Zapier is anautomation tool that lets you easily create workflows that involve common web apps and services.- Zapier uses a simple trigger and action for creating commands, akin to "if this happens, then do that."
- The service has many subscription levels from free for individual users to plans for teams and entire organizations.
On the Zapier website, Zapier describes itself as "the glue that connects thousands of web apps." At its essence, Zapier is an automation tool that lets you easily create workflows by linking productivity apps and services together with sets of if/then commands. In this way, it's not unlike
How Zapier works
You use Zapier's web interface to create commands called zaps. Each zap is composed of two main parts: a trigger and an action.
The trigger is the event that kicks off the zap - in programming lingo, you can think of it as the "if this happens…" part of the operation. Zapier works with more than 2,000 apps and services, so there are countless triggers you can base a zap on.
The action is the event that completes the zap. It's the "then do this" part of the command and the automation that simplifies your task or
When a zap runs, it processes a piece of data. Every time that happens, it counts as a task. This is important because Zapier's pricing tiers are largely based on how many tasks you run each month.
Zapier isn't a traditional programming environment and you don't need to have any knowledge of programming to use Zapier. It's more like a simplified macro editor, in which the only thing you need to do is specify the trigger and action and fill in the details of exactly how the zap should work. Zaps aren't difficult to create and they can mostly be made by selecting options from dropdown menus. But Zapier gives you the ability to extensively customize zaps, as well as to create multi-step zaps (if you pay for one of the premium subscriptions levels).
How to get started with Zapier
If you don't yet have a Zapier account, go to Zapier.com and click "Get Started Free."
Once you have a Zapier account, you should see the main screen, which is Zapier's dashboard. This is where you can see your existing zaps, create new ones and work with existing templates. Hover the mouse on the left side of the screen to see options to make a new zap, see your existing zaps, see apps and services you've connected to Zapier, and more.
To make a new zap, move the mouse over the plus button at the top left and click "Make a Zap."
Follow the instructions to build your zap. Start by choosing the app you want to set as a trigger - for example, if you want to perform an action when you "star" an email, choose "Gmail" and then set "New Starred Email" as the trigger event. After each step, click "Continue."
Click "Trigger" and specify what you want to happen when an email is starred. For example, you could click "OneNote" and then specify "Create Note in Section" to copy the information about the email to a specific section of OneNote. You'll need to also choose what information to copy there, such as the subject, email body, or sender.
When the zap is finished, you can click the buttons to test and then turn on the zap.
What Zapier costs
Zapier has several pricing plans, ranging from a free version to large enterprise deployments. While you can use Zapier for free, you don't get access to any of the "premium" app integrations. Zapier places about 60 apps behind the premium paywall - premium apps include Salesforce, Zendesk, PayPal, Pinterest, and Shopify. Here are the plans you can choose from:
Free: You can use the free plan to explore Zapier and use it if your needs are very modest. You can use up to five single-step zaps that perform no more than 100 tasks per month. You can't use any "premium" apps or services.
Starter: At $19.99 per month, the Starter plan limits you to 20 zaps and no more than 750 tasks per month. You can create multi-step zaps and can use up to three premium apps. (You can upgrade to 1,500 tasks per month for $39.)
Professional: Starting at $49 per month, you can deploy unlimited zaps. This pay level gives you 2,000 tasks per month, but you can upgrade through four pay levels to 20,000 tasks per month for $189.
Team: This tier starts at $299 per month for unlimited Zaps and 50,000 tasks per month. (There are multiple levels up to 2,000,000 tasks for $3,499 per month). This level includes a number of additional features including shared workspaces for team collaboration.
Company: The highest tier starts at $599 per month for 100,000 tasks but scales up to $3,599 for 2,000,000 tasks. It includes advanced enterprise administrative features like single sign-on and account consolidation, as well as live training services.
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