company knowledge to, and they work across your apps on a schedule or when you ask, including through a Chrome extension. Zapier is now moving Agents into AI by Zapier, an AI step inside the normal Zap editor where the AI can reason and use tools, with an option to require your approval before it uses a given tool. The free plan also includes Tables (a simple database), Forms, Canvas for mapping out processes, up to two Chatbots and Zapier MCP for hooking other AI tools up to your apps.
Who it's for
Anyone who copies the same information between apps by hand: small business owners, freelancers, marketers, ops and sales people, and anyone whose "system" is a form, a spreadsheet and an inbox. It's the easier, hosted choice compared with n8n (Issue #12): no servers, more ready-made connections and a real free plan, but less control and higher costs at volume. It's less useful if you need lots of steps on a budget, if your apps aren't on Zapier, or if you'd rather self-host and pay per run.
Try this today
Go to zapier.com and sign up for free. Zapier says new accounts get a 14-day free trial of the Professional plan with no credit card, so you can try multi-step Zaps before the Free limits apply. Pick one small chore you do every week, then start a new Zap and describe it to Copilot in one sentence, naming the apps, for example "When someone fills out my Google Form, add them to a Google Sheet and send me a Gmail summary." Choose Ask as you build the first time so you see each step before it's created. Connect your accounts when it asks, run the test with real sample data, read what each step will actually send, and only then click Publish. Since the Free plan only allows two-step Zaps, keep your first one to a single trigger and a single action so it keeps running after the trial ends.
The catch
Free is small. You get 100 tasks a month, and every successful action step counts as a task (triggers and Zapier's built-in tools like Formatter and Filter don't), so a busy Zap can use that up in days. Free Zaps are two-step only (one trigger, one action), check for new data every 15 minutes, and can't use premium apps, webhooks, filters and paths, or the AI by Zapier step, which the pricing page lists as paid only. Copilot has a daily message limit on Free. Paid pricing is a mix of plan and task tier, so the bill grows with usage: the Professional plan starts at $19.99 a month billed yearly for 750 tasks, but 2,000 tasks is $49 a month billed yearly. Going over your limit on a paid plan switches you to pay-per-task billing at 1.25 times your base task rate on yearly plans and 2.5 times on monthly plans, and everything stops at 3 times your allowance. Agents are a separate add-on with their own unit, activities: Free gets 400 a month, capped at 10 per run, and on Free your test runs count too. Zapier hasn't set a date to shut off standalone Agents, but says it will email users before it does, so don't build anything critical there without planning to move it into the Zap editor.
Pricing
Free: $0, with 100 tasks a month, unlimited two-step Zaps, 15-minute checks, Copilot with a daily message limit, unlimited Tables (2,500 records) and Forms, basic Agents (400 activities a month) and 2 Chatbots. Professional: from $19.99 a month billed yearly, or $29.99 a month billed monthly, for 750 tasks a month, adding multi-step Zaps, unlimited premium apps, webhooks, filters and paths, AI by Zapier, 2-minute checks and email support; 2,000 tasks costs $49 a month billed yearly or $73.50 monthly, and tiers go up to 2 million tasks. Team: from $69 a month billed yearly, or $103.50 monthly, for 2,000 tasks, with up to 25 users, shared Zaps and app connections, SAML SSO and priority support. Enterprise: contact sales. Add-ons are billed separately: Agents Pro from about $33.33 a month billed yearly for 1,500 activities, and paid Chatbots tiers from about $13.33 a month billed yearly for around 5 chatbots. Yearly billing is 33% off monthly, nonprofits get another 15% off, and task allowances reset every month even on yearly plans. Prices are in USD.
Pricing checked on Zapier's pricing page and the Zapier help center (How is Zapier Agents usage measured?, Migrating from Agents to AI by Zapier, Use the power of AI to generate Zap workflows) on Nov 5, 2026.