Updated Oct 6, 2026 · 7 min read

Activepieces Alternatives (October 2026)

TL;DR: Activepieces is an open-source automation and agent platform with an MIT-licensed core, 760+ apps and a choice of cloud, self-hosted or air-gapped deployment. Swfte Studio is a managed builder for agents and workflows on the same platform as a model gateway. If self-hosting is a requirement, Activepieces fits; if testing and versioned releases around AI steps matter more, look at Swfte.

About Activepieces and why teams compare it

Activepieces calls itself "AI Agents with enterprise control": chat, agents, flows, tables and 760+ apps in one workspace. It states that the core is MIT-licensed, and that you can run it on its cloud (hosted in Frankfurt), on your own servers with Docker or Kubernetes, or fully air-gapped. Usage is counted in credits. It lists an MCP server, bring-your-own AI keys, approvals on steps that touch money or production, and SSO from the Team plan. Teams compare it with Swfte when they want a visual builder that does not tie them to a single hosted service, or when they want testing and release controls around the AI steps. This page compares the two on published facts and says who should pick which.

Activepieces sits in the Open-source automation and AI agent platform category. In short: An open-source automation platform with chat, agents, flows and tables in one workspace, run on its cloud, on your own servers or air-gapped. Pricing as published is Credits. Free $0 (1,000 credits, up to 5 users); Plus $20 per month (10,000 credits, up to 5 users); Team $200 per month (50,000 credits, 25 users); Ultimate custom; extra credits on Plus and Team at $0.007 per credit; Embed from $36k a year. The page says annual billing saves "2 months". It is best for Teams that want an open-source core they can run on their own infrastructure, with a hosted option.

Swfte vs Activepieces at a glance

Capability	Swfte	Activepieces	Checked at
Category	Visual builder for agents and workflows (Studio), on the same platform as the gateway	Open-source automation and AI agent platform: chat, agents, flows, tables and apps in one workspace, per Activepieces	activepieces.com
Pricing unit and plans	Free (10 workflows, 5 agents, 2,000 executions per month); Pro $39; Team $99 (3 users included); Enterprise custom	Credits. Free $0; Plus $20 per month (10,000 credits); Team $200 per month (50,000 credits); Ultimate custom; Embed from $36k a year. Overage on Plus and Team is $0.007 per credit. Flows are unlimited on every plan	Pricing
How usage is counted	Executions per month by plan; see the pricing page for model usage terms	Credits. AI steps are listed at 2 credits (fast model), 10 (smart model) or 20 (frontier model), and agentic actions at 1 each; using your own AI keys (Plus and up) brings each AI step to 1 credit. How non-AI steps count is not stated on the pages we reviewed	Pricing
Free plan	Free: 10 workflows, 5 agents and 2,000 executions per month	$0 with 1,000 credits, up to 5 users, unlimited flows and community support. The comparison table lists the reset as daily and an FAQ says monthly	Pricing
Integrations	100+ tool integrations, plus an API for custom systems	760+ apps, described as open-source pieces built in TypeScript, plus an HTTP piece for any REST or GraphQL endpoint	activepieces.com
AI agents and models	Any model reachable through the Connect gateway; agents and multi-agent orchestration in Studio	Agents that work across connected apps and any MCP server you point them at; bring your own keys and models, with Anthropic, OpenAI, AWS Bedrock and Google Gemini shown as examples	activepieces.com
MCP	Not listed among Studio’s features on this site; see our MCP gateway guide	An MCP server lets clients such as Claude and Cursor run what you built; the README says contributed pieces automatically become MCP servers	activepieces.com
Human approval	Role-based access and human-approval steps in workflows; configurable data-retention policies are designed for, not shipped	Approvals can gate steps that touch money, customers or production, per Activepieces. The details and plan availability are not verified from the pages we reviewed	activepieces.com
Evaluation and versioning	Testing and evaluation: A/B experiments between chatflow versions and safety policies on agents are built; golden sets and regression runs are in development. Versions with promote and rollback for chatflows and workflows; release channels and gradual rollouts are in development	Releases and Git Sync are listed on Ultimate. An evaluation or testing framework for AI steps is not verified from the pages we reviewed	Pricing
Hosting and self-hosting	Managed service; customer data at rest in AWS Ireland. Dedicated or private deployment is designed for and scoped as an engagement, not self-serve	Cloud (Frankfurt by default, other regions on request), your own servers via Docker Compose or a Helm chart, or air-gapped. The licence page says every plan on the pricing page is available self-hosted	Install overview
Licence	Not applicable: Swfte Studio is a managed commercial service	The Community Edition is MIT-licensed; enterprise features are covered by a separate commercial licence in the packages/ee directory, per the repository README	GitHub repository
SSO and admin controls	SAML SSO and SCIM are in development	SSO (Okta or Entra) and standard roles from Team; Ultimate adds SCIM, custom RBAC, audit logs, secret managers and Git sync. Audit logs can stream to a SIEM	Pricing
Data use	See the trust centre; a no-training statement is pending confirmation and is not made here	States that runs, documents and prompts "never train a model"; model input and output are kept in run history under a retention window the customer sets	Security
Compliance	No SOC 2 report or ISO 27001 certificate is held and no HIPAA BAA is signed today; a SOC 2 Type I audit is in preparation (see the trust page). The exact posture depends on your use case, jurisdiction and deployment	The security page lists SOC 2 Type 2 as independently audited and a 2026 penetration test, with reports in its trust centre; the pricing page says SOC 2 is "in progress". ISO 27001, GDPR and HIPAA are not stated on those pages. A DPA is available on request, per the pricing page	Security
Export and portability	Not verified for Studio on this page	Flows export as a .json file, or a zip when several are selected, and import from .json or zip, per an Activepieces community announcement	Community announcement

Activepieces values were checked against the vendor's own pages on October 6, 2026. Plans, prices and limits change; confirm on the vendor's page before you decide. Where a cell is blank or says "not verified", we could not confirm it from a primary source and chose not to guess.

Who should pick which

Pick Activepieces if

You need to run the platform on your own servers or in an air-gapped network: Activepieces documents Docker Compose, a Helm chart and an air-gapped option.
You want an open-source, MIT-licensed core you can read and fork, with a separate commercial licence for enterprise features.
You want a larger app catalogue: Activepieces states 760+ apps against 100+ tool integrations in Studio.
You want to bring your own AI provider keys and be billed one credit per AI step on Plus and up.
You want EU hosting in Frankfurt by default, with a stated no-model-training policy.

Pick Swfte if

The work is agents and model decisions, and you want the builder and the model gateway on one platform.
You want testing, versioned releases and rollbacks in the build flow rather than as a separate process.
You would rather not run infrastructure: Swfte Studio is a managed service, with customer data at rest in AWS Ireland, and Nexus is available next to it for agent governance.
You are comfortable with Swfte’s current gaps: SAML SSO and SCIM are in development, dedicated or private deployment is scoped as an engagement and is not self-serve, and the integration catalogue is smaller.

What Activepieces does well

The core is MIT-licensed, so you can read the code, fork it and run your own version, per Activepieces
Every plan on the pricing page is stated to be available self-hosted, with Docker Compose or a Helm chart
760+ apps, described as open-source pieces, plus an HTTP piece for any REST or GraphQL endpoint
Flows are unlimited on every plan, and a Free plan is listed at $0 with 1,000 credits
Cloud hosted in Frankfurt by default, with other regions on request, and a stated no-model-training policy

Trade-offs to weigh

Audit logs, SCIM, custom roles, Git sync and secret managers are listed on Ultimate only, which is custom-priced
User caps are listed: up to 5 users on Free and Plus, 25 on Team
AI steps cost more credits than ordinary steps: 2, 10 or 20 credits by model tier unless you bring your own keys
The security page says SOC 2 Type 2 is audited, while the pricing page says SOC 2 is in progress; ask for the report

When Swfte is the better choice

When the work is agents with testing, versioned releases and a shared model gateway, and a managed service suits you. Activepieces is the better fit if you must run the platform on your own servers.

Swfte Studio builds agents and workflows visually, and uses the Connect gateway for model access, so routing, failover and cost tracking are shared. Studio lists testing and evaluation, semantic versions with rollbacks, and human-approval steps in workflows. Nexus adds agent governance.

Swfte is not a drop-in replacement for Activepieces. Activepieces has an open-source core and can run on your own servers; Swfte Studio is a managed service. Swfte is also earlier on enterprise identity: SAML SSO and SCIM are in development, dedicated or private deployment is an engagement, not self-serve, and the integration catalogue is smaller.

Where Swfte fits

Agents that decide, not just move data

Workflows where a model chooses the next step, calls tools and may need approval fit Studio’s agent builder, with the gateway and governance on the same platform.

Tested and versioned AI steps

Studio lists A/B experiments between chatflow versions and version rollback, with golden sets, regression runs and release channels in development around the model steps.

One platform for workflows and model access

Studio uses the Connect gateway, so routing, failover and cost tracking are shared with the workflows that use them.

Keep Activepieces where you must self-host

If some flows have to stay on your own servers, keep those on Activepieces and move the AI-centric workflows that can run on a managed service to Studio.

How to migrate from Activepieces to Swfte

1. List your flows and their credit use
Sort flows by credits used, and note which depend on pieces Studio may not cover. Studio lists 100+ tool integrations plus an API for custom systems.
2. Note where self-hosting is required
Flows that must run on your own servers or in an air-gapped network should stay where they are. Swfte Studio is a managed service, and dedicated deployment is scoped as an engagement, not self-serve.
3. Export flows for reference
Activepieces exports a flow as a .json file, or a zip for several. We do not list an import for Activepieces flows, so use the export as a record of triggers, steps and mappings to rebuild.
4. Rebuild one workflow in Studio
Recreate the trigger, the agent or prompt, the tools and any approval step. Studio’s free plan includes 10 workflows, 5 agents and 2,000 executions per month, enough to test one case.
5. Test on real inputs, then run both
Run 20 to 50 real inputs through Studio’s testing and compare with the flow. Then send live triggers to both for a while and compare outputs, failures and cost.
6. Cut over what fits
Move the AI-centric workflows once results hold, and keep Activepieces for flows that need your own infrastructure. Change your Activepieces plan only after credit use drops.

How Activepieces compares to other alternatives

Other open-source and agent builders worth comparing are n8n (self-hostable) and Pipedream, and for LLM flow builders Dify and Langflow. Each has its own page in the alternatives index.

For a full cross-comparison see the alternatives index and the head-to-head comparisons grouped by category.

Sources

Activepieces facts on this page come from the vendor's own documentation and pricing pages. Swfte facts come from our pricing and product pages. See something out of date? Tell us at sales@swfte.com and we will correct it.

Frequently asked questions about Activepieces alternatives

Is Swfte an Activepieces alternative?

For AI agents and AI-centric workflows on a managed service, yes. If you need to run the platform on your own servers, Activepieces fits better: Swfte Studio is a managed service and dedicated deployment is scoped as an engagement. Activepieces also states a larger catalogue, 760+ apps against 100+ tool integrations in Studio.

Is Activepieces free and open source?

The README says the Community Edition is MIT-licensed, and the home page says the core is MIT-licensed. Enterprise features sit under a separate commercial licence in the packages/ee directory. The pricing page also lists a Free plan at $0 with 1,000 credits and up to 5 users.

How much does Activepieces cost?

The pricing page lists Free $0, Plus $20 per month (10,000 credits, up to 5 users), Team $200 per month (50,000 credits, 25 users) and Ultimate custom. Extra credits on Plus and Team are $0.007 each, and Embed starts from $36k a year. Flows are unlimited on every plan.

Can I self-host Activepieces?

Yes. The install guide recommends Docker Compose with PostgreSQL and Redis, and offers a Helm chart for Kubernetes. The home page also describes an air-gapped option. The licence page says every plan on the pricing page is available self-hosted, and that enterprise plans activate with a licence key.

Can I import my Activepieces flows into Swfte?

No. We do not list an import for Activepieces flows. Activepieces exports flows as .json files, or a zip for several, which is useful as a record of what to rebuild in Studio.

Does Activepieces support AI agents and MCP?

Its home page describes agents that work across your connected apps and any MCP server you point them at, and an MCP server so Claude and Cursor can run what you built. Studio lists agents and multi-agent orchestration; for MCP see our MCP gateway guide.

Is Activepieces SOC 2 compliant?

Its security page lists SOC 2 Type 2 as independently audited, with reports in its trust centre, while its pricing page says SOC 2 is in progress. Ask Activepieces for the current report. Swfte does not hold a SOC 2 report or an ISO 27001 certificate and does not sign HIPAA BAAs today; a SOC 2 Type I audit is in preparation, and the trust page has the current status.

Does Activepieces train models on my data?

Its security page states that your automations, runs, documents and prompts never train a model, and that model input and output stay in run history under a retention window you set. For Swfte, see the trust centre.

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