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Appian vs Zapier comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 15, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.5
Automation Anywhere boosts efficiency, saves time and costs, with ROI within a year, enhancing productivity and operational efficiency.
Sentiment score
7.1
Clients witness significant efficiency and cost benefits from Appian, achieving ROI within a year despite licensing variability.
Sentiment score
5.7
Zapier is valued for its integration and efficiency, offering perceived ROI and savings compared to hiring, despite some cost concerns.
In terms of cost, we participated in projects achieving two to three million dollars in annual savings.
Software Developer at Boston Scientific
As a return on investment, we have achieved a 250% ROI in six to nine months, and sometimes it increases up to 380% percent.
Software Engineer Intern at a university with 11-50 employees
Automation Anywhere has helped us save money.
RPA Solution Architect at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Using Appian is saving us five full-time employees, which is significant since we currently have only four team members.
Finance Specialist at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees
They see return on investment in terms of cost savings, time savings, more efficient processes, and more efficient employees.
Director & Key Managerial Personnel at Newlight Technology Solutions Private Limited
Appian is very efficient, allowing us to build a lot of applications within a financial year, making it cost-effective.
Technology Leader of Appian at a retailer with 11-50 employees
In a scenario where employing three resources for three months might cost approximately $18,000 to $20,000, Zapier provides substantial cost savings.
Chief Technology Advocate at PURESOFT GLOBAL LLC
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.9
Automation Anywhere's customer service is praised for responsiveness and knowledge, but some suggest quicker problem resolution and communication improvements.
Sentiment score
7.5
Appian's customer support is responsive and effective with timely assistance and useful resources, supporting various regions and partners.
Sentiment score
7.1
Zapier support is praised for responsiveness and knowledge, but criticized for delays and lack of chat options.
Whenever we need help, we can reach out to them, and they help us out.
Software Developer at Boston Scientific
We also have dedicated account managers and technical experts to solve our problems related to Automation Anywhere.
Software Engineer Intern at a university with 11-50 employees
We just have to raise a ticket, after which we receive a call, email, or ping from the Automation Anywhere team.
Solution architect at Boston Scientific
I would give Appian's customer support 10 out of 10 due to their next-level support.
Finance Specialist at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees
Their customer service is responsive, and the team is very prompt for support.
Delivery Manager (Intelligent Business Automation) - Pega at Persistent Systems
The technical support for Appian rates as 10 out of 10 because they have a great support team.
Director & Key Managerial Personnel at Newlight Technology Solutions Private Limited
Their technical support is good; they respond promptly and are very helpful.
Go High Level Manager at Virtual Worker Now
This can help if you need assistance, as you can communicate with the community and support system, and most issues are already resolved by AI.
Automation Engineer at Axe Automation
The experience was positive with prompt responses from their team.
Chief Technology Advocate at PURESOFT GLOBAL LLC
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Automation Anywhere is praised for its scalability, adaptability, integration ease, and robust infrastructure, supporting both small and large operations.
Sentiment score
7.5
Appian is scalable and manages increased user volume well, though challenges arise with data management and complex processes.
Sentiment score
7.4
Zapier is scalable and adaptable for businesses, though costs and complexities can increase with intricate automations.
As we are using Microsoft Copilot for our AI agents, I look forward to integrating it with Automation Anywhere and its solutions, seeing it as a beneficial partnership as Automation progresses toward AI as the main solution.
Sr. Manager, Finance Transformation at Amkor Technology, Inc.
The centralized control room allows us to orchestrate and manage bots seamlessly.
Associate Leadership Team at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
I can scale it in terms of hundreds of bots and configure hundreds of parallel robots easily.
Director at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
On a scale of one to 10, Appian rates as a nine for scalability.
Director & Key Managerial Personnel at Newlight Technology Solutions Private Limited
Our volume has increased by 20% in the two years since using Appian, and it can handle the increased volume effectively.
Finance Specialist at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees
Initially, without much coding, I can easily handle five thousand records.
Associate Consultant at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Zapier is suitable for small or simpler automation but not for complex ones.
Automation Engineer at Axe Automation
Scaling it gets quite expensive, and while I cannot evaluate it purely from a technology perspective, compared to Workato, I would give Zapier a seven for scalability.
Product Owner | Integration
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
Automation Anywhere is generally stable, with occasional instability due to environmental factors rather than the application itself.
Sentiment score
8.0
Appian is stable and reliable with high uptime, performing well when best practices and standards are followed.
Sentiment score
6.8
Users find Zapier stable and reliable, though issues arise from external triggers; resolutions are quick, but improvements are suggested.
With the latest applications, there are no significant issues like freezing or crashing.
Senior RPA Team Leader at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
From a stability and reliability perspective, we can remain confident that the product performs as an enterprise solution and meets expected standards.
Director Automation CEO at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
If you have good best practices, reusable code, an effective framework, and a solid development methodology, bots can be very stable.
Intelligent Automation Engineering Manager at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
We have tested Appian during peak usage and off-peak times, and we have not experienced any issues such as lagging or system disruptions.
Finance Specialist at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees
It depends on how it has been designed and how it has been configured.
Delivery Manager (Intelligent Business Automation) - Pega at Persistent Systems
The stability of Appian would rate as nine, as it's a stable environment.
Director & Key Managerial Personnel at Newlight Technology Solutions Private Limited
In my current company, we had significant challenges with Zapier regarding maintenance, as Zaps were often broken, not necessarily due to Zapier, but due to changes in the input variables.
Product Owner | Integration
 

Room For Improvement

Automation Anywhere needs better documentation, integration, and performance improvements, with enhanced API, error handling, and community engagement.
Appian needs improvements in UI, integration, mobile capabilities, AI features, Excel functionalities, pricing, error management, and reporting.
Zapier is seen as costly, with users seeking improved integrations, interface, support, documentation, and advanced workflow capabilities.
It is better to write a Python script instead of using Automation Anywhere's package when dealing with Excel because it is buggy and tends to break.
Low Code Developer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Making the product more lightweight by reducing its dependency on infrastructure could greatly help in the long run.
Software Developer at Boston Scientific
It would be beneficial if the platform provided options for power developers to integrate seamlessly with languages like Java or C#, allowing them to write their own scripts and code.
Infrastructure Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
It has room to improve for use cases where the users are public facing, where anonymous users could come to a site and run a business workflow or interact with some data.
Director & Key Managerial Personnel at Newlight Technology Solutions Private Limited
Appian can be improved by adding a geo-location tagging feature, which would be really helpful for identifying remitter addresses.
Finance Specialist at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees
I think Appian could improve by adding its own native GenAI and agentic capabilities.
Director, Digital Customer Experience at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
The error message options in the dashboard should be improved. It should be user-friendly so that beginners or non-technical users can figure out the problems and solutions on their own.
Webflow Developer at Qureos
You can build similar or dependent automations in one Zap, which helps with understanding the process without switching between different records.
Product Owner | Integration
Having flexibility in creating more complex automation would eliminate the need to transform data within the source or destination.
Business Intelligence Developer at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
 

Setup Cost

Automation Anywhere's pricing is high, with flexibility needed, though enterprise users appreciate its features and scalability.
Appian's enterprise pricing is high but justified by features, with costs influenced by users and deployment choice.
Zapier, though expensive compared to competitors, is valued for automating workflows without developers, with prices scaling by usage.
It is more cost-efficient compared to all other RPA platforms.
AI/Robotics Process Automation Specialist at Bell
Automation Anywhere costs are aligned with UiPath and Blue Prism, which are also expensive.
Developer at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
It is not cheap, with costs ranging between 700 to 800 dollars per month.
Director, Co-Founder & CEO at HEDEHI Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Appian provides value for money, is easy to use, has a straightforward setup procedure, and offers great support from the Appian team.
Finance Specialist at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees
On the pricier side, both Appian and Pega are enterprise-level solutions, placing them on the slightly higher side.
Delivery Manager (Intelligent Business Automation) - Pega at Persistent Systems
The pricing of Appian is based on the number of users and generally ranges from 70 to 100 USD per user per month.
Technology Leader of Appian at a retailer with 11-50 employees
The pricing is in accordance with market standards and even lower in some cases.
Chief Technology Advocate at PURESOFT GLOBAL LLC
The pricing of Zapier is slightly higher compared to other market automation tools such as Pabbly, Make.com, and N8N, which have good features but are priced lower than Zapier.
Go High Level Manager at Virtual Worker Now
 

Valuable Features

Automation Anywhere excels in ease of use, integration, efficiency, boosting productivity, and high ROI with advanced automation features.
Appian offers rapid development with low-code, drag-and-drop simplicity, robust integrations, AI features, and strong support for scalability.
Zapier excels in seamless app integration and automation, allowing users to streamline tasks without coding effortlessly.
I can set it up to provide users with a form to fill in all required information, and then the bot operates based on those specifications.
Low Code Developer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
For example, the email module has been enhanced over the years to support all the latest authentication technologies. That is very important as we move away from username and password and embrace multi-factor authentication.
Automation Manager at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Automation Anywhere has undergone drastic changes over the past five years, transitioning from version 10 to A360, including desktop-based and cloud-based options.
Solution architect at Boston Scientific
The zero-code integration feature is remarkable, allowing for ease of data transfer and workflow enhancement.
Technology Leader of Appian at a retailer with 11-50 employees
Appian is aiding in leveraging AI technologies in multiple ways: one way is for developers, as they make development efficient and quick by enabling developer co-pilots across various phases of the application, which helps design Appian quickly and provides suggestions along the way.
Director & Key Managerial Personnel at Newlight Technology Solutions Private Limited
After switching to Appian, it can extract data from MT103, eliminating the need for manual data entry.
Finance Specialist at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees
A webhook is what helps solve most of it because we can create all the different modules as a separate workflow in Zapier with their own custom webhook URL and then call them or chain them together to create a complex workflow solving a bigger use case problem.
Automation Engineer at a educational organization with 11-50 employees
They have approximately 7,000 connections.
Product Owner | Integration
The automation capabilities are impressive.
Business Intelligence Developer at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Automation Anywhere
Sponsored
Ranking in Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
660
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Management (BPM) (2nd), Robotic Process Automation (RPA) (2nd), Process Mining (1st), Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) (1st), Agentic Automation (1st), AI Legal & Compliance (1st), AI Finance & Accounting (1st), AI Procurement & Supply Chain (1st)
Appian
Ranking in Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies
14th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Management (BPM) (7th), Process Automation (9th), Rapid Application Development Software (13th), Low-Code Development Platforms (8th), Process Mining (6th)
Zapier
Ranking in Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies
20th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
Data Integration (23rd), Cloud Data Integration (14th), AI Software Development (19th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies category, the mindshare of Automation Anywhere is 6.3%, down from 7.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Appian is 7.0%, down from 8.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zapier is 1.2%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Automation Anywhere6.3%
Appian7.0%
Zapier1.2%
Other85.5%
Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies
 

Featured Reviews

Venkat Sivaprakash - PeerSpot reviewer
Management Consultant at Accenture
Has significantly improved document-driven workflows and reduced processing time across finance and HR functions
Automation Anywhere has evolved significantly and upgraded itself to provide agentic AI and AI-based automation solutions for document automation. The product has matured considerably over time. We can create workflows that can call an API. We can include prompts in particular workflows for ChatGPT-related functions, connecting to an LLM and RAG to perform tasks. For document automation, modern features are available to train documents, ensuring high accuracy and repeatability over time. The system is very easy to use. I recently completed a course in document automation, typically designed for people involved in coding and technical aspects. Though I understand coding comprehensively, I don't do actual coding. The course was very accessible. Currently, extensive coding isn't necessary due to the hybrid model incorporating GenAI aspects, low-code, no-code capabilities, APIs, and numerous pre-built objects in Automation Anywhere. The features include GenAI-driven prompting methods and workflow creation capabilities. In these workflows, we can create decision boxes and call APIs without coding. We simply pull objects, drop them, connect them, and add minimal coding when needed. The most crucial aspect isn't coding but rather sizing the automation and fleshing out the details. Automation Co-pilot takes notes and performs automated analysis. It can extract details from videos, summarize conversations, and provide detailed information. During calls, it identifies instructions and performs tasks such as preparing reports and reconciliation. Automation Anywhere can also connect with Microsoft Co-pilot. Through Co-pilot, real-time operations can be executed, allowing direct interaction between vendors and automation through this component.
SB
Finance Specialist at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees
Automated remittance workflows have boosted speed and accuracy but still need geo-tagging improvements
Remittance is a crucial part of my integral operation, so any disruption would majorly impact our clients. After switching to Appian, we never faced any disruption as it is reliable and we can generate data at any point in time, quite faster than other tools in my personal opinion. Regulators can ask for data from us at any time, and with Appian, we download data from our Appian tools to share it with them whenever they ask. I would share a real-life example: a customer's transaction processed more than a year ago. Suddenly the customer came back asking for all the details. In our previous tool, it was quite difficult to generate transaction details from over a year ago; however, while using Appian, we can pull up data using different key search fields, such as a customer's cell phone number, remittance tracking number, or MT103 reference number. We shared it with the customer instantly, and the customer was surprised we could provide all the details in such a short time. It added reputational value for our organization, thanks to Appian.You have pointed out two major things: time-saving and reduction of error, which are key points while processing remittance. Previously, while using another tool, it was quite time-consuming to process remittance, but after switching to Appian, it can extract data from MT103, eliminating the need for manual data entry. The process has become fully automated. Previously we could process only five to ten transactions within an hour, but now, after switching to Appian, we can process about 100 transactions in an hour, making it 10 times faster. In terms of error detection, since Appian extracts data from MT103, the extraction rate is quite good, and the error rate is negligible, lower than 0.001%. We can share accurate, error-free data with the regulator, which is essential for us. Appian benefits us significantly. After receiving an MT103, we check what the remitter is, the amount, if it is under threshold for processing, and if it is from a high-priority remitter or client. Since Appian extracts data from MT103 messages and identifies top-level clients from the database, it can notify us to process their transactions with priority. Due to automated data extraction, there are fewer instances of error. In our previous tool, we reported regulatory data to the central bank manually and often received complaints about invalid purpose codes due to manual data entry. Appian handles this automatically, and after switching, our error rate has dropped significantly, resulting in positive feedback from the Central Bank of Bangladesh regarding our reduced error rates. This has greatly enhanced our organization's reputation. Appian is fully on-premises, and we have our own system.
Amrit Dash - PeerSpot reviewer
Automation Engineer at a educational organization with 11-50 employees
Modular automations have streamlined onboarding and now orchestrate delayed multi-day workflows
Zapier offers the best features through the capability to make our own webhooks and the delay functionalities, which stand out in Zapier.The delay functionality and custom webhooks are valuable for our organization because of how we deal with things at our organization by creating things in a very modular way. We will have different modules talking to each other for a specific complex workflow. A webhook is what helps solve most of it because we can create all the different modules as a separate workflow in Zapier with their own custom webhook URL and then call them or chain them together to create a complex workflow solving a bigger use case problem. Secondly, the delays, with having a bigger delay in number of days, gives the automation a bigger window to run in, which is not the case with make.com or any other platform that we use for automation. The delays on other platforms are mostly within the range of one to five minutes because the scenario needs to run on that particular go. With Zapier, the scenario can span over multiple days and it does not take up running memory. Rather than that, it goes to sleep and runs back again after the designated time. With Zapier, I am able to handle workflows much faster. I have been able to reduce the effort the manual onboarding team and the operations team had to do in terms of employee onboarding. We have reduced the workflow time and made things more efficient and smoother and avoided any repetitive tasks in the day-to-day workflow of a team member. There is a significant reduction in manual work and team members save time by eliminating multiple workflows which are repetitive in nature that the automation team builds for them using Zapier.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Construction Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
6%
Construction Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business157
Midsize Enterprise82
Large Enterprise558
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise46
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?
It depends on your use case. Is it simply to automate a couple of processes? Is it to augment a human team? AA is ver...
How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?
From my experience using AA tool, it depends on the applications that you want to automate, because there some applic...
How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?
It is a highly preferred RPA tool. You can check my Automation Anywhere Review to know more.
Which do you prefer - Appian or Camunda Platform?
Appian is fast when building simple to medium solutions. This solution offers simple drag-and-drop functionality with...
Is Appian a suitable solution for beginners who have no additional preparation?
Appian is actually pretty big on educating its users, including with courses that reward you with certifications. The...
Is it easy to set up Appian or did you have to resort to professional help?
We had some issues when we were setting up Appian. It was quite surprising, since this is a low-code tool which, in i...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zapier?
The pricing is in accordance with market standards and even lower in some cases. The license setup cost is reasonable.
What needs improvement with Zapier?
Zapier can be improved by having more complex running scenarios, such as running code and more custom modules, and ma...
What is your primary use case for Zapier?
My main use case for Zapier is that it acts as a no-code automation platform which helps us in automating business pl...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Automation Anywhere, Testing Anywhere, Automation Anywhere Enterprise, Agentic Process Automation System (Now Certified for WorkSpaces)
Appian BPM, Appian AnyWhere, Appian Enterprise BPMS
No data available
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Google, Linkedin, Cisco, Juniper Networks, DellEMC, Comcast, Mastercard, Quest Diagnostics
Hansard Global plc, Punch Taverns, Pirelli, Crawford & Company, EDP Renewables, Queensland Government Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning (, Bank of Tennessee
BuzzFeed, Groupon, Spotify, Columbia University, FOX
Find out what your peers are saying about Appian vs. Zapier and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.