Relay.app Pricing in 2026: Complete Breakdown

Last updated: January 2026

TL;DR: Relay.app costs $0-138/month. Free tier: 200 steps + 500 AI credits. Professional: $19/month for 750 steps. Team: $138/month for 2,000 steps. AI credits: 5,000 included on paid plans, add-ons from $19-149/month. Annual billing saves 50%.

Relay.app is a workflow automation platform with a focus on human-in-the-loop design. You can insert approval steps, require sign-off before actions execute, and collaborate on workflows as a team.

The pricing is step-based with separate AI credits. This guide breaks down what Relay actually costs and whether it makes sense for your use case.

What is Relay.app?

Relay is a workflow automation tool built around team collaboration and human oversight. The key differentiator: native support for approval workflows where humans review and approve actions before they execute.

Core capabilities:

• Visual workflow builder
• Human-in-the-loop approval steps
• Built-in AI capabilities (GPT, Claude, Gemini)
• Team collaboration features
• Integration with common business tools

Relay appeals to teams where automation needs human oversight, like approving customer responses, reviewing data before it's sent, or signing off on actions with real consequences.

Relay.app Pricing Plans

Here's what Relay costs:

Understanding Steps and AI Credits

Relay uses two metrics for billing:

Steps: Any action in a workflow. Sending an email, updating a spreadsheet, making an API call. Each counts as one step.

AI Credits: Used when workflows include AI-powered actions (GPT, Claude, Gemini). AI operations consume credits separately from steps.

AI Credit Add-Ons

If you need more AI credits than your plan includes:

The math in practice

Let's say you're running customer support workflows with approval steps:

• 50 workflows/day × 3 steps each = 150 steps/day
• 150 steps × 30 days = 4,500 steps/month

You've exceeded the Team plan (2,000 steps). You're either paying for overages or negotiating Enterprise pricing.

For AI-heavy workflows:

• 100 AI-powered responses/day = 3,000 AI operations/month
• Team plan includes 5,000 credits, so you're covered
• But add complexity and volume, and you're buying add-ons

Relay.app Pricing vs Competitors

Here's how Relay compares to alternatives:

Note: Step/task/operation counts aren't directly comparable across platforms. Relay's step limits are relatively low compared to Zapier's task allowances and Make's operation limits at similar price points.

When Relay.app Works Well

Relay shines for:

• Approval workflows. Review before sending, sign-off before action. This is Relay's core strength.
• Team collaboration. Multiple people working on and monitoring workflows.
• Regulated industries. When you need human oversight for compliance.
• Customer-facing automation. Where mistakes have real consequences.

When Relay.app Gets Frustrating

Relay struggles when:

• Volume is high. Step limits are relatively low. Heavy usage gets expensive.
• You need lots of integrations. Smaller ecosystem than Zapier or Make.
• AI is central. Credit limits and add-on costs add up for AI-heavy work.
• You want autonomous operation. Relay is built for human oversight, not set-and-forget.

Alternatives to Consider

When to choose Miniloop over Relay.app

Relay focuses on human-in-the-loop workflows. You build automations, insert approval points, and humans review before execution.

Miniloop focuses on AI-generated data workflows. You describe what you want ("enrich these leads and score by company size"), AI generates Python code, you review it once, and run it.

Choose Relay if:

• Human approval at runtime is essential
• Team collaboration on workflows matters
• You need oversight for compliance reasons

Choose Miniloop if:

• You want to see the code before it runs (not approve each execution)
• Your workflows focus on data processing
• You'd rather describe outcomes than build step by step

When to choose Zapier over Relay.app

Zapier has 8,000+ integrations versus Relay's smaller ecosystem. If your workflows need to connect many different apps, Zapier offers more options. However, Relay starts at $19/month versus Zapier's $29.99/month, so Relay is cheaper for basic human-in-the-loop needs.

When to choose Make over Relay.app

Make offers more powerful data transformation at lower prices ($10.59/month starting). If your workflows involve complex routing, filtering, and data manipulation without the human-in-the-loop requirement, Make delivers more for less.

Making the Right Choice

The best tool depends on your needs. Here's a decision framework:

Choose Relay.app if:

• Human approval steps are genuinely necessary
• Team collaboration on workflows is important
• You're in a regulated industry requiring oversight
• Your volume fits within plan limits (under 2,000 steps/month)

Budget expectation: $19-138/month for most use cases. Add $19-149/month for heavy AI usage. Annual billing saves 50%. Enterprise pricing for compliance needs.

Choose Miniloop if:

• You want to see the code before it runs (not approve each execution)
• Your workflows focus on data processing and transformation
• You'd rather describe outcomes than build step by step
• Transparency matters more than runtime approval

Budget expectation: Free - $150/mo

Choose Zapier if:

• You need the largest integration library (8,000+ apps)
• Human-in-the-loop isn't required
• You want more capacity at similar prices
• Simple trigger-action workflows are your need

Budget expectation: $29.99-150+/month depending on task volume.

Choose Make if:

• You need powerful data transformation at lower cost
• Human approval isn't required
• Complex routing and filtering are important
• Budget is a primary concern

Budget expectation: $10.59-70/month depending on operation volume.

For a deeper comparison of each platform, see our complete guide to Relay.app alternatives.

Is Relay.app Worth It?

Relay's human-in-the-loop focus is genuinely differentiated. For workflows where human oversight matters, approval before sending, review before action, it's purpose-built for that.

But the step limits are relatively low, the AI credits can get expensive, and the integration ecosystem is smaller than competitors. If you don't need human approval at runtime, other tools offer more capacity for less money.

Before committing, calculate your expected step volume, understand your AI usage, and confirm human-in-the-loop is actually necessary versus just nice-to-have.

FAQs About Relay.app Pricing

How much does Relay.app cost?

Relay.app costs $0-138/month for most users. Free: 200 steps + 500 AI credits. Professional: $19/month for 750 steps + 5,000 AI credits. Team: $138/month for 2,000 steps + 5,000 AI credits. Annual billing saves 50%. Add $19-149/month for AI credit add-ons if you exceed limits.

What counts as a step in Relay.app?

Any action in a workflow counts as one step. Sending an email = 1 step. Updating a spreadsheet = 1 step. Making an API call = 1 step. Human approval checkpoints also count as steps.

How do Relay.app AI credits work?

AI credits are separate from steps. Using GPT, Claude, or Gemini in workflows consumes AI credits. Plans include 5,000 credits. Add-ons: 10,000 credits for $19/month, 100,000 for $149/month. Heavy AI usage adds significant cost.

Is Relay.app good for high-volume automation?

No, Relay has low step limits compared to competitors. Team plan caps at 2,000 steps/month. Make offers 10,000 operations at $10.59/month. Zapier offers 750 tasks at $29.99/month. For high volume, Make or n8n are better choices.

What's the difference between Relay.app and Miniloop?

Different approaches to human oversight. Relay: runtime approval where humans review each execution at designated checkpoints. Miniloop: code transparency where you review generated Python once, then run it repeatedly. Relay is better for compliance requiring approval trails; Miniloop is better for data processing with code transparency.