Zapier vs Make Pricing 2026: Which Automation Tool Costs Less?
Zapier and Make (formerly Integromat) are the two dominant no-code automation platforms — and they use fundamentally different pricing models. Zapier charges per task. Make charges per operation. That difference sounds minor until you're building multi-step workflows, and then the cost gap becomes significant.
I've priced out both platforms across multiple use cases, and the honest answer is: Make is almost always cheaper for complex automations, while Zapier is simpler to set up and often more cost-predictable for simple, high-volume tasks.
Here's what each plan actually costs and when the math tips one way or the other.
Quick Pricing Overview
| Plan | Zapier | Make |
|------|--------|------|
| Free | 100 tasks/month | 1,000 operations/month |
| Entry paid | Starter $19.99/month (750 tasks) | Core $9/month (10,000 ops) |
| Mid-tier | Professional $49/month (2,000 tasks) | Pro $16/month (10,000 ops + pro features) |
| Growth | Team $69/month (2,000 tasks, multi-user) | Teams $29/month (10,000 ops, multi-user) |
| High volume | from $49–$799+/month | Enterprise (custom) |
The numbers here already signal the pattern: Make's entry-level plan at $9/month includes 10,000 operations, while Zapier's $19.99 Starter gives you 750 tasks. That's not a fair comparison on its face — "tasks" and "operations" count things differently.
How Zapier Charges: Tasks
Zapier charges per task, which it defines as any successful action step in a Zap. A trigger step does not count. Only action steps count.
A simple three-step Zap — trigger (new email) → action (create Trello card) → action (send Slack message) — consumes 2 tasks each time it runs.
A complex 10-step Zap consumes 9 tasks per run (one trigger, nine actions).
This means long workflows get expensive fast. A Zap that runs 100 times a day with 5 action steps consumes 500 tasks per day — roughly 15,000 tasks per month. On Zapier's Professional plan ($49/month), you get 2,000 tasks. That workflow alone requires the $299/month plan (50,000 tasks).
Zapier Paid Plans (2026)
- Starter: $19.99/month (annual) — 750 tasks, unlimited Zaps, two-step Zaps only on free, multi-step on paid
- Professional: $49/month (annual) — 2,000 tasks, unlimited multi-step Zaps, filters, formatters, custom logic, webhooks
- Team: $69/month (annual) — 2,000 tasks, up to 3 users, shared workspaces
- Company: $103/month (annual) — 2,000 tasks, unlimited users, SSO, advanced admin
- High-volume add-ons: 10,000 extra tasks at ~$19/month, scaling up to 2M+ tasks/month for large enterprises
One frequently-missed cost: Zapier's "Paths" feature (conditional logic — if this, then that) counts each path branch as a task. A Zap with 3 branches triggers all 3 path evaluations even if only one executes, in some configurations. Budget extra tasks for any automation using conditional branching.
How Make Charges: Operations
Make charges per operation, which it defines as any module (step) executed in a scenario — including the trigger. This is stricter than Zapier's counting, but Make's pricing tiers include far more operations per dollar.
The same three-step workflow — trigger + two actions — costs 3 operations in Make (vs. 2 tasks in Zapier). For a 10-step workflow, Make charges 10 operations vs Zapier's 9 tasks. Marginally more per run, but Make's 10,000-operation starting point dwarfs Zapier's 750-task starting point.
Make Paid Plans (2026)
- Core: $9/month (annual) — 10,000 operations/month, 2 active scenarios at a time limit lifted, 15-minute minimum interval
- Pro: $16/month (annual) — 10,000 operations/month, unlimited active scenarios, full execution history, priority execution, webhooks
- Teams: $29/month (annual) — 10,000 operations/month, team collaboration features, shared scenarios, user roles
- Enterprise: Custom — higher operation counts, SSO, SLA, dedicated support
- Additional operations: Available at $9 per 10,000 operations (add-ons)
Make's operation counts reset monthly. Unused operations do not roll over.
Real Cost Comparison at Different Volumes
Let's price a realistic scenario: a marketing team running 10 workflows, each executing 50 times per day, with an average of 4 steps per workflow.
Daily operations: 10 workflows × 50 runs × 4 steps = 2,000 operations/day
Monthly operations: ~60,000 operations
Zapier tasks equivalent: 10 workflows × 50 runs × 3 action steps = 1,500 tasks/day → ~45,000 tasks/month
On Zapier, 45,000 tasks/month requires the Professional 50K plan at roughly $299/month.
On Make, 60,000 operations/month at $9 per 10,000 extra ops requires Core ($9) + 5 add-on packs (50,000 extra ops at $45) = $54/month.
That is a $245/month difference — $2,940/year — for the same workload.
This gap widens as workflow complexity grows. For simple, low-volume automations (a few hundred runs per month), Zapier's pricing is competitive and its ease of use often justifies the cost. Once you're pushing high operation counts with complex multi-step workflows, Make wins on cost consistently.
Free Tier Comparison
Zapier Free:
- 100 tasks/month
- Single-step Zaps only (one trigger, one action — no multi-step)
- No webhooks, filters, or formatters
- Polling interval: 15 minutes minimum
Make Free:
- 1,000 operations/month
- Full multi-step scenarios allowed
- Access to all integrations
- 15-minute minimum polling interval
- Operations expire if inactive for 30 days (scenario gets paused)
Make's free tier is substantially more capable for complex workflows. Zapier's free tier restricts you to the simplest possible automation (one action per trigger). If you want to evaluate either platform for a real workflow before paying, Make's free tier gives you a much more complete picture of the product.
App Integrations: 6,000+ vs 1,500+
Zapier integrates with 6,000+ apps. Make integrates with 1,500+. This is Zapier's clearest competitive advantage.
If you need to connect a niche CRM, a legacy HRIS system, or a specialized B2B tool, Zapier is far more likely to have the native integration. Make's ecosystem is smaller but growing, and its HTTP module allows custom API calls for anything not covered.
For the most popular tools — Slack, Google Workspace, Salesforce, HubSpot, Notion, Airtable, Stripe — both platforms have solid integrations. The gap shows at the edges.
Which Platform Is Better for Specific Use Cases?
Simple automations, low volume (under 500 tasks/month): Zapier. The UI is more polished, setup is faster, and the task count is adequate. The additional cost is justified by the time saved in setup.
Complex multi-step workflows with branching: Make. Its scenario builder is more powerful for conditional logic, data transformation, and multi-path routing. Make's "routers" (equivalent to Zapier's Paths) are more flexible and the operation-based billing makes complex scenarios cheaper.
High-volume production automations (10K+ operations/month): Make. The cost advantage is too large to ignore.
Rare or niche app integrations: Zapier. 6,000+ integrations vs. 1,500+ is a real difference.
Teams with multiple users: Make Teams at $29/month vs. Zapier Team at $69/month. Make is significantly cheaper for team collaboration.
Real-time triggers (webhooks): Both support webhooks on paid plans. Make's webhook handling is generally considered more robust for high-frequency triggers.
The Switching Cost
Moving workflows from Zapier to Make isn't trivial. Both platforms have proprietary workflow formats, and there's no one-click migration tool. If you have 50 Zaps built in Zapier, rebuilding them in Make is a real project — expect 2–4 hours for a developer or automation specialist, or longer for non-technical users.
Factor this in if you're evaluating a switch for cost reasons. The break-even on switching effort depends on the size of your Zapier bill. At $299/month, a migration that takes 20 hours of effort pays back in about two months.
My Take
Zapier is the right choice if you're just getting started with automation, need to connect a specific niche app, or value a polished UI enough to pay a premium. For most new users, Zapier's starter plan at $19.99/month is a reasonable entry point.
Make is the right choice if you're serious about automation at any real volume, comfortable with a slightly steeper learning curve, and care about cost at scale. The $9/month Core plan with 10,000 operations handles a surprising amount of real work.
If you're already running Zapier and your bill is north of $100/month, it's worth auditing what you'd pay on Make. The math usually favors a move.
For a full comparison across all features and integrations, see Zapier vs Make on CompareTiers.
