Consider Zapier when…
Shortlist Zapier when the people building automations want a guided, linear setup and your Zaps are short.
Explore Zapier alternativesFIND YOUR FIT
Zapier vs Make
Zapier vs Make: compare a guided app-and-action builder with a visual scenario canvas, and billing by tasks or credits.
The decision in brief
Both are hosted no-code automation tools, so the decision is about how you build and how usage is counted. Zapier walks you through a trigger and actions and uses a task per successful action; Make puts modules on a canvas with routers and data mapping and uses credits for most module actions.
A focused editorial selection based on the linked official documentation. Fit notes are our judgment, rather than firsthand benchmark results or a universal ranking. How we select and verify information.
Compare the working details
| Decision factor | Zapier | Make |
|---|---|---|
| Main focus | Connecting common business apps quickly, without managing servers or writing code. | Visual, branching scenarios with data mapping, routers, and error handling, run in Make's cloud. |
| Working setup | Choose a trigger app and event, add action steps, test them with sample data, then turn the Zap on. | Create a scenario, add a trigger module, connect a module for each app action, map data between them, test a run, then schedule it. |
| Pricing model | A free plan covers two-step Zaps with 100 tasks a month. Paid plans add multi-step Zaps, premium apps, and webhooks. Each successful action step uses a task. | A free plan includes 1,000 credits a month. Most module actions use one credit, so one scenario run can use anywhere from two to thousands of credits. |
| What to verify | Every successful action step counts as a task, so a long Zap on a busy trigger uses its allowance quickly; estimate tasks per run. | Credits are counted per module action, not per run; model a realistic run, including loops over many items, before choosing a tier. |
Which belongs on your shortlist?
Consider Make when…
Shortlist Make when your automations branch, transform data, or loop over items, and someone is comfortable with a visual canvas.
Run the same evaluation in both
- Rebuild one automation with a branch and a list of at least ten items in both tools.
- Record tasks in Zapier and credits in Make for the same test runs.
- Have the person who will maintain it change one step in each, then compare cost at your expected monthly volume.
Try the same task before you choose
Route one form submission end to end
Use the same fictional input in each candidate. Four form submissions arrive; one repeats the first with the same submission ID, and one has no email address. Each new, complete submission should create one CRM record and one chat notification; the incomplete one should go to an error or review path. Compare what each tool counts as billable usage for the same run.
Every check starts as Not run. Record your own observations; these are evaluation criteria, rather than completed product tests. Your worksheet stays in this page and can be downloaded.
| Task and expected observation | Zapier | Make |
|---|---|---|
| Connect a webhook or form trigger Receive the fictional submissions and inspect the incoming fields before mapping them. | ||
| Send the repeated submission Explain and verify deduplication. The fixture contains three unique submissions, not four. | ||
| Handle the submission without an email Route it to an error or review path without creating a CRM record. | ||
| Create the records and notifications Two CRM records and two notifications, each mapped from the correct fields. | ||
| Make one action fail on purpose Record what the tool retries, what it logs and how you are alerted. | ||
| Have another person change the flow A second person can find the flow, understand each step and change the notification text. | ||
| Count billable usage for one run Record executions, tasks or credits for the run, then estimate a clearly labeled higher-volume month. |
0 of 14 checks have an observation. An observation does not imply a passed test.
Sources and check dates
Provider documentation supports the product and billing descriptions. Confirm current limits and terms before choosing a plan.
ShowMeYourSaaS also offers commercial product coverage. These guides follow our editorial selection criteria; placement is not a purchased ranking. Send a correction with the page and a supporting source.