Zapier vs Make: same automations, bill dropped from $289 to $29

Zapier vs Make: same automations, bill dropped from $289 to $29

Lead-gen op was running 14 multi-step automations, ~90k tasks/month, on Zapier. The bill hurt. We rebuilt everything in Make.

Zapier ($289/mo at that task volume)
👍 Fastest to build — every app has a polished native connector
👎 Per-task pricing punishes multi-step zaps; costs scale brutally with volume

Make ($29/mo Core, 40k ops, then $16/extra 10k)
👍 Same 14 scenarios ran for ~$29 — operations counted are cheaper and you batch them
👎 Visual scenario builder has a real learning curve; debugging branches takes patience

Identical workflows, identical output. Rebuild took one engineer ~3 days; payback was under two weeks at a $260/mo saving.

Verdict: Pick Zapier to prototype fast, Make once volume makes per-task pricing painful.

Best for: Zapier = low-volume convenience; Make = high-volume automation at scale.

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