Make vs Zapier for small client automations

Make and Zapier do the same basic job. When something happens in one app, such as a new form entry, they pass the data to other apps: add a CRM contact, send an email, log a row in a spreadsheet. For a small service business, the real differences are what each one charges for, what the free plans allow, and how hard each is to set up.

Prices checked 9 Oct 2026, in US dollars.

Some links to tools are affiliate links: if you sign up or buy through one, Slizzy OS may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Make has an affiliate link on its tool page; Zapier doesn't. That doesn't change the advice here. Read the affiliate disclosure for details.

Pricing at a glance

How Zapier charges

Zapier bills in tasks. A task is one successful action step. Triggers don't count, and neither do built-in tools such as Formatter, Filter, Paths and Delay.

The Free plan only allows two-step Zaps (one trigger, one action), and it has no filters, paths, webhooks or premium apps. Professional adds all of those and checks for new data every 2 minutes. Tasks reset monthly, even on an annual plan.

How Make charges

Make bills in credits. Each module action uses one credit, and AI steps can use more depending on tokens.

The Free plan already allows multi-step scenarios with routers and filters. Its limits are 2 active scenarios, a 15-minute minimum interval, 5-minute runs, 5 MB files and 7 days of logs. The single paid plan starts at the lowest slider setting of 5,000 credits a month and rises as you add credits. It adds unlimited active scenarios and a 1-minute minimum interval. Enterprise is priced on request. Unused credits expire at the end of the term.

A worked example

This is illustrative, not a real client's bill. A small business gets about 100 enquiries a month, and each one should create a CRM contact and send a welcome email.

• Zapier: two action steps per enquiry, so about 200 tasks a month. That's over the free 100, and the free plan's two-step limit can't run it anyway, so you'd need Professional, from US$19.99 a month billed annually.
• Make: three modules per enquiry (form trigger, CRM, email), so up to about 300 credits a month. That fits inside the free 1,000, so it's US$0.
• Make, if the client needs enquiries handled within minutes rather than every 15, or more than 2 active scenarios: the paid plan starts at US$9 a month billed annually (US$10.59 monthly). Its 5,000 credits cover about 1,600 enquiries a month at three credits each.

At small volumes, Make costs less. As the workflow grows, recount using each tool's rules, because loops and AI steps change the numbers quickly.

Pick Zapier if

• You want the simplest builder to hand over to a non-technical client.
• An app you need is only on Zapier.
• The client already pays for Zapier.
• You want to test a real workflow on the 14-day Professional trial before paying.

Pick Make if

• You need branching or several steps without paying yet.
• You're comfortable estimating credits per run.
• You want to keep tool costs low while you prove the service.

Make sits under the AI Receptionist Setup Service, Website Chat Agent Setup and Sales Funnel Setup Service blueprints for that reason.

When you need neither

• The two apps already connect natively. Use that.
• The job happens a few times a week. Do it by hand for a month to see whether it's worth automating.
• The business already runs on an all-in-one platform with its own automation rules. Start there before adding another subscription.

Before you build for a client

Decide up front who pays for the plan, what happens when the allowance runs out, and who gets the error alert. A broken automation that nobody notices costs a client more than the subscription does. The No-Code Workflow Prototype Service blueprint shows how to scope and test a first paid workflow.