Lobstack vs Zapier
A hosted, no-code automation platform: Zaps, Tables, Forms and agents across thousands of apps.
Zapier connects more apps than anyone in this comparison and runs your Zaps on its own platform, not on your computer. Lobstack is a desktop app where bots work on your computer and ask before each change.
Ten questions, answered from each side’s own pages.
| Lobstack | Zapier | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A desktop app where AI bots work in your repos and tools and wait for your yes, plus an API with a receipt on every call. | No-code automation across thousands of apps. |
| Where it runs | On your computer: Windows, macOS and Linux. Public beta, not code-signed yet. Prompts go to the model. | Zapier's hosted platform. Private networks are reached through VPC peering. |
| How you build | Give a bot a job in plain words and it proposes the steps. A finished run can become a routine. There is no visual canvas. | Zaps (a trigger, then steps), with Tables, Forms and Canvas alongside. |
| Apps and integrations | 36 built-in connectors, plus 2 generic ones that reach any MCP server by URL or command. | 9,000+ apps. |
| Approval before an action | On by default. Every step that changes something waits for your yes, with the exact call in front of you. | Human in the Loop: a Request Approval step pauses a Zap for reviewers. Needs a paid account. |
| Scheduled runs | Routines run on a schedule, but only while the app is running. A closed laptop runs nothing. | Schedule by Zapier starts a Zap on a timer, such as every hour or every day. |
| MCP | Connectors are MCP servers. Add any HTTP or stdio MCP server. | Zapier MCP, on all accounts. Each tool call uses two tasks. |
| Your own model key | Yes. Your own provider key or GitHub Copilot work instead of the Lobstack API, with no Lobstack account. | The pricing page lists “Bring Your Own Model” as a plan feature. We could not tell which plans. |
| How usage is counted | Dollars of model spend. Each call on the Lobstack API returns what it cost, and calls can be tagged by client. | Tasks: every step in a Zap. Triggers do not count. |
| Free tier and entry price | Free to download. $5 of credit for 30 days on first sign-in, then $1 a month of model spend. Paid plans from $29 a month. | Free: 100 tasks a month. Professional from $19.99 a month; paying yearly saves 33%. |
As of 2026-09-30. The Zapier column is read from Zapier’s own pages, each listed with a quote under Sources. Prices and plans change; check them before you decide.
What Zapier does that we do not.
More apps than anyone
9,000+ apps by Zapier's own count. Lobstack's connector list is far shorter.
No code, and quick to start
A Zap is a trigger and a few steps, with no code, and there is a free plan to try it on.
Runs without your computer
Zaps run on Zapier's platform when an app event fires or a schedule comes round. Lobstack's routines only run while the app is open.
An MCP server for all of it
Zapier MCP, on every account, lets an AI assistant act across those apps. It is a different job from ours, and a useful one.
Pick the one that fits the job.
Choose Zapier if
- The app you need is on Zapier and nowhere else.
- Something should happen the moment an event fires in another app, with your computer off.
- Your team wants no-code steps rather than code or chat.
Choose Lobstack if
- You want bots working on your own computer, in your repos, files and browser.
- Every change should wait for your yes by default, not only where you added a step.
- You want to pay for model spend in dollars, with a receipt on each call.
- You would rather describe a job than build a Zap.
What people ask.
- Is Lobstack a replacement for Zapier?
- No. Zapier moves data between apps when events happen, on its own platform, whether or not your computer is on. Lobstack runs bots on your computer that work in your files, repos and browser, and asks before each change.
- Can I use them together?
- Zapier MCP lets an AI tool act across Zapier's apps, and Lobstack can add any HTTP MCP server by URL. That could let a bot reach Zapier's apps, with each call waiting for your yes. We have not tested this pairing ourselves.
- Both can ask for approval. What is the difference?
- In Zapier you add a Request Approval step where you want one, on a paid account. In Lobstack, every step that changes something waits for your yes unless you choose otherwise for a bot.
- How is each one priced?
- Zapier counts tasks: every step in a Zap, with triggers free. Lobstack is free to download and charges for model spend in dollars, with each call's cost returned to you.
Every page we read, and when.
- zapier.com/pricing
What it is · How you build · Apps and integrations · MCP · Your own model key · How usage is counted · Free tier and entry price · Triggers and task limits · read 2026-09-30
“No-code automation across 9,000+ apps”
“unlimited access to Zaps, Tables, and Forms”
“Zapier connects to 9,000+ apps—more than any other automation tool.”
“One MCP tool call uses two tasks”
“Bring Your Own Model”
“Every step in a Zap and every external connector call uses tasks”
“Starting from $19.99 /month”
“Triggers don't count toward your task limit.”
- zapier.com/blog/can-zapier-connect-to-on-premises
Where it runs · read 2026-09-30
“It unites your own AWS-hosted private cloud to the Zapier platform.”
- help.zapier.com/hc/en-us/articles/38731463206029-Request-approval-to-keep-your-workflow-running-with-Human-in-the-Loop
Approval before an action · read 2026-09-30
“pauses your Zap run and requests one or more reviewers to approve”
- zapier.com/apps/schedule/integrations
Scheduled runs · read 2026-09-30
“Triggers every day at the time selected.”
- Lobstack’s column
Each line restates a page on this site: /download, /docs/app, /connectors, /docs/app#approval, /docs/app#routines, /docs/app#connectors, /docs/console/clients, /pricing.
Download Lobstack.
Free for Windows, Mac and Linux, in public beta. Bots work on your computer and wait for your yes before anything that changes something.