IFTTT opens its platform for making and publishing Applets to all developers via a free app maker tier, alongside current premium partner tiers
In November of this year, we opened … Natalie Gagliordi / ZDNet : IFTTT launches Maker tier for developers Kyle Wiggers / Digital Trends : IFTTT advances smart homes by expanding its Applet platform for Makers Troy Wolverton / INSIDER : If your smart home products don't talk to each other, this service could help Greg Barbosa / 9to5Mac : IFTTT launches Maker tier with support for multiple Applet actions
Context & Ripple Effects
IFTTT spent 2016 building a business around its Applet format: it began embedding recipes directly into third-party apps like Ring, Roger and Lifx, then moved to charging companies $199 per month to list services and embed Applets — a model aimed squarely at commercial partners. Meanwhile Microsoft built a direct rival, an IFTTT-like automation tool called Flow, which reached both iOS and Android by late summer.
The Maker tier changes the shape of that strategy: instead of gating the platform behind the partner fee, IFTTT now lets any developer make and publish Applets for free, keeping the premium tiers alongside. The bet is that a long tail of hobbyist and indie integrations widens the catalog enough to keep the platform the default glue for connected devices.
First-order effects
- Any developer can now publish multi-action Applets at no cost, so the service catalog grows beyond what IFTTT's paid partners alone would supply.
- Companies already paying the $199 monthly listing fee see their directory placement compete with an unlimited supply of free-published Applets from non-paying developers.
Second-order effects
- Microsoft Flow's cross-platform push puts it head-to-head with IFTTT on workflow automation; a free, open IFTTT publishing tier raises the bar Flow must match on consumer integration breadth.
- Smart-home device makers gain a cheaper path to connectivity: instead of paying to list, they can rely on community-built Applets, weakening the upsell case for the partner tier.
Third-order effects
- If the freemium structure holds, automation platforms consolidate into a two-sided model — free maker ecosystems generating integrations, business tiers monetizing distribution — making per-service listing fees harder to sustain across the category.
- Broad, cheap interoperability pushes device makers toward treating third-party automation support as table stakes rather than a differentiator, shifting competition to hardware and services above the integration layer.
The trend: Consumer automation platforms are opening free developer publishing tiers to maximize integration breadth while reserving monetization for business customers — IFTTT's Maker tier is one data point in that shift toward capability-tiered platforms.