{
  "id": "zapier-vs-make",
  "title": "Zapier vs Make: tasks, credits and automation costs",
  "description": "Compare Zapier task rates with Make credits, free-plan boundaries, AI tool calls and three worked workflow budgets. Use a monthly usage planner.",
  "checkedAt": "2026-10-14",
  "datasetDescription": "Three hypothetical workflow budgets and current task and credit rules for Zapier and Make. Assumptions distinguish successful standard steps, Make trigger checks, AI tool calls and separately billed model usage; no performance benchmark or GBP subscription quote is implied.",
  "rows": [
    [
      "Free usage",
      "100 tasks per month; two-step Zaps",
      "1,000 credits per month; scheduling and active-scenario limits also apply"
    ],
    [
      "Standard billing unit",
      "Current rate card: one task per successful standard trigger or action step",
      "Most non-AI modules: one credit per operation"
    ],
    [
      "Branching and helpers",
      "Listed built-ins such as Filters, Paths and Formatter use zero tasks",
      "Routers and listed error-handler modules use zero credits; downstream modules still consume credits"
    ],
    [
      "AI usage",
      "AI by Zapier tier and tool calls change task consumption",
      "Connection, tokens and module type can change credits; operations alone may understate AI use"
    ],
    [
      "Code",
      "One task for the code step; extended runtime can add tasks beyond the plan allowance",
      "Make Code uses two credits per second of execution"
    ],
    [
      "Budget boundary",
      "Shared task pool; check enabled pay-per-task and other product use",
      "Credit balance and expiry matter; extra credits or upgrades may be needed"
    ],
    [
      "Buying test",
      "Confirm the exact connector, action and required paid tier",
      "Confirm module availability, bundle fan-out and execution history"
    ]
  ],
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "250 individual lead handovers",
      "events": 250,
      "zapierTasksPerEvent": 3,
      "makeCreditsPerEvent": 3,
      "makeAdditionalChecks": 0,
      "note": "One successful standard trigger, one CRM action and one notification per lead. Make assumes one single-bundle trigger operation per lead and two standard actions. No retries, polling checks without leads, premium actions or AI.",
      "zapierMonthly": 750,
      "makeMonthly": 750
    },
    {
      "name": "30 batches of 10 records",
      "events": 30,
      "zapierTasksPerEvent": null,
      "makeCreditsPerEvent": 31,
      "makeAdditionalChecks": 0,
      "note": "Make: one trigger check plus three standard downstream actions for each of ten bundles: 1 + (10 × 3) = 31 credits per batch, or 930 for thirty batches. Zapier is deliberately unpriced here: the trigger and looping implementation must be mapped before assuming an equivalent task count.",
      "zapierMonthly": null,
      "makeMonthly": 930
    },
    {
      "name": "200 AI-assisted handovers",
      "events": 200,
      "zapierTasksPerEvent": 17,
      "makeCreditsPerEvent": null,
      "makeAdditionalChecks": 0,
      "note": "Zapier: one standard trigger + one Premium AI step with two successful tool calls [5 × (1 + 2)] + one standard follow-up action = 17 tasks per event, or 3,400 per month. Make AI credits are left unpriced because model, tokens and connection have not been specified. This does not establish equal AI results.",
      "zapierMonthly": 3400,
      "makeMonthly": null
    }
  ],
  "faqs": [
    {
      "question": "Is Make cheaper than Zapier?",
      "answer": "A task and a credit are different units. Map the same completed workflow, including triggers, branches, AI calls, retries and paid features, then obtain prices for the required capacity in the same currency and billing period."
    },
    {
      "question": "Does every Zapier action use exactly one task?",
      "answer": "No. The current rate card uses one task for a successful standard step, zero for listed built-in tools, and different rates for AI, Lead Router, MCP and extended code runtime. Check your account and actual history before using a one-task assumption."
    },
    {
      "question": "Does one Make scenario run equal one credit?",
      "answer": "No. Modules can run for each bundle, so downstream work can multiply. Some AI and code modules have different credit rates. A trigger check may consume an operation even when it returns no new records."
    },
    {
      "question": "Can I use the free allowances for a multi-step production workflow?",
      "answer": "An allowance is only one constraint. Zapier Free restricts workflows to two steps. Make also has scheduling and scenario limits. Check feature eligibility and reliability needs before treating spare capacity as a suitable production plan."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "url": "https://zapier.com/pricing",
      "facts": "Free 100 tasks, two-step Zaps, shared task pool and paid capacity."
    },
    {
      "url": "https://zapier.com/pricing/rates",
      "facts": "Current successful standard trigger/action step rates, built-in exemptions, code, MCP and AI multipliers."
    },
    {
      "url": "https://help.zapier.com/hc/en-us/articles/46425475442829-AI-by-Zapier-model-tier-pricing",
      "facts": "Premium default, tier multipliers and per-tool-call formula; legacy differences."
    },
    {
      "url": "https://help.make.com/credits",
      "facts": "Fixed and dynamic credits, connection-specific AI billing and external token charges."
    },
    {
      "url": "https://help.make.com/operations",
      "facts": "Trigger checks, bundles and downstream fan-out."
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.make.com/en/pricing",
      "facts": "Free 1,000 credits, router/error handler exemptions and Make Code rate."
    }
  ]
}