Open, self-hostable workflow automation with AI agent nodes, code steps and MCP
Free plan · paid from €20/month
The Best AI automation and agent builders in 2026
- 10 apps ranked
- Updated Oct 2026
- Researched from official sources
Automation tools now do more than move data between apps: most let you add AI agents that read, decide and act across your tools. Some are no-code builders for everyone, some are open source and self-hosted, and some are assistants you simply brief in plain English. We tested the leading ones and ranked them with the same published rubric.
Our top picks
Visual automation builder with AI agents, Maia assistant and 3,000+ apps
Free plan · paid from $9/month
No-code automation across 9,000+ apps, with AI agents, chatbots and Copilot
Free plan · paid from $19.99/month
The full ranking
10 apps, best first- 1
n8n
Best forTechnical teams who want full control over AI agents, data and hosting
Open, self-hostable workflow automation with AI agent nodes, code steps and MCP
Free plan · paid from €20/month
Pros & cons
- Free to self-host, so data stays on your own servers
- Most flexible agent building here, with code wherever you need it
- Charges per workflow run, not per step, which is cheap for long workflows
- Huge community (200,000+ members, 200K+ GitHub stars)
- Steepest learning curve of the mainstream tools
- Fewer pre-built integrations (500+) than Zapier or Make
- Self-hosting means you handle updates and maintenance
8.5/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 2
Make
Best forTeams who want complex, visual workflows at a much lower price than Zapier
Visual automation builder with AI agents, Maia assistant and 3,000+ apps
Free plan · paid from $9/month
Pros & cons
- Cheapest paid entry point among the leaders
- Visual builder handles branching and data transformation well
- 3,000+ app integrations
- Maia and AI Agents included on all plans
- Steeper learning curve than Zapier
- No self-hosting
- Credit counting per operation can be hard to predict
8.4/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 3
Zapier
Best forNon-technical teams who want the widest app coverage and the fastest setup
No-code automation across 9,000+ apps, with AI agents, chatbots and Copilot
Free plan · paid from $19.99/month
Pros & cons
- Largest integration catalogue of any tool here (9,000+ apps)
- Easiest builder to learn, with Copilot doing much of the setup
- Agents, chatbots, Tables and Forms in one account
- Usable free plan
- Most expensive per task; costs climb quickly at volume
- Cloud only, with no self-hosting
- Agent capabilities are less flexible than n8n or Make
8.2/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 4
Activepieces
Best forTeams who want n8n-style control and self-hosting with a simpler, Zapier-like builder
Open-source (MIT) automation and AI agent builder with 760+ integrations
Free plan · paid from $20/month
Pros & cons
- Open source under MIT, including all integrations
- Generous free plan and cheap paid tier
- Self-host or run air-gapped
- Easier to pick up than n8n
- Fewer integrations (760+) than Zapier or Make
- Smaller community and fewer templates than n8n
- SSO and advanced roles need the $200 Team plan or above
7.9/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 5
Lindy
Best forFounders and busy professionals who want an assistant to run email, calendar and admin
AI assistant that works across your apps from Slack, iMessage and email
Free trial · from $29.99/month
Pros & cons
- No workflow diagrams; you describe the job and it builds the agent
- Works where you already talk: Slack, iMessage, email
- Computer use covers apps without an API
- SOC 2 Type II; data not used for training
- Credit burn is hard to predict and credits do not roll over
- No free plan, only a 7-day trial
- SSO, HIPAA and audit logs only on Enterprise
7.4/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 6
Gumloop
Best forOps, sales and marketing teams building AI agents without engineers
Team AI agent builder that connects any model to company apps, with IT controls
Free trial · from $37/month
Pros & cons
- Intuitive builder that handles messy, unstructured data well
- Unlimited seats on the Pro plan
- Strong enterprise controls for IT
- Fewer integrations than Zapier, Make or n8n
- Usage-based fees make heavy agent use expensive
- No free plan, only a trial
7.3/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 7
Microsoft Power Automate
Best forOrganisations already on Microsoft 365 that need governed automation and RPA
Microsoft 365 workflow automation and desktop RPA, with Copilot Studio agents
Free trial · from $15/user/month
Pros & cons
- Deep, native Microsoft 365 and Dynamics integration
- Only tool here with full desktop RPA built in
- Enterprise governance and admin controls
- Confusing licensing split across Power Automate and Copilot Studio
- Less polished, harder-to-learn interface
- Little value outside the Microsoft ecosystem
7.1/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 8
Google Workspace Studio
Best forTeams that live in Gmail, Drive and Sheets and want simple agents at no extra cost
No-code Gemini agents that automate work across Gmail, Drive, Sheets and more
From £5.90/user/month
Pros & cons
- No extra cost if you already pay for Workspace
- Inherits Workspace admin, audit and data-loss controls
- Very quick to set up a first agent
- Only a handful of third-party integrations
- Complex workflows still need careful process design
- No use if your company runs on Microsoft 365
7.1/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 9
IFTTT
Best forIndividuals automating smart-home devices and personal notifications
Simple if-this-then-that automations for smart homes and personal apps
Free plan · paid from $2.99/month
Pros & cons
- Simplest automation tool to learn
- Best smart-home and consumer device coverage
- Very cheap paid plans
- Well-rated iPhone app
- Free plan allows only 2 Applets
- No real branching, loops or data transformation; outgrown fast for business use
- Polling delays on lower plans
6.4/10★★★★★Visit ↗ - 10
Bardeen
Best forSales and go-to-market teams automating prospecting in the browser
Browser automation for sales teams: AI scraping, enrichment and lead qualification
Browser extensionFree plan · paid from $10/month
Pros & cons
- Fast, accurate scraping from the browser
- Easy for non-technical users
- SOC 2 Type II and GDPR
- Narrow focus on sales prospecting, not general automation
- Credits run out quickly at volume
- Struggles with dynamic sites and breaks when pages change
6.3/10★★★★★Visit ↗
Compare at a glance
Scroll sideways on mobile| # | App | Free plan | Paid from | iOS | Android | Web | Automation power | Ease of use | Features | Value for money | Platforms | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  n8n | Yes | €20/month | — | — | ✓ | 9 | 6.5 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 |
| 2 |  Make | Yes | $9/month | — | — | ✓ | 8.5 | 7.5 | 8.5 | 9 | 8.5 | 8.4 |
| 3 |  Zapier | Yes | $19.99/month | — | — | ✓ | 8 | 9.5 | 8.5 | 6 | 10 | 8.2 |
| 4 |  Activepieces | Yes | $20/month | — | — | ✓ | 7.5 | 7.5 | 8 | 9 | 7.5 | 7.9 |
| 5 |  Lindy | Trial | $29.99/month | — | — | ✓ | 7.5 | 8.5 | 7 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 7.4 |
| 6 |  Gumloop | Trial | $37/month | — | — | ✓ | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6.5 | 6 | 7.3 |
| 7 |  Microsoft Power Automate | Trial | $15/user/month | — | — | ✓ | 7.5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8.5 | 7.1 |
| 8 |  Google Workspace Studio | No | £5.90/user/month | — | — | ✓ | 7 | 8.5 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 7.1 |
| 9 |  IFTTT | Yes | $2.99/month | ✓ | — | ✓ | 5 | 9.5 | 4 | 7.5 | 7 | 6.4 |
| 10 |  Bardeen | Yes | $10/month | — | — | ✓ | 6.5 | 7.5 | 5.5 | 6 | 5.5 | 6.3 |
Head to head
12 comparisons
For developers
Make AI automation tools? Get yours reviewed here.
People compare AI automation tools on this page before they choose. Paste your website after checkout and we'll research, score and publish your listing.
- Full profile page
- Scored with the same rubric
- Reviewed within 2 working days
- Included in comparisons
How we rank AI automation tools
Every tool was checked on 7 October 2026 against its own website and pricing page, plus independent 2025–2026 reviews. For this category, the platforms score covers integration breadth and deployment options such as self-hosting. Each gets five scores out of 10, weighted into an overall score.
Ties are broken by the automation power score. To be listed, a tool has to let users build automated workflows or AI agents that take actions across other apps, and be open to new customers. The list is open: developers can submit an app, and we review it with the same rubric.
Features are scored half by our editors and half by this published checklist, ticked only where the app's own pages or app-store listing confirm it:
- AI agents that decide their own steps
- Builds workflows or agents from a plain-English description
- 1,000+ app integrations
- Branching, loops and data transformation
- Custom code steps
- Self-hosted or private-cloud deployment
- Choice of AI models or bring your own keys
- MCP support for connecting AI assistants
- Browser, desktop or computer-use automation
Rankings are editorial. Companies can't pay to change a score or a position, and any paid placement is labelled Featured.
Reviewed by Tech Arcade editors · Updated Oct 7, 2026
- Automation power30%
- Ease of use20%
- Features20%
- Value for money20%
- Platforms10%
Quick answers
What is the best AI automation tool?
In our October 2026 tests, n8n scored highest (8.6/10) for its flexible AI agent building and free self-hosting, with Make close behind (8.5) as the best-value visual builder. Zapier (8.3) is the easiest to use and connects the most apps, but costs the most at volume.
Is n8n better than Zapier?
For AI agents and complex workflows, yes: n8n is more powerful, can be self-hosted for free and charges per workflow run rather than per step. Zapier is much easier for non-technical users and connects over 9,000 apps against n8n's 500+, so it's the better pick if speed of setup matters most.
What is the best free AI automation tool?
n8n's Community Edition and Activepieces are open source and free to self-host. For hosted free plans, Make gives 1,000 credits a month, Activepieces 1,000 credits, and Zapier 100 tasks plus 400 agent activities.
What's the easiest way to build an AI agent without coding?
Zapier Agents, Lindy and Google Workspace Studio all build agents from a plain-English description. Lindy works from Slack, iMessage or email, while Workspace Studio is included free with paid Google Workspace plans.
Do companies pay to be on this list?
No. Rankings come from the published rubric and can't be bought. Developers can pay for a Featured spot above the ranking; it's always marked Sponsored and never changes scores or positions.
More best-of lists
All categories →
Best AI briefing apps11 apps ranked · #1 Particle
Best AI browsers10 apps ranked · #1 Perplexity Comet
Best AI calendar and planning apps10 apps ranked · #1 Reclaim.ai
Best AI chatbots10 apps ranked · #1 Gemini
Best AI email assistants10 apps ranked · #1 Gmail with Gemini
Best AI meeting note-takers14 apps ranked · #1 Fathom