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Activepieces vs Pipedream

A side-by-side look at 2 AI & ML tools for 2026 — the verdict, pricing, ratings, features, and what readers think.

Activepieces
activepieces.com
Best for teams wanting open-source, self-hostable automation with AI agents

Open-source workflow automation and AI agents your whole team can build, with self-hosting on every plan.

Visit Activepieces
Pipedream
pipedream.com
Best for developers adding managed-auth integrations and MCP tools to AI agents

Managed auth and 10,000+ prebuilt tools that give your AI agents access to 3,000+ APIs.

Visit Pipedream

Pricing compared

Activepieces
$20/mo
  • Free tier Yes
  • Free trial Free plan, no card; 1,000 credits per month
Pipedream
$99/mo
  • Free tier Yes
  • Free trial Free for development, no credit card

Head to head

Activepieces Pipedream
Starting price $20/mo $99/mo
Free tier Yes Yes
Free trial Free plan, no card; 1,000 credits per month Free for development, no credit card
Platforms Web · Self-hosted · API Web · API · CLI

Pros & cons

Activepieces
Pros
  • Open-source MIT core that can be self-hosted with Docker or Kubernetes.
  • Unlimited flows on every plan; a run is one credit however many steps it has.
  • 770+ open-source integrations plus HTTP and webhook pieces for any API.
  • Agents, chat, flows and tables share one workspace, with MCP server support.
  • Approval steps let you gate actions that touch money, customers or production.
Cons
  • AI steps cost 2, 10 or 20 credits unless you bring your own AI keys on Plus or above.
  • Free plan is limited to 1,000 credits and 5 users.
  • SSO and standard roles start at the USD 200/month Team plan.
  • The company says its SOC 2 program is still in progress, with no certification claimed.
Pipedream
Pros
  • Managed OAuth and token refresh remove the need to register apps for each API.
  • 10,000+ prebuilt tools and triggers cover most common SaaS actions.
  • Remote MCP server works with any MCP client.
  • Free plan includes every feature for development with unlimited team members.
  • States SOC 2 Type 2 and GDPR compliance on all plans.
Cons
  • Production use requires the paid Startup plan or a custom Business contract.
  • Usage credits are billed per 30 seconds of compute, which takes effort to forecast.
  • Developer-first with SDKs and code samples, so non-technical teams get less from it.
  • SSO, SCIM and HIPAA are limited to the custom Business plan.