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AI Agents · Alternatives · Updated

Creao AI Alternatives in 2026: 7 AI Agent Tools Compared by Price and Fit

By KGen Research · Published · 11 min read · Some links are affiliate links; we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Disclosure

Short answer

The closest Creao AI alternative is Manus: the same $20 starting price, 300 free credits a day (capped at 1,500 a month), and scheduled tasks on both Free and Pro. Choose Zapier or Make for app-to-app automation across thousands of apps, n8n to self-host, Lindy for an inbox-and-calendar assistant, Gumloop for team data workflows, and ChatGPT Work if you already pay for ChatGPT.

How we researched this

This is a research guide, not a hands-on test of eight products. Prices, limits and free tiers come from each vendor’s pricing or help pages, checked on October 1, 2026. Ratings are quoted from G2, Trustpilot and Product Hunt with the number of reviews behind them. “Best for” lines are our assessment of those facts. We earn a commission on Creao AI only; no other tool on this page pays us.

How do the Creao AI alternatives compare?

Creao AI (creao.ai) is a no-code AI agent platform that turns a successful chat into a reusable agent. The seven alternatives below solve the same problem, getting recurring work done by software, in three different ways: autonomous agents (Manus, ChatGPT Work), workflow builders with AI steps (Zapier, Make, n8n, Gumloop) and ready-made assistants (Lindy).

ToolFree tierEntry paid planBilled inBest for
Creao AI30 one-time credits + 5/day$20/month (200 credits)CreditsTurning a chat into a reusable agent
Manus300 daily refresh credits (max 1,500/month)From $20/month (4,000 credits)CreditsOne-off research and deliverables
Zapier Agents400 activities/monthAbout $33.33/month, billed annuallyActivitiesAutomation across 9,000+ apps
Make1,000 credits/monthFrom $9/month (10,000 credits)Credits per module actionLow-cost visual workflows
n8nSelf-hosted edition is free€20/month, billed annuallyWorkflow executionsTechnical teams and self-hosting
LindyNone$29.99/user/month (3,000 credits)CreditsInbox, calendar and meeting assistant
GumloopNone (14-day trial, card required)$37/month (20,000 credits)CreditsTeam data and content workflows
ChatGPT WorkLimited, desktop app onlyIncluded with ChatGPT Plus and abovePlan allowance, then creditsPeople already paying for ChatGPT
Entry prices and free tiers from vendor pricing and help pages, checked October 1, 2026. Usage units differ by vendor and are not directly comparable.

Why look for a Creao AI alternative?

Creao AI has four documented limits that send buyers looking elsewhere. First, scheduled runs require the Pro Plus plan at $50 a month; the $20 Pro plan can build agents but cannot run them on a timer. Second, Creao lists 34 connectors in its documentation, against more than 9,000 apps on Zapier and more than 3,000 on Make. Third, cost is hard to predict: Creao publishes credit ranges per message by model tier, but no price per agent run, video or browser session. Fourth, the independent track record is thin. The only public rating we could confirm for Creao is 4.5 out of 5 from 13 Product Hunt reviews, all written in September and October 2025 during the launch of an earlier app-builder version of the product, and it has no Trustpilot profile. None of that makes Creao a bad tool. It means the fit depends on what you are automating, which our Creao AI pricing guide covers plan by plan.

1. Manus: the closest like-for-like alternative

Manus is a general-purpose autonomous AI agent: you give it a goal and it plans the work, carries it out and returns a finished result. The free plan includes 300 daily refresh credits, capped at 1,500 a month, with one concurrent task and two scheduled tasks. Pro starts at $20 a month for 4,000 credits, or $40 for 8,000, with 20 concurrent and 20 scheduled tasks and a 17% discount on annual billing. Team plans start at $20 per seat.

  • Where it beats Creao AI: scheduling is included on Free and Pro, and the free plan refreshes 300 credits a day, up to 1,500 a month, against Creao’s 30 one-time credits plus 5 a day.
  • Where it falls short: Manus does not publish credit cost per task, and its user ratings are poor: 1.2 out of 5 from 209 Trustpilot reviews, with complaints centered on AI-bot support and credits running out unexpectedly.
  • Worth knowing: Meta announced a deal to acquire Manus in December 2025, and China’s NDRC prohibited it on April 27, 2026, according to TechCrunch.

We compare the two in detail in Creao AI vs Manus.

2. Zapier Agents: best for connecting many apps

Zapier is the largest automation platform by connector count, with more than 9,000 apps, and it now sells AI agents alongside its classic Zaps. Zapier Agents are billed in activities: the free tier includes 400 a month and the Pro tier 1,500 a month from about $33.33 a month, billed annually. Classic Zaps are billed separately in tasks, with 100 free tasks a month and Professional from $19.99 a month billed annually for 750 tasks.

  • Where it beats Creao AI: connector breadth and predictable, rule-based workflows. Creao’s own comparison page recommends Zapier for simple trigger-and-action jobs.
  • Where it falls short: two meters (tasks and activities) make the bill harder to read, and we could not find a published overage rate for agent activities.
  • Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 on G2 from about 1,340 reviews, but 1.3 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 321 reviews, where complaints focus on billing and refunds.

3. Make: best low-cost visual builder

Make is a visual scenario builder with more than 3,000 apps and AI agents in beta on every plan. The free plan includes 1,000 credits a month and two active scenarios, with a 15-minute minimum interval between runs. Paid plans start at $9 a month for 10,000 credits. One credit is one module action, so a five-step scenario uses five credits per run.

  • Where it beats Creao AI: price, a permanent free plan that can run on a schedule, and precise control over branching logic.
  • Where it falls short: you build the logic yourself on a canvas. Trustpilot reviewers (2.7 out of 5 from 171 reviews) cite the learning curve and access to support.

4. n8n: best for technical teams and self-hosting

n8n is a workflow automation platform with AI agent nodes, offered as a cloud service or as software you host yourself. Cloud Starter costs €20 a month billed annually for 2,500 workflow executions, and Pro costs €50 for 10,000. An execution is one complete workflow run regardless of how many steps it has, which favors long workflows. The self-hosted Community Edition is free.

  • Where it beats Creao AI: per-execution pricing, self-hosting and data control.
  • Where it falls short: it expects more technical skill than a chat-first tool, and cloud has a trial rather than a free plan.
  • Ratings: 4.8 out of 5 on G2 from 238 reviews; 2.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 49 reviews.

5. Lindy: best ready-made assistant

Lindy is an AI assistant that handles inbox triage, scheduling, meetings and follow-ups, and can be reached through iMessage, SMS and Slack. It has no free plan. Plus costs $29.99 per user a month with 3,000 credits, Pro $99.99 with 15,000 and Max $199.99 with 35,000. Credits do not roll over. Lindy drafts and proposes, and the user controls what gets sent.

  • Where it beats Creao AI: assistant behaviors work without building anything.
  • Where it falls short: no free tier, and 1.7 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 40 reviews, mostly about cancellation and billing.
  • Check before buying: Lindy’s own documentation still showed a $49.99 Plus price when we checked, so confirm the live pricing page.

6. Gumloop: best for team data workflows

Gumloop is a credit-based AI workflow and agent platform with unlimited seats on its paid plan. There is no permanent free plan; a 14-day trial requires a card. Pro costs $37 a month for 20,000 credits, and extra credits cost $0.005 each. Reading from or writing to Google Sheets costs one credit. Credits do not roll over.

  • Where it beats Creao AI: published per-action costs and no per-seat charge for teams.
  • Where it falls short: the default overage cap is one million credits, or $5,000, per billing period, so lower it before you run anything at scale. Public review counts are still in single digits.

7. ChatGPT Work: best if you already pay for ChatGPT

ChatGPT Work is OpenAI’s agent for longer, multi-step tasks and finished deliverables. It replaced ChatGPT agent mode, which OpenAI’s help center says “is no longer available.” Work runs on desktop for all plans and on web and mobile for Plus and above. It supports one-time and recurring scheduled tasks, more than 1,400 plugins and a plan mode that asks for approval before starting. Usage draws on your plan’s allowance first, then optional credits.

  • Where it beats Creao AI: no extra subscription if you already have ChatGPT Plus.
  • Where it falls short: event triggers such as new Gmail messages are not available on the Free or Go plans, and usage limits depend on model and task size rather than a fixed count.

Which Creao AI alternatives should you skip in 2026?

Three tools that still appear in alternatives lists are gone or on their way out, so check any list you read against these dates.

  • Relay.app shut down in September 2026. Its homepage says all accounts, workflows and run history have been permanently deleted.
  • ChatGPT agent mode has been discontinued and replaced by ChatGPT Work.
  • OpenAI Agent Builder was deprecated on June 3, 2026 and shuts down on November 30, 2026. OpenAI points developers to its Agents SDK instead.

A note on staying power

A shutdown, a discontinued agent mode, a deprecation and a blocked acquisition in one year is the context for any agent tool you choose. Gartner reported in April 2026 that only 17% of organizations had deployed AI agents, while more than 60% expected to within two years. Prefer tools that let you export your work, and avoid annual plans until a tool has earned them.

What do users say about each tool?

User ratings for AI agent tools split sharply by platform. G2 scores run high for most of these tools (Manus is the exception, at 2.4 from 8 reviews) and Trustpilot scores run low. Quote both, with the review count.

ToolG2Trustpilot
Creao AINot verifiedNo profile (Product Hunt: 4.5/5, 13 reviews)
Manus2.4/5, 8 reviews (secondary)1.2/5, 209 reviews
Zapier4.5/5, about 1,340 reviews1.3/5, 321 reviews
Make4.7/5, about 230 reviews2.7/5, 171 reviews
n8n4.8/5, 238 reviews2.9/5, 49 reviews
Lindy4.9/5, about 170 reviews (secondary)1.7/5, 40 reviews
Gumloop4.8/5, 7 reviews (secondary)No profile
Public ratings checked October 1, 2026. “Secondary” means the figure was reported by a third-party page in July or August 2026 because the review site could not be read directly.

When is Creao AI still the right choice?

Creao AI is still the right choice when the job needs reasoning and you want it to become repeatable without building a workflow. Creao has no canvas: you chat, get a result and click once to save the session as an agent with inputs, version history and a shareable install link. Its memory carries preferences across conversations, its agents can drive a hosted browser for sites with no API, and the same workflow can generate images, video and voice. You can choose among 15 models from providers including Anthropic, OpenAI and Google on paid plans. If that describes your work and you can live with 34 connectors, the free plan costs nothing to try, and you should budget for the $50 Pro Plus plan if the agent needs to run on a schedule.

Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Try Creao AI free — 30 credits, no card

For features, limits and what users report, see our Creao AI review.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free alternative to Creao AI?

Manus has the most generous free plan of the Creao AI alternatives: 300 daily refresh credits, capped at 1,500 a month, with one concurrent task and two scheduled tasks. Make’s free plan includes 1,000 credits a month and Zapier Agents includes 400 activities a month. n8n’s self-hosted Community Edition is free if you can run your own server.

What is the cheapest Creao AI alternative that can run on a schedule?

Make is the cheapest paid option, with plans from $9 a month for 10,000 credits, and its free plan can run scenarios at 15-minute intervals. Manus includes two scheduled tasks on its free plan and 20 on its $20 Pro plan. Creao AI itself requires the $50 Pro Plus plan for scheduled runs.

Is Creao AI a replacement for Zapier?

Not for simple app-to-app rules. Creao’s own comparison page recommends Zapier for jobs like turning a form submission into an Airtable row and a Slack message, and concedes that nothing matches Zapier on connector breadth. Creao AI fits work that needs reasoning, research or content generation inside the workflow.

Is Relay.app still a Creao AI alternative?

No. Relay.app shut down in September 2026 and its homepage states that all accounts, workflows and run history have been permanently deleted. Many alternatives lists written before then still recommend it. Its founder joined Google’s Chrome team, according to TechCrunch.

Which Creao AI alternative can be self-hosted?

n8n is the one tool in this comparison that documents a free self-hosted edition. Its Community Edition is free to run on your own infrastructure, and its Business plan, at €667 a month billed annually, adds single sign-on for self-hosted teams. Self-hosting gives you control over where workflow data is stored.

Sources

Prices and plan details were checked against these pages on . Vendors change pricing often — confirm on the official page before you buy.

  1. Creao AI — pricing
  2. Creao docs — skills and connectors (34 connectors listed)
  3. Creao docs — scheduled runs
  4. Creao — CREAO vs Zapier comparison page
  5. Manus help center — membership pricing
  6. Manus help center — credit rules
  7. TechCrunch — China vetoes Meta’s Manus deal (April 27, 2026)
  8. Zapier — pricing
  9. Zapier help — how Agents usage is measured
  10. Make — pricing
  11. n8n — pricing
  12. Lindy — pricing
  13. Gumloop docs — credits and pricing
  14. OpenAI help — ChatGPT agent is no longer available
  15. OpenAI help — ChatGPT Work
  16. OpenAI developers — deprecations (Agent Builder)
  17. Relay.app — shutdown notice
  18. TechCrunch — Relay shuts down, staff joins Google’s Chrome team (August 17, 2026)
  19. Trustpilot — Zapier
  20. Trustpilot — Make
  21. Trustpilot — n8n
  22. Trustpilot — Lindy
  23. Trustpilot — Manus
  24. G2 — n8n reviews
  25. G2 — Zapier vs n8n comparison
  26. G2 — Make vs Relay.app comparison (Make rating)
  27. TechReviewer — Manus (G2 rating, secondary)
  28. Litmus Tools — Lindy review (G2 rating, secondary)
  29. DigiJaws — Gumloop review (G2 rating, secondary)
  30. Product Hunt — CREAO reviews
  31. Gartner — What the 2026 Hype Cycle for Agentic AI Reveals (April 15, 2026)