ViktorBestBest AI Coworker for Automating Work
Best AI Coworker for Automating Work
ZapierRecommendedBest no-code tool for building app integrations
Best no-code tool for building app integrations
WhalesyncRecommendedBest for robust two-way data sync
Best for robust two-way data sync
MakeRecommendedFor complex automation and integrations
For complex automation and integrations
OutfunnelRecommendedBest for syncing marketing and sales data with your CRM
Best for syncing marketing and sales data with your CRM
MailparserRecommendedBest for parsing structured data from unstructured emails
Best for parsing structured data from unstructured emails
Best Automation Tools at a Glance
Automation Tool Overview
Best Automation Tool: Who Wins?
Best Automation Tool: Who Wins?We've entered a new era of automation.
You'll notice that most tools on this list focus on being workflow builders, but we are moving on from that era.
No-code workflow builders were such a progression, but now it's gotten even easier and you need to be even less technical to build your own automations.
What We've Tested
What We've TestedWe used Zapier since they launched back in 2011, so we're talking about 15 years now.
Alex Bass (our CEO) was even named one of Zapier's biggest power users by their team!
To this day, Zapier still powers the majority of automations in our business, and it's still the best tool when you need a workflow to run the exact same way every time.
In 2025, new "AI first" workflow builders launched like Lindy AI (but you'll notice they've since pivoted).
The whole allure was that you can now type in natural language each step of the automation. But with AI advancing rapidly and Zapier adding the same ability in their product, the whole "AI workflow builder" became commoditized.
The newest addition to our automation stack is Viktor. Viktor is an AI agent that works with us in Slack and Microsoft Teams. It's literally like an AI employee that works with you.
What we love about it is that you can just write Viktor in a message what automation you want to build in natural language, just like you'd talk to a co-worker.
He stores the workflow so you can run it anytime, or you can tell him to automatically run it at specific times. If you want to tweak the automation you can just tell him in a message.
So the rule of thumb is now:
- Use Zapier for automations that follow a very specific process and you want them to run the same way every time
- Use Viktor for automations like "give me a brief every morning from XYZ tools"
We use both.
How We Evaluate Automation Tools
We score each automation tool across multiple criteria, and hands-on expert evaluation
- Ease of UseQuick to set up and intuitive to use without a steep learning curve.
- Feature DepthCore features that work well, not surface-level checkboxes.
- Reliability & PerformanceConsistent, fast, and dependable with minimal bugs.
- Value for MoneyPricing that's fair relative to what you actually get.
- Integrations & EcosystemWorks well with other tools in your stack.
- Expert EvaluationCurated by, our rankings reflect in-depth testing, industry insights, and hands-on experience.AlexandAndra
Viktor
Best AI Coworker for Automating Work
Best AI Coworker for Automating WorkWith all the AI tools that come our way, it's getting harder to get genuinely excited about anything. But when we tried Viktor, we immediately looked at each other and said, "We need Viktor in our business. This is amazing!"
Our entire team adopted Viktor faster than any other tool we've ever introduced, and honestly, I've never seen anything quite like it.
What is Viktor?
What is Viktor?Viktor is an AI agent that works both in Slack and Microsoft Teams.
What's exceptional about Viktor is that he connects with over 3,200 tools (if he doesn't have a specific integration, you can also create your own custom MCP connector) and you can build automations in natural language right from within Slack, just like you'd be telling a team mate what you want built.
Viktor goes and builds the automation, tells you of any limitations or edge cases to consider, and stores it for future use.
We were already using Viktor as our AI employee, and I realize I had a repetitive task I needed to get off my plate that spanned 4 tools. I was always getting my team to follow the same process.
I thought, why don't I get Viktor to build this automation? I said, "Hey, every time this happens, can you do X, Y, Z?" Viktor said, "Absolutely, I can go ahead and build that for you."
While we still use Zapier for deterministic automations (that need to run exactly the same way every time), Viktor has been great for setting up quick reporting or simple workflows.
Pros and Cons
Pros and ConsPros
Pros- Build automations in plain language, no workflow builder or technical skill required
- Lives right inside Slack or Microsoft Teams, where your team already works
- Connects with over 3,200 tools, plus custom MCP connectors if an integration is missing
- Skills can run on triggers or on a schedule you set
- Pre-built skill templates so you don't always have to build from scratch
- Tells you about any limitations upfront before building
- Proactively volunteers to take tasks off your plate, including one-off tasks
Cons
Cons- You need to be using Slack or Microsoft Teams to use Viktor
- Credit-based billing means the more you use him, the more you're billed
Key Features
Key FeaturesNatural Language Automation
Natural Language AutomationA friend of mine has been running a small business for over a decade now. She uses a CRM, and her team is not technical.
She hasn't found a way to build this automation where, when a new lead comes into her CRM, they automatically get an email from her with some questions and pricing.
So I took her question and asked Viktor, "Hey, can you build this if she uses Viktor?"
He said, "Yep, I can do this, no problem. Send her my way and I'll build it for her."
This friend is now onboarding onto Slack just so she can use Viktor!
Skills
SkillsIn Viktor, automations are called skills.
Skills are essentially a series of tasks that Viktor runs.
They can either run when something happens, like when you send Viktor a message, XYZ happens in a tool, or on a schedule you define, like every Wednesday morning.
Here are some examples of skills we've built with Viktor:
- Viktor checks Ahrefs for our SEO rankings and gives us a report once a week
- Weekly Engineering Update where Viktor create a Release Notes update for the team and posts it in Slack
- We built a QA reminder for our CEO to go through all the engineering changes that were made
- Another skill looks at upcoming holidays and posts in our announcements channel to remind the team of days they have off
These are just a very small portion of the skills we have set up with Viktor.
Pre-Built Skill Templates
Pre-Built Skill TemplatesYou don't always have to build your own skills with Viktor.
In some cases they give you a template to choose from.
For example, if you want Viktor to analyze your Meta ads creative or performance and identify when your CPA has gone too high, you can just use one of their existing skills.
It's called their Meta Ads Performance Analysis, and if we had Meta ads running, we would absolutely be using this.
Integrations
IntegrationsViktor connects with over 3,200 tools, which covers pretty much everything we use in our business.
And if he doesn't have a specific integration for something in your stack, you can create your own custom MCP connector, so you're never actually blocked by a missing integration.
Proactive Task Execution
Proactive Task ExecutionThere are so many other use cases beyond building automations that Viktor is great at.
He proactively monitors your Slack conversations, sees when there's a task he can take off your plate, and volunteers to do it.
He can also execute tasks, including one-off tasks, across any of the tools you have integrated.
For example, you can say, "Go to my CRM, update this opportunity, move it to this stage, and draft me a contract," and he can do that.
So while you'd be using Viktor to build automations, you will also use him for way beyond that.
Usage
UsageViktor works on a credit system, so the more credits you use, the more you're billed.
Read our full Viktor review, because there are so many other use cases beyond building automations that Viktor is great at.
Pricing
Pricing- Free: $100 off + $100 additional credits if you use our Viktor discount code (exclusive to Efficient App readers). Enough to meaningfully test whether Viktor fits before committing.
- Team: $50 per workspace per month. Includes 20,000 monthly credits that refresh automatically. Viktor uses usage based pricing.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing. Adds a more powerful underlying model, invoicing, security review support, SLA guarantees, priority support, and dedicated onboarding.
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Zapier
Best no-code tool for building app integrations
Best no-code tool for building app integrationsZapier connects apps and automates workflows with a user-friendly interface. We've been huge fans of Zapier for many, many years, in fact, Alex has been called one of "Zapier's biggest power users" by the Zapier themselves 😄
What is Zapier?
What is Zapier?Zapier is the most popular integration and automation platform on the market. While they've had competitors arise over the years like Make, Tray, and Workato, they've managed to build one of the most user-friendly interfaces of them all, along with the largest number of deeply supported apps. Not a small feat whatsoever.
If you're using a modern software (take any app listed on our site for the most part), and there's sure to be a Zapier connector. This is pretty baffling when you really think about it.
When comparing Zapier vs Make for example, Make may look more user-friendly and accessible, but we're here to tell you that isn't the case. Make is more powerful with some inline formulas and other logic power features, but that definitely does not make it easier to use. If anything, it's easy to feel quite overwhelmed when first using Make.
Time and time again, in trying Make, we have found ourselves coming back to Zapier. It really can be bent and molded into what it needs to be.
Key Features
Key FeaturesArtificial Intelligence
Artificial IntelligenceNo Code Tool
No Code ToolWe're seeing Zapier slowly outgrow even just the integration world, and actually evolve into one of the best no code tools on the market. At the rate they are going with AI, alongside Tables and Interfaces, we wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing Airtable vs Zapier actually come up in the conversation in the future in the No-Code Builder space along with the Database space. For right now though, we'll have to award the winner to Airtable, but that doesn't mean we're not keeping a close eye on what Zapier has up its sleeve.
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Whalesync
Best for robust two-way data sync
Best for robust two-way data syncWhalesync handles true 2-way data sync between apps like Webflow, Airtable, Notion, and HubSpot better than anything else, especially for users who need complex connections and want to keep data in sync across multiple platforms.
If you depend on these specific tools and need reliable, bidirectional syncing, it's the go-to solution, but avoid it for managing blog posts or rich text with images or code since it will overwrite those fields and could cause data loss.
What is Whalesync?
What is Whalesync?Whalesync is PieSync reborn and reimagined (as it was sadly acquired and shutdown by HubSpot).
Key Features
Key Features2-Way Sync
2-Way SyncWhen it comes to 2-way data syncing between apps, that's where tools like Zapier and Make fall apart.
If you're looking for the most powerful 2-way sync on the market between the apps that Whalesync works best with (e.g. Webflow, Airtable, Notion, and HubSpot, amongst others), then there's no other place to look.
Our Webflow site has actually gotten so complex, that we relied quite heavily on Whalesync to manage all of these apps and listings within Airtable using Whalesync. Efficient App and Efficient Stacks are actually totally separate Webflow sites, so we use Whalesync to connect them through Airtable. It's pretty powerful.
Important note: We do not use Whalesync + Airtable for managing/writing blog posts or any in-depth rich text fields, as Airtable does not allow for inline images or code snippets (and Webflow doesn't allow for "open in new tab" links within rich text fields via their API), so if you have those fields enabled, they will overwrite all of your rich text in-line images/code blocks and you will have to do a backup recovery within Webflow (please learn from our mistakes).
Make
For complex automation and integrations
For complex automation and integrationsMake handles complex data automation and advanced integrations but actually feels like learning a programming language, so unless you're comfortable with APIs, webhooks, and arrays, you'll get lost fast.
This is really only a good fit if you're a technical user or engineer who wants to solve tough data problems, not if you need simple, beginner-friendly automation.
What is Make?
What is Make?While at first glance Make may look more user-friendly and visually appealing than that of Zapier with their drag-and-drop interface and animated bubble-like components, it's deceptively complex, yet extremely powerful.
Make is much more than a tool to just pass data from one app to another, it's also a fully-featured data manipulation tool for the data.
Because of that, learning how to use Make effectively is actually like learning a programming language, which is where the initial deception comes from.
The people I know that use Make as their main integration tool, are using it for quite complex data problems, for large companies, and they are often just as technical as a traditional engineer.
If you don't know what an API is, how webhooks function, and how arrays work, you're likely going to struggle with using Make.
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Outfunnel
Best for syncing marketing and sales data with your CRM
Best for syncing marketing and sales data with your CRMOutfunnel automates syncing sales and marketing data across your CRM, logs activity from tools like Calendly, and scores leads based on engagement, letting your sales team see the full customer journey in one place. If connecting multiple tools to your CRM matters to you, especially for automated email follow-up and deep lead tracking, this is the integration tool you should consider taking a look at.
What is Outfunnel?
What is Outfunnel?Outfunnel is one of the few tools that we use with absolutely every single one of our customers when we were doing consulting (we also use it internally here at Efficient App).
If you fill out our "Request Audit" form form for example, you'll get an automatic email sent from us + we'll see the various pages you visited on our site all within our CRM.
Key Features
Key FeaturesOutfunnel covers the complex syncing of sales and marketing data (syncing full databases not just one-off form submissions). Essentially taking marketing insights and connects it to your CRM, giving further lead context to your sales team.
Tie that in with some automated email for follow-up with their email marketing integrations, and you have an entirely automated start to your sales process.
It even connects with other tools like Calendly, and automatically logs booked calendar invites and the form responses right there within your CRM activity section.
What's most amazing is they take all of these insights and role up a clean "lead score", so you can see what prospects and customers are most engaged.
We couldn't run our business without Outfunnel. They are one of just a few software solutions that we'd even say this for.
Mailparser
Best for parsing structured data from unstructured emails
Best for parsing structured data from unstructured emailsMailparser extracts specific data from structured emails with a level of consistency and granularity you won't get from free tools, especially if your workflow depends on reliable and accurate parsing.
That said, they haven't seemed to embrace AI, which would do a pretty great job here, they still rely on more structured rules, which may make it feel a bit frustrating, but it is consistent once you've set it up.
What is Mailparser?
What is Mailparser?Having used many other parsing tools (like Zapier's free email parser), we've found that if you want to consistently extract important data from structured emails, there's no better tool than that of Mailparser.
What makes Mailparser better is the consistency that comes with setting it up properly.
It allows for a deep level of granularity, allowing you to extract the exact data-points that you want from emails. From there, if you're using one of the best CRM solutions, you can easily categorize and pass the data along to your CRM and other tools.
Zapier's solution on the other hand, while "free", was created as more of a lead magnet for Zapier. It hasn't been updated in years, and attempts to extract data by highlighting data in an email, paired with some incredibly basic machine learning.
What I'm saying, is that it works, until it doesn't. If the email changes in any way, even slightly, your output is a mess of data. Mailparser on the other hand, while paid, allows you to actually make emails a consistent part of your process.
This is very much a category of "you get what you pay for".
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