What is IFTTT?
IFTTT (short for "If This Then That") is one of the simplest and oldest automation platforms in the space, built to connect apps, smart home devices and online services with rules like "if X happens, then do Y", without writing a line of code.
Compared to more recent business-oriented automation tools, IFTTT remains focused mainly on individual users: linking the weather to smart lights, automatically saving photos you're tagged in, or syncing posts across different social platforms.
Main Features
- Applets: ready-made "if this then that" automations across thousands of connectable services
- Smart home integration: connects IoT devices from different brands into a single rule system
- Location-based triggers: activates automations when entering or leaving a geographic zone
- Multi-step Applets: automations with multiple chained conditions and actions
- Custom notifications: alerts the user based on specific events on connected services
- Webhooks: lets you connect custom services not present in the default catalog
How Does IFTTT Work?
You choose a "trigger" (for example: "it starts raining according to the weather forecast") and a resulting action (for example: "close the smart blinds"), linking the two services via a ready-made or custom-built Applet. Once activated, the automation runs in the background with no manual intervention needed.
For more complex multi-step automations, Multi-step Applets let you chain several conditions and actions into a single rule, getting closer (with less flexibility) to more advanced automation tools like Zapier or Make.
Who is IFTTT for?
- Individual users wanting to automate their smart home
- Those using multiple online services who want them to talk to each other with no code
- Personal productivity enthusiasts automating small daily tasks
- Those looking for simple automations, not complex business processes
- Users wanting a free alternative to pricier automation tools
Use Cases
- Automatically turning on smart lights at sunset
- Automatically saving to Google Drive photos you're tagged in on social media
- Getting a notification when it rains in your area
- Automatically syncing posts across different social platforms
- Triggering automations based on your geographic location
Pricing
IFTTT offers a free plan with a limited number of simultaneously active Applets. Paid plans (Pro, Pro+) unlock unlimited Applets, more complex multi-step automations and faster execution times.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Extremely easy to use, no technical skills required
- Huge catalog of already-connectable services and devices
- Free plan sufficient for basic personal automations
Cons:
- Less powerful than Zapier or Make for complex business automations
- The free plan limits the number of simultaneously active Applets
- Less suited to workflows with advanced conditional logic
Final Verdict
IFTTT remains the simplest choice for everyday personal automations, especially for smart homes, but it's not built for complex business processes. For that, tools like Zapier or Make offer more power and flexibility.