IBM Cloud Pak for Integration vs Zapier comparison

IBM Cloud Pak for Integration

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94% willing to recommend

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 3, 2024

Zapier and IBM Cloud Pak for Integration compete in automation and integration. Zapier has the upper hand in cost-effectiveness and user-friendliness, while IBM Cloud Pak for Integration offers features that cater to enterprises justifying its premium pricing.

Features: Zapier's key features include its ability to connect various web apps, ease of prototype workflows without coding, and extensive app integrations through pre-built Zaps. IBM Cloud Pak for Integration offers features like comprehensive API management, robust end-to-end encryption, and high-level messaging capabilities suited for complex enterprise environments.

Room for Improvement: Zapier could improve by expanding support for more complex business logic and enterprise features, offering more advanced data processing capabilities, and enhancing scalability for large-scale operations. IBM Cloud Pak for Integration can improve by simplifying its initial setup process, providing better cost transparency, and enhancing user interface design to be more intuitive for non-technical users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Zapier is recognized for its straightforward deployment process and minimal need for technical support, making it ideal for users with limited IT resources. IBM Cloud Pak for Integration, while requiring more complex setup due to its advanced features, offers detailed customer service support that assists in deploying sophisticated enterprise solutions.

Pricing and ROI: Zapier offers a more affordable pricing structure, facilitating rapid ROI for smaller businesses with low setup costs and flexible pricing. IBM Cloud Pak for Integration commands a higher price but delivers significant ROI by supporting advanced integrations that can streamline and enhance business processes over time.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Cloud Pak for Integration vs. Zapier Report (Updated: September 2025).

IBM Cloud Pak for Integration vs. Zapier

September 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

IBM Cloud Pak for Integration

Ranking in Cloud Data Integration

16th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

API Management (28th)

Zapier

Ranking in Cloud Data Integration

11th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Cloud Data Integration category, the mindshare of IBM Cloud Pak for Integration is 1.8%, down from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zapier is 2.6%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Data Integration Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Zapier	2.6%
IBM Cloud Pak for Integration	1.8%
Other	95.6%

Cloud Data Integration

Featured Reviews

Neelima Golla

Senior Software Engineer at NessPRO Italy

A hybrid integration platform that applies the functionality of closed-loop AI automation

I recommend using it because, in today's context, the cloud plays a significant role. Within the same user interface, you can develop applications and manage multiple applications, making it a more user-friendly option. Moreover, you can explore various other technologies while deploying on the cloud, broadening your knowledge of cloud technologies. In my case, the transition led to my learning of Kubernetes, enabling multi-scaling and expanding my technical skills. It was a valuable experience, and I had the opportunity to learn many new things during the migration process. I can easily rate it an eight or nine out of ten.

Read full review

Sachin Shrtivastava

Automation Engineer at Axe Automation

Automation of simple tasks improves with user-friendly interface but needs enhancement in handling complex scenarios

In my opinion, what could be improved in Zapier is its UI, which operates as a one-line system. Compared to Make.com and other tools that have a drag-and-drop system, this is lacking. If the scenario or automation is complex, it becomes difficult to create and deploy because of various routes. For example, with 20 routes, it becomes really difficult to create them due to certain limits, and the UI is not conducive for viewing all the routes.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a stable solution."

"Cloud Pak for Integration is definitely scalable. That is the most important criteria."

"Redirection is a key feature. It helps in managing multiple microservices by centralizing control and access."

"The most valuable aspect of the Cloud Pak, in general, is the flexibility that you have to use the product."

"The most preferable aspect would be the elimination of the command, which was a significant improvement. In the past, it was a challenge, but now we can proceed smoothly with the implementation of our policies and everything is managed through JCP. It's still among the positive aspects, and it's a valuable feature."

"The solution is a SaaS and does not require a complex setup."

"There are a few valuable features, like the stability that it comes with and also the number of features that it offers. I've used other services like Pabbly, but they don't offer similar numbers of applications that Zapier has or allows to integrate with – it's maximum."

"Zapier luckily has a wide range of integrations, I would say."

"The main thing I appreciate about Zapier is that it has maximum availability of apps, with most tools being available compared to different solutions."

"I recommend Zapier because there is demand and it is easy to use."

"I utilized Zapier's feature of connecting over 2000 apps for various automations in my business processes."

"The most valuable aspect is the ability to integrate with over 20,000 applications, which is a superior feature compared to Make.com that has limited applications access."

"The most valuable feature of Zapier is it saves me time doing repetitive tasks."

More Zapier pros

Cons

"The pricing can be improved."

"Enterprise bots are needed to balance products like Kafka and Confluent."

"Its queuing and messaging features need improvement."

"Setting up Cloud Pak for Integration is relatively complex. It's not as easy because it has not yet been fully integrated. You still have some products that are still not containerized, so you still have to run them on a dedicated VM."

"The initial setup is not easy."

"There is a bug that bothers me whenever you try to open a workflow. There is this chatbot that opens up automatically, and you have to close it always manually, so that is something that is really irritating, so I would want that removed."

"Being able to share Zaps and organize them with teammates would allow sharing and refining scenarios and even combining steps that require different people's credentials."

"To make it a complete BPM solution, the UI component needs significant enhancement."

"It could support various languages along with Python."

"The pricing of the solution is quite expensive."

"The user interface for Zapier could be improved. It also takes some time to sync the data between different environments."

"The pricing could be a little cheaper."

"If the scenario or automation is complex, it becomes difficult to create and deploy because of various routes. For example, with 20 routes, it becomes really difficult to create them due to certain limits, and the UI is not conducive for viewing all the routes."

More Zapier cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's pricing model is very flexible."

"It is an expensive solution."

"Zapier's price is good."

"The least expensive plan is $24 a month, and you can go all the way to $800 a month if you're a huge company using many tasks."

"It's very affordable."

"There is a free plan that is, of course, limited. However, it allows you to understand and check true scenarios for a while."

"Zapier is a paid service. Its license renews monthly, and Zapier will downgrade your subscription to the free version when your credit card doesn't have funds. That significantly impacts your service because everything halts completely. Zapier doesn't have any hidden costs."

"Per task, there is a monthly plan involving 15 euros...Also, in different forms, they just give you the ability to use different features. They charge 18.58 euros for the first standard plan, which includes 750 tasks. So, it is about 25 cents per task."

"Think your Zaps through to make sure you don't use more Zaps than you need."

"The price of Zapier is approximately $75 monthly."

More Zapier pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Cloud Data Integration solutions are best for your needs.

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869,760 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Government

11%

Insurance Company

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

University

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	29
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Cloud Pak for Integration?

The most preferable aspect would be the elimination of the command, which was a significant improvement. In the past, it was a challenge, but now we can proceed smoothly with the implementation of ...

What needs improvement with IBM Cloud Pak for Integration?

Enterprise bots are needed to balance products like Kafka and Confluent.

What is your primary use case for IBM Cloud Pak for Integration?

It manages APIs and integrates microservices at the enterprise level. It offers a range of capabilities for handling APIs, microservices, and various integration needs. The platform supports thousa...

What do you like most about Zapier?

The product's most valuable feature is automation.

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?

IBM App Connect vs IBM Cloud Pak for Integration

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Product Reports

Download IBM Cloud Pak for Integration product report

API Management

October 2025

Download Zapier product report

September 2025

Overview

IBM Cloud Pak for Integration gives you complete, flexible integration using capabilities you need to move at today's speed of business, including the tools to help you achieve your application modernization goals as part of your journey to the cloud.

IBM

Zapier is a tool for primarily non-technical users to connect together web apps.

An integration between two apps is called a Zap. A Zap is made up of a Trigger and one or more Actions or Searches.

Whenever the trigger happens in one app, Zapier will automatically perform the actions or searches in another app in order.

Zaps are very lightweight and easy to set up. Zaps do not import or export old data (they only operate on new items created after the Zap is enabled). Zaps are also not kept in sync ("two way syncing") after the Zap is triggered.

Zaps are deceivingly simple if you're used to dealing with complex and difficult integrations. Their simplicity is what enables anyone to create them.

Sample Customers

CVS Health Corporation

BuzzFeed, Groupon, Spotify, Columbia University, FOX