Self-hosted alternatives to Zapier
Task-based billing punishes exactly the workflows that work well — the more useful it is, the more it costs.
Below are 10 open-source projects that cover the same ground, each scored 0–100 on how actively it is actually maintained — commit volume, release cadence and recent trend. 10 of the 10 are currently rated healthy or better. Ordering reflects that score, not sponsorship.
| Project | Health | Activity (11 mo) | Stars | Licence | Last release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n8n Free node based Workflow Automation Tool. Easily automate tasks across different services. | Thriving · 99 | 206k | Apache-2.0 | 25 Sept 2026 | |
| Apache Airflow Platform to programmatically author, schedule, and monitor workflows. | Thriving · 96 | 47k | Apache-2.0 | 17 Sept 2026 | |
| Kestra Event-driven, language-agnostic platform to create, schedule, and monitor workflows. In code. Coordinate data | Thriving · 96 | 28k | Apache-2.0 | 22 Sept 2026 | |
| Activepieces No-code business automation tool like Zapier or Tray. For example, you can send a Slack notification for each | Thriving · 94 | 25k | MIT | 24 Sept 2026 | |
| OliveTin Web interface for running Linux shell commands. | Thriving · 82 | 3.8k | AGPL-3.0 | 10 Sept 2026 | |
| Healthchecks Listen for pings and sends alerts when pings are late. | Healthy · 81 | 10k | BSD-3-Clause | 31 Aug 2026 | |
| Dagu Powerful Cron alternative with a Web UI. It allows you to define dependencies between commands as a Directed A | Healthy · 79 | 4.2k | GPL-3.0 | 25 Sept 2026 | |
| Node RED Browser-based flow editor that helps you wiring hardware devices, APIs and online services to create IoT solut | Healthy · 76 | 24k | Apache-2.0 | 9 Sept 2026 | |
| Gotenberg Developer-friendly API to interact with powerful tools like Chromium and LibreOffice for converting numerous d | Healthy · 76 | 13k | MIT | 11 Sept 2026 | |
| Huginn Build agents that monitor and act on your behalf. | Healthy · 70 | 50k | MIT | 21 Sept 2026 |
How these were picked
Every project listed here is open source and can run entirely on hardware you control. We start from the categories that match Zapier's job — Automation, Software Development - Low Code — then rank by health score so that a popular-but-abandoned project never appears above a smaller one that is actively shipping. The scoring method is documented in full.
The scores are recomputed from repository data on every rebuild, so this page reflects the state of these projects as of 1 Oct 2026 — not the day it was written.
n8n
Free node based Workflow Automation Tool. Easily automate tasks across different services.
Best fit: It suits developers and system administrators who want to self-host their automation infrastructure and manage custom data pipelines between disparate web services.
Worth knowing: The licensing model combines Apache-2.0 with the Commons-Clause, which restricts selling the software as a paid service to third parties. Operational overhead includes managing workflow state and handling potential queue bottlenecks as execution volume grows.
Apache Airflow
Platform to programmatically author, schedule, and monitor workflows.
Best fit: Data engineering teams and developers who need to orchestrate multi-step automated processes with strict dependency ordering and scheduling requirements.
Worth knowing: Operating this platform introduces a significant administrative burden, as it requires managing multiple moving parts like a metadata database, scheduler, and worker nodes.
Kestra
Event-driven, language-agnostic platform to create, schedule, and monitor workflows. In code. Coordinate data pipelines and tasks such as ETL and ELT.
Best fit: It suits technical teams that need to manage programmatic workflows and data pipelines using code-based configurations within an event-driven architecture.
Worth knowing: Adopting a new workflow orchestrator introduces a learning curve for defining processes in its specific syntax, and it will overlap heavily with established orchestration alternatives you might already run.
Activepieces
No-code business automation tool like Zapier or Tray. For example, you can send a Slack notification for each new Trello card.
Best fit: Teams looking for a self-hosted alternative to proprietary workflow automation services to retain data control.
Worth knowing: Self-hosting an automation platform introduces operational overhead in managing workflow execution queues, credentials, and potential failure states.
OliveTin
Web interface for running Linux shell commands.
Best fit: This tool suits system administrators who want to give non-technical team members a safe, controlled way to run specific server scripts without granting direct terminal access.
Worth knowing: Exposing shell commands via a web interface introduces significant security risks if scripts are not carefully written and permissions are not strictly isolated. Additionally, the AGPL-3.0 licence places restrictions on network-based service providers.