Coming from Zapier?
This page compares Zap workflows, including Copilot-assisted building. Whenever turns your description into a procedure you supervise through rules and sample results. Its meter counts executions rather than Zapier task usage; that alone does not prove a lower bill. Fixed non-AI logic is deterministic; optional AI steps can vary and cost runtime AI. The file is yours.
What you get on Whenever
One run, however many steps
The meter counts the whole run, whether the code makes one API call or twenty. You size an automation around the job it does, not around how many action steps it can afford to have.
Written as TypeScript you can review
Describe the job in plain language and AI writes the workflow, including the conditions and API calls it needs. Review the rules and sample results; the code is there when you want it.
TypeScript you can download
The automation is readable TypeScript you can export, diff and take with you. Free AI building and editing have weekly usage limits.
A concrete decision
Illustrative scenarios, not customer results or recorded runs.
Greg: no “done” without the invoice receipt
Illustrative decision, not a recorded customer run: Greg wants each paid order checked against Stripe, then an invoice created, its ID saved, and only then a confirmation sent. He specifies that an invoice failure must stop the confirmation, and an already-handled order must not be charged or invoiced again. He checks the summary, sample records, provider receipts and run history—not source code. Test a missing payment, a failed invoice and a duplicate event before publishing. Whenever fits when those prescribed steps matter more than an agent deciding them again; a fixed workflow elsewhere can fit too. No screenshot here claims these actions were actually delivered.
Jaunius: make the edge cases explicit
Illustrative decision, not a benchmark: Jaunius needs all pages of 5,000 contacts, a saved last-seen ID, updates only for changed records and a clear record of which writes failed. He brings the old workflow and sample inputs, reconnects accounts, and tests pagination, an API failure and a repeated event before switching triggers. Choose a single procedure if it makes this logic easier to maintain; the other tools can also support complex logic. An optional model that classifies a note can vary and adds runtime AI usage. Compare the monthly subscription and actual usage, not the number of steps alone.
Zapier task usage. A Whenever workflow run.
Zapier task rates include exemptions and variable action rates. Whenever counts whole workflow executions. Price the actual job using plan allowances and overages rather than treating steps as dollars.
Zapier Zaps
Task-based billing
Successful action usage, with exceptions and variable rates
The detailed task-usage documentation exempts triggers, filters and listed built-ins, despite broader wording on the pricing page. Use the action-specific rules and confirm current billing.
Compare a monthly dollar budget for the same business workload: subscription, any usage beyond the included allowance, runtime AI and external provider charges. Use the same currency and billing period. Zapier triggers and some built-ins are exempt from tasks; AI, code and connector rates can vary. Apply those rules to your actual Zap rather than treating tasks as equivalent to Whenever runs. This page does not quote Zapier list prices or convert tasks into runs.
A run is one execution of one workflow, start to finish. AI building and editing are free within weekly usage limits; runs are metered separately.
A closer look
What changes when you describe the job in plain language and code runs it: to build, to run, and to keep.
Repeatable execution logic
Zapier Zaps
Configured Zap steps follow the workflow you build, and AI steps use the model tier you choose. Changes in external data also affect results.
Whenever
AI writes it, then published code runs the same execution logic. With identical inputs and dependencies, non-AI logic is deterministic. Changing API data, time, randomness or an optional model step can change results; this is not an exactly-once delivery guarantee.
Runs per dollar
Zapier Zaps
Price your actual Zap in dollars, including its plan allowance and any applicable extra usage. Triggers and some built-ins do not consume tasks; AI, code and connector rates can vary. A task count is not a workflow-run price.
Whenever
Pro includes 10,000 runs per month; see the pricing page for current US dollar prices. AI building and editing are free within weekly usage limits. Published runs are metered separately: the meter counts the whole run, not individual steps. External services and optional model calls can have their own charges.
What you can express
Zapier Zaps
Zaps combine actions, filters, paths and code. Copilot can help build and edit them. Compare the resulting workflow you supervise rather than assuming all Zapier work must be assembled or maintained by hand.
Whenever
Describe the job in plain language: match payments to orders, fetch every page of contacts, or alert only on unseen reviews. AI writes the procedure; you supervise its rules and results, and reading code is optional. API access still needs suitable permissions and a service reachable from the hosted runtime.
Export and portability
Zapier Zaps
Zapier documents an account-data export that includes Zapfile.json, an export of your undeleted Zap workflows with each step’s inputs and outputs. Check which integrations and credentials a migration needs.
Whenever
The TypeScript is yours: read it, edit it, export it, take it with you. Moving it to another runtime can require adapting managed connections, triggers and runtime-specific integrations.
Debugging a failed run
Zapier Zaps
Zapier documents selecting a run and its version in Zap history. Its Code documentation describes step input, output and logs; inspect the diagnostics available for the action you use.
Whenever
Check the summary, execution log and sample outcomes, then ask for a correction in chat. Inspect TypeScript if useful; use safe inputs when testing external writes again.
Where the AI cost lands
Zapier Zaps
Copilot helps build and edit Zaps. AI model tier, code runtime and connector type each affect how many tasks an action uses.
Whenever
AI writes the workflow once, with free building subject to weekly AI usage limits. A published procedure runs its steps without a model choosing them. Any model call you explicitly include still runs and has its own cost.
When a prebuilt action is not enough
Zapier Zaps
Check whether an app action, webhook or code step covers the request you need. Their capabilities and task rates vary; a missing prebuilt action is not proof that Zapier cannot perform the job.
Whenever
Describe the API operation and provide its documentation. Access depends on the API, account permissions, provider plan and reachability from the hosted runtime; workflow execution and call budgets still apply.
Sources and scope
Official sources captured on the date shown below. These describe published features and billing rules, not independent performance tests. Check the linked documentation for current modes, plans and limits. No competitor dollar price is asserted.
Checked
Start with a workflow brief
Pick a starting point, connect your accounts and review what Whenever builds before publishing.
Build this workflowAnnounce closed-won deals in SlackCelebrates each won deal in Slack with the numbers and a short recap of how it was won.
Build this workflowPublish Instagram posts from a calendarPublishes due rows from your Instagram calendar on the cadence you choose and writes each post link back.
Build this workflowLog survey responses and alert on low scoresAdds each survey response to Google Sheets within minutes and emails the owner when the score falls below your threshold.
Build this workflowTrack keyword rankings in a sheet each weekChecks the search position of every keyword on your list, appends the history to a sheet and reports the moves.
Build this workflowRoute large expense claims to a managerLogs every expense submission in a sheet and alerts a manager in Slack when the amount is over the approval limit.Build this workflowQuestions people ask before switching
Why do people look for a Zapier alternative?
Consider the billing unit and how you want to supervise the job. Zapier supports code and AI-assisted building; task usage depends on successful actions, exceptions and variable rates. Whenever counts whole executions and lets you review business rules and sample outcomes.
Can I move my Zaps to Whenever?
One at a time, by describing them. Say what the Zap does in plain words, the way you would explain it to a colleague. Whenever builds it, you test it against real inputs, and you switch the Zap off once the new one does what you meant.
Is Whenever cheaper than Zapier?
Not necessarily. Estimate successful actions at their documented task rates, including exceptions, then apply the current plan and overage prices. Compare that with Whenever workflow runs plus runtime AI and external charges. Pro includes 10,000 runs per month; a difference in unit counts is not a dollar saving.
Do I need to write code?
No. Describe the automation, review its summary and test its outputs. AI writes the code. Fixed non-AI logic is deterministic given the same inputs and dependencies; optional model steps and changing external data can change results. Reading code is optional.
Start with one Zap.
Describe an automation you already run. Whenever turns it into tested, running code.
Describe the Zap
Tell Whenever what starts it, which apps it uses, and what needs to happen.
Review the workflow
Review the business rules and sample outputs. The code is there if you or a developer want to inspect it.
Try the whole run
Test with real inputs before putting the workflow on a schedule or webhook.