Last updated: October 15, 2026
Zapier and Make do the same basic job: they connect your apps so work moves between them automatically. A form submission becomes a CRM contact, a paid invoice triggers a thank-you email, a new review gets posted to your team chat. Where they differ is how you build those automations, how they count usage, and what that means for your monthly bill.
Short answer: pick Zapier if you want the fastest setup and the widest choice of apps, and you’ll run a modest number of simple automations. Pick Make if your workflows have many steps or run often, because it’s usually much cheaper at volume, and you’re willing to spend an afternoon learning a visual builder.
Zapier vs Make at a Glance
| Zapier | Make | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 100 tasks/month, two-step Zaps only | 1,000 credits/month, 2 active scenarios |
| Entry paid plan | Professional: ~$19.99/mo annual (~$29.99 monthly), 750 tasks | Core: ~$9/mo annual (~$10.59 monthly), 10,000 credits |
| Team plan | ~$69/mo annual, 2,000 tasks, 25 users | Teams: ~$29/mo annual, 10,000 credits |
| How usage is counted | Each successful action step = 1 task (trigger is free) | Each module action = 1 credit |
| Builder | Step-by-step list, plain-English AI builder | Visual canvas with branches and loops |
| Learning curve | Minutes | An afternoon |
| Fastest check interval on free plan | 15 minutes | 15 minutes |
Prices are from third-party reviews that checked each vendor’s pricing page in September 2026, and they change by usage tier and billing period. Confirm on Zapier’s pricing page and Make’s pricing page.
The Real Difference: How Each One Bills You
Both platforms charge by usage, and this is where most small businesses get surprised.
Zapier counts tasks. Every action step that runs successfully uses one task. A Zap with one trigger and four actions uses four tasks each time it runs. If it runs 300 times a month, that’s 1,200 tasks, which is already past the 750 tasks in the entry Professional plan.
Make counts credits. Every module that acts (search, create, update, transform) uses one credit. The same five-module workflow running 300 times a month uses roughly 1,500 credits, comfortably inside the 10,000 credits of the Core plan, which costs about half of Zapier’s entry plan.
One trap on Make: loops. If a scenario processes a list of 50 items, each action inside the loop counts 50 times. Filtering records early keeps credit use down.
A Worked Example: New Lead Automation
Say you want this to happen every time someone fills out your website quote form:
- Add the contact to your CRM.
- Ask an AI model to summarize the request and label it urgent or routine.
- Send the customer a personal confirmation email.
- Text you if it’s urgent.
With about 200 leads a month, that’s roughly 800 tasks on Zapier (four actions × 200), so you’d need more than the entry Professional allowance. On Make, it’s about 800 to 1,000 credits, which fits in the free plan’s 1,000 credits on a quiet month and easily inside Core. Keep in mind that if the AI step calls an outside model like OpenAI or Anthropic, that provider bills you separately on both platforms.
Ease of Use
Zapier is the easiest automation tool most owners will ever use. You pick a trigger app, pick an action, map the fields, and it’s running. You can also describe what you want in plain English and let its AI draft the Zap. For a non-technical owner, that matters more than price.
Make shows your workflow as a map of connected bubbles. That’s more intimidating at first, but it makes complex logic (if this, do that; otherwise, do something else) much easier to see and fix. Once you’ve built two or three scenarios, most people find it comfortable.
App Connections
Zapier connects to more apps than any other automation platform, and smaller niche tools (industry software, local booking apps) often build a Zapier integration first. Make covers all the mainstream business apps and has a generic HTTP module for anything with an API, but you’re more likely to hit a missing app. Before choosing, search both directories for the three apps you care about most.
Which One Should You Choose?
Choose Zapier if…
- You want something running today without learning anything new.
- Your automations are short (one trigger, one or two actions).
- You rely on a niche app that only Zapier supports.
Choose Make if…
- Your workflows have many steps, branches, or loops.
- They run hundreds or thousands of times a month.
- Budget matters more than setup speed.
Plenty of small businesses use both: Zapier for quick one-off connections and Make for the heavy workflows. Before paying for either, check whether your existing software already does the job. Field-service apps like those in our Jobber vs Housecall Pro comparison include reminders and follow-ups out of the box. For ideas on what to automate first, read our guide to AI automation for small business.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Make cheaper than Zapier?
For most multi-step workflows, yes. Make’s Core plan (about $9 a month billed annually) includes 10,000 credits, while Zapier’s Professional plan (about $19.99 a month billed annually) starts at 750 tasks. For one or two simple automations, both free plans may be enough.
Can I move my Zaps to Make?
There’s no one-click migration. You rebuild each workflow in Make, which is usually quick for simple Zaps. Run the new version alongside the old one for a few days before switching the old one off.
Do Zapier and Make include AI?
Both let you add AI steps that summarize, classify, or write text, and both can connect to outside AI models. Zapier also offers AI agents, which third-party reviews say are billed separately from the core plans. If you connect your own AI provider account, that provider charges you separately.
Is n8n a better option than both?
n8n is free if you host it yourself, which makes it the cheapest at scale, but you’re responsible for the server, updates, and security. It suits businesses with someone technical on hand. For everyone else, Zapier or Make is the safer choice.
Sources
- Zapier plans, tasks, and limits: Zapier pricing in 2026
- Make plans and credit counting (checked September 26, 2026): Make.com pricing in 2026