Make (Integromat)

The most important thing to understand — it's where budgets go wrong. Credits burn per module execution, not per workflow run. A scenario with 10 modules running 100 times costs 1,000 credits, not 100 — fundamentally different from task-based competitors. Rough formula: records × module steps per record × runs per month. So enriching 5,000 leads through 6 modules burns 30,000 credits, well past a 10,000-credit plan.

In late August 2025 Make replaced its long-standing "operations" terminology with credits. Standard module executions cost one credit, but AI features and code execution consume more. Two consequences: guides written before that change describe the old system, and any AI-heavy workflow burns an allowance faster than an operations-era estimate suggests. Check current AI module rates before designing AI-heavy scenarios.

You buy extra packs — at a premium. Reports since late 2025 put them at roughly 25% more per credit than in-plan credits, so habitually topping up is expensive. If you're buying packs regularly, move up a tier — or better, optimise: use webhooks instead of frequent polling, filter early so fewer records reach later modules, and cut unnecessary steps. Trigger design usually saves more than upgrading.

Base it on credit consumption, not the feature list. Free is for testing (2 active scenarios, 15-min minimum interval). Most small businesses run comfortably on Core with well-designed triggers. Pro earns its keep when you need faster scheduling, priority execution under load, and full-text log search for debugging. Teams is essentially admin functionality, so it only pays off with three or more people actively building scenarios.

They optimise for different things. Make is markedly cheaper per run and far more powerful for complex branching logic — routers, iterators, error handlers, and an HTTP module reaching any API. Zapier is simpler, faster to set up, with a broader app ecosystem, suiting teams without an automation specialist. The trade-off is real: Make gives more control over what you pay and build, in exchange for credit-math attention and a steeper learning curve.