I have an external service that sends data through webhooks and I’m currently using Zapier to receive these webhooks. Right now my workflow goes like this: External Service → Zapier Webhook → Google Sheets → My Application API. The problem is that Zapier gets really costly when you’re processing hundreds of thousands of webhooks monthly. I want to cut out the middleman and create a direct connection. Is there a way to build or use a cheaper alternative that can catch webhooks directly and send the data straight to my application? I’m looking to simplify this to: External Service → Custom Webhook Handler → My Application API. What options do I have for creating webhook endpoints without using expensive automation platforms?
Building your own webhook receiver isn’t that hard if you’ve got basic programming skills. I ditched Zapier after hitting the same cost wall and built a simple Node.js service that listens for webhooks on a dedicated endpoint. You just need to handle the incoming POST data, validate it, then forward it to your app’s API with some error handling and retry logic. Deploy it on Heroku, Vercel, or any shared host that runs Node.js. Main things to watch: keep your endpoint online, add proper logging for debugging failed webhooks, and handle auth if the external service needs webhook verification. Most webhook senders retry failed deliveries anyway, but make sure your handler sends back the right HTTP status codes. My monthly costs went from $200+ with Zapier down to under $20 hosting my own solution.
for sure! you can use an express server on a cheap VPS like digitalocean, their $5/month plan is cool. just create a /webhook endpoint to catch that POST stuff and send it straight to ur app’s API. much cheaper than zapier and u have total control!
Had the same Zapier cost problem last year. Ended up switching to AWS Lambda with API Gateway for webhooks. Takes about an hour to set up and costs basically nothing - you’re paying per request instead of monthly fees, so it’s pennies vs dollars. Lambda scales automatically and handles POST requests, then pushes data to your app’s API. Railway or Render are solid alternatives too. Both deploy straight from GitHub repos, have good free tiers, and their paid plans ($5-10/month) give you way higher limits than automation platforms. Best part is you control everything and can tweak the data processing however you want.