ForwardThis vs IFTTT
IFTTT and ForwardThis solve different problems. IFTTT runs Applets you switch on once: when this happens, do that, mostly across your smart home and personal apps. ForwardThis is business admin that arrives by email: you forward the message, write what you need, and the work happens in your SaaS apps. If you want your lights, feeds and phone automated for a few dollars a month, you want IFTTT. If your inbox keeps handing you small jobs in other apps, you want ForwardThis.
ForwardThis and IFTTT, side by side
How it works
Setup
Runs without you
Pricing unit
Free plan
Paid from
Apps
Undo
IFTTT pricing and limits checked 1 September 2026.
Which one fits how you work?
Choose IFTTT if
Your automation lives at home: lights, thermostats, cameras, speakers. ForwardThis does not touch smart home devices.
You want set-and-forget Applets that fire on their own at any hour, with unlimited runs even on the free plan.
Price matters most. Pro at $2.99 a month billed annually is about as cheap as automation gets.
Your jobs are simple, personal and identical every time: save a post, log the weather, back up photos.
Choose ForwardThis if
Your work is business admin that arrives by email, and it looks slightly different every time.
You would rather write an instruction in plain English than wire a trigger to an action.
You want to see what goes out before it goes, and undo it when it lands wrong.
One email often asks for several things, and one forwarded email is one action however many it asks for.
What a single forwarded email does
The trigger is the email you forward. There is no editor and nothing to design in advance. This whole job is one email. In IFTTT it would be an applet you set up first.
Bramley Lettings
Gas safety inspection - 14 Orchard Row
Your instructions
Put the inspection in the calendar for Tuesday 9am, remind me the day before, and log the visit on the compliance tracker.
Google Calendar
Book the inspection
Tuesday 8 September, 09:00
Todoist
Set the reminder
Monday 7 September
Google Sheets
Log the visit
Compliance / 14 Orchard Row
You receive a confirmation email once complete, with an undo button that works for 24 hours.
Setup in 30 seconds.
What is ForwardThis?
ForwardThis is an AI email assistant that turns email into action in 144+ of the apps you use every day.
Works with any email
Compatible with any personal or professional email provider. Gmail, Outlook and more.
144+ apps
Works across the apps you already use, with more added every month.
Setup in seconds
Nothing to install and no workflows to build. Sign up, forward an email, and it runs.
Secure & private
ForwardThis only acts on the emails you send it, and the email is deleted within 24 hours of the work being done.
Try it with a real email.
Forward any email to the address below to see what ForwardThis can do. No signup required.
Occasional product emails may follow.
Workflows from this page, ready to run
FAQs
- Is ForwardThis an IFTTT alternative?
- Only for one kind of work. If you have been bending Applets towards business admin, turning emails into tasks, records and files, ForwardThis does that job with a plain instruction instead of a configured Applet. For smart home and personal automation, no. IFTTT is built for that and ForwardThis does not go near it.
- Can I use both?
- Yes, and it is a natural split. IFTTT for your home and your personal apps, ForwardThis for the work email that needs filing, logging or booking somewhere. They never compete for the same job.
- Does ForwardThis work with smart home devices?
- No. There are no lights, plugs, thermostats or speakers on the roster. ForwardThis connects to 144+ business apps, the kind your work actually lives in. If the job is in your house rather than your inbox, IFTTT is the right tool.
- How does the pricing actually compare?
- IFTTT charges for capacity. The free plan holds 2 Applets, Pro is $2.99 a month billed annually for 20, and Pro+ is $8.99 a month billed annually for unlimited, with runs uncounted on every plan. ForwardThis charges for work done: 10 free actions a month, then $15 a month for 100, where one forwarded email is one action however much it asks for. Always-on personal automation is far cheaper on IFTTT. ForwardThis prices the kind of admin an assistant would otherwise do.
- Does ForwardThis have triggers?
- It has exactly one, and it is the email you forward. Nothing fires on a schedule, nothing polls, and nothing loops. Where IFTTT's whole point is Applets that run unattended, ForwardThis deliberately keeps a person at the start of every job.
- Do I have to build anything to use ForwardThis?
- No. There is no editor, no canvas and no Applet to configure. You forward an email with some simple instructions, the work happens in the apps you already use, and a confirmation email tells you when it is done.