Zapier vs Make 2026: Which Workflow Automation Tool Wins?
Quick verdict: Zapier is our overall pick for Zapier vs Make.
Zapier (4.2/5) wins on ease and app breadth with 9,000+ integrations; Make (4.0/5) wins on price and expressive power — 10,000 credits for $12/mo against Zapier's 750 tasks for $19.99/mo. The choice is onboarding speed versus cost per unit of work.
| Tool | Rating | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zapier Best overall Best for teams | 4.2/5 | Free $19.99/mo (Professional, annual) | Zapier connects 9,000+ apps with the shallowest learning curve in the class — free for 100… |
| Make Best free | 4.0/5 | Free $12/mo (Core, 10k credits) | Make trades Zapier's linear steps for a visual canvas with routers, iterators and error ro… |
Bottom line: Zapier (4.2/5) is the faster start and the broader catalogue — 9,000+ apps, unlimited Zaps on every tier, and Filters, Paths and Formatter steps that do not consume tasks. Make (4.0/5) is the better buy once volume and branching arrive: Core is $12/mo at 10,000 credits, roughly an order of magnitude cheaper per unit of work than Zapier Professional at $19.99/mo for 750 tasks, and its canvas handles routers, iterators and visual error routes that Zapier's linear model cannot express. Both have real free tiers: Zapier's 100 tasks/mo is capped at two-step Zaps, while Make's 1,000 credits allow branching but only 2 active scenarios and a 15-minute minimum interval. Pick Zapier when non-technical owners must ship this week; pick Make when someone can own the learning curve and monthly volume is climbing.
Pricing and details
Zapier · 4.2/5
Free plan available · $19.99/mo (Professional, annual)
Task-based: one task = one action a Zap successfully completes, and the trigger does not count. Free gives 100 tasks/mo, unlimited Zaps but two-step Zaps only, and 1 seat. Professional starts at 750 tasks/mo and scales by tier (1,500 $29.99, 3,000 $49.99, 5,000 $69.99, up to 2M at $5,999/mo); Team starts at 2,000 tasks and includes 25 seats with SAML SSO. Filters, Paths and Formatter steps do not consume tasks. Every plan includes unlimited Zaps, Tables, Forms and Zapier MCP. Enterprise is quote-only.
Professional $19.99/mo · Team $69/mo (billed annually, ~33% cheaper)
Zapier connects 9,000+ apps with the shallowest learning curve in the class — free for 100 tasks a month, paid from $19.99/mo, and priced per completed task rather than per step or per seat.
Score breakdown
Pros
- Largest app directory in the class at 9,000+ integrations, with unlimited Zaps on every tier including Free.
- Shallowest learning curve: a working two-step Zap takes minutes, and Filters, Paths and Formatter steps do not consume tasks.
- Free plan is genuinely usable for evaluation — 100 tasks/mo, with multi-step Zaps and premium apps as the upgrade trigger.
- Every plan now includes Tables, Forms and Zapier MCP, so AI-assistant action layers are not a separate purchase.
Cons
- Task-based billing is the most expensive per unit of work in the class: Professional starts at 750 tasks for $19.99/mo annual, and high-volume pipelines scale into four figures.
- Free plan allows two-step Zaps only and a single seat — anything with branching or shared ownership requires Professional or Team.
- Weakest localisation of the five; the product and documentation are effectively English-only.
Pricing verified 2026-09-25
Make · 4.0/5
Free plan available · $12/mo (Core, 10k credits)
Credit-based: every module execution counts as one credit, including triggers, routers and filters. Free gives 1,000 credits/mo, 2 active scenarios and a 15-minute minimum interval between runs. Core, Pro and Teams all start at 10,000 credits/mo and differ by feature: unlimited active scenarios and minute-level scheduling from Core, priority execution plus full-text log search from Pro, team roles and shared scenario templates from Teams. AI modules cost 2-50 credits each and the Make Code app bills 2 credits per second of execution. Data transfer caps are 512MB on Free and 5GB per 10k operations on paid tiers. Enterprise is custom.
Annual billing saves 15% or more versus pay-monthly; credits scale from 10k to 8M+ per month
Make trades Zapier's linear steps for a visual canvas with routers, iterators and error routes — free for 1,000 operations a month, paid from $12/mo, and the best price per unit of work for complex branching.
Score breakdown
Pros
- Best price per unit of work in the class: Core is $12/mo at 10,000 credits, roughly an order of magnitude cheaper than Zapier for equivalent volume.
- Visual canvas with routers, iterators, aggregators and visual error routes handles branching that Zapier's linear model cannot.
- Every module counts as one credit, and credits scale to 8M+/month, so high-volume pipelines stay on-platform.
- Make Code runs JavaScript or Python inside a scenario, and 350+ AI apps plus an MCP server are wired in.
Cons
- Steeper learning curve than Zapier — the canvas, operations accounting and error handling take real time to internalise.
- Free plan is tight: 1,000 credits/mo, 2 active scenarios and a 15-minute minimum interval between runs.
- Credits are consumed by triggers, routers and filters too, and AI modules cost 2-50 credits each, so budgets need modelling before you commit.
Pricing verified 2026-09-25
Frequently asked questions
Which is better overall, Zapier or Make?
Zapier is our overall pick (4.2/5 vs 4.0/5). Zapier (4.2/5) wins on ease and app breadth with 9,000+ integrations; Make (4.0/5) wins on price and expressive power — 10,000 credits for $12/mo against Zapier's 750 tasks for $19.99/mo. The choice is onboarding speed versus cost per unit of work.
Do Zapier and Make offer free plans?
Zapier and Make have a free tier. Zapier paid plans start at $19.99/mo (Professional, annual); Make paid plans start at $12/mo (Core, 10k credits).
What does Zapier cost?
$19.99/mo (Professional, annual) — Task-based: one task = one action a Zap successfully completes, and the trigger does not count. Free gives 100 tasks/mo, unlimited Zaps but two-step Zaps only, and 1 seat. Professional starts at 750 tasks/mo and scales by tier (1,500 $29.99, 3,000 $49.99, 5,000 $69.99, up to 2M at $5,999/mo); Team starts at 2,000 tasks and includes 25 seats with SAML SSO. Filters, Paths and Formatter steps do not consume tasks. Every plan includes unlimited Zaps, Tables, Forms and Zapier MCP. Enterprise is quote-only. Prices were last verified on 2026-09-25.