Zapier vs Make: Pricing Compared
Make (formerly Integromat) offers similar automation capabilities at a fraction of Zapier's price. Here is a detailed breakdown of what each platform costs for real-world workflows, the feature differences that matter, and an honest verdict on which to choose.
Pricing Side by Side
| Plan Level | Zapier | Make |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 100 tasks/mo, 5 single-step Zaps | 1,000 ops/mo, unlimited scenarios |
| Entry paid | Starter: $29.99/mo (750 tasks) | Core: $10.59/mo (10,000 ops) |
| Mid-tier | Professional: $73.50/mo (2,000 tasks) | Pro: $18.82/mo (10,000 ops, priority) |
| Team | Team: $103.50/user/mo (2,000 tasks) | Teams: $34.12/mo (10,000 ops, multi-user) |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing | Custom pricing |
| Billing unit | Tasks (action steps only) | Operations (all modules incl. triggers) |
| Integrations | 7,000+ apps | 1,800+ apps |
Tasks vs Operations: Understanding the Billing Difference
Zapier and Make both use consumption-based pricing, but they count different things. Zapier counts "tasks," defined as successful action steps. The trigger that starts a Zap is free, and filter steps that block execution are also free. Only action steps that complete successfully count against your monthly allowance.
Make counts "operations," which include every module that processes data. This means the trigger module, router modules, filter modules, and all action modules each count as one operation. A workflow with 1 trigger and 3 actions uses 3 tasks on Zapier but 4 operations on Make.
Despite Make counting more units per workflow, the math still strongly favours Make. Here is a concrete example: Zapier Professional gives you 2,000 tasks for $73.50/month, which works out to $0.037 per task. Make Core gives you 10,000 operations for $10.59/month, or $0.001 per operation. Even if a Make workflow uses 30% more operations than the equivalent Zapier workflow uses tasks, the total cost on Make is still roughly 85% lower.
The bottom line on billing: Make's per-unit cost is approximately 37x cheaper than Zapier's. The slight difference in how units are counted does not come close to closing that gap. For volume-based cost comparison, Make wins decisively.
Same Workflow, Different Cost: 5 Real Scenarios
We built the same automation on both platforms and compared the monthly cost at identical run volumes.
Form to CRM + Welcome Email
New form submission creates a CRM contact and sends an automated welcome email to the lead
Zapier
Starter ($29.99/mo)
Make
Free (600 ops < 1,000 limit)
E-commerce Order Pipeline
New order updates inventory in a spreadsheet, sends confirmation email, notifies the warehouse via Slack, and logs to a Google Sheet
Zapier
Professional ($73.50/mo)
Make
Core ($10.59/mo, uses 2,500 of 10K ops)
Social Media Cross-Post
New blog post automatically shared to Twitter/X, LinkedIn, and Facebook page with customised formatting per platform
Zapier
Starter ($29.99/mo)
Make
Free (120 ops < 1,000 limit)
Customer Support Triage
New support ticket analysed by AI, categorised, routed to the correct team channel, and logged in a tracking sheet
Zapier
Professional ($73.50/mo)
Make
Core ($10.59/mo, uses 1,200 of 10K ops)
Lead Scoring and Sales Routing
New lead scored based on form data, enriched with company info, assigned to a sales rep, added to an email sequence, and logged in the CRM
Zapier
Starter ($29.99/mo, at limit)
Make
Free (900 ops < 1,000 limit)
The pattern is clear: Across all five scenarios, Make costs 60-85% less than Zapier. In three of the five cases, the workflow fits within Make's free tier entirely. The savings become even more dramatic at higher volumes, where Zapier's per-task pricing compounds quickly.
Feature Comparison: Where Each Platform Wins
Where Zapier Wins
- +More integrations (7,000+ vs 1,800+). Zapier connects to nearly every SaaS tool on the market. If you need niche or industry-specific apps, Zapier is more likely to have a native connector. Make covers all major apps but may require custom HTTP modules for less common services.
- +Easier to learn. Zapier's linear, step-by-step editor is more intuitive for non-technical users. You pick a trigger, add actions, test, and publish. Make's flowchart-style builder is more powerful but has a steeper learning curve, particularly for branching logic and error handling.
- +Better documentation and templates. Zapier has a larger library of pre-built templates, tutorials, and community resources. Getting started with common workflows is faster because someone has likely built a template for your exact use case.
- +Faster setup for simple workflows. For a basic "trigger then action" automation, Zapier is genuinely faster to configure. If your needs are simple and volume is low, the time savings may offset the price premium.
Where Make Wins
- +Dramatically cheaper. Make's Core plan ($10.59/mo) includes 10,000 operations. Zapier's closest equivalent costs $73.50/mo for 2,000 tasks. The price difference is not marginal; it is 5-7x for comparable usage.
- +Superior visual builder. Make uses a flowchart-style canvas where you can see branches, loops, error handlers, and parallel paths as a visual diagram. This makes complex workflows much easier to design, debug, and maintain than Zapier's linear list view.
- +More generous free tier. Make's free plan includes 1,000 operations per month with unlimited scenarios. Zapier's free tier limits you to 100 tasks and 5 single-step Zaps. For testing and small projects, Make's free tier is far more practical.
- +Built-in data transformation. Make includes powerful functions for parsing, transforming, and formatting data between steps at no extra cost. Zapier requires separate Formatter steps (which consume tasks) or Code steps for the same data manipulation.
- +Better error handling. Make lets you add error handler modules to individual steps, define retry policies, and create fallback routes. Zapier's error handling is limited to auto-replay (Professional plan only) and basic notifications.
The Honest Verdict
Make is much cheaper than Zapier for comparable automation work. That is not a nuanced conclusion, it is a straightforward fact. The Core plan at $10.59/month gives you 10,000 operations, while Zapier's Professional plan charges $73.50/month for 2,000 tasks. For any business running moderate-to-high volume automations, the savings from switching to Make are substantial.
Zapier still earns its place in two scenarios. First, if you need integrations with niche apps that Make does not support natively. Second, if the person building the automations is non-technical and values the simplest possible interface above all else. In those cases, Zapier's premium is paying for convenience and breadth.
For most teams, the smartest approach is a hybrid strategy. Move your high-volume, complex workflows to Make where the cost savings are largest. Keep Zapier only for the specific integrations that Make cannot handle. This gives you the best of both platforms while cutting your total automation spend by 50-70%.
If you are currently on Zapier's Professional or Team plan, it is worth spending a weekend rebuilding your top 5 workflows in Make. Run them in parallel for a month to compare reliability, then decide. Most teams that do this end up migrating the majority of their automations to Make and significantly reducing their monthly bill.
Frequently Asked Questions
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