Automation and integrations decision
Relay.app
A small team or single competent developer can rebuild a useful subset (workflows, AI steps, run history, exports) and self-host it; the hosted Relay product’s broader integrations, billing, and support are not reproduced.
Visit website↗$19/mo
$228/yr
Not verified against a pricing page.
$50one-off30 h to build
$200/mo8 h/mo upkeep
On cash alone, building overtakes the subscription at 11 seats.
Open-source builds that already do this
Every project below is open source and already does this job today. Fork one, self-host it, or take the parts you need - the build prompt further down assumes an empty file, and this is the shortcut past that. Licences differ; check the one on each card before you ship. All Relay.app alternatives, with the arithmetic →
What a replacement has to do
- Run user-defined workflows (trigger → steps → actions) that call AI prompts and third-party connectors, record run history, and export/import workflows and table data.
What it still won’t have
- Built-in premium connectors and wide third-party integration catalog
- Automatic subscription/billing handling and refunds
- Priority support and transition assistance promised by Relay.app
- Any proprietary infrastructure or scaling optimizations the hosted product provided
What remains hard
- Product polish and ongoing maintenance
First-year cost
Keep paying
Paying is—cheaper in year one.
On cash alone, building overtakes the subscription at 11 seats.
Money you would actually spend
Time you would spend
—
What you would spend
What we assumed
The verdict above measures whether you could build it. This one is only about money.
Runnable build prompt
Build a self-hosted AI workflow runner using Node.js + Express, PostgreSQL, and a React admin UI. In scope: (1) REST endpoints to create/read/update/delete workflow JSON definitions; (2) a simple execution engine that runs a sequence of steps (supporting HTTP action steps and an LLM step via OpenAI-compatible API); (3) persistence of run history and step logs in Postgres and CSV/JSON export endpoints; (4) a React UI to trigger runs, view run history, and download exports; (5) minimal authentication (JWT) and Docker Compose for local deployment. Out of scope: enterprise-grade connector marketplace, automatic billing, multi-tenant isolation beyond a workspace field, and complex OAuth flows (except a single example provider). Include error handling (retries, step failure semantics), logging, and unit/integration tests for the execution engine and export functions.
How we checked
How the score was reached
- Build verdict base78
- An open-source build was found+5
- 4 cited sources+3
- Evidence score86
The base comes from the verdict. Everything under it is a check that either happened or did not, and each one is a fact frozen in this record rather than a judgement made at render time - so the same evidence always produces the same number.
How scoring works →Cited sources · 4
Every page the run actually retrieved.
- official productRelay.app — official product page
- official productRelay.app — official product page
- open sourcen8n-io/n8n
- open sourceactivepieces/activepieces
Integrity checks
What held up, and what did not.
