IFTTT

This IFTTT review covers what IFTTT is used for, its key features, IFTTT pricing, smart home automation, how it compares with Zapier and Home Assistant, and where it falls short. IFTTT stands for "If This Then That". Every automation is an applet: a trigger from one service (if this) starts one or more actions in other services (then that). You create applets in the web app or the mobile app for iPhone and any Android device, without writing code. IFTTT connects more than 1,000 services, from Google Sheets and Google Calendar to Philips Hue, Google Nest and Weather Underground (IFTTT).

What is IFTTT used for?

IFTTT is used to save time and boost personal productivity on small, repetitive tasks in a typical day, at work and in daily life. Personal users create simple routines: they log data to a Google Sheets row, get notifications when the weather changes, back up photos to cloud storage, or mute the phone when they arrive at work with location based features. Smart home enthusiasts link devices that do not talk to each other, such as lights, cameras, thermostats and voice assistants like Google Assistant.

Small business owners use IFTTT for light business automation: posting the same update to multiple social networks such as Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), saving Facebook Lead Ads or Google Forms responses to a spreadsheet, adding meetings to Google Calendar, or sending a message when a form is filled in. It suits a few dozen simple automations for one person. Larger teams with many connected services and complex rules usually move to a platform built for business workflows.

Key features

• Applets: trigger-and-action automations. You pick a trigger, fill in the fields (IFTTT calls the data "ingredients"), then choose an action. Many ready-made applets from the IFTTT community can be switched on in one tap.
• Multi-action applets: on the Pro and Pro+ plans one trigger can run several actions, for example log a row, send a notification and post to a channel.
• Queries and filter code: on Pro+ you can look up extra data before the actions run, and add filter code, JavaScript (TypeScript) that runs after the trigger and query and before the actions, to add conditional logic and skip or change actions (IFTTT Help Center).
• Multiple accounts: Pro+ lets you connect multiple accounts per service, such as two Google accounts.
• IFTTT AI: Pro+ includes AI services, such as an AI summarizer that can summarize content, an AI social creator and an AI YouTube assistant.
• Webhooks and developer tools: webhooks connect custom integrations. Companies can publish their own service with the Service API and embed IFTTT in their products with the Connect API (IFTTT developer FAQ).
• Mobile app: the iOS and Android apps add phone-based triggers such as location, notifications and device events.

IFTTT pricing

IFTTT has a free plan and two paid plans. The prices below come from the IFTTT plans page as of September 2026.

• Free: $0. Up to 2 applets, single-action applets only, standard speed, one account per service.
• Pro: $2.99 a month, or $35.88 billed annually. Up to 20 applets, multi-action applets and the fastest applet speeds.
• Pro+: $8.99 a month, or $107.88 billed annually. Unlimited applets, queries and filter code, AI services and multiple accounts per service.

Both paid plans can be tried for free first. There is no charge per applet run, but each connected service has its own rate limits, and an applet pauses when a service limit is reached (CheckThat).

Free tier vs paid plans

The free tier is enough to try IFTTT and run two simple automations. IFTTT Pro suits most personal users who need more applets and multi-action automations, and the subscription is low compared with business tools.

Advanced features and unlimited applets on Pro+

Pro+ adds the advanced features: unlimited applets, conditional logic with filter code, queries, AI features and multiple accounts per service. It is the plan for power users and developers who want full functionality.

The cost surprise to check is speed and the applet cap on the free tier. Polling applets on the free plan can take up to an hour to run, against about five minutes on Pro and Pro+ (IFTTT Help Center). The free version stops at 2 applets. Annual billing on the plans page works out to the same monthly price as paying month to month. There is no team plan: every person pays for their own IFTTT subscription, and access to an applet is tied to one account.

How to create applets and automate work with IFTTT

To create an applet, sign in to your IFTTT account on the web or in the app and choose Create. Pick the "If This" part: a service and a trigger, such as a new row in Google Sheets or a new post on X (formerly Twitter). Give IFTTT access to that account when asked. Then pick the "Then That" part: one action on the free plan, or several on Pro and Pro+. Fill in the fields with ingredients from the trigger, for example to create a Google Docs note or a spreadsheet row, name the applet and switch it on. IFTTT users can also start from community applets and change them, and IFTTT's AI features can help draft an applet from a plain description. Test each applet once, because a service can change its access rules and stop a trigger.

Smart home automation with IFTTT

Smart home devices are where IFTTT is strongest. Many device makers publish an IFTTT service, so an applet can link a Philips Hue light to a camera, a Google Nest thermostat to the weather, or a smart plug to your location. Services such as Aqara, Smart Life, Home Connect and Google Wifi let IFTTT act as the glue between brands that do not work together natively. Voice commands through Google Assistant can trigger several devices at once on a paid plan. The limit is speed: polling applets wait for the next check, so actions that must happen within seconds work better on a service with realtime triggers or a local hub.

IFTTT vs Zapier and Home Assistant

IFTTT and Zapier both connect apps without code, but they aim at different users. IFTTT is cheap, simple and strong in consumer apps and smart home devices. Zapier has far more business apps, multi-step workflows with branching, team accounts and error handling, at a higher price. Zapier's own comparison describes IFTTT automations as limited to single steps; IFTTT's plans page shows multi-action applets on Pro and filter code for conditional logic on Pro+, so that claim is out of date.

Home Assistant is an open-source smart home platform that runs on your own hardware. It controls devices locally, often without the cloud, and handles complex rules, but it takes time to set up. IFTTT runs in the cloud, needs no hardware and takes minutes to learn, which makes it easier for most users to access. Huginn is another free, open-source option you host yourself for web and data automations (XDA).

Where IFTTT shines — and where it falls short

Strengths:

• Very easy to start: most applets take a minute to set up.
• Low price for paid plans compared with business automation tools.
• Broad smart home coverage and phone-based triggers.
• Community applets for common tasks, ready to switch on.

Trade-offs:

• The free plan allows only 2 applets and runs slowly.
• Polling means delays of minutes, not seconds.
• No team plan, shared workspaces or detailed error handling.
• Fewer business apps than Zapier or Make.
• Filter code needs JavaScript for conditional logic beyond simple rules.

How IFTTT compares

• Zapier: the business-focused automation platform with thousands of apps and multi-step workflows.
• Make: visual scenarios with branching and data handling at a low price per operation.
• n8n: open-source workflow automation you can self-host, with code steps.
• Microsoft Power Automate: the Microsoft 365 option, including desktop automation.
• Pipedream: code-first workflows for developers.
• Workato and Tray.io: enterprise integration and automation platforms.

Is IFTTT worth it?

IFTTT is worth it for personal automation and smart home enthusiasts who want simple applets without learning a complex tool. The Pro plan costs little and removes the main limits of the free version. It is less of a fit for business automation with many steps, teams, strict timing or advanced error handling, where Zapier, Make or n8n are better choices. If your automations have outgrown IFTTT, the automation agencies and developers on LowCodeDevs can move them to a platform that fits.

Sources

• IFTTT plans and pricing: plans, prices, applet limits and features.
• IFTTT Help Center: building with filter code: what filter code is and when it runs.
• IFTTT Help Center: polling and realtime applets: run speed per plan.
• IFTTT developer FAQ: Service API, Connect API and service publishing.
• IFTTT pricing, CheckThat: rate limits, trial and annual billing.
• The best IFTTT alternatives, Zapier: business comparison (written by a competitor; its claim that IFTTT automations are single-step conflicts with IFTTT's plans page).
• Huginn, XDA Developers: a self-hosted open-source alternative.