Is Zapier Free in 2026? What the Free Plan Really Covers
Yes, Zapier has a free plan, and it covers small automations: Zaps with one trigger and one action, run against a monthly task cap. The cap decides most cases. The features that many workflows need beyond one action, multi-step Zaps and premium apps, sit on paid plans.
Toolradar data: Toolradar's task-management ranking, updated October 18, 2026, says it evaluated 215 task management tools and lists nine of its ten picks with a free plan. With most of the listed picks offering a free tier, the useful question is where that free tier stops. Toolradar task management ranking
What the free card includes
Zapier's Free card carries the line "Start automating with AI. Zaps, Tables, and Forms included (100 tasks per month)." Zapier pricing, as of October 25, 2026. Under it sit the key features: "Zapier automation platform", "Unlimited Zaps, Tables, and Forms", "Two-step Zaps" and "Zapier Copilot*".
The number of Zaps is not the constraint. The January 7, 2026 capture of the same page says "No matter what plan you choose, you can create as many Zaps as your task limit allows." Zapier pricing, January 7, 2026 capture So the task limit, not the Zap count, is what binds.
A two-step Zap has one trigger and one action (Zapier pricing, January 7, 2026 capture). It can connect two apps and move data from one to the other. Anything with a second action needs a paid plan.
What the free plan leaves out
The January 7, 2026 capture shows the Professional card starting with "Everything in Free, plus:". The live card lists what that adds: Multi-step Zaps, Unlimited Premium apps, Webhooks, Email and live chat support, AI fields and Conditional form logic. Zapier pricing, as of October 25, 2026.
Multi-step Zaps are the biggest gap. A workflow that sends one record to two or more apps, or runs a second action after the first, needs Professional.
Premium apps are the second gap. The January 1, 2024 capture defines them as "select apps that are exclusively available to users on paid plans." Zapier pricing, January 1, 2024 capture The Free card does not list Unlimited Premium apps, so check your app list against that definition before choosing the free plan.
Live chat carries its own condition. The footnote on the live page reads "** Live Chat is included starting at the Professional 2,000 task tier plan and up." Zapier pricing, as of October 25, 2026. On Professional, live chat depends on the task tier as well as the plan.
The Team card adds 25 users, shared Zaps and folders, shared app connections, SAML SSO and Priority support. Teams that need those controls fit Team. Solo users and small groups without shared folders do not need them.
Free against the paid plans
Source: Zapier pricing, comparison table and plan cards, as of October 25, 2026.
| Limit | Free | Professional | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | Starting from $19.99 /month with the yearly toggle selected (the default) | Starting from $69 /month with the yearly toggle selected (the default) |
| Tasks per month | 100 | Set with the task slider | Set with the task slider |
| Steps per Zap | Two-step | Multi-step | Multi-step |
| Polling time | 15 min | 2 min | 1 min |
| Records per account | 2,500 | 100,000 | 500,000 |
| Views per table | 3 | 50 | 50 |
| Code runtime | 1 second included runtime per step | 30 seconds included runtime per step | 30 seconds included runtime per step |
| Form pages per account | 10 | 50 | 150 |
| Form file uploads | 5 MB, 3 files max | 10 MB, 100 files max | 25 MB, 100 files max |
Two rows decide most choices: steps per Zap and polling time. On the free plan a Zap checks for new data every 15 minutes. On Professional the interval is 2 minutes, and on Team it is 1 minute. The gap matters most for flows where a new record should reach the next app quickly.
How tasks are counted
Zapier's help article "How is task usage measured in Zapier?" sets the counting rules. Zapier Help Center, as of October 25, 2026.
- Polling does not cost tasks. The article says these polls "never use tasks", even when a Zap checks an app every two minutes.
- Filter or Paths steps, steps that error or halt, and steps that never run do not use tasks. Zapier Tables, Zapier Forms, Formatter, Delay and Looping also sit on the not-billed list.
- Some actions cost more. The article lists "5 tasks per successful lead routed" for Lead Router and "2 tasks per successful tool call" for Zapier MCP.
- Pay-per-task billing stops at a ceiling. The article says "When you reach 100% of pay-per-task billing tasks, equivalent to 3x your selected plan's task limit." The Free plan, which has no pay-per-task billing in Zapier's comparison table, behaves differently: once the 100-task limit is reached, Zapier will "hold any new Zap runs."
The pricing page describes task use more broadly, saying every step uses tasks. The help article gives the exceptions, so it is the more specific rule.
Zapier also caps how many steps a single workflow can hold. The Zap limits article says "Zap workflows are limited to 100 steps, including all steps within paths." Zapier Help Center, as of October 25, 2026. That ceiling is far above the two-step free plan, so the step rule on the free card is the one that matters.
Paid plans and billing
The Professional card reads "Starting from $19.99 /month." On the live page that card does not state a billing period. The billing toggle sits above the cards and opens on "Pay yearly (Save 33%)", with "Pay monthly" as the other option. Zapier pricing, as of October 25, 2026. The January 7, 2026 capture printed "Billed annually" under the same Professional figure. Zapier pricing, January 7, 2026 capture
The Team card reads "Starting from $69 /month" and offers a Contact Sales button next to the trial button. Zapier pricing, as of October 25, 2026.
Task tier moves the price. The slider on the pricing page runs from 100 to 2M tasks a month and includes a "Custom task limit" option. Zapier pricing, as of October 25, 2026. The January 1, 2024 capture shows the tier effect in print: the Starter card read $19.99 per month billed annually at 750 tasks a month, and the Professional card read $49 per month billed annually at 2K tasks a month. Zapier pricing, January 1, 2024 capture
What changed on the free plan and the cards
Three archived captures show the changes. Each one is dated by its capture timestamp.
- January 4, 2020: the Free card reads "100 Tasks /mo", and a Starter card at 750 tasks a month sits beside it. Zapier pricing, January 4, 2020 capture
- January 1, 2024: the Free plan lists "Single-step Zaps" and "No-code editor". The priced paid cards are Starter, Professional and Team, each billed annually; Company was Contact Sales. Zapier pricing, January 1, 2024 capture
- January 7, 2026: the Free plan lists "Two-step Zaps", and the Starter card no longer appears. Professional reads "Starting from $19.99 /mo", and Team reads "Starting from $69 /mo". The Free card names "Zaps, Tables, and Interfaces". Zapier pricing, January 7, 2026 capture
The live page now says "Zaps, Tables, and Forms" where the January 2026 capture said "Zaps, Tables, and Interfaces". Zapier pricing, as of October 25, 2026.
The free plan moved from single-step to two-step Zaps between January 2024 and January 2026. The January 2026 Professional card's starting figure is the same number as the Starter price in the 2020 and 2024 captures, where Starter was billed annually at 750 tasks. The 2026 card does not print its task tier, so the match is on price only.
What users report
A Hacker News commenter wrote, "I use Zapier (free plan) to post to the Facebook page associated to my side project." Hacker News comment, February 16, 2020 The comment reports a free-plan Zap running for a Facebook page.
A 2017 comment says, "Zapier also has a limited free plan that would probably cover what OP is doing." Hacker News comment, July 17, 2017 The comment predates the 2020 capture, so it describes an older free plan.
What a competitor's free plan gives
Make's pricing page says, "If you are on the Free plan, you have 1000 credits per month." It also says "credits are the billing unit in Make", and that each action a scenario performs consumes credits. Make pricing, as of October 25, 2026. Credits and Zapier tasks count different things, so 1,000 credits and 100 tasks are not directly comparable. Zapier alternatives covers the wider field, while free AI automation tools, workflow automation tools and no-code platforms cover other starting points. Zapier against Make on Toolradar sets the two side by side, and Make's Toolradar listing gives the tool profile.
FAQ
Does polling use Zapier tasks?
Polling does not use tasks: the help article says polling triggers never do, even when a Zap checks an app every two minutes. Zapier Help Center, as of October 25, 2026.
Does the free plan include Copilot?
Yes, in beta and with a daily message limit. The Free card lists "Zapier Copilot*" next to "Two-step Zaps", and the comparison table gives the Free plan a daily message limit for Copilot. Zapier pricing, as of October 25, 2026.
What happens at the task limit?
On the Free plan, which has no pay-per-task billing in Zapier's comparison table, Zapier holds new Zap runs once the 100-task limit is reached, according to the help article. On plans with pay-per-task billing, the ceiling sits at 3x the plan's task limit. Zapier Help Center, as of October 25, 2026.
Are webhooks and live chat on the free plan?
Neither appears on the Free card, while both sit on the Professional card, and the live page says live chat starts at the Professional 2,000 task tier. Zapier pricing, as of October 25, 2026. For a tool-level view, see Toolradar's Zapier alternatives.
Who the free plan fits
The free plan fits one trigger feeding one action, runs that stay under the task cap, and no need for premium apps. It is the right size for a side project posting to one destination.
It does not fit a flow with more than one action, a team that shares Zaps and connections, or a need for webhooks and live chat. Those needs point to Professional for a few people, and to Team for groups that share folders and connections. For the Zapier tool profile, see Toolradar's Zapier listing, and for the wider automation field, see Toolradar's workflow automation ranking. For the hub of comparison pages, see the learn section, and for a sibling explainer, see Is Figma Free in 2026?.
If one trigger and one action covers the work, the free plan fits. The second action is the point where Professional becomes the plan that fits.
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