Activepieces
Open-source automation with AI agents - the MIT Zapier alternative, on a managed Postgres.
One-click deploy, from $25/mo on a Miget plan.
Activepieces is the MIT-licensed take on Zapier: a clean visual builder with 280+ pieces (app integrations), branching and loops, AI agents, and MCP support - friendly enough for non-engineers, open enough to extend. Strong recent momentum has made it a go-to self-hosted automation tool.
This template runs the all-in-one container on a managed Postgres with a noeviction Valkey for its BullMQ queues, listening on :5000 directly. It runs in UNSANDBOXED execution mode, so no Docker socket is needed - exactly right for this platform.
Where Zapier charges per task and Make per operation, self-hosted Activepieces meters neither - the only ceiling is the compute it runs on.
Upstream project: Activepieces
#what you get
- Visual flow builder with 280+ pieces, branching, and loops
- AI agents and MCP server support
- Code pieces (TypeScript) when clicking runs out
- Managed Postgres + noeviction Valkey, auto-wired
- UNSANDBOXED mode - no Docker socket required
- MIT core
#topology
| Service | Role | Public |
|---|---|---|
| activepieces | UI + API + worker (all-in-one, :5000) | yes |
| broker / db | noeviction Valkey / managed Postgres | no |
#miget sizing
// this stack needs
3.3 GiB RAM · 5 GB disk · 3 services
~1.5-2 GiB is the realistic floor for the all-in-one. Flows and history live in Postgres; the queue rides Valkey.
Hobby - recommended fit
$25/mo
2 vCPU · 4 GiB · 80 GiB disk
Headroom for your own apps: 8 GiB at $49/mo
Professional - production
$43/mo
2 vCPU · 4 GiB · 25 GiB disk
Dedicated resources, production SLOs - plan details
One Miget plan is a fixed pool of compute - the whole stack (managed databases included) deploys inside it, and anything left over runs your other apps. No per-service or per-seat math.
#vs. the managed service
What the hosted equivalents charge, against the flat Miget plan this stack fits on. Prices as of June 2026, sources linked.
| Service | Plan | Monthly | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Activepieces on Miget ★ | 4 GiB plan | $25 | this whole stack, flat - no usage meters, and room left for your own apps |
| Zapier | Professional | ~$30 | ~$30/mo for 750 tasks (annual $20); pay-per-task overage |
| Make.com | Core | ~$9 | $9/mo for 10,000 operations |
Self-hosted Activepieces meters neither tasks nor flows.
#vs. other PaaS
Estimated monthly cost of running this exact stack (3.3 GiB RAM, 5 GB disk, 3 containers) elsewhere, from published June 2026 rates.
| Platform | Est. monthly | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Miget ★ | $25 flat | compose stacks first-class: one deploy, dedicated vCPU, managed Postgres/Valkey, volumes and TLS all included in the plan |
| Heroku | ~$163 | no volumes; nothing between 1 GB ($50) and 2.5 GB ($250) dynos - 2 GB containers cost far more than shown |
| DO App Platform | ~$44 | no persistent volumes - stateful containers need managed DBs/Spaces (base $5 Spaces included here) |
| Render | ~$42 | per-service instances (0.5 GB $7, 2 GB $25) - every container is its own paid service |
| Railway | ~$33 | usage-based ($10/GB RAM-mo); vCPU billed separately at $20/vCPU-mo on top |
| Fly.io | ~$20 | cheapest sticker price - but burstable shared CPUs (1/16 core; dedicated vCPUs cost ~2-3×), no compose deploys (one app per container, manual wiring), managed DBs billed extra |
Estimates assume RAM fully allocated at published on-demand rates - and sticker price isn't the whole comparison: the cheaper rows buy burstable shared CPUs, per-service wiring instead of a compose deploy, and managed databases billed separately. Heroku and DO App Platform have no persistent volumes at all - stateful stacks like this one need workarounds there.
#deploy it
On Miget
- Create a Compose Stack in app.miget.com pointing at the templates repository
- Set the stack path to
activepieces -
Set the required variables:
AP_ENCRYPTION_KEY / AP_JWT_SECRET / REDIS_AUTH, core secrets (encryption key is 32 hex)AP_FRONTEND_URL, the app’s https domain after first deploy (webhooks embed it)
- Deploy. Miget layers
compose.miget.yaml(RAM, privacy, volumes, managed services) automatically
Locally first?
Every template is portable, vanilla Docker Compose - the Miget overrides are ignored locally:
git clone https://github.com/deployable-sh/stacks
cd miget-compose-templates/activepieces
docker compose up -dSame files, same behavior. The template README covers connection strings and scaling notes.
#faq
How does it compare to Zapier or Make?
Zapier Professional is ~$30/month for 750 tasks; Make Core $9 for 10,000 ops - both meter usage. Self-hosted Activepieces has no task or operation meter at all, on a $25/month flat plan, with the flows running on your own infrastructure.
Activepieces, n8n, or Node-RED?
Activepieces for a polished MIT Zapier-style builder with AI pieces and the gentlest UX; n8n (also here, queue mode) for the deepest integration catalog and code-first power; Node-RED for device/MQTT/protocol wiring. Different ecosystems, all flat-priced.
Does it need Docker access to run flows?
No - this template uses UNSANDBOXED execution, so flow steps run in-process without a Docker socket (which a PaaS does not expose). Code pieces still run; the heavier sandbox modes that need container isolation are simply not used here.
Ship Activepieces today
One compose stack, 3.3 GiB of RAM, from $25/month flat, and it runs on your laptop with the same files.