Make vs Zapier: Which Automation Platform Fits Your Workflow?
Both connect your apps. Make gives you more control for less money. Zapier gives you more integrations with less effort.
Make (formerly Integromat) and Zapier serve the same purpose but take different approaches. Zapier pioneered trigger-action and has 6,000+ integrations. Make counters with a visual scenario builder that handles complex branching and data transformation more naturally.
The right choice depends on workflow complexity, monthly volume, and whether your team has the technical comfort to leverage Make's more powerful but less intuitive builder. And for either platform, there comes a scale at which custom automation outperforms both.
Platform Architecture and Design Philosophy
Zapier's design is radical simplicity. Everything is a linear chain: trigger, action one, action two. Paths allow basic branching, but the mental model stays linear. This makes Zapier approachable for anyone who needs a quick automation.
Make uses visual scenarios that look like flowcharts. Modules connect via routes that branch, merge, loop, and run in parallel. Built-in iterators process arrays natively. Error handling routes let you define exactly what happens when a module fails. The learning curve is steeper, but for anyone comfortable with basic logic, Make is dramatically more capable.
Zapier: Linear Simplicity
Trigger-action chains anyone can build in minutes, with Paths for basic conditional logic.
Make: Visual Scenario Builder
Flowchart-style editor with native branching, looping, parallel processing, and error routes.
Complexity Trade-Off
Zapier is faster for simple automations; Make is dramatically more capable for complex workflows.
Pricing and the Custom Automation Threshold
Pricing is where they diverge most. Zapier charges per task — every action counts. Make charges per operation but offers significantly more per dollar. At equivalent volumes, Make typically costs 60-80% less than Zapier. Make's free tier includes 1,000 operations versus Zapier's 100 tasks.
Both platforms charge per-operation, meaning costs scale linearly with volume. At around 20,000-50,000 monthly operations, evaluate custom automation. A serverless function handling the same volume costs $5-30 per month — a fraction of either platform.
Make's Cost Advantage
Make costs 60-80% less than Zapier at equivalent volumes, with more features at lower tiers.
Operation Counting
Zapier counts every action as a task; Make provides more operations per dollar with better bundling.
Three-Tier Strategy
Use Zapier for simple tasks, Make for complex workflows, custom pipelines for high-volume critical operations.
Make vs Zapier vs Custom Software
| Feature | Make | Zapier | Custom Software |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing (10K operations/mo) | ~$30-50/month | ~$100-150/month | Custom pipelines: $5-20/month at this volume |
| App Integrations | 1,800+ apps | 6,000+ apps | Any app with an API |
| Workflow Complexity | Visual branching, loops, error routes | Linear with Paths, limited branching | Unlimited complexity in code |
| Error Handling | Error routes, retry, break, ignore | Retry or stop, manual review | Dead letter queues, custom retry, full observability |
| Execution Speed | Near real-time on all plans | 1-15 min delay on lower plans | Sub-second event-driven processing |
| Learning Curve | Moderate — flowchart paradigm | Low — linear trigger-action model | Requires developer, highest capability ceiling |
| Free Tier | 1,000 operations/month | 100 tasks/month | Pay only for infrastructure usage |
The Verdict
For most businesses, Make is the stronger platform. Its visual builder handles complex workflows more naturally, pricing is significantly lower, and error handling provides better reliability. Zapier's advantage is its larger app library and lower learning curve.
Neither platform is the long-term answer for high-volume, critical automation. Scale Labs recommends a pragmatic layered approach: Make or Zapier for non-critical workflows, custom automation for the pipelines that drive revenue and handle sensitive data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can we migrate Zapier workflows to Make?
Which is better for non-technical team members?
When should we skip both and build custom?
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