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Zapier predatory pricing and behaviour?

  • 11 November 2020
  • 8 replies
  • 1915 views
M
Userlevel 3

For the longest time, I’ve had Zapier in my list of things to look into. And I must admit that I have been postponing it because the pricing tiers and set of new terms make it somewhat hard to gauge how big the investment is going to be to use the service.

For the last couple of days, I’ve been researching on how to get Zapier into my flow. I’m a Business Owner and a Software Engineer, so my goal for the trial was to figure out how to get Zapier to work for me. My thought process: Once I understand how it works and I can gauge it’s worth for my business, then that’s when I would look into hooking it up.

So I go once more to the pricing page, I look at the tiers. Starter gives you 750/tasks a month. Professional gives you 2,000 a month for 61.25 USD a month. So I immediately assume that the plan I’m going to need is the Professional one, it’s within my budget and sounds like it’s the right plan for me.

I sign up and get started on my journey of understanding how Zapier works and how to make it work for me, I decide that the first Zap I want to work on is simple:

“When I add a song to a YouTube Playlist, add it to a Spotify Playlist.”

I go on ahead and make my first Zap, which looks like this:

1. Trigger: New Video in Playlist in YouTube.
2. Action: Run JavaScript [ Here I filter video title, and prepare it so Spotify search returns the correct song ]
3. Action: Search for Track in Spotify.
4. Action: Add Track to Playlist in Spotify.

I save it, test it, and it works! Sweet! I spend some time adding some songs here and there, and then I go back to Zapier to look at my Task Consumption gauge. I’m suddenly close to 100 tasks in no time! At this point I realize that the Zap counts as 3 tasks.

So I’m thinking to myself, 3 tasks to connect these two. There must be something that I’m doing wrong, I need to get my Zap to be more efficient to lower the number of actions needed, should be easy!

So as a Software Engineer, the obvious solution was to merge Step #3 ( Search for Track in Spotify ) with Step 2 (Run JavaScript) and do it through JavaScript.

Version two of my Zap looks like this:

1. Trigger: New Video in Playlist in YouTube.
2. Action: Run JavaScript [ Here I filter video title, and prepare it so Spotify search returns the correct song + Search song on Spotify to get Track ID for the next Action ]
3. Action: Add Track to Playlist in Spotify.

I execute it, and just like that, my Zap now consumes only 2 tasks. Success! Time to party? Of course not!

The Zap was not ready to halt execution of Step 3 when Spotify didn’t have the song, so it would error out and STOP THE ZAP - preventing it from working until I addressed the issue.

Once more, being a Software Engineer, I imagine that the solution would be simple: I just need to figure out a way to halt execution of the next Action from the Code step, sounds like something Zapier would definitely offer, right? Yes, but no.

In the Zapier “documentation” located at https://zapier.com/help/doc/code-examples - the following paragraph is listed:

“If Code by Zapier is the Zap’s trigger and you return an empty array [], we will not trigger any actions downstream it is as if you said “nevermind” in code. This does not apply when Code by Zapier is used as an action — only when it is the trigger.”

So yes, they implemented it but only for Triggers, but they didn’t implement it for Actions. But why would they do that? As someone that is trying to get Zapier to work for me, I immediately assumed that this was because all they wanted was to keep the logic easier to digest with their Editor, you know “for ease of use”… but I quickly realized this was not the case.

Once more, I blame myself and say: “Well, all I need to do is add a Filter so it doesn’t error out, it’s a simple string check that translates into code like “if track id is empty stop”, something that could be done in a single line of Code.

So I go ahead and do it, now my Zap looks like this:

1. Trigger: New Video in Playlist in YouTube.
2. Action: Run JavaScript [ Here I filter video title, and prepare it so Spotify search returns the correct song + Search song on Spotify to get Track ID for the next Action ]
3. Action: Filter [ if track id is empty, stop. ]
4.. Action: Add Track to Playlist in Spotify.

I go, add a track on YouTube that doesn’t have an equivalent in Spotify and it works! No errors AND it only consumes 1 Task! SUCCESS! Right? No.

As I continue to test, my successful Zaps are now back at 3 Tasks… Wait, what? I look at the documentation, and I find this: https://zapier.com/help/create/customize/how-are-tasks-counted-in-filters

“Only incoming data that meets a filter’s rules count as tasks. If incoming data that triggers a Zap doesn’t pass the filter, it does not count as a task, and will not count against your monthly task limit.”

So, I can’t use my Code Block to have it act as a Filter in Action, but I can do it in Trigger. And I’m forced to use Zapier Filters which count as a Task when successful even when the Filter is stupidly simple. And by now, I stop being Zapier apologist and all I can think of is: Corporate Greed.

It’s my belief that Zapier behaves in a predatory fashion forcing the users to use the max amount of tasks to force you to go for higher plans. Filters, which are conditionals, sound like they should be in place to save you Tasks, but they are not.

This is worrisome, why? Because I can see Zaps taking on average 4-5 tasks. Let’s say that you have a series of Zaps that run daily:

5 zaps, with 5 actions each. 15 zaps a day. 75 tasks a day. 2,250 tasks a month. Over the limit. The $61.25 USD a month package won’t do anymore, but worry not, Zapier got your back and it has a package for you… for $111.25 USD a month you get 5,000 Tasks instead of 2,000, what a bargain!

Now, let’s do the same example, where simple filters don’t count as tasks and/or the Code action could stop execution:

5 zaps, with 4 actions each. 15 zaps a day. 60 tasks a day. 1,800 tasks a month, your $61.25 USD a month package is enough, sweet!

And all I did above was assume that only 1 step was going to be a Filter, but I’d imagine that on average Zaps have need for more than one filter.

I completely understand the idea that Zapier saves you time, and that the time that you save, translated into dollars, will be higher than what you pay, however: In this day and age, where every company wants a piece of that juicy monthly disposable income, it’s worrisome to engage with a company that clearly wants you to consume the max number of tasks on your Zaps, with plans that get exponentially more expensive.

In my humble opinion, Zapier, should:

- Actions that interact with services should NOT execute if the varaible that is passed is empty.
- Filters that are really simple in nature, should NOT count as Tasks.
- Allow for Code Actions to stop the execution of the Zap, like when you do it in Triggers.
- Increase the number of actions across the board: 750 task a motnh seems like a joke when everything is a Task.
 

As for the question “Will I use Zapier?”, my answer as of right now is:

I want to, but I see it getting out of control really quickly. Spending time to set it up for myself only to find that I’m going to need an ungodly amount of Tasks (and pay a lot of money a month), sounds like a risky investment. But I’m still trying to convince myself it will work for me.

This post has been closed for comments. Please create a new post if you need help or have a question about this topic.

8 replies

M
Userlevel 3

Am I somehow missing something related to the Code Block? Is ther actually a way to stop the execution like if it was a Trigger? I would love to be proven wrong about what I wrote, because I really want to like Zapier.

Any help is welcome.

nicksimard
Userlevel 7
Badge +11

Hi @mario!

I wanted to first thank you for taking the time to provide such thorough feedback! We really do appreciate it, as raise some valid points. I’ll answer your question about the Code app as an action, and having it stop like you can do with Code triggers. As far as I know, it’s not currently possible. I’ve found what I believe is a feature request for the exact thing you’re looking for, and I’ve added your vote for that. 

For the rest of the pricing-related feedback, I’ve passed this onto the team that’s responsible for pricing at Zapier. They also very much appreciate the time you spent crafting your post and will provide their own feedback here shortly :)

M
Userlevel 3

Thank you, @nicksimard  – It’s nice to see something happening out of the time to write my experience so far. On my end, I’m still trying to figure out ways to have Zaps with the least number of actions to see if I can afford it for what I want it.

Cheers!

richardenlow
Userlevel 1

Hi @mario , 

I'm Richard from Zapier's Pricing team 👋. I wanted to reach out and thank you for your detailed feedback on your experience with using tasks in Zapier! You bring up good points, and I wanted to address some of those here.

 

re: Tasks

Knowing how many tasks you'll need can be a bit of a head-scratcher for new customers, but we're working to improve that process day by day. Most customers begin with our Starter plan, which tops out at 1,500 actions run.

 

Need any more, and you can move to our Professional plan. Adding more team members? Then our Team plan might be for you. Adding multiple teams or advanced admin features, then Zapier's Company would suit you best.

 

re: Filters

I'm glad you were able to find the filter step. I think filters are just what you'll need for what you're trying to do here. I want to clarify that most-often filters are an example of what we call a "non-billable" task. When a filter step does not "pass," in your case, when it can't find the song in Spotify, that filter step action does not count against your task usage for the month. The status of this task will now read as filtered in your "Task History." However, if the song is available and thus passes the filter, that does count as a used task.

 

re: Pricing

Again, feedback like yours helps us understand the confusion and headaches that can happen as a new Zapier customer that we might not be able to see on our team. We're considering your feedback and your product requests as we continue to improve how we can make purchasing a Zapier plan a smart decision for you and your business. 

There is always an opportunity to improve how we price and package Zapier for our users, so thank you for the time you took to help us understand how your experience went :)

M
Userlevel 3

Hey @richardenlow - thanks for stopping by!

 

Knowing how many tasks you'll need can be a bit of a head-scratcher for new customers.

I think that the main issue here is the fact that when a new customer arrives they ara getting blasted with two fundamentally different concepts that are not always easy to grasp when there’s so much happening. Like, what’s the difference between a Zap and an Task (Action), how many Actions are used in a Zap?

For a customer that is just getting started and trying to understand the product, when you list something like: 750 Tasks a month, the number seems high at a glance, a new customer might think, “oh, wow, what a bargain, with 750 tasks I should be able to a lot of what my small business needs in a month.

Then once they sign up and discover that they maybe are able to do 5 zaps a day because, or burn their 750 task connecting something like Chat to Chat ( Slack to X ), the user will feel rightfully baited.

Need any more, and you can move to our Professional plan. Adding more team members? Then our Team plan might be for you. Adding multiple teams or advanced admin features, then Zapier's Company would suit you best.

I understand the tiers and the “room to grow” that each plan has; however, it doesn’t change the fact that due to the number of tasks one might need in a zap, you leave to the user to figure out how to make sense of it all to try to reduce the number of tasks or get into the exponential pricing increase game.

  • Starter, 750 a month, $25 usd.
  • tarter, 1,500 a month $50 usd
  • Professional, 2,000 a month, 60 usd.
  • Professional, 5,000 a month, $111 usd

I'm glad you were able to find the filter step. I think filters are just what you'll need for what you're trying to do here.

I understand FIlters are as of right now the only option for this particular Zap, but there’s no need for this to be the case. A simple string comparison in the Code by Zapier step would have been more than enough to filter this without adding one Task to my Zap.

I’m also aware that I could possibly just do everything in one code action, and reduce my Zap to one single action by doing all the API jazz myself, but that kind of defeats the pourpose of Zapier.

I want to clarify that most-often filters are an example of what we call a "non-billable" task. When a filter step does not "pass," in your case, when it can't find the song in Spotify, that filter step action does not count against your task usage for the month.

The status of this task will now read as filtered in your "Task History." However, if the song is available and thus passes the filter, that does count as a used task.

This is the bit that to me doesn’t make sense to me and it feels at times misleading. As a user, I want to accomplish something with Zapier. I want my Zaps to do something that works successfully, so my filters are going to be there for the pourpose of stopping Zapier from erroring or performing an uneeded Zap; however, more often than not, I want my Zap to go through.

So, for me, it looks like Filters are NOT going to be a “non-billable” task. And when I realize that all I need is a Filter that does a simple comparison of “is VARIABLE empty?”, it just feels wrong.

I understand that there might be situations where users take advantage of filters with full strength doing some complicated checks and what not, and that might make sense to make it as a task, but when you end up with a simple scenario like the one above and you are not allowed to do it any other way… that’s another story.

Again, feedback like yours helps us understand the confusion and headaches that can happen as a new Zapier customer that we might not be able to see on our team. We're considering your feedback and your product requests as we continue to improve how we can make purchasing a Zapier plan a smart decision for you and your business. 

I understand that I’m not one of those easy users to have, I’m very passionate with the products and services that I support and I’m very vocal about the good and the bad. I’ve had experiences that are bad, from defensive product owners and shadowbans, all the way to “wow” talking to CEOs one on one and getting hired. 

Even though it’s uncertain if I’m going to be able to become a Zapier customer myself, I have to say that I am very satisfied with the human element brought by the people behind the company, so kudos for everyone at Zapier. Keep up that human element.

There is always an opportunity to improve how we price and package Zapier for our users, so thank you for the time you took to help us understand how your experience went :)

And I hope that’s a promise and a goal for the company. Improve the price and packages for the customers. Let them do more with less, let them flourish and make Zapier an integral part of their life, not only their work. Gain lifetime customers.

 

And for the record: I would love to have a service like Zapier that I can use for everything in my life, I’m sure there are other users out there that want to make it so too.

CraigNet3
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

@mario I have a possible solution for you. Since you are using a Javascript code step for your second step:

  1. First create a new Zap with a Webhooks by Zapier trigger and add the “Action: Add Track to Playlist in Spotify” as the second step.
  2. Next in your Javascript step (in the original Zap), add a fetch request to the Webhooks Zap you created in step one above, that will trigger if the track is found. If not it just returns.

In doing so you’ll basically be filtering within step 2 (Javascript), and only execute an additional step (in the Webhooks Zap), if the track is found. 3 tasks if found, and 2 tasks if not.

I hope that helps.

P

@Zapier Staff

I have a hard time justifying $240 per year so I can get a handful of emails I need per month… I need a filter for one of the zaps, but free doesn’t offer filters. I need “maybe” 25 - 50 tasks per month across 4 zaps because Stripe is more worried about chasing VC money and pandering to their investors, than making software their customers need…

So, a $5/mo plan with some filters and I dunno, 250 tasks would probably suit me just fine for my needs. $240 per year is completely unjustifiable.

Looks like the “Starter” plan could easily offer a lower task option in the dropdown.

Point is, there is nothing between “I just barely need more than free” and “Now I have to spend stupid money on something I barely need”.

Liz_Roberts
Userlevel 7
Badge +8

Hi @Phil W ,

Thanks for sharing this feedback! I have passed it along to our Pricing team who is constantly reviewing opportunities to provide the best plan options to Zapier users. 

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