Yes. The Free plan costs $0 and includes 1,000 credits a month, unlimited Applets and every Applet feature 10 2 . On Free, polling triggers are checked once an hour, and Applets pause if the month's credits run out 6 2 .

Ranked #7 of 7 for best phone automation

IFTTT review

A cloud automation service that links iPhone and Android phones to 1,000+ apps and devices through Applets¹.

Updated 9 November 2026By the Best Phone Automation deskHow we score Disclosure

This guide is free and no app maker or vendor pays for a position. Links to vendors can earn the publisher a commission when you sign up. How the site makes money.

Verdict

6.1/10

Pick IFTTT if you want an iPhone or Android phone to trigger, and be triggered by, web services and smart-home devices: it reaches 1,000+ services, and the free plan includes every Applet feature¹².

Best for Cloud and smart-home links

Skip it if you want deep control of phone settings, or automations that run on the device without an IFTTT account³⁴.

Visit IFTTT (opens the IFTTT website)

IFTTT at a glance
Developer	IFTTT Inc., San Francisco, California⁵
Users	Over 32M people (IFTTT's count)¹
Services	1,000+ apps and devices (IFTTT's count)¹
Billing model	Monthly credits on every plan, since October 2026²
Polling trigger checks	Every hour on Free, every 15 minutes on Starter, every 5 minutes on Pro and Pro+⁶
Services that need the phone app	21, including Location, Android SMS, Android Phone Call, iOS Health and iOS Shortcuts⁷
Google Play downloads	10M+⁵
App Store award	Editors' Choice⁸

How IFTTT scores

Score breakdown for IFTTT
Power 25%	5.5	IFTTT reaches 1,000+ services¹ and supports multiple actions, queries, delays and JavaScript filters⁹¹⁰¹¹. Control of the phone itself is narrow: the Android Device service has 14 triggers and 8 actions, limited to wallpaper, music, Google Maps navigation, ringtone and Do Not Disturb³. Location adds 3 enter and exit triggers, Android Phone Call adds 6 call triggers, Notifications adds 3 notification actions and Android SMS can send a text¹²¹³¹⁴¹⁵, while the iOS Shortcuts service has one trigger and no actions¹⁶. Score: 1,000+ cloud services against a narrow set of phone actions give 5.5.
Ease of use 25%	8.5	IFTTT counts 100,000s of ready-made Applets¹, IFTTT Chat builds an Applet from a plain-language description⁹, and an AI generator writes filter code for people who do not write JavaScript¹¹. Phone triggers add setup: IFTTT's Android location steps include setting location to Allow all the time and turning battery optimization off¹⁷. Score: ready-made Applets and a plain-language builder give 8.5.
Reliability 20%	5.0	Realtime triggers normally run within seconds, while polling triggers are checked once an hour on Free⁶. IFTTT says its iOS background syncs can be unreliable and can stop if the app is not opened for a day or two¹⁸; on Android the app keeps a foreground service with a persistent notification¹⁹. Applets pause when the month's credits run out², IFTTT can turn off an Applet that keeps failing²⁰, and Google Play shows 3.2 stars from 187,553 ratings⁵. Score: hourly polling on Free, background syncs IFTTT calls unreliable, and pauses when credits run out give 5.0.
Price 15%	6.5	The Free plan costs $0 with 1,000 credits a month and every Applet feature¹⁰². Paid plans are monthly or yearly subscriptions from $2.09 a month billed annually or $2.99 monthly²¹¹⁰. Each step's credit cost appears in the Applet composer, so how many runs 1,000 credits buys depends on the Applet; unused credits expire each month². There is no free trial and payments are non-refundable²². Score: a free plan with monthly credits, then a subscription, gives 6.5.
Privacy 15%	4.0	An IFTTT account is required, and Applets between services run through IFTTT's cloud⁴⁷. IFTTT keeps run logs for 7 days and activity feeds for 30 days, says it does not sell personal user data, and offers two-step verification, data export and account deletion²³; its Google Play data-safety entry declares no data shared with third parties⁵. Against that, the Android app asks for location access all the time even for Wi-Fi triggers²⁴, and the privacy policy allows collection of location and calendar data and the use of session replay tools, and names ad networks and analytics providers among the vendors it shares personal data with²⁵. Score: a required account, cloud runs and ad networks named in the policy give 4.0.

IFTTT pricing

IFTTT pricing, checked 8 November 2026
Plan	Price	Notes
Free	$0¹⁰	1,000 credits a month, unlimited Applets, every Applet feature. Polling triggers are checked every hour.
Starter	$2.09/mo billed annually ($25.08 a year); $2.99 billed monthly¹⁰	5,000 credits a month, polling every 15 minutes, Basic support with a reply within 18 business hours (Monday to Friday, Pacific Time).
Pro	$5.49/mo billed annually ($65.88 a year); $7.99 billed monthly¹⁰	20,000 credits a month, polling every 5 minutes, prioritized support with a reply within 12 business hours. The iOS app lists Pro at $7.99 and Pro Yearly at $65.99⁸.
Pro+	$13.99/mo billed annually ($167.88 a year); $19.99 billed monthly¹⁰	100,000 credits a month, multiple accounts per service, dedicated support with screen sharing and a reply within 6 business hours.

Strengths and weak spots

Strengths

The Free plan includes every Applet feature, including filters, queries, delays and multiple actions, with 1,000 credits a month²¹⁰.
Connects a phone to 1,000+ services, including smart-home devices such as Philips Hue and MyQ¹.
Apps for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, and for Android phones and Wear OS⁸⁵.
IFTTT Chat builds an Applet from a plain-language description, and an AI generator writes filter code⁹¹¹.
Applets between cloud services keep running without the phone app installed⁷.

Weak spots

Little direct control of phone settings: the Android Device service has 8 actions, covering wallpaper, music, Google Maps navigation, ringtone and Do Not Disturb³.
Applets pause when the month's credits run out, unused credits do not roll over, and payments are non-refundable²²².
The Free plan checks polling triggers once an hour⁶.
Phone triggers depend on background access: a foreground service with a persistent notification on Android, and iOS background syncs that IFTTT says can be unreliable¹⁹¹⁸.
Requires an IFTTT account, and cloud Applets run on IFTTT's side²⁵⁷.

Alternatives to IFTTT

Apple Shortcuts iPhone and iPad owners, 8.2/10
MacroDroid Easy Android automation, 8.0/10
Automate Budget Android power users, 7.6/10

Head to head

Apple Shortcuts vs IFTTT

IFTTT: common questions

Is IFTTT free?

Yes. The Free plan costs $0 and includes 1,000 credits a month, unlimited Applets and every Applet feature¹⁰². On Free, polling triggers are checked once an hour, and Applets pause if the month's credits run out⁶².

Does IFTTT need the app installed on my phone?

For phone services, yes. IFTTT lists 21 services that need the app installed and signed in, including Location, Android SMS, Android Phone Call, Android Battery, iOS Health and iOS Shortcuts. Applets between cloud services run without the app⁷.

Why do IFTTT Applets stop running on Android?

For location Applets, IFTTT's help center points to device settings: location set to Allow all the time, battery optimization set to Don't optimize, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth scanning turned on¹⁷. Applets also pause when credits run out, and IFTTT can turn off an Applet that fails consistently²²⁰.

Sources

IFTTT. The easiest way to automate anything - IFTTT. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
IFTTT Help Center. What are credits and how do they work?. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
IFTTT. Android Device Integrations - Connect Your Apps with IFTTT. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
IFTTT Help Center. How does IFTTT work?. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
Google Play. IFTTT.ai: Automation made easy - Apps on Google Play. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
IFTTT Help Center. What is the difference between polling Applets and realtime Applets?. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
IFTTT Help Center. Do I need the IFTTT app installed for Applets to run?. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
Apple. IFTTT.ai: Automation made easy App - App Store. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
IFTTT Help Center. Creating your own Applet. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
IFTTT. Plans & Pricing - IFTTT. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
IFTTT Help Center. What is a Filter?. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
IFTTT. Location Integrations - Connect Your Apps with IFTTT. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
IFTTT. Android Phone Call Integrations - Connect Your Apps with IFTTT. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
IFTTT. Notifications Integrations - Connect Your Apps with IFTTT. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
IFTTT. Android SMS Integrations - Connect Your Apps with IFTTT. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
IFTTT. iOS Shortcuts Integrations - Connect Your Apps with IFTTT. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
IFTTT Help Center. Location service information and troubleshooting. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
IFTTT Help Center. About iOS background syncing. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
IFTTT Help Center. Why the IFTTT App shows a persistent notification on Android. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
IFTTT Help Center. Why do Applets and connections get disabled?. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
IFTTT Help Center. IFTTT Plans at a glance. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
IFTTT Help Center. Billing FAQ. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
IFTTT Help Center. Account Security at IFTTT. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
IFTTT Help Center. Why does the IFTTT Android app require 'Allow all the time' location permissions?. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
IFTTT. Privacy policy - IFTTT. Checked 8 Nov 2026.