How to Cancel Zapier in 2026 (The Automation Tax That Keeps Growing)
Updated 2026-02-19 · 6 min read
⚡ The Task Metering Trap
Zapier charges by "tasks" — every action in every Zap counts. A 5-step Zap that runs daily uses 150 tasks/month from one automation alone. The free tier gives you 100 tasks/month. Hit the limit and suddenly you're on the $19.99/month plan — for automations that run silently in the background.
Task overages: Extra tasks at $0.01-0.05 each (adds up fast)
Annual cost: $240-828/year on Professional
How to Cancel
Go to zapier.com → sign in
Click your avatar → Settings
Go to Billing → Manage Plan
Click Downgrade to Free or Cancel plan
Zapier will show retention offers — decide if they're worth it
Confirm the downgrade
⚠️ Your Zaps Keep Running
When you downgrade to free, Zapier pauses Zaps that exceed free-tier limits (multi-step Zaps, Zaps beyond your 5 active limit). But it doesn't delete them. They can restart if you re-upgrade. Turn OFF any Zaps you don't want running before downgrading — especially ones that send emails or post to social media.
Free Alternatives
Make.com (formerly Integromat): Free tier with 1,000 operations/month — 10x Zapier's free tasks. Visual workflow builder, more powerful logic.
n8n: Open-source, self-hosted, unlimited — the best free Zapier alternative for technical users
Google Apps Script: Free, connects all Google services, runs on Google's infrastructure
Microsoft Power Automate: Free with Microsoft 365 — covers most Office-based automations
IFTTT (free tier): 2 applets — simple but limited
Pipedream: Free tier with 10,000 invocations/month — developer-focused, very generous
Audit Your Active Zaps
Before canceling, check which Zaps are actually running and useful:
Go to Zaps → sort by Last Run
Any Zap that hasn't run in 30+ days → turn it off
Check task usage per Zap — one chatty Zap might use 80% of your tasks
Common "set and forget" Zaps: Slack notifications, email forwarding, spreadsheet logging
Most of these can be replaced with native integrations (Slack already connects to 2,400+ apps natively)
The Native Integration Check
Before paying for Zapier, check if your tools already connect natively:
Salesforce: AppExchange marketplace with thousands of connectors
Google Workspace: Built-in connections between Sheets, Docs, Gmail, Calendar
Many "Zaps" replicate what apps already do natively — for free
💡 The Make.com Migration
Make.com's free tier gives 1,000 operations/month — 10x Zapier's 100 tasks. The visual builder is actually more powerful (branching, routers, iterators). Most Zapier workflows can be recreated in Make in under 30 minutes. For the price of Zapier Professional ($240/year), you can run Make's free tier forever.
🔍 Automation Tool Audit
Zapier, Make, IFTTT, Workato — automation tools silently charge monthly while running in the background. Upload your bank statement to JustCancel to find every recurring SaaS charge.