TL;DR
- Best for AI automation with human-in-the-loop approvals: Relay (100+ integrations, AI capabilities built-in — data extraction, summarization, transcription, human approval steps in workflows, free tier with 200 steps/mo, Professional from $19/mo)
- Best for automation connected to forms, data, email, and AI agents: TinyWorkflows (100+ integrations, natively connected to TinyForms, TinyTables, TinyEmails, TinyAgents, free forever tier)
- Pricing: Relay free (200 steps/mo, 500 AI credits). Professional $19/mo (750 steps). Team $69/mo (2,000 steps, 10 users). TinyCommand free (1,000 credits, all 5 products), paid from $19/mo.
- The core difference: Relay builds AI-powered automation where humans review and approve at critical decision points. A workflow drafts an email with AI, then pauses for human review before sending. A data extraction runs through AI, then a human verifies accuracy before it enters the system. TinyWorkflows automates fully — AI processes, workflows execute, emails send, all without human checkpoints. Relay is AI with human safety nets. TinyWorkflows is AI with full automation.
| Feature | TinyWorkflows | Relay.app |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | ✓ | ✓ (200 steps + 500 AI credits) |
| Human-in-the-loop | ✓ | ✓ (purpose-built) |
| AI credits included | ✗ | ✓ (every plan) |
| All integrations included | ✗ (varies by plan) | ✓ (every plan) |
| Native forms | ✓ | ✗ |
| Native database | ✓ | ✗ |
| Data enrichment | ✓ | ✗ |
We used to run our lead enrichment through five different tools. With TinyCommand, it is just one flow.
Ankit Solanki, InVideo
Relay occupies a thoughtful position in the automation market. Instead of fully autonomous AI workflows or fully manual processes, it combines both — AI does the heavy lifting and humans approve at critical checkpoints. This human-in-the-loop philosophy addresses the trust gap that many organizations feel with fully autonomous AI: what if the AI makes a mistake that goes to a customer?
The AI capabilities are built-in, not bolted on. Data extraction from documents. Text summarization. Audio transcription. Content generation. These AI steps run within your workflow, and you can insert human approval steps before the output goes anywhere sensitive. A sales email drafted by AI gets reviewed by a rep before sending. A data enrichment verified by a human before updating the CRM.
TinyWorkflows takes a different stance. The automation is designed to run fully — form submission triggers AI scoring in TinyAgents, updates TinyTables with enriched data, sends AI-drafted email through TinyEmails, and notifies Slack through TinyWorkflows. No human checkpoint by default. The AI is trusted to execute within the defined workflow. This fully automated approach is faster but requires confidence in your AI configuration.
Relay is for teams that want AI speed with human oversight. TinyWorkflows is for teams that want AI speed with full automation. Both are valid — the choice depends on your risk tolerance and workflow complexity.
Where Each Tool Wins
Where Relay wins
Human-in-the-loop. Insert human approval steps anywhere in a workflow. AI proposes, humans approve. Essential for regulated or customer-facing automation.
Built-in AI suite. Data extraction, summarization, transcription, content generation. AI capabilities without external API setup.
Audit trail. Every human approval is logged. Who reviewed, when, what changes were made. Compliance-grade documentation.
Where TinyWorkflows wins
All-in-one platform. Automation + forms + database + email + AI agents. Relay is automation only.
Deeper AI. 7 LLMs with per-step selection, AI columns per row, AI email generation. Relay has built-in AI but fewer model options.
5 products for $19. Same price as Relay Professional but includes forms, database, email, and AI agents.
Full automation speed. No human checkpoints means workflows complete instantly. Faster for high-volume, low-risk operations.
Human-in-the-loop AI vs fully automated AI pipeline
Relay human approval steps pause workflows for team review. AI drafts an email, workflow pauses, human approves or edits, then it sends. Every decision is logged with timestamps — audit trail for compliance. For healthcare, finance, and legal where AI output must be verified, this is mandatory.
Built-in AI handles extraction, summarization, transcription, and generation without external APIs. 100+ integrations cover Gmail, Slack, HubSpot, Salesforce, Notion, Airtable. Free tier: 200 steps/month, 500 AI credits.
But Relay is automation-only. No smart forms, no AI database, no email campaigns, no AI agents. Those need Typeform ($39), Airtable ($20/user), Mailchimp ($20), ChatGPT ($20) — adding $100+/month on top.
TinyWorkflows includes all natively: TinyForms (40+ types), TinyTables (7 views, AI columns), TinyEmails (AI content), TinyAgents (7 LLMs). One data layer, zero middleware.
Relay AI is platform-managed. TinyAgents offers 7 named LLMs with per-step selection — Claude for writing, GPT-4 for structured output, Gemini for multimodal.
Same price: $19/month. Relay: 750 steps, 1 user. TinyCommand: 10,000 credits, 3 users, 5 products. Unless human-in-the-loop is non-negotiable, TinyCommand delivers more value.
Who should choose what
Choose TinyWorkflows if:
- Fully automated pipelines (no human checkpoints) are your operating model
- AI connected to forms, databases, email, and AI agents natively is essential
- 7 LLM providers with per-step model selection gives you deeper AI flexibility
- $19/month includes 5 products (automation + forms + database + email + AI) not just automation
- AI columns per database row and AI email content go beyond Relay's built-in AI
- You trust your AI configuration to execute without human review at each step
Choose Relay if:
- Human-in-the-loop approval steps are required for your workflows
- AI-drafted content needs human review before sending to customers
- Regulated industries require audit trails with human verification
- Built-in AI (data extraction, summarization, transcription) covers your intelligence needs
- You want automation speed with human safety nets at critical checkpoints
- The free tier (200 steps/mo) lets you test hybrid AI + human workflows
This comparison also applies to
- Teams comparing TinyWorkflows with Zapier (mainstream automation)
- Teams comparing TinyWorkflows with Make (visual automation)
- Teams evaluating human-in-the-loop vs fully autonomous AI automation
- Regulated industries that need approval workflows with AI capabilities
