A Zapier that runs on your computer — and does not charge you per task.
Zapier is the easiest way to connect two SaaS apps, and it is very good at that. Cronable answers a different question: what if the automation needs to touch a file on your disk, a machine on your network, or a CLI you are already signed in to?
The short answer
Zapier is very good at connecting one cloud app to another. The moment an automation needs to touch a file on your disk, run a script, or reach a machine on your own network, it is on the wrong side of the network to help — and that is most of the work a business actually runs on.
Cronable installs on your Mac, Windows machine or server. Your records never pass through a vendor, your credentials stay encrypted on your own disk, and you are billed for how many jobs you define rather than how many times they run — so the automation you rely on hourly does not cost more than the one you run monthly.
Building it is a sentence, not a session: tell the assistant what you want and it wires the whole pipeline. Webhooks from your SaaS tools still reach it, and you can still manage it from a browser anywhere — both through the hosted relay, with no port opened on your network.
Cronable vs Zapier
Where Cronable and Zapier actually differ, capability by capability.
| Capability | Cronable | Zapier |
|---|---|---|
| Where your automations run | Your own machine or server | Zapier’s cloud |
| Setup effort | A click to install; a wizard does the rest; updates are automatic | None — sign up and go |
| Build a job by describing it in plain English | The assistant builds the whole job, on every plan | AI assistance for building Zaps |
| App library | 123 connectors | Thousands |
| Pricing meter | Number of jobs you define; runs unmetered | Metered per task |
| Can read and write local files | Yes | No — cloud only |
| Can run a shell command or a local script | Yes — on your machine, as you | Python/JavaScript in Zapier’s cloud; no shell, nothing on your machine |
| Can reach hosts on your private network | Yes — it is already inside it | Only what you expose to the internet |
| Where your data goes | Stays on your machine | Passes through and is stored by the vendor |
| Who keeps it running | You — it is your machine | Zapier, with an uptime commitment |
| Inbound webhooks without opening a port | Yes — hosted relay forwards them, Basic and up | Yes |
| Manage it from anywhere | Yes — remote control in the browser, no port opened | Yes — it is a website |
| SSO, roles, audit trail and change approvals | Roles and audit log on every plan; SSO and approvals on Business | On its higher business tiers |
Where your automations run
Cronable
Your own machine or serverZapier
Zapier’s cloudSetup effort
Cronable
A click to install; a wizard does the rest; updates are automaticZapier
None — sign up and goBuild a job by describing it in plain English
Cronable
The assistant builds the whole job, on every planZapier
AI assistance for building ZapsApp library
Cronable
123 connectorsZapier
ThousandsPricing meter
Cronable
Number of jobs you define; runs unmeteredZapier
Metered per taskCan read and write local files
Cronable
YesZapier
No — cloud onlyCan run a shell command or a local script
Cronable
Yes — on your machine, as youZapier
Python/JavaScript in Zapier’s cloud; no shell, nothing on your machineCan reach hosts on your private network
Cronable
Yes — it is already inside itZapier
Only what you expose to the internetWhere your data goes
Cronable
Stays on your machineZapier
Passes through and is stored by the vendorWho keeps it running
Cronable
You — it is your machineZapier
Zapier, with an uptime commitmentInbound webhooks without opening a port
Cronable
Yes — hosted relay forwards them, Basic and upZapier
YesManage it from anywhere
Cronable
Yes — remote control in the browser, no port openedZapier
Yes — it is a websiteSSO, roles, audit trail and change approvals
Cronable
Roles and audit log on every plan; SSO and approvals on BusinessZapier
On its higher business tiersWhat you get by running it on your own machine
Say what you want; it builds the pipeline
Type “every morning, check yesterday’s Stripe refunds and post the total to Slack” and the built-in assistant builds the whole job — the steps, the schedule, the credentials it needs and what happens when one fails — wired and ready to run. You review it on the canvas and change anything. On every plan, including Free.
It runs where your work already is
Cronable installs on the machine you actually use — a Mac or Windows app, or a server you own. A job can open your files, use the CLIs you are already signed in to, and reach anything on your network, because it is running as you, on your box.
Runs are not metered
Plans are sized by how many jobs you define — 6 on Free, up to 1,000 on Business — not by how often they fire. A job that runs every minute costs the same as one that runs monthly. The one thing that is counted per use is the AI assistant, which has a daily message allowance per plan.
SaaS webhooks reach your machine
Give Stripe, GitHub or a form tool a URL and the hosted relay forwards the event to your install — again with no port opened and nothing exposed to the internet. Each install gets its own partition, and jobs fire the moment the event lands. Basic and up.
Reach it from anywhere — no open ports
Remote control lets you drive your install from a browser wherever you are. The machine dials out to the hosted relay; you never expose a port, forward anything on your router, or run your own tunnel. It is opt-in, off until you switch it on, and included from Basic up.
Installed and running in minutes
Install the Mac or Windows app in a click, or paste one line on a server — no Docker, no database to provision, no reverse proxy to configure. A first-run wizard sets you up, spots the tools you are missing and offers to install them, and updates roll out signed and staged in the background with automatic rollback.
Cronable and Zapier
Is Cronable really self-hosted, or is there a cloud tier?
There is no cloud tier — your jobs, secrets and run data live on your own machine, and the work always executes there. Two hosted services are optional and yours to switch on: a relay so inbound webhooks and remote control reach you without opening a port, and a router for the AI assistant. Both are transit paths, so what you send through them — a webhook payload, a value you type into the remote dashboard, what you ask the assistant — passes through us on the way. Neither is on until you turn it on.
Does Cronable charge per task like Zapier?
No. Plans are sized by how many jobs you define — 6 on Free, 35 on Basic, 250 on Plus, 1,000 on Business — and ordinary runs are not counted, so a job firing every minute costs the same as one firing monthly. Inbound webhooks, machines, users and the AI assistant’s daily messages do have per-plan caps, all listed on the pricing page.
Can Cronable do things Zapier cannot?
Yes, and it is the main reason to choose it: running a shell command or script, reading and writing files on your disk, reaching a database or device on your private network, and driving a local AI agent with your own logged-in credentials. All of these need code running on your machine.
What happens to my automations if I stop paying?
Your job definitions are YAML files in a git repository you own, so you keep them regardless. The daemon itself is licensed, so it stops running jobs when the licence lapses.
Automate your operations.
Cronable is launching soon. Join the waitlist and we’ll email you the moment self-serve accounts — and the apps for Mac, Windows and Linux — go live.