monday.com offers a variety of tools to help you build an efficient and effective workflow. There are two builders that will help you simplify your day to day: the custom automation builder and monday workflows. This article will take you through the key differences between the two. Check out this simple guide to learn more about which tool is right for your team.

 

What is the custom builder?

The custom builder is used to build custom automations. It allows you to create automation combinations tailored to your team's needs and make them fit perfectly into your workflow. You can also use our most popular integrations with the custom builder.

 

When to use the custom builder

It's best to use the custom automation builder over monday workflows if:

• you are looking to build an automation with one or more steps on one board
• you have simple automations with a few simple steps

 

What is monday workflows?

monday workflows is your go-to tool for bringing all of the elements of your workflow together. monday workflows incorporates automation, integration, conditions, and a simple builder to help you create the harmony your work needs. Entirely customizable and entirely visual, the builder uses drag-and-drop blocks to make your workflow dreams a reality.

 

When to use monday workflows

It's best to use monday workflows over custom automations if:

• you have robust automations with multiple steps. After 6-7 steps it can become challenging to understand what an automation is doing, especially if you're using an automation built by a teammate
• you are looking to manage multiple automations across your account and need visibility into those multiple automations simultaneously
• you have a complex workflow with multiple conditions, and you need your automations to perform different functions based on different scenarios

 

Comparison between the two builders

For a quick comparison between these two tools, take a look at this chart:

 

Feature	custom automation builder	monday workflows
Cross-board workflows	✅	✅
If/Else condition	❌ (only if conditions)	✅
Edit/Active mode	❌ (only live option)	✅
Dynamic values from any previous block	❌ (only from trigger)	✅
Localization	❌	✅
Delay block	❌	✅
Unarchive/delete option	❌	✅

 

So what do all of these features and differences mean? Let's take a closer look 🔎

Features available in both builders

Cross-board workflows

You can work across boards in both the automation custom builder and also workflows. However, in the custom automation builder, you can only do this when it comes to a single automation.

For example, you can use the Create item in another board and connect action in the automation custom builder. Here's an example of a custom automation that connects boards:

 

Alternatively, monday workflows give you the power to create robust use cases that work across boards and will allow you to create more than one automation at a time.

 

Features available only in monday workflows

If/Else condition

With the custom automation builder, you will only be able to set an "if" condition in your automation.

 

With workflows you'll be able to set multiple conditions as it is set up to branch out to multiple possible conditions. For example, you can set different automated steps according to different users being assigned to an item, like so:

 

Draft/Active mode

Draft mode - With this mode, you can create and edit your workflow without it being active. Then click on Create or Update to activate it.

Active mode - In this mode, your workflow is running. Pausing it will stop the workflow until you resume it. 

 

Dynamic values from any previous block

While working with automations, you can only refer to the trigger that you are using. When working with workflows, if you'd like to get information from a step you've used in a previous workflow block, you can choose the "Get item data" action. This will automatically fill in the information from your selected step. You can even add this data to an item on a completely different board!

 

Localization

Localization is supported by monday workflows. This means that if you change your monday account language, this change will be reflected all over your account, including in monday workflows.

 

Delay Block

If you ever need some time to pause in between steps of your workflow for a set amount of time, you can now add a delay. You can choose a wide variety of options once you select the "delay" block, creating a flexible workflow timing schedule that works for you. To learn more about the delay block, read here.

Unarchive/delete option

If you delete an automation, it cannot be recovered. However, if you archive or delete a workflow, you have the ability to unarchive and also retrieve it from the trash.

 

 

 

If you have any questions, please reach out to our team right here. We’re available 24/7 and happy to help.