Relay.app is shutting down — free users on August 15, 2026, paid users on September 14. If you built automations in Relay, you need a Relay.app alternative before your workflows go dark. The good news: the automation space has gotten much more competitive since Relay launched, and there are solid options that can replace everything it did.
What’s happening with Relay
Relay was a solid automation tool that sat somewhere between Zapier and a full AI agent platform. It let you build multi-step workflows, connect AI agents into your processes, and manage data in tables — all without writing code. Plenty of freelancers and small teams built their operations around it.
Now it’s gone. The shutdown timeline is tight. August 15 for free users, September 14 for paid. That’s not a lot of time to export your data, learn a new tool, and rebuild everything. Finding the right Relay.app alternative before the deadline matters more than you might think, because every week you spend without your automations running is a week of manual work you shouldn’t have to do.
The best Relay.app alternatives, ranked
I’ve used most of these tools personally. Here’s how they stack up as a Relay.app alternative for different needs.
| Tool | Best for | Free tier | AI built in | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zapier | Most integrations (7,000+ apps) | 100 tasks/mo | Yes (AI by Zapier) | $19.99/mo |
| Make | Visual workflow building | 1,000 ops/mo | Yes (AI assistant) | $10.59/mo |
| n8n | Self-hosted, unlimited | Unlimited (self-hosted) | Yes (AI agents) | Free / $24/mo cloud |
| Activepieces | Open-source, simple UI | Unlimited pieces | Yes (AI piece) | Free / $25/mo |
For a deeper comparison of the automation landscape beyond Relay, we broke down the best Zapier alternatives earlier this year — most of those same tools work well as Relay replacements too.
1. Zapier — the safest Relay.app alternative
If you want zero risk, Zapier is the obvious pick. It’s the biggest automation platform on the market, connects to over 7,000 apps, and it’s not going anywhere. The downside is that pricing can climb fast once you need multi-step workflows or high task volumes.
Zapier recently added AI by Zapier, which brings agentic AI steps into your workflows. This covers what Relay’s AI agents did — you can have AI classify data, summarize content, make decisions, and take actions inside your automations. Their official guide covers the basics, but the real value shows up when you start chaining AI steps together.
For most Relay refugees, Zapier is the easiest Relay.app alternative because the learning curve is minimal and the template library is massive. You can probably recreate 80% of your Relay workflows in a single afternoon using pre-built templates.
2. Make — the visual builder’s dream
Make (formerly Integromat) lets you build workflows visually by dragging and connecting modules on a canvas. If you liked Relay’s workflow builder, you’ll feel at home in Make. The visual approach makes it easier to understand complex logic at a glance compared to Zapier’s more linear layout.
Make’s pricing is genuinely more affordable than Zapier, especially at the lower tiers. You get 1,000 operations per month on the free plan, which is ten times what Zapier offers. For a small business or freelancer looking for a budget-friendly Relay.app alternative, Make is the strongest contender.
The tradeoff is a smaller integration library. Make supports around 1,800 apps compared to Zapier’s 7,000+. But for most common use cases — email, spreadsheets, CRM, calendars, databases — Make covers everything you need.
3. n8n — for people who want control
n8n is open-source and can be self-hosted for free. That means no per-task pricing, no usage limits, and nobody can shut it down on you. If the Relay situation taught you anything, it’s that depending on a startup for your business infrastructure carries real risk.
The catch: self-hosting requires some technical setup. You need a server (a $5–10/month VPS works fine) and basic comfort with Docker or command-line tools. n8n also offers a cloud version starting at $24/month if you don’t want to manage infrastructure yourself.
As a Relay.app alternative, n8n wins on long-term cost and control but loses on ease of setup. If you’re comfortable with a little technical work, the payoff is enormous. You’ll never worry about a shutdown notice again.
4. Activepieces — the open-source newcomer
Activepieces is the newest option here, and it’s gained real traction fast. It’s open-source like n8n but with a cleaner, more beginner-friendly interface. If you want open-source without the technical overhead, Activepieces might be your Relay.app alternative.
The free tier is genuinely free — unlimited “pieces” (their word for workflows) with generous execution limits. The main limitation is fewer app integrations compared to Zapier or Make. But the most popular tools (Google, Slack, email, databases) are all covered, and they’re adding new integrations regularly.
How to migrate from Relay to your new tool
Don’t wait until August 14 to start moving. Here’s a practical migration plan that works with any Relay.app alternative.
Step 1: Export everything from Relay now
Log into Relay and export your workflows, tables, and any stored data. Relay should provide an export feature. If not, screenshot your workflows and document the logic manually — trigger, conditions, actions, and any data transformations. Better to have a backup and not need it than to lose everything.
Step 2: Map your Relay workflows to the new tool
List every Relay workflow you have active. For each one, identify three things: the trigger (what starts it), the steps (what it does), and the output (where the result goes). Then map these to equivalent actions in your chosen Relay.app alternative. If you’ve never built an automation from scratch before, the process takes about 20 minutes once you know the basics.
Most tools have import options or templates that cover common patterns. Check those first before building from scratch.
Step 3: Rebuild in batches, not all at once
Don’t try to recreate everything in one weekend. Start with your most critical workflows — the ones that directly affect revenue or customer experience. Get those running in your new tool first, test them thoroughly, then move on to the less critical stuff.
I’d suggest ranking your workflows by impact: what would hurt the most if it stopped running? Start there. Save the “nice to have” automations for last — those are the ones you can live without for a week or two while you get settled.
Step 4: Run both tools in parallel for a week
Before shutting anything down in Relay, run your new workflows alongside the old ones for at least a week. Compare outputs. Check that emails are sending, data is syncing, and nothing is getting dropped. Only decommission your Relay workflows once you’re confident the replacement is solid.
Which Relay.app alternative should you pick?
For the easiest transition with the most integrations, go with Zapier. Want the best value? Make is your answer. If you never want to deal with another shutdown, self-host n8n. And for open-source with a gentle learning curve, Activepieces fits well.
Whatever you pick, start this week. August 15 is closer than you think, and rebuilding automation workflows always takes longer than you expect. The best Relay.app alternative is the one you actually set up before the deadline — not the one you read about and never got around to.
