MuleSoft Anypoint Platform vs Zapier comparison

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Read 41 Zapier reviews

796 Views
529 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 8, 2024

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform and Zapier both compete in the integration solutions category. MuleSoft seems to have the upper hand for large enterprises due to its scalability and API management capabilities, while Zapier's intuitive interface and affordability make it appealing for startups and small businesses.

Features: MuleSoft Anypoint Platform offers over 200 standard connectors for applications like HTTP(s), databases, and SOAP, along with API management and the flexibility of different deployment environments. It provides high scalability and performance. Zapier, in contrast, provides extensive pre-built integrations that can automate tasks between web applications, saving development time with its user-friendly, no-code interface.

Room for Improvement: MuleSoft faces challenges with complex setup and pricing that might deter smaller companies. Enhancements in runtime management and user-friendliness could improve its appeal to non-enterprise users. Zapier, meanwhile, needs improvements in integrating lesser-known apps and better error reporting interfaces. It also lacks advanced logic capabilities for complex automation needs.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: MuleSoft provides multiple deployment options, including hybrid and on-premises, suitable for complex IT landscapes, but users report mixed technical support experiences. Zapier, operating in the public cloud, offers a straightforward interface and boasts responsive customer support, though its documentation may need more depth.

Pricing and ROI: MuleSoft is seen as expensive due to a complex licensing model, but it offers substantial ROI for large enterprises via its API-led approach. Zapier is more budget-friendly, with pricing that scales with usage and a free tier offering significant value to newcomers.

To learn more, read our detailed MuleSoft Anypoint Platform vs. Zapier Report (Updated: January 2025).

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform vs. Zapier

January 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 831,265 peers since 2012

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

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Ranking in Cloud Data Integration

4th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Message Queue (MQ) Software (4th), Business-to-Business Middleware (1st), Workload Automation (9th), Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) (2nd)

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 January 2025, in the Cloud Data Integration category, the mindshare of MuleSoft Anypoint Platform is 8.3%, down from 8.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zapier is 2.1%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Data Integration

Featured Reviews

Vijay Subramanyam

Delivery Head at cblsolutions

Robust, reliable, and stable, ensuring high availability for critical integrations

I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten; it is a highly scalable solution. We have around 200 end users using this solution in our company. We use it to its maximum capacity. However, it's not for P1 applications, but definitely for severity two cases (P2 level). It integrates critical applications, but it's not a platform that, if it stops, the entire system would come down. So, it's more like a severity two level. However, it has the potential to eventually become a P1 platform. Not exactly P1 applications, but a P1 platform. Because now we are still in the transition to migrate everything, all the integrations to Mule Anypoint Platform. But once it's done, then this platform becomes critical. Because even now, we have point-to-point connections.

Read full review

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.

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

"The product’s ability to seamlessly translate protocols is great."

"I have found several things most valuable, including its very quick implementation that you can use a lot of out of the box templates, and lastly that it is a very mature product, especially in hybrid integration."

"The solution's deployment and proxy processes are very good."

"MuleSoft Anypoint Platform's most valuable features are its observability and stability."

"Initial setup was very straightforward. Deployment is a cakewalk."

"We use simple queues and exchanges to route messages to multiple queues. The publish/subscribe model is also helpful."

"The solution's market place for different kinds of integration platforms is the most valuable feature."

"It is a stable product...The initial setup was simple."

More MuleSoft Anypoint Platform pros

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

"The connection between Facebook lead forms and MailChimp integrations is the most valuable feature."

"With the previous CRM we were using – the Google Ads landing pages we had – we were collecting leads manually. That process was not efficient and took a sales team a lot of time to insert these leads manually. Currently, the process is smooth and we use Zapier to collect the leads for us."

"Zapier handles everything under the sun that you would think you need in automation. It is the most mature integration platform and service on the market."

"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."

"What's most valuable in Zapier is its simplicity, seamlessness, and smooth plug-in, so you won't need to build code for every action. I'm not a developer, but I can use Zapier."

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

"Zapier is user friendly and makes it easy to integrate different tools. It has a drag and drop functionality which makes it easy to connect environments."

More Zapier pros

Cons

"The solution's pricing model is very strange, and it will be really expensive if you use APIs a lot."

"MuleSoft's release calendar is rather conventional with two major, two minor releases and hotfixes in between. The competition sometimes offer more rapid release cycles and provides improved and new functionality with a faster time-to-market."

"The compatibility with vendors can be improved. Microsoft Azure heavily uses single software."

"We would like an entire DevOps in place in this particular solution."

"Mule should have better B2B integration."

"An on-premise setup requires special skills and you need a lot of professional services."

"There is not much information on the internet...The transforming message is an area in the solution that needs to be improved."

"This becomes an expensive solution over time."

More MuleSoft Anypoint Platform cons

"The solution does not work properly when we apply filters and we get errors."

"I would like to see them improve the Quickbase integration. Currently, it only allows triggering actions when records are added, but it would be more useful if we could also trigger actions when records are modified or deleted."

"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."

"The pricing of the solution is quite expensive."

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

"It is not worth the money if you have a little bit of a technical mind...Zapier is not able to set up different modules. When automation doesn't work, it's not that easy to find why it didn't work."

"System-to-system is fine, but when it comes to system-to-user, where Zapier is helping to communicate to a user, that's a one-way communication. If that user has to perform some action on that notification, the action isn't handled by Zapier. So there's no way to orchestrate that and it's very cumbersome."

"Zapier needs more YouTube or video tutorials or more training for people. That would help a lot. In particular, Zapier should have documentation for every connector. Its documentation needs to be more detailed and visual."

More Zapier cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of our solution is highly competitive. While it may not be categorized as exceptionally low, it is certainly more affordable compared to IBM."

"Licensing can be complex as is the case with most iPaaS/cloud offerings."

"The licensing is core-based. My customers tell me that it's very expensive compared to the cost of other integration suites."

"Regarding pricing, I believe there could be room for improvement to align with user expectations."

"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing as four or five out of ten."

"Making changes in Anypoint MQ is expensive."

"Price-wise, it is a good product since it is reasonably priced."

"Mule is not the cheapest integration platform out there, but it deserves the price we are paying."

More MuleSoft Anypoint Platform pricing and cost advice

"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."

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

"It's very affordable."

"Zapier's price is good."

"The product is reasonably priced."

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

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

"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

See which vendors are best for you

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

See recommendations

831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

24%

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

19%

University

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What advice do you have for others considering Mule Anypoint Platform?

I architected solutions using Oracle SOA/OSB, Spring Boot, MuleSoft Anypoint Platform on cloud / on-premises and hybrid modes; What I see is though if you are an enterprise and have enough money th...

How does TIBCO BusinessWorks compare with Mule Anypoint Platform?

Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether TIBCO BusinessWorks or Mule Anypoint platform integration and connectivity software was the better fit for us. We decided to go with Mule...

What can Mule Anypoint Platform be used for and what do you use it for most often?

This is a very flexible solution that comes with multiple uses. My organization mostly uses Mule Anypoint Platform for API management, as it lets us build new APIs easily and design new interfaces...

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.

ActiveMQ vs MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Comparisons

Compared 10% of the time

Apache Kafka vs MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Compared 9% of the time

Amazon SQS vs MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Compared 6% of the time

Microsoft Azure Logic Apps vs MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Compared 6% of the time

IBM MQ vs MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Compared 5% of the time

More MuleSoft Anypoint Platform Competitors

Coefficient vs Zapier

Compared 28% of the time

AWS Glue vs Zapier

Compared 19% of the time

Alteryx Designer vs Zapier

Compared 15% of the time

MuleSoft Composer vs Zapier

Compared 13% of the time

Fivetran vs Zapier

Compared 11% of the time

More Zapier Competitors

Product Reports

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

January 2025

Download MuleSoft Anypoint Platform product report

Download Zapier product report

December 2024

Also Known As

Data Integrator, Anypoint MQ

No data available

Learn More

Salesforce

Overview

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform is used for integration and API management, connecting enterprise applications across retail, e-commerce, and supply chain. It supports cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-on-premises scenarios with real-time and asynchronous messaging.

Users leverage MuleSoft Anypoint Platform for diverse integrations including cloud-based and on-premises, enabling data transformations, middleware functions, and hybrid integrations. It seamlessly connects systems like SAP, Salesforce, and Oracle, facilitating data transfers and integrating legacy systems. The platform offers a graphic interface, quick implementation, and a variety of connectors, contributing to its popularity for robust and scalable solutions. Despite its strengths, users seek better technical support, more connectors, simplified runtime management, and improved documentation.

What are the key features of MuleSoft Anypoint Platform?

Marketplace for integration platforms: Provides pre-built connectors and templates.
API management: Efficient management and monitoring of APIs.
Graphic interface: User-friendly design for ease of use.
Monitoring capabilities: Comprehensive monitoring and observability features.
Quick implementation: Rapid deployment of integrations and APIs.
Pre-built templates: Ready-to-use templates for common integrations.
Stability and performance: Reliable and high-performing platform.
Data transformation with DataWeave: Powerful tool for data mapping and transformation.
Support for hybrid deployments: Flexibility to integrate cloud and on-premises systems.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Increased connectivity: Seamless integration of multiple systems.
Operational efficiency: Streamlined processes and data flows.
Scalability: Ability to grow with business needs.
Cost savings: Reduced development time with pre-built components.
Enhanced visibility: Improved monitoring and management of integrations.

Enterprises in retail, e-commerce, and supply chain implement MuleSoft Anypoint Platform to connect various applications and systems. It supports real-time messaging for inventory management, synchronizes customer data across platforms, and integrates with legacy systems for smooth data migration. Users benefit from quick deployments and a marketplace that accelerates integration projects.

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

VMware, Gucci, MasterCard, Target, Time Inc, Hershey's, Tesla, Spotify, Office Depot, Intuit, CBS, Amtrak, Salesforce, Gap, Ralph Lauren

BuzzFeed, Groupon, Spotify, Columbia University, FOX