Plenty of small jobs repeat on a schedule: copying form responses into a spreadsheet, saving email attachments, posting the same update in two places. Zapier connects the apps you already use so those jobs run on their own. This guide explains how it works and walks through a first automation on the free plan.
What Zapier does
Zapier links apps together using workflows called Zaps. Every Zap starts with a trigger, the event that sets it off (a new row in a sheet, a new form response, a new email). It then performs one or more actions (add a row, send a message, create a calendar event). You build it in a browser by picking apps from a list, so no coding is needed.
What the free plan includes
Check Zapier’s pricing page for current limits, since they change. As of this writing, the free plan includes:
- 100 tasks per month, shared across all your Zaps
- Unlimited Zaps
- Two steps per Zap: one trigger and one action
- Polling triggers that check for new data every 15 minutes
Multi-step Zaps, meaning more than one action after the trigger, need a paid plan, which Zapier lists as starting at about $20 a month when billed annually (about $30 a month if you pay month to month).
How tasks are counted
A task is a successfully completed action step. Triggers don’t use tasks, and neither do failed actions, filters, paths, or built-in steps such as Formatter and Delay. On a two-step free Zap that means one task each time it runs successfully, so 100 tasks covers about 100 runs a month across everything you build. A Zap that fires on every incoming email could use that up quickly, so start with automations that run a few times a week.
Build your first Zap: form responses into a spreadsheet
This example uses Google Forms and Google Sheets, but the steps are the same for most app pairs.
- Create the Zap. After signing up, choose to create a new Zap.
- Set the trigger. Pick Google Forms and its new-response trigger (the exact name may vary), then connect your Google account and choose the form.
- Test the trigger. Zapier fetches a recent response so you can see what data it will pass along.
- Set the action. Pick Google Sheets and “Create Spreadsheet Row,” choose the sheet, and map each form answer to a column.
- Test and publish. Run the test, check the row that appears in your sheet, then switch the Zap on.
If you want to do more with the data once it lands in the sheet, our guide to Google Sheets formulas worth learning covers the ones that save the most time.
Good first automations
- Save email attachments to a cloud folder
- Add new form or survey responses to a spreadsheet
- Copy new calendar events into a task list
- Send yourself a message when a specific kind of email arrives
- Post a new blog article link to a team chat
Pick tasks that are repetitive, predictable, and low risk if they fail.
Mistakes beginners make
- Automating a messy process. If the manual version is unclear, the automated one will be too. Do it by hand a few times first.
- Burning through tasks. Watch the usage counter in your Zapier dashboard in the first month.
- Forgetting about errors. Zapier can email you when a Zap fails; leave that on, and check your first few runs.
- Sharing sensitive data carelessly. Connecting an app gives Zapier access to it. Only connect accounts you are comfortable sharing and review the permissions.
When to upgrade
Stay on the free plan until you hit a clear limit: you need a second action in the same Zap, you run out of tasks before the month ends, or 15-minute delays are too slow. Upgrade for the specific limit, not just because a paid plan exists. For another way to save time with AI apps, see our guide to automating your to-do list.
Sources:
- Zapier Free plan limits (Zapier Help Center) — https://help.zapier.com/hc/en-us/articles/32337438839565
- How task usage is measured in Zapier (Zapier Help Center) — https://help.zapier.com/hc/en-us/articles/8496196837261-How-is-task-usage-measured-in-Zapier
- Zapier pricing — https://zapier.com/pricing
