Windmill
Zapier
| Feature | Windmill | Zapier |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $10/mo | Free / from $19.99/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.4 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | developers, devops-teams, internal-tools, data-pipelines | marketers, operations, small-businesses, no-code-builders |
| Founded | 2022 | 2011 |
| Workflow Editor | ✓ | ✗ |
| Script To Ui | ✓ | ✗ |
| Scheduling | ✓ | ✗ |
| Approval Flows | ✓ | ✗ |
| Multi Language | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hostable | ✓ | ✗ |
| Audit Logs | ✓ | ✗ |
| Automations | ✗ | ✓ |
| Integrations | ✗ | ✓ |
| Tables | ✗ | ✓ |
| Interfaces | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ai Actions | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi Step Workflows | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Windmill Pros
- Open-source and self-hostable
- Supports Python, TypeScript, Go, Bash, SQL natively
- Auto-generates UI from script parameters
- Excellent scheduling and workflow orchestration
✗ Windmill Cons
- Smaller community than Zapier/n8n
- Self-hosting requires infrastructure knowledge
- Less polished documentation for beginners
✓ Zapier Pros
- Huge app library
- Easy to use
- Multi-step zaps
- AI actions
✗ Zapier Cons
- Gets expensive fast
- Task limits
- Complex zaps can be fragile
The Verdict
Windmill is built for developers and devops teams, with a focus on workflow-editor and script-to-ui. Zapier targets marketers and operations and leads with automations and integrations.
On pricing, Windmill is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $10/mo compared to $19.99/mo for Zapier. That $9.989999999999998/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Windmill offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Zapier takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.
