Relay.app
AI-powered automation with human-in-the-loop approvals
What it does
Relay.app is a next-gen workflow automation tool that treats "human-in-the-loop" and "AI-in-the-loop" as first-class citizens. Where Zapier and Make focus on trigger-action chains, Relay is built around workflows that PAUSE for a human review, or PAUSE for an AI to draft/decide, or route by AI-generated data. Native AI actions (GPT/Claude) run inline. Human approval steps route through Slack/Email with one-click yes/no. Multi-player workflows let a team share and collaborate on a single automation. Best for teams building AI-powered internal tools without full custom code, especially for personalized outreach and content operations.
Free tier
Yes
Starts at
$10/mo
Setup
easy
Key features
Integrates with
Slack, Google Sheets, Notion, OpenAI, Zapier
Who this fits
- B2B SaaS teams building AI-augmented internal workflows (drafts + approvals + sends)
- Agencies running personalized client outreach with human-approved AI copy
- Founders and operators building "AI assistant" workflows for their business
- Sales/CS teams using AI to draft and humans to approve responses
- Content teams with an AI-draft + human-edit + auto-publish pipeline
Who it does NOT fit
- High-volume, no-human-review automation (Zapier/Make/n8n more mature and cheaper)
- Deep integration ecosystems (Relay has 200+ integrations, Zapier has 6,000+)
- Enterprise governance-heavy workflows (SOC 2 features present but ecosystem younger)
- Purely deterministic ETL / data pipelines (wrong tool)
- Anyone allergic to newer tools that occasionally ship breaking changes
Pricing
Real gotchas
- All connectors are included in every plan — no "premium apps" paywall like Zapier's (Source: Lindy: https://www.lindy.ai/blog/relay-app-pricing). Genuine differentiator worth naming
- Two separate meters: steps AND AI credits. A workflow can bump against either ceiling. Model both when comparing to Zapier tasks
- Free tier is generous (200 steps + 500 AI credits) but AI-heavy workflows burn credits fast
- Professional tier ($19/mo) has 750 steps — plenty for personal use, tight for a team
- The Team tier at $69/mo is the "shared workflows" gate. Solo Pro accounts cannot share
- Integration catalog is 200+ and growing but nowhere near Zapier's 6,000. Verify specific apps
- Human-in-the-loop pausing is a genuine differentiator but adds a real latency dimension (workflows wait for approval) — do not use for time-critical events
- Newer product with active development. Occasional feature/UI shifts; watch the changelog if building critical workflows
Integrations that matter
Otto’s take on this tool
Recommend Relay.app when: team wants AI-augmented workflows with human review, business_size 1-50, and the workflow shape is "AI drafts, human approves, system sends." Highest fit for B2B SaaS ops teams, agencies running personalized outreach, and founders building AI-powered internal tools. Do NOT recommend for high-volume no-review automation, teams needing Zapier-scale connector coverage, or purely deterministic ETL. If comparing to Zapier: Zapier wins on ecosystem, maturity, and pure trigger-action volume; Relay wins on native AI + human-in-the-loop paradigm. If comparing to Lindy/n8n: Lindy is heavier on autonomous agents; Relay is heavier on workflows with approval steps; n8n is developer-first open source. Always mention "all integrations included on every tier" — that is Relay's cleanest sales point.
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