Make review: cheaper than Zapier per task, with a steeper learning curve
Make (formerly Integromat) pricing, its credit-based system compared with Zapier's task-based one, and who should choose the visual builder over the simpler alternative.
Verdict
Make undercuts Zapier meaningfully on price: Core starts at $9 a month versus $19.99 for Zapier's equivalent tier. It trades that saving for a steeper visual-builder learning curve and a smaller app library.
Make at a glance
- Starting price
- Free, then $9/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- We tested for
- Two weeks
Pros and cons
What works
- The free plan includes 1,000 operations a month and up to 2 active scenarios, more generous than Zapier's free-tier task limit for a comparable workload
- Core at $9 a month unlocks unlimited active scenarios, undercutting Zapier's cheapest paid tier by more than half
- The visual, node-based builder shows the entire workflow on one canvas, which makes debugging a multi-step automation easier to reason about than a linear step list
What does not
- The visual canvas has a real learning curve compared with Zapier's more linear, guided setup, especially for a first automation
- Make's app library, while large, is smaller than Zapier's, so a niche or newer tool is less likely to have a native connector
- Scenario execution time is capped even on paid tiers (40 minutes on Pro), which can matter for a workflow processing a large batch of data
What Make is#
Make, formerly known as Integromat before its rebrand, is a workflow automation platform built around a visual canvas rather than a linear list of steps. Every app, trigger, and action in a workflow (Make calls them "scenarios") appears as a connected node on screen, which is a genuinely different way of building an automation than Zapier's step-by-step form.
$9/mo
Make Core, starting price for unlimited active scenarios
More than half the price of Zapier's cheapest paid tier ($19.99/mo), though the two measure usage differently: operations versus tasks.
Operations versus tasks: the pricing units are not the same thing#
Make bills by "operations" and Zapier bills by "tasks," and these do not count identically. A Make operation is roughly one action, similar in spirit to a Zapier task, but the exact mapping depends on the specific modules used in a scenario. This matters when comparing sticker prices directly: $9 for 10,000 Make operations is not automatically equivalent to a specific number of Zapier tasks for the same workflow.
The visual canvas: an advantage that comes with a cost#
Seeing an entire multi-step, multi-branch automation laid out on one screen is genuinely useful once a workflow gets complicated — it is easier to spot where a branch goes wrong than scrolling through Zapier's linear step list. The trade-off is upfront: a first-time user with no automation background generally finds Make's canvas takes longer to become comfortable with than Zapier's more guided, form-based setup.
| Make | Zapier | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 1,000 ops/mo, 2 scenarios | 100 tasks/mo, unlimited 2-step Zaps |
| Cheapest paid tier | $9/mo (Core) | $19.99/mo (Professional, annual) |
| Builder style | Visual canvas | Linear step list |
| App library | Large, smaller than Zapier's | Largest in the category |
| Learning curve | Steeper | Gentler |
Who should pick Make over Zapier#
A price-sensitive small business comfortable investing a bit more setup time, and whose core tools are mainstream enough to be supported, gets real savings from Make. A business whose stack includes several smaller or newer tools should check Make's app directory for those specific integrations before assuming the price advantage will hold, since Zapier's wider library is the more likely one to have niche support.
Make pricing
| Plan | Price | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0forever | 1,000 operations/month, up to 2 active scenarios, 15-minute minimum interval between runs, 7-day execution log | Testing whether an automation is worth building, or running one or two simple scenarios |
| Core | $9per month (10,000 operations/mo); higher operation tiers cost more | Unlimited active scenarios, scheduling down to the minute, 30-day execution log, API access | A solo operator or small team ready to run several automations continuously |
| Pro | $16per month (10,000 operations/mo) | Priority execution, custom variables, full-text log search, 40-minute max scenario runtime, 250MB file size limit | A team running automations that process larger files or need faster execution |
| Teams | $29per month (10,000 operations/mo) | Team roles, shared scenario templates, 500MB file size limit, higher API rate limits | A team that needs to share and standardise automations across several people |
Prices in US dollars, checked on August 6, 2026. Vendors change pricing without notice.
Who Make is for
Buy it if
- You are price sensitive and comfortable learning a visual, node-based builder rather than a simpler linear one
- Your automations are mostly built around mainstream, widely supported apps rather than a long tail of niche tools
Skip it if
- You need the widest possible app library and are willing to pay more for the odds that a specific niche tool is supported
- Your team wants the gentlest possible learning curve for a first automation; Zapier's more guided setup is easier to onboard a non-technical person into
Frequently asked questions
- Is Make cheaper than Zapier?
- Generally yes, on a like-for-like basis. Make's Core plan starts at $9 a month for 10,000 operations, while Zapier's comparable Professional tier starts at $19.99 a month for 750 tasks. The exact comparison depends on how operations and tasks are counted for a specific workflow, since they are not measured identically.
- What is the difference between Make and Zapier?
- Make uses a visual, node-based canvas that shows an entire automation at once, while Zapier uses a more linear, step-by-step builder. Make is generally cheaper per operation; Zapier has a larger app integration library and a gentler learning curve for a first-time user.
- Does Make have a free plan?
- Yes, permanently free, with 1,000 operations a month and up to 2 active scenarios. Zapier's free plan offers 100 tasks a month but allows unlimited two-step Zaps; Make's free tier caps active scenarios at 2 rather than capping steps per scenario.
Written by
Marcus O.Hara
Automation and operations reviewer
Marcus led operations at a 40-person direct-to-consumer brand where a broken automation meant unshipped orders. He builds every workflow tested on this site against a live sandbox with real order and invoice data, then deliberately breaks it to see how the tool recovers. He covers automation, agents, and integrations.
- Eight years in e-commerce operations
- Built and maintained 200-plus production automations