Zapier vs Make: Which Automation Tool Fits You?

If you have decided to automate the busywork between your apps, the choice usually comes down to Zapier vs Make. Both can send a new web form to your CRM, post a message to your team and file a document. The real differences are in how they count usage, how they feel to build in, and what happens when a workflow gets complicated.

This comparison is based on each company's help documentation. Plans and prices change often, so we explain how each one counts usage and leave you to check the current price list.

Zapier vs Make: the short answer

• Pick Zapier if your workflows are mostly straight lines (when this happens, do these steps), the people building them are not technical, and you value a simple, step-by-step editor.
• Pick Make if your workflows branch, loop over lists of items or transform data heavily, and someone on your team is comfortable with a visual, more technical builder.

Either one is a reasonable choice for a small business. The wrong choice is usually the one that does not match who will maintain it.

How each one bills

This is the difference people miss, and it changes the cost of the same workflow.

Zapier counts tasks. Zapier's help center says "a task is any successful action that runs in Zapier." Several things do not count, including "all trigger steps," "any Filter or Paths step," action steps that error or halt, and steps in built-in apps such as Formatter, Delay and Looping. Polling triggers check for new data on a schedule, and "these polls never use tasks." Zapier's own example: a Zap that uploads an email attachment to Dropbox and then posts in Slack uses two tasks per run, so ten runs use 20 tasks.

Make counts credits, based on operations. Make's help center says "an operation is a single module run to process data or check for new data," and for regular apps "1 operation equals 1 credit." Two details matter:

• A module runs once per bundle of data it handles. Make's example: a Gmail module that sends five emails uses five operations.
• Trigger modules use an operation each time they check, "regardless of the number of bundles returned." A trigger that checks for new rows uses one operation per check.

So in Zapier, checking for new data uses no tasks and only successful actions count. In Make, every module run counts, including the trigger and its scheduled checks.

A worked example

The inputs here are hypothetical. A CPA firm wants this: when a client submits the document-upload form, clean up the name, create or update the contact in the CRM, and post a note in the team channel. Assume 200 submissions a month, and that each step is one action or one module.

In Zapier: the trigger does not count, the Formatter step does not count, and the two actions (CRM and team message) do. That is 2 tasks per submission, about 400 tasks a month.

In Make with an instant trigger: the scenario runs only when a form arrives. Applying Make's rule that each module run is an operation, that is four runs per submission (trigger, text clean-up, CRM, message), about 800 operations a month.

In Make with a scheduled trigger: the trigger uses an operation every time it checks, whether or not anything arrived. Checking every 15 minutes is 96 checks a day, around 2,880 in a 30-day month, plus about 600 for the three modules that process each submission. That is roughly 3,480 operations for the same work.

Two lessons come out of the arithmetic. In Make, the trigger type matters more than the number of steps, so use an instant trigger wherever the app offers one, or check less often. And neither tool is cheaper for every workflow: the price of a task and of a credit differs by plan, so count your own workflows with each tool's rules, then compare them against the current price lists.

How they feel to build in

Zapier builds a Zap as a vertical list of steps: a trigger, then actions. Branching is added with Paths, and Filters stop a run that does not meet a condition. It reads like a checklist, which makes it easy for an office manager to follow six months later.

Make builds a scenario on a visual canvas: modules connected left to right, with branches you can see. It shows each module's operations and the data bundles it processed after a run, which helps with debugging. Handling lists, such as every line item on an invoice, is more natural, and the trade-off is a steeper learning curve.

A useful test: before you commit to a paid plan, ask the person who will maintain the workflow to build a three-step version in each tool. Whichever one they finish without help is usually the right answer.

Questions to answer before you choose

1. Who builds and fixes it? A non-technical owner points to Zapier. A technical operations person may prefer Make.
2. How many runs a month, and how many steps each? Count them with the rules above.
3. Do the workflows branch or loop? More branching and lists favor Make.
4. Are all your apps supported? Search both directories for every app you use, including the exact triggers and actions you need.
5. What data passes through? If client financial or health information is involved, check each vendor's security documentation and agreements first. Our post on using AI with client data covers the same questions.
6. Does your CRM already do this? Many CRMs have built-in automation for follow-ups and pipelines. Use that first and save Zapier or Make for connecting systems that do not talk to each other.

When neither is the right tool

• High-volume workflows with thousands of runs a day may cost less as a small custom service.
• Processes needing judgment, such as reading a document and deciding what it is, may need an AI step with a human review, built on top of either tool or separately.
• Core business logic that the business depends on every hour is safer in code with tests and monitoring than in a chain of no-code steps.

Our guide to workflow automation for small business covers how to pick which processes to automate in the first place.

How Pinn.Media sets up automation

We build automations in whichever tool fits the client: Zapier, Make, the CRM's own workflows or custom code, documented so your team can maintain them. You can see what we set up through our products. If you are about to commit to a plan and want a second opinion on the numbers, book a discovery call.