Five new complexes were obtained from solution or hydrothermal reactions of M(OAc)2 (M = Mn, Cu and Cd) or CuCl2 with 4-amino-3,5-bis(pyridin-2-yl)-1,2,4-triazole (abpt) and NaN3 or 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid (btcH3) in different molar ratios. Structural analysis reveals that Cd(abpt) units in [Cd(abpt)(μ1,1-N3)2]n (1) are bridged by double μ1,1 end-on (EO) azides into 1D zigzag coordination chains. Similar structural motifs, i.e. the chelation of abpt to the metal center and the double bridges of EO azides, are found in [Mn4(abpt)4(μ1,1-N3)8(H2O)2] (2). The terminal aqua molecules and the monodentate N3− groups lead to the formation of a tetranuclear complex rather than a polymeric compound. The abpt underwent deamination in the presence of copper ions during the process of coordination and became 3,5-bis(pyridin-2-yl)-1,2,4-triazolate (bpt-H) in 3–5. [Cu4(bpt-H)4(N3)4]·4.5H2O (3) is a neutral tetranuclear grid-like complex, in which the azides act as monodentate ligands. A similar [Cu4(bpt-H)4]4+ grid-like unit was found in [Cu4(bpt-H)4(μ-btcH)Cl2]·2H2O (4) and a pair of symmetry-related copper atoms are bridged by the μ-btcH2− coligand in a butterfly-shaped structure. In [Cu2(bpt-H)(μ6-btc)(H2O)]n (5), the tetranuclear {Cu4(μ-bpt-H)2(μ3-carboxylate)2}4+ units are bridged by μ6-btc3− ligands in a 2D step-like layer structure. Temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal that the double μ1,1-N3− bridges in 2 transmit the ferromagnetic interactions between Mn2+ centers (J1 = J2 = +3.09(4) cm−1, gMn(II) = 2.02(1)), and the μ-(bpt-H) − bridges transmit moderate antiferromagnetic interactions in both 3 (J = −12.78(13) cm−1) and 4 (J1 = −14.96(11) cm−1). In 4 the antiferromagnetic coupling via the μ-btcH2− bridge was found as the second coupling pathway (J2 = −9.48(7) cm−1). The coexistence of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic coupling between four Cu2+ centers occurs in 5 (J1 = −0.88(3) cm−1 and J2 = +5.01(2) cm−1). The magneto–structural relationship for tetranuclear copper pyrazolate/triazolate compounds has been discussed.