Billing for Next Gen Zaps and the Zapier SDK starts at 12 pm ET (17:00 UTC) on December 1, 2026. From that moment, your Next Gen Zaps and SDK calls use tasks. Next Gen Zaps are free until then, and the free period ends for all customers at once.
An action costs the same number of tasks as in a Classic Zap, and each successful Next Gen Zap run uses at least 1 task. This article explains what uses tasks, what does not, and where to check your usage.
What changes on December 1:
- Each app action and each fetch call uses 1 task.
- Each successful Next Gen Zap run uses at least 1 task.
- Each SDK action, fetch call, and inbox-lease trigger outside a Next Gen Zap uses 1 task.
- Most Classic Zaps are not affected. The exception is a Classic Zap with SDK calls in a Code by Zapier step.
What uses tasks in a Next Gen Zap
Next Gen Zaps use tasks at the same rates as Classic Zaps. Each app action uses 1 task, and specialized actions such as Lead Router and AI by Zapier have their own rates. Learn more about how task usage is measured in Zapier, and about the AI by Zapier model tier pricing.
Next Gen Zaps also use tasks for fetch calls. A fetch call is a request that your code makes to an API through Zapier, using the credentials of a connected account. It is the code version of an action. Each successful fetch call uses 1 task.
You have a form that creates a contact in HubSpot, adds a row to Google Sheets, and posts in Slack.
| How it is built | What happens | Tasks used |
|---|---|---|
| Three app actions | The Zap runs a HubSpot action, a Google Sheets action, and a Slack action. | 3 tasks |
| Three fetch calls | The Zap's code reaches HubSpot, then Google Sheets, then Slack. | 3 tasks |
| Code that only reshapes data, such as formatting a name or a date | No action or fetch call runs, so no task is used for the work itself. | 1 task, from the one-task minimum |
While your MCP client, such as Claude or Cursor, builds a Next Gen Zap, it may run app actions through Zapier MCP, such as fetching sample data. Each successful tool call uses 2 tasks. This is the standard Zapier MCP rate.
Task minimum for each Zap run
The one-task minimum applies only when no other part of a successful Next Gen Zap run uses tasks. In that case, the run uses 1 task, even if no action or fetch call runs. A run counts as successful when it finishes without an error, including when a filter stops it.
Classic Zaps do not have this minimum and are charged depending on which steps run and which apps they use. Next Gen Zaps do not have steps, so the minimum applies to the whole Zap run.
The one-task minimum follows these rules:
- The minimum is not an extra charge. A run with 3 actions uses 3 tasks, not 4.
- The minimum applies only to successful runs.
- A run that stops at a filter is a successful run, so it uses 1 task.
Zapier may change this minimum in the future.
| Next Gen Zap | What happens in the run | Tasks used |
|---|---|---|
| A new Typeform lead creates a contact in HubSpot, then posts in the #sales Slack channel. | Two app actions run. | 2 tasks. The minimum adds nothing, because the run already uses more than 1 task. |
| A new Gmail email continues only if the subject contains "invoice". | The subject does not match, so the run stops before any action runs. | 1 task. Every successful run uses at least 1 task, even when a filter stops it. |
| A new Zapier Forms submission adds a record to a Zapier Table. | One action runs, but Zapier Tables is a free app, so the action uses no tasks. | 1 task. The Tables action stays free. The one-task minimum is the only charge in this run. |
SDK billing
The Zapier SDK is a toolkit that developers use in code to run actions in connected apps and to make calls through connected accounts. It does not have its own price list or its own bill. Where the SDK runs determines how its usage counts.
| Where the SDK runs | What uses tasks | Tasks used |
|---|---|---|
| Inside a Next Gen Zap | Each SDK fetch call | 1 task for each fetch call. It counts as part of that Zap run and is not charged again as SDK usage. |
| Outside Zapier, such as on your own servers, in scripts, or in cron jobs | SDK actions, fetch calls, and inbox-lease triggers | 1 task each |
| Inside a Classic Code by Zapier step | SDK actions, fetch calls, and inbox-lease triggers | 1 task each, in addition to the step's base task |
Inside a Next Gen Zap, SDK usage is billed as part of that Zap. Outside Zapier, it is billed to your account directly. If the only billable activity in a Zap run is one SDK fetch call, the run uses 1 task.
SDK usage outside Zapier
| What | Tasks used |
|---|---|
| SDK action | 1 task for each action, the same price as in Next Gen Zaps and Classic Zaps |
| SDK inbox-lease trigger | 1 task for each trigger. Triggers that start a hosted Zap or Next Gen Zap stay free. |
| SDK fetch call | 1 task for each fetch call |
A batch or bulk call uses tasks for each item in the batch.
MCP calls do not have a separate SDK charge, and Sidekick has no billable SDK events currently.
What does not use tasks
In Next Gen Zaps and the SDK, the following do not use tasks:
- The trigger that starts a hosted Zap or Next Gen Zap.
- Code that contacts a website or service directly, without going through Zapier.
- Code in a Next Gen Zap that does not contact an app, apart from the one-task minimum.
- Checking a trigger inbox for new events. Only leasing an event to act on it uses a task. This applies mostly to the SDK outside Zapier, and it is separate from the trigger of a hosted Zap or Next Gen Zap.
- Setup and lookup calls, such as listing connections or table fields.
- Composing, editing, testing, and publishing a Next Gen Zap.
Filters, formatting, loops, and branching do not use tasks on their own, but a Next Gen Zap run that only does these things still uses 1 task. Free By Zapier apps follow the same usage rules as in Classic Zaps.
Free apps and AI by Zapier pricing
Two changes starting December 1 make pricing consistent across Zapier:
- Free By Zapier apps are free everywhere. Zapier Tables and Zapier Forms do not use tasks in Next Gen Zaps, through Zapier MCP, or through the SDK.
- AI by Zapier uses its own price everywhere. Until December 1, AI by Zapier does not use tasks through the SDK, and through Zapier MCP it uses only the MCP action price. From December 1, it uses its own price through both.
Where to check your usage
What you can check depends on where your automation runs.
| Where it runs | Task count for each run | Totals | Task History |
|---|---|---|---|
| Next Gen Zap | Not available | Usage Insights and your billing settings | Coming later |
| Classic Zap with SDK calls in a Code by Zapier step | Included in the Zap's usual task counts | Existing task usage pages, including Usage Insights | Available, the same as today |
| Outside Zapier, using the SDK | Not available | One account-level total, shown as SDK usage | Coming later |
For SDK usage outside Zapier, you can check how much you used in total, but not which script or job used it. Zapier does not provide a breakdown for each script or call.
All of this usage counts toward your plan's task limit and the emails Zapier sends when you reach 80% and 100% of your limit.
Next steps
You now know what uses tasks in Next Gen Zaps and the Zapier SDK, and when billing starts. Next:
- Check your current usage in Where to review your task usage in Zapier.
- Learn how Usage Insights works in Get usage insights for your Zap workflows.
- Learn how tasks are counted across Zapier in How is task usage measured in Zapier?.
- Use the SDK in a Classic Zap in Use the Zapier SDK in Code steps.
- Build your first Next Gen Zap in Get started with Next Gen Zaps.
- Get answers to your billing questions in Get help and support with Zapier.