Native Automations Threaten Zapier
Zapier: The $7B Netflix of Productivity
The real risk is not that Zapier stops growing, it is that the most valuable automation use cases get absorbed into the apps themselves, leaving Zapier with the messy leftovers. That is the Dropbox parallel. Dropbox kept a big business, but the core feature of cloud file sync became a built in layer inside other products. Zapier faces the same threat as Airtable and others build native automations, keep users in product, and treat third party automation as a fallback instead of the main workflow.
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Airtable is moving toward owning the full stack where work happens. Users store data in bases, trigger automations from that same interface, and connect outside tools from inside Airtable. When storage, workflow logic, and user interface sit in one product, Zapier loses the reason a team had to leave the app to wire things together.
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The UX gap is the sharpest competitive pressure. In interviews with operators and partners, the common complaint is that Zapier forces users into a second control panel, a builder workflow, and a separate account. Native integrations feel simpler because the user stays inside the product and the company can prefill the exact fields and actions that matter most.
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Zapier still has a durable long tail business. It covers thousands of apps, reached an estimated $310M ARR in 2023, and remains useful for edge cases no app team will build itself. But long tail infrastructure usually captures less value than the default workflow inside the product, which is why the comparison to Dropbox is about upside compression, not collapse.
The path forward is for Zapier to move closer to the system of record and closer to the native user experience. That means deeper embedded rails, more first party feeling workflows, and more ownership of the data and interfaces around automation. If it does that, it can remain the default orchestration layer. If not, more of the market will consolidate inside products like Airtable.