Zapier vs Make: Pricing, Limits and Which to Choose

Zapier is easier to learn and connects to more apps, while Make (formerly Integromat) gives you far more automation for the money and handles complex, branching workflows better. On published October 2026 pricing, Zapier's Professional plan starts at $19.99 a month on annual billing for 750 tasks, and Make's paid plan starts at $9 a month for 5,000 credits. If you are automating a few simple tasks and value speed of setup, choose Zapier. If you run many automations or need routers, loops and detailed data handling, choose Make.

This guide compares the plans, explains how each one counts usage, and works through what three real automations would cost on each.

Zapier vs Make at a glance

What these tools do

Both connect apps that do not talk to each other, so work moves between them automatically. A new form submission can create a contact in your CRM, add a row to a spreadsheet, send a Slack message and tag the person in your email tool, with no copying and pasting.

Each automation has the same basic shape:

1. A trigger: something happens in one app, such as a new order or a new email.
2. Actions: things the tool then does in other apps.
3. Logic in between, optionally: filters, formatting, conditions and branches.

Zapier calls an automation a Zap. Make calls it a scenario.

Plans and prices

Zapier

Prices rise with the number of tasks you choose. The figures above are the entry tiers shown on the pricing page.

Make

Make says annual billing saves 15% or more. Like Zapier, the price rises as you buy more credits.

How each one counts usage

This is the part that decides your bill.

Zapier tasks

Zapier counts a task each time an action step in a Zap completes successfully. Under Zapier's rules, the trigger itself does not use a task, and neither do built-in filter steps that stop a Zap.

Example: a Zap triggered by a new form submission that creates a CRM contact, adds a spreadsheet row and sends a Slack message uses 3 tasks per submission.

Make credits

Make charges credits for operations. Broadly, each module that runs in a scenario uses one operation. Checking a polling trigger on a schedule also uses an operation, even when it finds nothing new, so how often a scenario checks affects usage. Make describes its newer credit system as offering usage flexibility. Check its help pages for how specific modules and features are counted.

Example: the same form workflow in Make, with a trigger and three action modules, uses roughly 4 operations per submission.

The practical difference

Per step, the counting is similar. The difference is price. Zapier's entry paid plan gives 750 tasks for $19.99 a month on annual billing, about 2.7 cents per task. Make's entry paid plan gives 5,000 credits for $9 a month, about 0.18 cents per credit. Even if a workflow uses a few more credits in Make than tasks in Zapier, Make is usually much cheaper at the same volume.

What three real automations would cost

These use the entry prices above and assume the workflows run reliably. Your numbers will depend on the exact apps and steps.

Automation 1: Contact form to CRM, spreadsheet and Slack

150 form submissions a month, three actions each.

The trigger-check detail matters on Make's free plan. A scenario polling every 15 minutes checks 96 times a day, about 2,880 times in a 30-day month. If each check uses an operation, that alone exceeds 1,000 credits. Using an instant webhook trigger, where the form app pushes data to Make, avoids those checks. Many apps support instant triggers, so choose them where you can.

Automation 2: New online order to accounting, email tool and Slack

1,000 orders a month, four actions each.

At this volume the gap widens. On Zapier you would need a tier well above 750 tasks. On Make the entry paid tier covers it.

Automation 3: Weekly report built from three apps

Runs 4 times a month, gathering data from three apps, formatting it and emailing a summary: about 10 steps per run.

Low-volume, multi-step automations are where Make's free plan stands out, because Zapier's free plan only allows two-step Zaps.

Ease of use

Zapier

Zapier's editor is a vertical list: trigger at the top, actions below. You pick an app, choose an event, connect your account and map fields. For straightforward automations, most people can build their first Zap in under half an hour without reading documentation.

It also has a very large app directory, and many software companies build their Zapier integration first. If you use niche tools, Zapier is more likely to support them out of the box.

Make

Make's editor is a visual canvas. Modules appear as circles connected by lines, and you can branch with routers, loop over lists with iterators, and combine results with aggregators. You see exactly how data flows, which makes complex scenarios easier to understand once you learn the interface.

The trade-off is a steeper start. Make exposes more of the underlying data structure, such as arrays and bundles, which is powerful but unfamiliar to non-technical users.

Error handling and reliability

Both send alerts when an automation fails and keep a history of runs.

• Zapier shows each Zap run with its steps and lets you replay failed runs. Paths and filters let you route around problems.
• Make lets you attach error handler routes to individual modules, so a failure can retry, skip the item, or send an alert while the rest of the scenario continues. Its execution logs show the data passed between modules, which helps when debugging.

Whichever you choose, build in a notification for failures that matter. An automation that silently stops can mean lost leads or orders that never reach your accounting software, which is the same silent-failure problem covered in Website Uptime Monitoring.

Security and data

Both services pass your business data, including customer details, through their servers. Before you connect anything sensitive:

• Use a business account owned by the company, not an employee's personal login.
• Turn on two-factor authentication. Two-Factor Authentication Explained covers which methods to use.
• Connect apps with the minimum permissions needed.
• Avoid sending personal information to tools that do not need it.
• List the services in your privacy policy, since they process visitor and customer data. GDPR and CCPA for Small Websites explains why.

Which should you choose?

Some businesses use both: Zapier for quick connections that colleagues maintain, and Make for heavier workflows that a more technical person owns.

Getting started without wasting money

1. List the automations you want and estimate monthly runs and steps for each.
2. Calculate usage with the counting rules above.
3. Start on the free plan of the tool that fits and build your most valuable automation first.
4. Prefer instant triggers over scheduled polling, to save usage and react faster.
5. Upgrade only when you hit a limit, and choose the task or credit tier that fits your real usage.
6. Review usage monthly. Both dashboards show which automations use the most, so you can trim waste.

Frequently asked questions

Is Make cheaper than Zapier?

Usually, yes. On October 2026 pricing, Make's paid plan starts at $9 a month for 5,000 credits, while Zapier's Professional plan starts at $19.99 a month on annual billing for 750 tasks. Per unit of usage, Make costs a fraction of Zapier at the entry tiers.

Which is easier to use, Zapier or Make?

Zapier is easier for beginners. Its step-by-step editor lets most people build a simple automation quickly. Make's visual canvas is more powerful for complex workflows with branches and loops, but takes longer to learn.

What counts as a task in Zapier?

Zapier counts a task each time an action step in a Zap completes successfully. The trigger does not use a task. A Zap with three action steps uses three tasks each time it runs fully.

What are credits in Make?

Make charges credits for operations, which broadly means each module that runs in a scenario. Checking a scheduled trigger also uses an operation, even if nothing new is found, so using instant triggers instead of frequent polling can reduce usage.

Does Zapier have a free plan?

Yes. Zapier's free plan includes 100 tasks a month and unlimited two-step Zaps, meaning one trigger and one action. Multi-step Zaps, premium apps and webhooks require a paid plan, starting with Professional.

Does Make have a free plan?

Yes. Make's free plan includes 1,000 credits a month, up to 2 active scenarios, scheduling down to every 15 minutes, and features such as routers and filters, according to its pricing page in October 2026.

Can I move automations from Zapier to Make?

There is no direct import. You rebuild each automation in Make, which also gives you a chance to simplify it. Run the new version alongside the old one briefly to confirm it works before turning the Zapier version off.

Sources

Plan details were read on October 10, 2026.

• Zapier pricing
• Make pricing
• Zapier Help Center
• Make Help Center