Workflow

Zapier Alternatives

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Workflow management involves using tools that help you and your team stay on top of tasks for various projects. Rather than working from a simple to-do list, these solutions provide options for file sharing, sending messages, tracking deadlines, showing task dependencies, and other items.

Zapier is an automation platform that can create similar solutions and benefits by connecting the various apps you use with each other. Rather than duplicating the manual work in one platform, then another, Zapier can create connections between them to streamline processes for hand-offs, data syncing, andmore. When you sign up for Zapier, you can test the software during a 14-day free-trial period.

The Best Zapier Alternatives

Selecting the best software requires spending a bit of time to find one that delivers a package of benefits matching your particular needs. Zapier is a strong choice for some folks, but users may want a more traditional workflow management solution.

ProofHub is our favorite pick, delivering the versatility required to appeal to a wide range of potential use cases. Sign up for ProofHub today and try it out on a 14-day free trial.

Process Street delivers a strong set of features versus its workflow management software competitors, yet it’s also one of the easiest tools to learn to use. Get started with Process Street on a two-week trial period.

Hive rises above other workflow management software packages in its ability to help you keep a team of remote workers closely connected and working together. Try Hive out today on a risk-free 14-day trial.

Crazy Egg Golden Eggs for Zapier alternatives.

More Top Zapier Alternatives

If you are ready to explore this type of software in more detail and learn what it can do for you, we have far more information included with our ranking of the best workflow management software.

Our Take on Zapier

Zapier is a popular piece of software for teams looking to save time in their routine work processes. Because of the way it automates many tasks that your team may be performing manually, it can completely change the way (and speed at which) you work.

Zapier’s greatest strength is its ability to enable integrations between apps that you are already using. When you want to copy or synchronize information from one app to another automatically and instantly, Zapier is the tool to use. 

Some examples of common Zaps (their term for automated integrations) that the software can perform include:

  • Turn an email message in Gmail or Microsoft Outlook into a task card in Trello, Asana, or other PM software.
  • Copy notification of a sales order in Shopify to a thread in Slack or to a spreadsheet in Google Sheets.
  • Send an automatic “thank you” email in Gmail after someone completes your survey through SurveyMonkey.
  • Collect data from a JotForm or Typeform and copy it to Sheets, Airtable, or your CRM for sorting and tracking.
  • Create cards in Trello or Asana directly from a Slack message that contains a certain command.
  • Post copies of messages that you create on Twitter to your other social media accounts like Facebook or LinkedIn.
  • Copy all attachments in your Gmail messages into your Google Drive or Dropbox account.

Integrations between more than 5,000 apps are possible through Zapier. You can create as many or as few integrations as you want. When you subscribe to Zapier, your cost relates to the number of Zaps that you’re allowed to run each month. 

Creating Zaps is a straightforward process much of the time. You do not need to understand coding to create them, as the software handles the coding work for you. You even can create quite complex relationships in your app integrations. When one event happens, you could choose to trigger as many as 100 different Zaps from that event.

Having said that, one of Zapier’s primary drawbacks is trying to fix problems with Zaps. If you make a mistake while creating a Zap, it can be difficult to identify and resolve the issue. You can create simple integrations quickly and easily, but the time required ramps up quickly when your integrations become more complex and need troubleshooting.

We must also mention that Zapier differs significantly from other workflow management software packages. Where others let you view projects and collaborate with team members inside the software, Zapier elevates other platforms you use for project work. 

If you want to learn more about Zapier’s strengths and weaknesses, we have you covered. Check out our detailed Zapier review to explore more features from this solution. Then read through our list of the best workflow management software options to learn more about Zapier’s competition in this category and what solutions they’re each best at providing.

Zapier vs. ProofHub

When you want more of a traditional project and workflow management software package than what Zapier offers, ProofHub is a solid choice. ProofHub delivers features for project tracking, report creation, providing guest access, and more. It has a versatile design, making it a good choice for teams with highly variable needs.

Where ProofHub outshines Zapier is in its ability to help your team members communicate directly in the software. You can use ProofHub’s live chat feature or its message boards to share information. Everything occurs within ProofHub. With Zapier, you would be using a communications package like Slack, and you then would have Zapier’s integrations share the Slack messages with the other platforms you use.

Versus a more traditional package like ProofHub, Zapier may be the better choice if you already rely on and are accustomed to certain apps. Rather than abandoning Slack for your team’s communications, you could continue to use it and let Zapier take care of the process of sharing messages on other software. Similarly, if you already use a project management software package you like, keep using it with Zapier, rather than switching to ProofHub.

Zapier vs. Process Street

For teams that have multiple recurring workflows to manage with each project, Process Street is a strong choice. Process Street helps you automate many routine actions that your team ends up tackling in every project. This saves quite a bit of time versus trying to manually create the recurring workflow each and every time, such as when setting up a new client in your system.

Versus Zapier, Process Street is far easier for anyone to use. Even if your team members don’t have experience with workflow management software, they can pick up the basics with Process Street quickly. The gentle learning curve allows your team members to be productive in a short amount of time. Once you go through the process of setting up Zapier’s app integrations, it’s easy enough to use. But setup can be a much more time-consuming process with Zapier.

One of the software’s features that Process Street likes to highlight is the over 1,000 app integrations it can handle. While this number is impressive, it lags well behind Zapier’s 5,000 app integrations. Zapier also outperforms Process Street in the complexity of app integrations that it allows. Setting up a complex integration in Zapier can be a challenge, but having the ability to perform multi-step automations is a key advantage of Zapier over Process Street.

Zapier vs. Hive

As one of the top workflow project management software solutions, Hive’s primary strength lies in its ability to keep remote workforces connected. If you rely on freelancers or have a team that works primarily from home, it can be a challenge to keep everyone on the same page. Hive makes it easier for your remote team to communicate with each other and to see which projects and tasks need prioritization.

Hive’s features are especially useful when you need to accurately track the time your team is spending on tasks within a project. You can reuse that information when you perform similar projects in the future, allowing you to allocate team members properly. When your team consists primarily of remote workers, it’s important to have a clear understanding of how long tasks should take.

Where Zapier can facilitate integrations among thousands of apps, Hive offers only about a dozen native integration options. In fact, Hive suggests that customers make use of Zapier when they want to integrate other apps with Hive. You may decide that skipping Hive and focusing on Zapier to serve as your workflow management software package is the better option if you have other software you’re already using and want to sync together.

Zapier vs. Kintone

Kintone is a popular platform for many different types of use cases, including HR departments, marketing teams, and IT teams. It has such a wide range of features and significant capability for customizing workflows that it can give many different types of businesses the level of performance they need.

Where Zapier allows you to integrate apps with one another code-free, Kintone lets you create custom workflows without needing to code. This is an impressive feature that gives Kintone an edge. Customized workflows are not the primary focus for Zapier. Kintone also has pre-built templates that can save you time when setting up a new workflow.

The fact that Kintone doesn’t require you to know how to code does not automatically make Kintone easy to use, though. Kintone’s user interface could use an update for today’s users. On the other hand, making use of the basic features in Zapier is extremely easy in its cleanly designed interface. 

Zapier vs. Nintex

Nintex works well for teams that need to track complex workflows. Setting up and tracking the complex processes of larger or more specialized businesses can be a significant hassle for many workflow management software packages, but not with Nintex. Nearly every department in your company, from IT and sales to human resources and product development, can use Nintex to great effect.

One feature of Nintex that gives it an edge over Zapier is the ability to automatically manage the flow of documents during a project. When you need to gather digital signatures and stakeholder approvals, Nintex leverages AssureSign to manage and secure signatures. With Zapier, you could create an integration with DocuSign and other apps your team is using, but this process is more complex than what Nintex offers built into its platform.

Although Zapier’s pricing structure can increase in a hurry when you are using a large number of integrations, it remains less pricey than Nintex. The most popular pricing plans with Nintex carry a flat fee per month, regardless of the number of users. Zapier also uses a flat fee pricing plan, but it remains cheaper than the tens of thousands of dollars a Nintex license costs.

Zapier vs. Backlog

Beyond offering workflow management features, Backlog also provides features aimed at visual project management. This type of versatility is helpful when your department needs an all-encompassing software package to handle multiple items related to workflow and project tracking. Backlog especially helps with bug tracking, version control, and issue tracking for development teams.

Backlog delivers all of this within its platform, whereas Zapier requires you to use other apps to achieve these features. For example, when you want to visualize your projects in Backlog, you can take advantage of its Gantt charts or Kanban boards. Zapier doesn’t provide these kinds of project views natively. You instead would make use of an integration with a project management software package to achieve these views.

Because of all the app integrations that Zapier offers, it can help companies and departments that already have apps they like using. If you already use project management software like Monday.com, Zapier can create integrations to improve your workflows. You don’t have to switch to a package like Backlog to try to improve your workflow management. 

Zapier Alternatives in Summary

Without question, Zapier is the best solution for people who want to easily build integrations between different apps. It allows your tech stack to get smarter by having the various apps and software you rely on communicate with each other. Because this process occurs automatically with Zapier, it also saves your team a significant amount of time.

With its focus on app integration, however, Zapier doesn’t quite offer traditional features you’d find with other workflow management software options. Zapier’s feature set varies quite a bit from what you typically receive in this type of software. This fact may limit its appeal for your particular team.
For example, ProofHub offers a more traditional workflow management software package. Its features should appeal to a wide range of teams, where Zapier’s usefulness can be narrower. For ease of use, Process Street is a far better choice than Zapier, as your team can begin using it quickly after subscribing. Setting up all the integrations with Zapier can take time and require a good bit of self-education.


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