Automation the Easy Way: Comparing Flow, If This Then That And Zapier

Microsoft recently debuted Flow, a service that promises to help automate some of the tedious and repetitive information-management tasks a lot of workers must do. The Flow site provides helpful recipes for different routines you can automate -- saving email attachments to OneDrive, for example, or copying files between OneDrive and Dropbox. It's also got blog posts explaining how to perform multistep information filtering and sorting tasks: this post detailing how one Flow sifts through resumes, sends prospective candidates interview-scheduling emails or rejection emails, then adds interview items to Wunderlist is an example of how users can chain together Flows based on different conditions.

Sounds great, right? But there's already at least two different services that do the same things -- If This Then That and Zapier. So how do the three measure up against one another? Is there a clear and obvious winner?

THE FIRST TEST: HOW EASY IS IT TO SET UP AN ACCOUNT?

THE SECOND TEST: HOW EASY IS IT TO SET UP A SPECIFIC AUTOMATED TASK?

A word about multistep tasks:

THE THIRD TEST: WHAT'S THE CUSTOMER SUPPORT LIKE?

THE FOURTH TEST: HOW MANY DIFFERENT CLOUD-BASED SERVICES ARE HOOKED INTO THIS SPECIFIC AUTOMATED TASK FLOW?

THE FIFTH TEST: WHAT IS THIS COSTING ME?

THE CONCLUSION

Each of these guys have their strengths. IFTTT is great for cheapskates and for people who are doubling down on this Internet of Things home automation. Zapier is a good choice for independent contractors and businesses; it's got a lot of automation to cover the detail-oriented and unsexy stuff like invoicing, inventory and payment processing. But Microsoft's Flow is going to enjoy a strong