# Agents & automation

> “AI that does the work across your apps.”. Ranked by expert consensus and what people use now; affiliate links never change the order.

Fixed workflows and AI agents solve different problems: a workflow repeats the same steps, an agent decides the steps from a goal. Zapier is the easiest start for workflows, Make costs less at high volume and n8n or Activepieces let you self-host and keep data in-house. For agents, Lindy handles email, scheduling and lead follow-up, Relevance AI builds agents for sales and operations, and Manus takes a research job and returns a finished file.

Last checked: 2026-10-12

## Ranking

1. **[Zapier](https://suiteintent.com/t/zapier?m=GB)**: No-code automation between thousands of apps. · Best for: Your first automations, with no developer · Free plan · 14 days ([Deals](https://suiteintent.com/deals/zapier))
2. **[n8n](https://suiteintent.com/t/n8n?m=GB)**: Workflow automation you can self-host. · Best for: Long workflows with many steps per run · Pricing on request · 50% ([Deals](https://suiteintent.com/deals/n8n))
3. **[Make](https://suiteintent.com/t/make?m=GB)**: Visual automations that connect thousands of apps. · Best for: Branching workflows at high volume · Free plan · 180 days ([Deals](https://suiteintent.com/deals/make))
4. **[Lindy](https://suiteintent.com/t/lindy?m=GB)**: No-code AI agents that do tasks for you. · Best for: Handing routine admin to AI agents · From $50/mo
5. **[Manus](https://suiteintent.com/t/manus?m=GB)**: AI agent that carries out tasks for you. · Best for: Handing off research that ends in a file · Free plan
6. **[Gumloop](https://suiteintent.com/t/gumloop?m=GB)**: Drag-and-drop AI workflows and agents. · Best for: Automating repetitive work without code · From $37/mo
7. **[Relevance AI](https://suiteintent.com/t/relevance-ai?m=GB)**: Build AI agents for sales and operations work. · Best for: Ops teams building agents without engineers · Free plan
8. **[Activepieces](https://suiteintent.com/t/activepieces?m=GB)**: Open-source workflow automation with AI agents. · Best for: A cheaper, self-hostable Zapier alternative · Free plan
9. **[Bardeen](https://suiteintent.com/t/bardeen?m=GB)**: Browser automation for sales and research. · Best for: Getting prospect data into your CRM fast · Free plan

## Side by side

| Tool | Price | Ease of use (1-5) | Team size |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Zapier | Free plan, 14-day free trial | 5 | solo, small team, growing team, large team |
| n8n | Pricing on request, 50% off Business for startups | 2 | small team, growing team, large team |
| Make | Free plan, Teams plan free for 6 months | 3 | solo, small team, growing team |
| Lindy | From $50/mo | 4 | solo, small team, growing team, large team |
| Manus | Free plan | 4 | solo, small team |
| Gumloop | From $37/mo | 4 | solo, small team, growing team |
| Relevance AI | Free plan | 3 | small team, growing team, large team |
| Activepieces | Free plan | 4 | solo, small team, growing team |
| Bardeen | Free plan | 4 | solo, small team, growing team |

## Why these picks

- Prices last checked: 2026-10-12
- Ranked by expert consensus and what people use now; affiliate links never change the order.

## Head to head

- [Activepieces vs n8n: self-hosted automation](https://suiteintent.com/compare/activepieces-vs-n8n)
- [Activepieces vs Zapier: automate work between apps](https://suiteintent.com/compare/activepieces-vs-zapier)
- [Lindy vs Zapier: AI agent or fixed workflow](https://suiteintent.com/compare/lindy-vs-zapier)
- [Make vs n8n: automations with AI agents](https://suiteintent.com/compare/make-vs-n8n)
- [Zapier vs Make: which automation tool to start](https://suiteintent.com/compare/zapier-vs-make)
- [Zapier vs n8n: automating your spreadsheets](https://suiteintent.com/compare/zapier-vs-n8n)

## MCP setups

- [Let Claude take actions in any app via Zapier](https://suiteintent.com/mcp/automate-apps-zapier-mcp)

## Questions

### Zapier, Make or n8n for my first automations?

Zapier is the easiest place to start, with simple trigger and action steps and no developer needed. Make suits you if you like building the logic yourself, with branches, routers and precise error handling, and it costs less at high volume. n8n fits technical teams who self-host or run long workflows, since you pay per run however many steps it has. Start with the one that matches who will maintain the automations.

### Automation bills grow fast. Which pricing model suits me?

Zapier bills by task volume, so costs climb as each automation runs more often. n8n charges per workflow run, which favours long workflows with many steps. Activepieces gives 1,000 free cloud credits a month with unlimited flows, then $20 a month for 10,000 credits on Plus, and its open-source edition can be self-hosted. Gumloop starts at $37 a month after a 14-day trial.

### Do I need an AI agent if my Zapier workflows already work?

Keep the workflows that run the same steps every time, because they are predictable and cheap to debug. An agent helps when the steps change from case to case, such as reading an email and deciding whether to book a call or send a quote. Lindy and Relevance AI build agents without code for that kind of job. Many teams run both: workflows for routine moves, agents for judgement calls.

### How do I keep an AI agent from making costly mistakes?

Give it one narrow job first, such as qualifying inbound leads, and review its output for a couple of weeks. Limit which apps and accounts it can touch, and require approval before it sends, pays or deletes anything. Log what it does, so you can trace a bad result back to its input. Widen its scope only after it has handled real cases well.

### Can I keep automation data inside the EU?

Self-hosting gives you the most control: n8n and Activepieces both run on your own server, which you can place in an EU data centre. With cloud tools, check where each provider stores data and whether it offers a data processing agreement under GDPR. Our data lists every pick here for European markets. Check the hosting location for the plan you choose. Ask before you route customer data through any of them.