Relay.app Review 2026: Shutdown, Alternatives and What Users Should Do

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Updated: September 2026

If you are considering Relay.app for workflow automation, there is one important update you need to know before reading any older Relay.app review: Relay.app is shutting down.

New sign-ups have already been disabled, Free accounts were shut down on August 15, 2026, and existing paying customers can continue using Relay.app only until September 14, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT. After that, paid accounts and associated data will be permanently deleted.

That changes the purpose of this Relay.app review. Instead of asking whether agencies should buy Relay.app, the more useful questions are: what should existing users do before shutdown, what made Relay.app different, and which automation platform should replace it?

Relay.app Shutdown: What You Need to Know

Relay.app announced its shutdown in July 2026 and stopped accepting new sign-ups and Free-to-Paid upgrades from July 16.

Here is the shutdown timeline:

Paid subscriptions were automatically cancelled, while eligible annual subscribers were offered prorated refunds for the unused portion of their subscriptions.

Existing paying customers can continue running their workflows during the wind-down period, but September 14 is the critical deadline for exporting anything you want to retain.

What Existing Relay.app Users Should Do Now

If your agency still has active workflows in Relay.app, don’t simply take screenshots of them. Relay has provided a structured export process specifically to help users rebuild elsewhere.

Relay.app allows existing users to export:

• Workflows, Sequences and MCP servers as JSON
• AI prompts for rebuilding workflows in other tools
• Workflow run history
• Individual run data
• Tables as CSV files

Your first priority should therefore be to export the complete workspace before September 14.

After exporting, document the connected applications and authentication requirements for each production workflow. Relay states that stored credentials and authentication tokens will be deleted when accounts are deleted, so these connections will need to be established again on whichever automation platform you migrate to.

For agencies managing client automations, migrate business-critical workflows first rather than waiting until the final days of the shutdown window.

What Relay.app Did Particularly Well

Although Relay.app is closing, understanding its strengths matters when choosing a replacement.

1. Human-in-the-Loop Automation

Human-in-the-loop automation was one of Relay.app’s most useful differentiators.

Relay supported native human steps including:

• Approvals
• Data input
• Human tasks
• Manual path selection

A workflow could automatically pause and wait for a person before continuing. The assigned reviewer could be notified through email or Slack, with options for due dates, reminders and escalation behaviour.

For agencies, this was particularly useful for processes such as:

Content created → Account manager reviews → Approved → Client receives content

or:

Invoice generated → Manager approves → Invoice sent

This combination of automation and human judgment was one of Relay.app’s strongest design choices.

2. AI Inside Workflows

Relay.app also combined traditional automation with AI actions.

Users could perform tasks such as summarisation, extraction and transcription, prompt supported AI models, or allow AI to use tools within a workflow. Relay supported models from providers including OpenAI, Anthropic and Google.

Importantly, Relay’s human-in-the-loop capabilities could also be placed after an AI action. An agency could therefore generate something with AI, require a human to review it, and only then allow the automation to continue.

3. A Cleaner Workflow Experience

Relay.app was designed to make relatively sophisticated automation approachable without requiring users to think like developers.

That made it attractive to smaller agencies and non-technical operators who wanted more control than basic trigger-action automation without the additional complexity associated with some advanced workflow platforms.

One Important Correction About Relay.app’s Step Model

Some older Relay.app comparisons, including earlier versions of this Relay.app review, described Relay as charging one step for an entire workflow run.

That is not accurate.

Relay’s documentation defines Step usage primarily around completed actions. For example, sending a Slack message, updating a CRM record, completing a built-in action or activating a human-in-the-loop step can consume a Step.

However, several workflow components do not consume Step credits, including triggers, wait-for-time steps, data transformations, path-rule evaluations and iterator evaluations.

This distinction matters when comparing historical Relay pricing with Zapier or Make. A six-action Relay workflow should not automatically be treated as consuming only one Step.

With Relay now shutting down, however, historical pricing is much less important than choosing the right replacement architecture.

Best Relay.app Alternatives in 2026

There is no single replacement that perfectly recreates Relay.app. The best option depends on why you were using it.

Zapier: Best for Integration Breadth and Simpler Migration

Zapier is the most obvious Relay.app alternative for agencies prioritising ease of use and a large native integration ecosystem.

Its advantage is particularly relevant when an agency manages different client technology stacks. The broader the range of applications your clients use, the more valuable integration coverage becomes.

The trade-off is that complex workflows may require a different architecture than the one you built in Relay, so don’t assume a Relay workflow will translate step-for-step into Zapier.

Make.com: Best for Complex Visual Workflows

Make.com is the stronger option when your Relay workflows contain substantial branching, routing, data transformation or multi-step processing.

Its visual canvas gives agencies detailed control over how data moves through a workflow, while routers, filters, iterators and aggregators support more sophisticated automation architecture.

The trade-off is a steeper learning curve. Teams moving from Relay should expect to spend some time understanding Make’s credit model and scenario architecture rather than simply rebuilding workflows action by action.

n8n: Best for Technical Teams and Greater Control

n8n deserves consideration when the reason for leaving Relay is not simply the shutdown but a desire to reduce dependence on another fully hosted automation platform.

It is particularly relevant for technically capable agencies that want deeper workflow customisation and deployment options, including self-hosting.

The trade-off is technical overhead. For a non-technical agency founder who liked Relay because of its simplicity, n8n may be more platform than necessary.

Relay.app Migration Decision Matrix

How to Migrate From Relay.app

Do not try to migrate your entire automation stack in one weekend.

Start by creating an inventory of every active Relay workflow and classify each as critical, important or non-essential.

Export the Relay data, then rebuild one business-critical workflow on your preferred replacement platform. Run the old Relay workflow and the replacement in parallel where practical and compare outputs before switching production traffic.

Pay particular attention to:

• Authentication and connected accounts
• Human approval steps
• Conditional paths
• AI prompts and model selection
• Error handling
• Data transformations
• Webhooks
• Client-specific credentials
• Workflow ownership and permissions

Only after the replacement has been tested should you disable the corresponding Relay workflow.

Relay.app Review: Final Verdict

Relay.app had a genuinely interesting approach to automation. Its combination of conventional workflow automation, AI and native human-in-the-loop steps addressed an important gap between fully automated processes and workflows that still require human judgment.

But the buying decision is now over.

Relay.app is shutting down on September 14, 2026 for paying customers and is no longer accepting new users. For existing customers, the priority is not evaluating another Relay plan; it is exporting data and rebuilding critical workflows before access ends.

For most agencies, Zapier is the logical starting point when ease of use and integration coverage matter most, while Make.com deserves serious consideration for more complex visual workflows. Technical teams that want greater control, including self-hosting options, should also evaluate n8n.

The best Relay.app alternative ultimately depends on what made Relay valuable to your agency in the first place.

If that was simplicity and application coverage, start with Zapier.

If it was workflow flexibility, start with Make.

If it was control and extensibility, look at n8n.

And if human-in-the-loop automation was the reason you chose Relay, test that specific approval workflow before committing to any replacement.

FAQ

Is Relay.app shutting down?

Yes. Relay.app has announced that Free accounts closed on August 15, 2026, while paying customers retain access through September 14, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT. Paid accounts and associated data will then be permanently deleted.

Can I still sign up for Relay.app?

No. Relay.app disabled new sign-ups and Free-to-Paid upgrades on July 16, 2026.

What should I export from Relay.app?

Relay allows users to export workflows, Sequences and MCP servers as JSON, AI prompts, run history and Table data. Existing users should complete these exports before their access expires.

What is the best Relay.app alternative?

There is no universal replacement. Zapier is a strong option for ease of use and broad integration coverage, Make.com is better suited to complex visual automation, and n8n is worth considering for technically capable teams that want greater control and self-hosting options.

Should I choose Make.com or Zapier to replace Relay.app?

Choose based on your workflows rather than headline pricing. Zapier is generally easier for straightforward automation and diverse client application stacks. Make.com offers greater visual control for complex routing, data manipulation and multi-step scenarios. Agencies should rebuild one representative Relay workflow on both platforms before making a full migration decision.