Automation is supposed to make life easier, right? But choosing the right tool for the job can feel overwhelming.

Two popular players in this space—SureTriggers and Flowmattic—offer great features but cater to different needs.

Both solve similar problems in different ways, and the best one for you depends entirely on what you’re looking for.

In this blog post, I’ll break down the key differences to help you decide which one fits your workflow best.

Of course, you might think I’m biased—and probably I am—because I’m part of the SureTriggers team. But I promise to write this as transparently as possible with the goal of helping you choose the best tool for your needs.

Let’s dive in and break down the key differences.

The Big Picture

Here’s the short version:

SureTriggers is a fully managed, plug-and-play platform. It’s ready to go immediately after sign-up, no WordPress or technical setup required.

Flowmattic is a self-hosted WordPress plugin. You’ll need a WordPress site, reliable hosting, and the patience to set it up.

Both tools are powerful, but the experience of using them is worlds apart.

App Integrations: Who Connects More?

When choosing an automation tool, app compatibility is one of the most important factors.

After all, an automation platform is only as good as the tools it can connect to.

• SureTriggers: Offers 1,000+ app integrations. Whether you’re using CRMs like HubSpot, email marketing platforms like ActiveCampaign, social media tools like Instagram, or eCommerce platforms like Shopify or Etsy, chances are the apps you need are already supported. The wide range of integrations makes SureTriggers versatile and ideal for users who rely on tools across multiple categories.

• Flowmattic: Supports 215+ apps. While this is a respectable number, it’s significantly less than SureTriggers. If your workflow involves tools outside the WordPress ecosystem—like non-WordPress CRMs or advanced third-party apps—you might find Flowmattic’s integration options limited.

In short, SureTriggers provides broader compatibility, especially useful for those who need flexibility across various app ecosystems.

Flowmattic, focuses on more niche use cases within a WordPress-centric workflow.

Adoption and Popularity: Who’s Using Them?

When comparing tools, it’s natural to look at their adoption and user feedback.

A widely used tool typically benefits from more extensive testing, quicker bug fixes, and faster feature updates.

It’s also a sign that the company behind it has the resources to support its users and ensure long-term reliability.

• SureTriggers: As of today, SureTriggers is actively used on 80,000+ WordPress sites. According to publicly available data, this makes it the most popular automation solution for WordPress. It’s also rated 4.9 out of 5 stars, which reflects strong user satisfaction and confidence in the tool.

• Flowmattic: Flowmattic is sold directly through its own website, so there’s no public data on its adoption. As of now, it has 24 reviews on G2.

Popularity doesn’t always mean a product is better, but it often reflects trust, reliability, and a proven track record.

Setting Up: Ease of Use vs. DIY

Let’s talk about how easy—or hard—it is to get started with each platform.

• SureTriggers: Simplicity is its strength. Just sign up, pick your apps, and start automating. The platform takes care of all the heavy lifting behind the scenes, so you don’t have to mess with technical setup.
  
• Flowmattic: Demands more effort to set up and maintain. As a self-hosted WordPress plugin, it requires installation on your WordPress site, which means you’re responsible for securing reliable hosting, managing updates, ensuring site security, and maintaining regular backups. Also, uptime is entirely your responsibility—if your site goes down, even for a few hours, your automations stop working, and there’s a risk of losing data or missing critical actions.

Think Flowmattic is Completely Self-Hosted? Not Quite.

Here’s something you should know: While Flowmattic operates within WordPress, some integrations process data through middleware.

This approach simplifies the setup process for you, which is great.

But if you’re under the impression that all data stays completely local to your WordPress site, that’s not the case.

Depending on the apps you’re integrating, Flowmattic may send data for external processing to make things work smoothly.

There’s nothing wrong with this—it’s just something to be aware of.

Another point to consider is licensing.

If you’re expecting Flowmattic to be open-source and GPL-licensed, this isn’t the case.

According to its terms and conditions page, it’s offered under a proprietary license. If open-source compliance or GPL licensing is important to you, this is something to take into account.

Integration Complexity: The Google Sheets Example

Here’s where the difference becomes crystal clear.

Imagine you want to integrate Google Sheets into your automation workflow:

• SureTriggers: You can connect Google Sheets in just a few clicks. Everything is ready for you—no need for technical setups or app configurations. You are good to go in less than 2 minutes.

• Flowmattic: Being self-hosted means you essentially take on the role of the platform. This puts you in charge of handling the more complex steps before integrating apps.
  
  For example, to connect with Google Sheets, you’ll first need to create a Google app in your Google account. This involves navigating through a lengthy setup process—a task that can easily take 15 minutes or more. If you want to use Flowmattic for another client, you’ll need to repeat the entire process from scratch.

SureTriggers makes integration effortless, while Flowmattic puts you in the driver’s seat—whether you like it or not.

Performance

Performance is a big deal. After all, nobody wants their website to slow or crash because of background processes.

• SureTriggers: Offloads all the heavy lifting to its own servers. This means your WordPress site stays untouched, ensuring zero impact on performance.
  
• Flowmattic: Runs within WordPress and uses your hosting resources. If your hosting isn’t optimized for extra workflows, your site could slow down—or worse, hit resource limits.

This brings to mind Charlie Munger’s famous saying: “To a man with only a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.”

What does this mean here? Think of WordPress as your hammer—it’s an amazing tool for content management and building websites. But when you try to make WordPress handle tasks outside its core purpose—like managing complex automations—you’re forcing it into a role it wasn’t designed for.

This can lead to inefficiencies and performance issues.

SureTriggers is the right tool for the job. It’s purpose-built for integrations and automation, leaving WordPress free to do what it does best: deliver content.

Uptime and Reliability: Peace of Mind Matters

We’re all busy enough as it is without having to constantly monitor websites or automation tools for reliability.

• SureTriggers: As a managed platform, it comes with a dedicated team of experts ready to step in if something goes wrong. You don’t need to worry about downtime, maintenance, or disruptions to automations—everything is taken care of for you.
  
• Flowmattic: You’re on your own. If the site where you have hosted Flowmattic goes down—whether due to server issues, maintenance, or unexpected problems—your automations stop working.

Let’s be honest: Reliability is non-negotiable, especially if your workflows are business-crucial operations like sending order receipts, triggering notifications, or updating databases.

Cost: Breaking It Down

Now let’s talk numbers. How much do these tools cost, and what’s included?

• SureTriggers: Costs $699 for a lifetime license with unlimited websites.
  
  • No hosting costs—everything runs on the SureTriggers platform.
  • Includes 10,000 tasks per month, which is more than enough for most businesses.
  • If you need more tasks, you have two options:
    1. Add tasks via an add-on subscription for $228/year for 10,000 more tasks.
    2. Stack the lifetime deal. You can make multiple purchases of the lifetime deal to stack 10,000 tasks per month for each purchase. Each lifetime purchase can be used for a separate organization or client.

• Flowmattic: Costs $599 for a lifetime license for 15 websites.
  
  • You’ll need hosting for each site, which adds a recurring expense. A basic hosting plan on Cloudways starts at approximately $10/month, or about $120/year. Keep in mind, this is the entry-level plan. If your automation volume increases or requires more resources, you may need to upgrade to a higher-tier plan, which can significantly increase costs.

However, there’s no limit on the number of tasks, which can be appealing if you have high-volume needs.

Here’s the trade-off: SureTriggers is a great option if you’re running up to 10,000 tasks a month. It handles all the processing on its platform, so you don’t need heavy-duty hosting, and your website stays fast and lightweight.

Flowmattic, on the other hand, is a solid choice if you need unlimited tasks—provided you’re okay with setting it up and covering the recurring costs of hosting, managing, and maintaining it.

Which One Is Right for You?

Here’s the bottom line:

• Flowmattic is for tech-savvy users who don’t mind setting up WordPress installations, managing hosting, and handling updates, backups, and security. If you need unlimited tasks and are okay with ongoing maintenance, it’s a solid choice.
  
• SureTriggers is perfect for anyone who values ease of use, reliability, and a hassle-free experience.

Final Thoughts: Not an Apple-to-Apples Comparison

It’s worth noting that this isn’t exactly an apples-to-apples comparison.

SureTriggers is a SaaS platform, while Flowmattic is a WordPress plugin.

While both tools help integrate and automate, their underlying architectures are very different.

A more direct comparison for SureTriggers would be Zapier or Pabbly as they are also fully managed platforms.

Still, this comparison was worth exploring because both tools aim to solve similar problems—helping you automate workflows and connect your favorite apps.

At the end of the day, the best automation tool is the one that fits your needs and workflow style. Choose wisely!