Choosing between Kortix and Zapier turns on the unit of work: a fixed Zap that repeats the same steps, or an agent session that runs a job on its own cloud computer. Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System, and it is the pick on this page for work a flowchart cannot hold.
Kortix cells quote Kortix's own documentation; every Zapier cell comes from Zapier's own pages.
Open source, our pick
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Zapier facts reflect Zapier's own pages, checked October 2026. Confirm current pricing on zapier.com before you buy.
# kortix.yamltriggers: - slug: daily-digest type: cron cron: '0 0 9 * * 1-5' prompt: Summarize yesterday’s support tickets and open a change request with the digest.Kortix starts the session on a cron schedule with nobody asking, on its own cloud computer, and lands the work as a change request a person reads as a diff.
You are choosing between two ways to get work done without you doing it. Zapier runs a Zap: one trigger and a fixed set of steps that repeat the same way every time. Kortix runs a session: a job you describe, that an agent does on its own cloud computer and lands as a change request a person reviews. Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System, and for work whose steps you cannot list in advance, this page recommends it.
Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System. Your agents, their skills, your company memory and every connector live in one git repo you own, and each session runs on its own cloud computer. The configuration lives as files a person can read and diff.
One isolated sandbox per session. Each session has its own isolated machine and branch. Connector credentials are brokered server-side and never enter the machine. Session work reaches main through a change request. Merge is default-deny for agents. Run it on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network. Self-host is free, and you can read the rest in the Kortix docs.
Zapier is a hosted platform that runs Zaps, its name for automated workflows. Zapier defines a Zap as a trigger plus one or more actions that run every time the trigger fires, and it counts 9,000+ apps you can connect (Zapier pricing, Zapier workflows). Its step list sits on a visual canvas that anyone on the team can edit, which is a real advantage for a flow you can draw.
The pricing is friendly to start. The Free plan includes 100 tasks per month, and paid plans bill per task, so a small two-step Zap stays cheap (Zapier pricing).
A Zap is deterministic on purpose: the same steps, in the same order, each time it fires. That is exactly right for a flow you can map ahead of time, such as routing a new lead to the right queue or posting a daily summary.
A Kortix session is for the other kind of work. You give an agent a job from the web, Slack, Microsoft Teams or the CLI, and it does the job on its own machine, reaches your tools through connectors, and opens a change request when it wants to keep something. If your work keeps escaping the flowchart, that is the signal. For the same contrast against a visual workflow engine, read Kortix vs n8n.
Zapier fits teams whose work is a fixed flow: the same steps, on a schedule or a webhook, with the path mapped out first. The visual builder, the shared connections and the task budget are built for that kind of team.
Kortix fits teams whose work is open-ended: research, a report, a fix, a campaign, or a reply that needs judgment and your tools. It is also for teams that want the configuration, the memory and the permissions to sit in a repo they own. Per-resource permissions for people and agents. Roles, groups, and an audit trail.
Zapier is a hosted platform. You reach it in a browser or through its API, and on Enterprise you can run AI through your own infrastructure, including Amazon Bedrock (Zapier Enterprise).
Kortix runs where you choose: on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network, and self-host is free. The paid shape is per seat rather than per task. Free is $0 with 200 credits per month and 1 project, and the team plan is $40 per seat per month with 2,500 credits per month per seat, pooled.
On models, Kortix keeps the choice with you. Any model provider with your own keys. Or the ChatGPT plan you already pay for. Or sign in with your OpenCode Console account for OpenCode Zen and Go. Zapier runs AI steps on its own terms, and its Enterprise plan manages model policy and BYOM controls.
On data, the split follows the same line. With Kortix, your data, your models and your infrastructure are yours, and the configuration is files in a repo you keep. With Zapier, your workflow data sits on Zapier's platform, protected by the retention, encryption and VPC controls on the plan you buy.
If the work is a flow you can draw and it must run the same way every time, Zapier does that well, and keeping it is reasonable. If the work needs an agent that finishes a job on a real machine and returns something a person approves, Kortix is the open-source system to own. Run the fixed flows where they already work, and give the open-ended jobs to Kortix. You can see the rest of the field or start again from the overview.
Short answers that quote Kortix's own words.
Yes. A Kortix trigger starts a session on a cron schedule or a signed webhook, next to the Zaps you keep, so you can move one job and leave the rest. Session work reaches main through a change request.
You start and follow work in the web app, in Slack, in Microsoft Teams or from the CLI, so a person can run it without touching a file. Underneath, the agents, skills and connectors are markdown and YAML a developer can read, and the system is open source.
Approval gates you set. Off until you set them. Set each tool call to allow, ask or block, and an Ask holds the call until a person approves it. An agent's work reaches main through a change request. Merge is default-deny for agents.
Start free, self-host for free, or give Kortix one job your Zaps cannot.