ForwardThis vs Zapier Email Parser
Zapier Email Parser and ForwardThis read email for different reasons. The parser pulls fields out of emails that arrive in the same format every time: you teach it a template on a sample, auto-forward matching mail to a parser mailbox, and the extracted data feeds Zaps you build downstream. ForwardThis has no template and no Zap: you forward an email, write what you need, and the work happens in your apps. If the same email arrives hundreds of times in an identical layout, pick the parser. If your emails vary and each one needs a sentence of instruction, pick ForwardThis.
ForwardThis and Zapier Email Parser, side by side
How it works
Acting on the email
When the format changes
Runs without you
Pricing unit
Free plan
Paid from
Apps
Undo
Zapier Email Parser pricing and limits checked 1 September 2026.
Which one fits how you work?
Choose Zapier Email Parser if
Your emails arrive in the same format every time, at volume. Hundreds of identical notifications a day through one template is exactly what the parser was built for.
You want zero touch per email. An auto-forwarding rule sends matching mail to the parser mailbox, and nobody has to look at it again.
The parser itself costs nothing. If you already pay for Zapier tasks, parsing adds no line to the bill.
You want the extracted fields flowing into the whole Zapier catalogue. Over 7,000 apps sit downstream of that mailbox.
Choose ForwardThis if
Your emails vary. A parser template expects the same layout every time; ForwardThis reads each email fresh, with your instruction beside it.
You want the work done, not the data extracted. With ForwardThis there is no Zap to build, because there is no downstream.
The job is occasional. Teaching a template and mapping a Zap for an email that arrives twice a month is more setup than the job deserves.
You want to see and reverse what happened. ForwardThis sends a confirmation when the work is done, and reversible work can be undone for 24 hours.
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, and in Zapier Email Parser it would be a workflow you build first.
Rowan & Slate
Re: Quote 218, happy to go ahead
quote-218-signed.pdf
Your instructions
Set this up as a project in Trello, file the signed quote in their client folder, and book a kickoff call for Monday at 10.
Trello
Create the project board
Rowan & Slate, Quote 218
Google Drive
File quote-218-signed.pdf
Clients / Rowan & Slate
Google Calendar
Book the kickoff call
Monday 10am
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 ops assistant for your inbox. It turns email into action, without the hassle. Compatible with over 145+ of the apps you use every day.
Works with any email
Compatible with any personal or professional email provider. Gmail, Outlook and more.
145+ apps
Works across all the apps you already use every day. With more being added every month.
Setup in seconds
No complex setup, apps to install or workflows to build. Sign up, forward, done.
Secure & private
ForwardThis only acts on the emails you send it, and no data gets retained after actions have been completed.
Try it with a real email.
Forward any work email to the address below and see what ForwardThis can do. No signup required.
Occasional product emails may follow.
Workflows from this page, ready to run
FAQs
- Is ForwardThis a Zapier Email Parser alternative?
- For email work that varies, yes. ForwardThis reads the forwarded email and the instruction written on it, then does the job in the connected apps, with no template to teach and no Zap to build. For high volumes of identical emails, no. The parser handles those at scale for nothing, and ForwardThis is not a bulk parsing tool.
- What happens when the email format changes?
- This is the parser's known weak spot. A template learns where each field sits in the layout, so a redesigned notification can shift what it finds, and Zapier's own staff acknowledge that some formats are simply too tricky for the parser to manage. The fix is to forward fresh samples and reteach it. ForwardThis holds no template: each email is read fresh alongside the instruction, so a format change changes nothing.
- Is Zapier Email Parser free?
- The parser itself is free, mailboxes and templates included. Acting on what it extracts is not: that takes a Zap, and every step of every Zap run consumes a task from a Zapier plan. ForwardThis is free for 10 actions a month with every feature, and paid plans start at $15 a month for 100 actions.
- Does Zapier Email Parser do anything with the data it extracts?
- No. It extracts fields and stops there. Filing the data, creating the record or posting the update is the job of a Zap you build downstream, mapped field by field. ForwardThis skips that middle step: the forwarded email carries the instruction, the work is done directly, and a confirmation email arrives when it is finished.
- Can ForwardThis handle hundreds of identical emails a day?
- No, and it is not trying to. One forwarded email is one action, so a pipeline of identical notifications belongs with the parser, which does that job at scale for free. ForwardThis earns its keep on the varied jobs: the emails that arrive looking different every time and need a sentence of instruction rather than a template.
- Do I have to auto-forward my inbox to ForwardThis?
- No, and there is no auto-forwarding to configure. ForwardThis acts only on the emails you choose to forward: the one trigger is that forwarded email, so nothing runs unattended and nothing is processed without a person deciding it should be. The parser's hands-off mailbox is the opposite design, and for high-volume identical mail it is genuinely the better fit.