Zapier vs Make
By Sebastiaan Smits ·
Published October 8, 2026 · Updated October 8, 2026
Zapier is the simplest place to start: pick an app, a trigger and an action, with the broadest app directory, billed per successful task. Make draws a scenario as a visual map of modules, billed in credits, with lower entry prices and more flexible branching. First-time automators favor Zapier; builders of multi-branch flows who watch cost favor Make.
Side by side
 Zapier |  Make | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The best-known no-code app connector | Visual scenario builder for multi-step automations |
| Best for | First-time automators | Non-developers building complex flows |
| Headquarters | United States | Czech Republic |
| Pricing model | Per task / month | Per credit / month |
| Pricing | Free plan with 100 tasks; Professional from $19.99 a month billed annually, Team from $69 a month billed annually, and a quoted Enterprise tier. | Free plan with 1,000 credits; paid plans start at $9 a month (Core) for 10,000 credits, then $16 (Pro) and $29 (Teams), plus a quoted Enterprise tier. |
| Free option | Free plan | Free plan |
| List price as listed on October 8, 2026 | $29.99 per month billed monthly, or $19.99 billed annually (Professional, 100 tasks); Team from $69 annually | $9 per month (Core, 10,000 credits) with a 15% discount on annual billing; Pro $16, Teams $29 |
| Place in our workflow automation software ranking | #4 of 12 | #2 of 12 |
| Website | zapier.com | make.com |
Both are reviewed in full in Best Workflow Automation Software in 2026. Position in that ranking can be paid for; the wording of a review or of this comparison cannot. Placement disclosure.
Which one to choose
Choose Zapier if
you are automating for the first time, need support for a niche SaaS app, and want the least intimidating interface even if costs rise with volume.
Zapier, #4 in the ranking · Visit Zapier →
Choose Make if
you build multi-step flows with branching, loops or error handling, want to see data at each step, and want the lowest entry price among hosted tools.
Make, #2 in the ranking · Visit Make →
Where they differ
The first automation
Zapier is where most people run their first automation: pick an app, a trigger and an action. Make shows a scenario as a canvas of modules, which our category notes say makes branching easier to follow but takes longer to learn. A person with no automation experience gets a working flow faster on Zapier.
Edge: Zapier
Branching and error handling
Make's page says routers and error handlers consume no credits, and its canvas shows data passing through each module. Our category notes describe Zapier's branching and error handling as less flexible, with Paths and filters on the Zapier side. For flows that split, loop or recover from failures, Make gives more room.
Edge: Make
Entry price and what a unit costs
Zapier's page lists Professional from $19.99 per month billed annually ($29.99 monthly) for 100 tasks, and Team from $69 annually ($103.50 monthly) for 2,000. Make lists Core at $9 and Pro at $16 per month for 10,000 credits, with a 15% discount on annual billing. Tasks and credits are different units, since Make charges per module action, so a 10,000-credit flow is not a 10,000-task flow. Make's entry is lower, though.
Edge: Make
What happens when volume grows
Zapier counts only successful actions as tasks and excludes triggers, polling and built-in tools. Past the plan limit it switches to pay-per-task billing at 2.5 times the base rate on monthly plans, or 1.25 times on annual ones, and usage caps at three times the plan. Make's free plan stops at 1,000 credits per month, and our category notes say scenarios stop when credits run out. Both punish growth in different ways, so we call it even.
Edge: even
Free plan and team features
Zapier's free plan gives 100 tasks a month with two-step Zaps and 15-minute polling, and Team adds 25 users, shared workflows and SAML SSO. Make's free plan gives 1,000 credits, 2 active scenarios, a 15-minute minimum interval and a 5-minute execution limit, and Teams adds team management and template sharing. Make's free allowance is larger on paper; Zapier's team tier is better documented on the page we fetched.
Edge: even
Tally: Zapier 1, Make 2, even 2.
When neither fits
Neither suits a team that must keep data on its own servers; neither page offers self-hosting. A developer who prefers writing code to wiring modules will also find both limiting. n8n and Windmill are the alternatives to read.
See n8n and Activepieces among the 12 products in Best Workflow Automation Software in 2026.
Questions and answers
What counts as a task in Zapier?
Zapier's page says a task is counted whenever it successfully completes a unit of work, and failed actions are not counted. Triggers, polling for new data and its built-in data tools do not count.
What uses credits in Make?
Make's page says each module action counts as one credit, including reading, searching, creating, updating or deleting data, transformations and aggregating. Error handlers and routers cost no credits.
Do Zapier and Make have free plans?
Yes. Zapier's free plan includes 100 tasks per month and two-step Zaps. Make's free plan includes 1,000 credits per month, 2 active scenarios, a 15-minute minimum interval and a 5-minute maximum execution time.
Which is cheaper, Zapier or Make?
Make's listed entry prices are lower: Core at $9 per month against Zapier Professional at $19.99 billed annually. The units differ, though, so compare your own monthly actions against both meters before deciding.
Sources
Prices, plan limits and product facts on this page were checked against the vendors' own pages on October 8, 2026. Vendors change both without notice, so treat the figures as of that date.
- Zapier pricing page: Zapier plan prices, task tiers, what counts as a task, overage rules and features by plan
- Make pricing page: Make plan prices, credit allowances, free plan limits, what consumes credits and features by plan