How to connect your apps
with the right automation tool
Step-by-step guides for connecting apps with Zapier, Make, and n8n. Find the best platform for your specific workflow — with honest comparisons and real pricing.
Zapier, Make, n8n, Power Automate, Pipedream — they all connect your apps, but they don't all handle every integration the same way. Some are faster to set up. Some cost half as much at scale. Some support webhooks where others poll every 15 minutes. Integration Atlas breaks down each app pair across all five platforms so you can pick the one that fits your workflow, not just the one with the best marketing.
Popular integrations
See all 215 →Step-by-step guides for the most common app connections.
HubSpot + Slack
Get instant Slack notifications for new HubSpot leads, deals, and form submissions. Keep your sales team in the loop without leaving their chat window.
Salesforce + Slack
Get Slack notifications for new Salesforce leads, deal stage changes, and opportunity updates. Keep your enterprise sales team informed in real-time.
Gmail + Google Sheets
Log incoming emails to a spreadsheet automatically. Track client inquiries, support requests, or any inbox that needs a searchable paper trail.
HubSpot + Gmail
Automatically create or update HubSpot contacts from incoming Gmail emails. Log email activity to CRM records, and trigger email sequences based on CRM events.
Google Sheets + Shopify
Automatically log Shopify orders, customers, and inventory changes to Google Sheets. Build live dashboards and reports without manual CSV exports.
GitHub + Jira
Sync GitHub issues to Jira tickets and keep development tracking in sync across both platforms without manual copy-paste.
Google Sheets + Salesforce
Sync data between Google Sheets and Salesforce — import leads from spreadsheets, export reports to Sheets, and keep both systems updated.
QuickBooks + Stripe
Automatically create QuickBooks invoices from Stripe payments. Eliminate double-entry between your payment processor and accounting software.
How Integration Atlas works
Three layers that take you from "which tool?" to "it's running."
Find your integration
Search for the two apps you need to connect. See which platforms support them and what use cases other people automate.
215 integrations →Compare platforms
Every integration page shows how Zapier, Make, and n8n handle it differently — setup time, cost at your volume, and what each platform does better.
See comparisons →Follow the guide
Beginner-friendly step-by-step instructions for your chosen platform. Every step describes what you will see on screen, with troubleshooting for common errors.
665 workflow guides →Workflow guides
See all 665 →Step-by-step setup instructions for specific app pairs on each platform.
How to Send Deal Stage Alerts to Slack with Power Automate
Automatically notify your Slack team when HubSpot deals move to new pipeline stages.
How to Send Opportunity Stage Alerts to Slack with Power Automate
Automatically sends Slack DMs to deal owners when Salesforce opportunities change stages, including deal value and close date.
How to Track Job Applications with Power Automate
Automatically log every job application email from Gmail into Google Sheets with applicant name, email, date, and resume link.
How to Auto-create contacts from emails with Pipedream
Automatically create HubSpot contacts when you receive Gmail emails from people not in your CRM database.
How to Log New Orders with Pipedream
Automatically add a new Google Sheets row with order details every time a Shopify order is placed.
How to sync GitHub milestones with Jira sprints with Pipedream
Automatically create and link Jira tickets when GitHub issues are added to milestones.
Platform comparisons
Category-by-category verdicts with real pricing data.
Pipedream vs n8n
n8n wins when self-hosting, unlimited executions, or auditable source code matter. Pipedream wins when you want serverless pricing, no infrastructure to manage, or Pipedream Connect for embedded integrations.
Pipedream vs Zapier
Zapier wins for non-coders, the widest app catalog, and the fastest time-to-first-automation. Pipedream wins for developer teams, serverless per-second pricing, GitHub-synced workflows, and Pipedream Connect for embedded integrations.
Pipedream vs Make
Make wins for non-technical teams that need a visual canvas, EU residency, and the cheapest hosted pricing. Pipedream wins for developer teams, embedded automation via Connect, and AI agents built in real code.
Power Automate vs n8n
Power Automate wins for Microsoft-ecosystem enterprises — desktop RPA, HIPAA BAA, FedRAMP GCC High, and M365-native connectors. n8n wins for teams that need self-hosting, unlimited executions on flat VPS cost, or source code they can audit and fork.
Power Automate vs Zapier
Power Automate if you're a Microsoft shop that needs desktop RPA, HIPAA BAA bundled in, or IT-led flow-building inside your tenant. Zapier if non-developers are building, you need the widest catalog of apps anywhere, or you want the Zapier ecosystem (Tables, Interfaces, Chatbots) as a bundled ops platform.
Power Automate vs Make
Power Automate wins inside the Microsoft ecosystem — M365-native connectors, desktop RPA, HIPAA BAA, and EU residency baked in. Make wins for multi-vendor SaaS stacks with complex branching and the cheapest per-op pricing.
Power Automate vs Pipedream
Power Automate if you're a Microsoft shop that needs desktop RPA, HIPAA BAA bundled in, or low-code flow-building for non-developers. Pipedream if your team writes code anyway, you want serverless per-second pricing, or you're embedding automation into your own product via Connect.
Make vs Zapier
Make wins on price, logic, and EU residency. Zapier wins on app catalog breadth, ease of first use, and HIPAA compliance. Most teams start on Zapier and migrate to Make once volume or complexity grows.
n8n vs Zapier
n8n wins on self-host, code, native AI agents, EU residency, and total cost for teams with any DevOps capability. Zapier wins on the 9,000-app catalog, HIPAA readiness, and fastest time-to-first-automation for non-technical teams. Most migrations go Zapier → n8n once per-task pricing or workflow complexity bites.
Make vs n8n
Make wins on hosted cost, polish, app catalog breadth, and EU residency on every paid plan. n8n wins on self-host (free forever), in-node code, custom nodes, and the deepest MCP + AI-agent story in automation. Both share the same visual-canvas mental model, so migrations either direction are the easiest in the space.
Not sure which platform to use?
Answer 4 quick questions about your technical level, volume, and priorities. Get a personalized recommendation in 30 seconds.
Take the quiz →Automation platforms
See all →Deep-dive profiles with current pricing and capability data.
Zapier
The biggest app library. The steepest price at scale.
Make
Visual, powerful, and radically better value than Zapier.
Pipedream
Code-first automation for developers who want full control.
Power Automate
Enterprise automation built into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
n8n
Open-source, self-hostable, and built for developers.
Why Integration Atlas
Most "Zapier vs Make" articles pick an overall winner and call it a day. That's not very useful when the best platform depends entirely on which apps you're connecting and how many tasks you run per month. We compare platforms at the integration level — the specific triggers, actions, setup quirks, and costs for each app pair. When two platforms are close, we say so. When one is clearly better for a use case, we explain why and show you how to set it up.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best automation platform in 2026?
There isn't one. Zapier is the easiest to set up and has the most app connectors. Make costs less per operation and gives you more control over complex workflows. n8n is open source and free to self-host. Power Automate is the strongest choice for teams already on Microsoft 365. Pipedream is built for developers who want to write code alongside visual workflows. The best platform depends on which apps you're connecting, how many tasks you run per month, and how much setup you're willing to do.
Zapier vs Make vs n8n vs Power Automate vs Pipedream — which should I use?
It depends on the specific apps you're connecting. Zapier might be the best choice for one integration and a bad fit for another. That's why we compare platforms at the integration level — the triggers, actions, setup time, and cost for each app pair — instead of picking an overall winner.
How do automation platforms work?
They move data between your apps automatically. A new email comes in, and a Slack message goes out. A form gets submitted, and a row appears in your spreadsheet. You set up a trigger (the event that starts it) and one or more actions (what happens next). Zapier, Make, n8n, Power Automate, and Pipedream all do this, but they charge differently, support different apps, and vary in how much control you get.
How much do automation platforms cost in 2026?
It varies a lot. Some platforms charge per task, some per operation, some per user, and one is free if you self-host. The real cost depends on your volume — an automation that runs 50 times a day costs very differently across platforms. Each of our integration pages includes cost breakdowns at real-world volumes so you can compare with your actual numbers, not marketing-page pricing.
What are workflow automation guides?
They're step-by-step instructions for setting up a specific automation on a specific platform. Instead of just saying "this platform supports Gmail to Slack," a workflow guide walks you through the actual setup — what to click, what fields to map, what the screen looks like at each step, and what to check before you go live.
What integrations does Integration Atlas cover?
Popular apps like Slack, Gmail, HubSpot, Salesforce, Google Sheets, Notion, Jira, Trello, Asana, and more — with new pairs added regularly based on what people are searching for. Each pair gets a comparison across all five platforms plus step-by-step workflow guides for specific use cases.
