IBM App Connect vs Zapier comparison

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IBM App Connect

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 3, 2024

IBM App Connect and Zapier are leading solutions in the integration tools category. IBM App Connect holds an advantage in complex environments due to its extensive integration tools and security features, while Zapier excels in user-friendliness and built-in integrations.

Features: IBM App Connect offers robust integration tools and adapters, supporting complex IBM and non-IBM ecosystems with high security and reliability. It provides scalability and middleware functions. Zapier is known for its ease of use, providing point-and-click workflows and a wide range of built-in integrations, perfect for non-technical users seeking quick and diverse automation.

Room for Improvement: IBM App Connect could improve support responsiveness, user-friendliness, and enhance its audit/logging features. Users also seek better integration capabilities with non-IBM systems. Zapier would benefit from enhanced Google Sheets integrations, features for two-way synchronization, and more comprehensive logic-based workflows. Expanding its app library and improving customer support response times are also identified areas for growth.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM App Connect can be deployed on-premises, hybrid, private, and public cloud environments, requiring technical expertise for setup and facing occasional support delays. The support quality varies. Zapier is primarily a public cloud solution with straightforward setup and generally positive support ratings, although some users desire faster response times.

Pricing and ROI: IBM App Connect involves higher licensing costs, typically favored by large enterprises leveraging its ecosystem for integrated solutions. It requires expertise, reflecting its higher costs but promises ROI over time. Zapier offers a flexible pricing model, starting with a free plan, which scales as needs grow. It is cost-effective for startups and smaller companies, delivering quick ROI through easy-to-deploy automations, although costs can rise with increased usage.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM App Connect vs. Zapier Report (Updated: April 2025).

IBM App Connect vs. Zapier

April 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 App Connect

Ranking in Cloud Data Integration

11th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Zapier

Ranking in Cloud Data Integration

10th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Cloud Data Integration category, the mindshare of IBM App Connect is 4.7%, up from 3.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zapier is 1.9%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Data Integration

Featured Reviews

Mehdi El Filahi

Co-Founder at tenekit

Offers flexible adapters, good scalability but logging can be difficult at times

There is room for improvement in the logging messages. Sometimes, if you put someone new into App Connect, they can abandon it the same day. The logging is really painful. However, IBM has made efforts to integrate with Elasticsearch for logging, so that's an improvement. Overall, the logging can be difficult at times. One more important point is that if IBM improves its CI/CD capabilities, it will make a big difference. Right now, I have to create my own CI/CD setup from scratch for every client, which is inefficient. Back in 2013, I worked with Sonic ESB, and even then, it had CI/CD with Maven. With App Connect, you need to build everything yourself when using tools like Jenkins, Bamboo, or CircleCI. IBM really needs to provide official support for this.

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FrankHo

Analyst at MSXI

Though the tool offers a visually appealing UI, it needs to improve its documentation

With Zapier, improvements are required in the areas of concerns like bugs, ease of use, and documentation. The product has many bugs, so users have to wait for a period ranging from five minutes to an hour to see where the Zap went. In Zapier, Zaps aren't very understandable owing to the way they work. As a user, you would think that in Zapier, a Zap works in a particular way once you set it up, but it won't happen. At times, some Zaps can interfere with each other, because of which there might be infinite loops that may occur, owing to which multiple Zaps continue to run or break down in general, after which nothing would run in your environment. You would not be notified about the breakdown of Zaps. The bugs in the product may be considered to understand or get an explanation of how Zaps works between software systems, so for something between Gmail and HubSpot, Zapier would explain through better documentation what would work and what wouldn't work. Maybe if Zapier had better functionality with Python or any other coding language in general, it would make the product a lot better.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Provides good security features."

"It has different type of interfaces that can integrate with companies."

"Very scalable, flexible, and user-friendly."

"The most valuable feature is the security."

"One of the most beneficial features is the ability to handle multiple communication technologies, like integrating Kafka flows, which is helpful as other teams heavily use it. Regarding error handling, I initially wrote most of the handling myself. While built-in features for error handling are built-in, it largely depends on the developer. We use a custom solution that catches all exceptions, logs them in a database, and replays them as needed. It has been effective for us for over twenty years."

"Technical support is good."

"The solution is very fast-paced when it comes to making things right. We can quickly download what we need if we need any app migrations for our software business. We can download it plenty of times when we need to use it. It gives us very high speed for delivering any development."

"I like the adapters. The adapters help us achieve scalability. If you want to connect to SAP, there's an adapter. Salesforce? There's an adapter. You want to connect to another system? There's likely an adapter for that."

More IBM App Connect pros

"The initial setup is pretty easy to do."

"The most valuable aspect of this solution is that it is very intuitive and has a very flat learning curve."

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

"We can connect Zapier with Zoho CRM for lead generation. I like the tool's drag and drop feature."

"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."

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

"Zapier's interface, for me, is the solution's greatest value proposition. It is designed and developed for people who don't have a clue about what they're trying to do. It has a very user-friendly interface."

"Webhooks are the most valuable feature of Zapier."

More Zapier pros

Cons

"More connectors could be available for the product as some of the third-party software doesn't have default connectors."

"The addition of string functionality would be a benefit, particularly in the ESQL space that IBM already uses internally."

"When we do a version upgrade of the system, the platform is kind of complicated."

"The installation of containers could be simplified, as it currently requires a senior-level installer."

"IBM App Connect should improve security features."

"IBM needs to enhance and have a stronger offering for the event streaming part because this is the future needed for the containerization and the new integration requirement."

"They reply in one or two hours at most, but they could be better."

"The setup time for App Connect could be improved."

More IBM App Connect cons

"The pricing could be a little cheaper."

"Some recent changes to the solution have made it bulky and not as intuitive to use as it previously was."

"At the moment, they allow a limited number of apps. I look forward to getting more apps for each package."

"Zapier could be a little faster, but that might not be possible. I would encourage Zapier to make more API endpoints for each application"

"I think that this solution should have more apps connected to it."

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

"After mapping them out, and they'd worked for a while, I've had Zapier fail."

"There is room for improvement in the support. They are not responsive, and they don't take much time to get resolved."

More Zapier cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price could be better."

"Initially, App Connect was quite expensive because the cost was based on the number of processors we used. However, it's now based on containers, which means we can be more specific about our consumption and get a better price."

"The licensing cost for IBM App Connect is very high."

"The solution's pricing isn't cheap, but you can get good discounts based on your competitive deal."

"The cost depends upon the consumer."

"App Connect is not cheap."

"IBM App Connect's pricing is high compared to other products."

"It is very expensive if we want to scale."

"It's very straightforward licensing. There's only one cost you have to pay, and if you want a relevant pricing plan, I think you have two or three different models or packages which include the number of notifications or Zaps, as they call it, that you can program."

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

"The product is reasonably priced."

"It's very affordable."

"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."

"Zapier's price is good."

"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."

More Zapier pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

48%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

16%

University

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM App Connect?

I like the adapters. The adapters help us achieve scalability. If you want to connect to SAP, there's an adapter. Salesforce? There's an adapter. You want to connect to another system? There's like...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM App Connect?

IBM App Connect's pricing is high compared to other products.

What is your primary use case for IBM App Connect?

I have been using IBM App Connect for application integration.

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 suitable. It's not cheap, but not expensive.

What needs improvement with Zapier?

The pricing could be a little cheaper.

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Product Reports

Download IBM App Connect product report

IBM App Connect

April 2025

Download Zapier product report

March 2025

Also Known As

IBM Cast Iron

No data available

Overview

Rapidly connect public clouds, private clouds and on-premises application

App Connect Professional is IBM’s cloud integration offering which delivers an integration solution
• With ease-of-use, flexibility and increased responsiveness to the evolving business needs, while removing the daunting complexities of integration.
• Provides the powerful combination of a ‘simple integration experience’ for business users looking to automate how their applications talk to each other; coupled with a ‘configuration based integration’ approach for IT.
• App Connect Professional is for the teams and integration developers who need to solve more complex problems and need powerful tooling for integration scenarios

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

United Way of Allegheny County, Saint-Gobain CPS, Ricoh, SunTrust Banks Inc.

BuzzFeed, Groupon, Spotify, Columbia University, FOX