Make Review: Pricing, Features & What the Data Shows
Visual automation platform (formerly Integromat) that lets you build complex workflows without code.
What Make Does
Make — formerly Integromat — is the visual automation platform that has emerged as Zapier's primary competitor by offering more powerful workflow capabilities at dramatically lower prices. Founded in Prague in 2012, Make's visual, node-based scenario builder handles branching logic, loops, error handlers, and multi-path workflows that would be difficult or impossible in Zapier's linear format. For ops professionals, agencies, and technical teams that build automations regularly, Make offers significantly more power per dollar than any competing platform.
The pricing advantage is Make's strongest selling point. Where Zapier charges per task at rates that escalate quickly with volume, Make provides 10,000 operations per month for $9/month on the Core plan. The same volume of operations on Zapier would cost $50-100/month or more. This 3-10x cost advantage makes Make the default recommendation for budget-conscious teams that run high-volume automations. The free tier with 1,000 operations and 2 active scenarios is also more generous than Zapier's 100-task free plan.
Make's visual builder is its technical differentiator and its adoption barrier. The node-based canvas shows data flowing between modules (the equivalent of Zapier's steps) with visible connections, branches, and error paths. This visual approach makes complex workflows more understandable than Zapier's linear step list — but it's also more intimidating for users building their first automation. The learning curve is real: non-technical users who pick up Zapier in minutes may need hours with Make. Once past the initial learning curve, most users find Make's approach superior for anything beyond simple two-step automations.
The practical buyer consideration is the trade-off between simplicity and capability. Make has 1,500+ integrations versus Zapier's 6,000+ — fewer apps, but growing. Make's enterprise features (governance, audit logging, team management) are less mature than Workato's. The visual builder is more powerful but harder to learn. For teams with technical comfort that build automations regularly, Make is the better choice on both price and capability. For occasional automators who need maximum simplicity and breadth, Zapier remains easier to justify.
Make Key Features
Visual Scenario Builder
Node-based canvas where modules (triggers and actions) are connected visually, showing exactly how data flows through the automation. Supports branching paths (routers), loops (iterators), error handling (break and resume modules), and data aggregation. The visual approach makes complex workflows with 10-20+ steps comprehensible at a glance — something that's nearly impossible in Zapier's linear step list. Scenarios can be organized into folders and use custom variables for dynamic behavior.
Operations-Based Pricing
Make counts 'operations' — individual actions within a scenario — rather than executions or tasks. The pricing is transparently cheap: 10,000 operations/month for $9/month on Core. Additional operations can be purchased in bundles. This pricing model gives teams 3-10x more automation capacity per dollar compared to Zapier's task-based pricing, making Make the economically obvious choice for teams running high-volume automations.
1,500+ App Integrations
Connectors for major SaaS tools including Salesforce, HubSpot, Google Workspace, Slack, Shopify, Stripe, and hundreds more. The library is smaller than Zapier's 6,000+ but covers the most commonly needed applications. Integration depth varies — popular apps have extensive trigger and action support, while niche tools may have basic connectivity. For apps without native integrations, HTTP modules handle any REST API. The integration library grows steadily with community contributions.
Advanced Data Handling
Built-in functions for data transformation, text manipulation, date calculations, array operations, and JSON parsing — directly within the scenario builder. Make handles complex data structures better than Zapier, which struggles with nested arrays and multi-level JSON. For automations that process structured data (API responses, webhooks, database queries), Make's data handling capabilities reduce the need for external transformation steps.
Error Handling & Retry
Configurable error handling with break modules, retry policies, commit/rollback logic, and fallback routes. When a step fails, Make can retry with backoff, route to an alternative path, send an error notification, or roll back previous steps. This level of error management is more sophisticated than Zapier's basic retry and essential for production automations where failures need to be handled gracefully rather than silently dropped.
Template Library
Pre-built scenario templates for common automation patterns — lead routing, data sync, notification workflows, e-commerce order processing, and more. Templates can be cloned and customized, providing a starting point that reduces build time. The template library is growing but still smaller than Zapier's, which has invested more heavily in pre-built automation content. Community-contributed templates supplement the official library.
Who Uses Make
Cost-Effective Automation at Scale
The primary Make use case. Operations teams running 10-50+ automations that would cost $200-500/month on Zapier switch to Make and pay $9-60/month for equivalent or better functionality. A typical scenario: a marketing ops team runs 20 automations handling lead routing, CRM updates, Slack notifications, and reporting — processing 30,000 operations per month. On Zapier, this costs $150-300/month in task overages. On Make Core, it costs $9/month with room to spare. The savings compound for agencies and consultants who manage automations across multiple clients.
Complex Multi-Branch Workflows
Ops professionals use Make when their automation logic is too complex for Zapier's linear model. Examples: a lead routing scenario that checks 5 different criteria (company size, industry, lead source, geography, lead score) and routes to different workflows based on the combination. A data sync scenario that handles create, update, and delete operations differently across 3 systems. An error-resilient workflow that retries failed API calls, falls back to alternative providers, and alerts ops if all attempts fail. Make's visual branching and error handling make these scenarios buildable and maintainable.
Agency & Freelancer Automation Services
Agencies and freelance automation consultants use Make to build client automations at sustainable margins. Zapier's per-task pricing eats into project margins when clients run high-volume workflows. Make's flat pricing model lets agencies scope projects with predictable costs. The visual scenario builder also makes it easier to hand off automations to clients — the visual flow is self-documenting in a way that Zapier's step lists aren't. Many automation-as-a-service businesses have standardized on Make for both cost and capability reasons.
Make Pricing
Free
1,000 operations/month, 2 active scenarios
Core
10,000 operations/month, unlimited scenarios
Pro
10,000 operations/month, priority execution, custom variables
Teams
10,000 operations/month, team collaboration features
Enterprise
High-volume, SSO, dedicated support, SLAs
Make's pricing is its primary competitive weapon. The free tier includes 1,000 operations/month and 2 active scenarios — more generous than Zapier's 100-task free plan. Core at $9/month provides 10,000 operations and unlimited active scenarios. Pro at $16/month adds priority execution, custom variables, and full-text log search. Teams at $29/month includes team collaboration features. Enterprise pricing is custom.
Additional operations are available in bundles: 10,000 extra operations for $9/month on Core. The per-operation cost is approximately $0.001 — dramatically cheaper than Zapier's per-task pricing of $0.01-$0.03 at comparable volumes.
The cost comparison is stark for high-volume use cases. A team running 50,000 operations/month pays approximately $45/month on Make (Core + extra operations). The same volume on Zapier costs $200-400/month depending on plan and overages. Over a year, that's $540 versus $2,400-$4,800 — a 4-9x difference.
Make's pricing transparency is a significant advantage over Workato and other enterprise iPaaS platforms where quotes require sales conversations. You can see exactly what you'll pay before signing up, model costs as automation volume grows, and switch plans without contract negotiations. The main limitation is that enterprise features (SSO, advanced audit logging, dedicated support) require the custom Enterprise tier.
Job Market Demand for Make
Make appears in 4 job postings across 3 companies in our database of 23,338+ analyzed job postings. The average salary range for roles requiring Make: $62K - $70K.
Department
- Revenue Operations Manager, GTM Systems & Integrations
- Traffic Account Manager
- Growth & Marketing Manager
- olly olly (2)
- rainbow services (1)
- gains intermediate (1)
Commonly Used With Make
Based on job posting co-occurrence data, these tools are most frequently mentioned alongside Make:
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Visual workflow builder handles complex branching, loops, and error handling
- Significantly cheaper than Zapier for the same volume of automations
- 1,500+ app integrations covering most popular SaaS tools
- Free tier is functional enough to test and build real automations
- Growing template library and active community
Cons
- Steeper learning curve than Zapier, especially for non-technical users
- Visual builder can feel cluttered with complex, multi-branch scenarios
- Some integrations are less polished than Zapier's equivalents
- Documentation could be more comprehensive for advanced features
- Enterprise features and governance lag behind Workato
Best for: Ops professionals, agencies, and technical teams who build automations regularly and want more power and lower costs than Zapier
Not ideal for: Non-technical users who want the simplest possible automation setup, or enterprises needing heavy governance and compliance features
Make Alternatives
| Tool | Starting Price | Job Mentions | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zapier | $0 | 17 | SMBs and ops teams needing quick integrations between SaaS tools without engineering help |
| n8n | $0 | 6 | Technical teams and ops professionals who need high-volume automation without per-task pricing, especially those comfortable self-hosting |
| Workato | Custom | 5 | Mid-market to enterprise companies that need automation capabilities beyond Zapier but don't want the complexity of MuleSoft |
| Tray.io | ~$600/mo | 3 | RevOps and business systems teams at mid-market to enterprise companies (200+ employees) running complex, multi-step automations across their GTM tech stack. Particularly strong when you've hit the ceiling of what Zapier can do and need more logic, volume, and control. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Make vs Zapier: which is better?
It depends on your priorities. Zapier is easier to learn and has more integrations. Make is more powerful for complex workflows and significantly cheaper at every tier. If you're building simple, two-step automations and value ease of use, Zapier. If you need branching logic, loops, or you're running high-volume automations, Make gives you more capability for less money.
Is Make really cheaper than Zapier?
Yes, often dramatically so. Make's $9/month plan includes 10,000 operations. A comparable Zapier plan with similar task volume costs $30-$50/month or more. The gap widens as volume increases. For teams running thousands of automations monthly, Make can be 3-5x cheaper than Zapier.
Can Make handle enterprise-level automation?
Make handles complex workflows well, but it lacks some enterprise governance features that Workato provides, like environment management, advanced audit logging, and role-based access controls. For departmental automation, Make is great. For organization-wide automation strategy with compliance requirements, you may need Workato or a dedicated iPaaS.
Our Verdict on Make
Make is the best automation platform for ops professionals and technical teams that want Zapier-level convenience with significantly more power and dramatically lower costs. The visual scenario builder handles complex workflows that would be impossible in Zapier's linear format, and the operations-based pricing delivers 3-10x more automation capacity per dollar. If you build automations regularly and have the technical comfort to work with a visual, node-based builder, Make should be your default choice over Zapier.
The trade-off is learning curve and ecosystem breadth. Make's visual builder is genuinely harder to learn than Zapier's straightforward interface — first-time automators will struggle. The integration library (1,500+ apps) covers major tools but is less than a third of Zapier's 6,000+, meaning niche tools may require HTTP module workarounds. Enterprise governance features lag behind Workato's. For organizations where non-technical staff need to build simple automations with zero learning curve, Zapier's simplicity may justify the pricing premium.
Make appears in 4 job postings across 3 companies in our database, with an average salary range of $62K-$70K — the lowest salary range we track, likely reflecting the tool's adoption by junior operations roles and cost-conscious organizations. It co-occurs with Zapier in all 4 postings, confirming that the two tools are evaluated together for the same use cases. The low posting volume is consistent with Make's positioning as a cost-effective alternative that doesn't yet generate the same hiring demand as established platforms.