Make vs Zapier TCO at scale: 12-month cost model across 6 workload sizes
12-month total-cost model across 6 workload sizes (1K to 10M runs/mo). Make is 5-8x cheaper below 50K runs; Zapier wins above 100K.
TL;DR: Below 50K runs/mo, Make Core costs 5-8x less than Zapier Pro across a 12-month horizon; the gap flips above 100K runs/mo where Make's slider scaling overtakes Zapier's mid-tier price compression.
Most Make-vs-Zapier comparisons quote the entry-tier ratio (Make at $0.0009/op vs Zapier at $0.027/task) and stop there. That's the cheap-coffee headline. At the actual decision points teams hit — 10K, 100K, 500K monthly runs — the curves cross, and the "Make is 10x cheaper" claim quietly stops being true. This post models 12-month total cost across six workload sizes using a single standardised workflow unit, then names the three things that shift the line.
Methodology
One workflow run is defined as a trigger plus five action steps — the median shape of a SaaS automation (webhook in → fetch → transform → filter → POST → notify). Billing units differ:
- Zapier task = one successful action. Trigger checks and built-in Filter / Formatter / Path / Delay steps don't count. One workflow run = 5 tasks.
- Make credit = one module call, trigger included. One workflow run = 6 credits.
Pricing was pulled from zapier.com/pricing and make.com/en/pricing on May 24, 2026, on annual-billing plans (Zapier Professional and Make Core). For tiers where Make doesn't publish the slider price publicly, prices are derived from Make's published statement that "higher tiers scale proportionally" from the $9 / 10K-credit base — derived numbers are marked as such in the table notes.
The six workload sizes
| Tier | Runs / mo | Zapier tasks (×5) | Make credits (×6) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hobby | 1,000 | 5,000 | 6,000 |
| Small | 10,000 | 50,000 | 60,000 |
| Medium | 100,000 | 500,000 | 600,000 |
| Large | 500,000 | 2,500,000 | 3,000,000 |
| XL | 2,000,000 | 10,000,000 | 12,000,000 |
| XXL | 10,000,000 | 50,000,000 | 60,000,000 |
For each tier, each platform snaps up to its next published slider stop. Hobby and Small fit inside Zapier Pro and Make Core slider ranges comfortably. Large pushes Zapier into its highest published Pro tier. XL exceeds Zapier's published 2M-task cap (Enterprise quote required). XXL exceeds both platforms' published slider maximums.
The 12-month cost matrix
| Workload | Runs / mo | Zapier Pro (12-mo) | Make Core (12-mo) | Make / Zapier ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobby | 1K | $882 | $108 | 0.12 (Make 8.2× cheaper) |
| Small | 10K | $4,188 | $864 | 0.21 (Make 4.8× cheaper) |
| Medium | 100K | $7,188 | $8,100 | 1.13 (Zapier 12% cheaper) |
| Large | 500K | $21,588 | $32,400 | 1.50 (Zapier 33% cheaper) |
| XL | 2M | $71,988 | Enterprise (custom) | — |
| XXL | 10M | Enterprise (custom) | Enterprise (custom) | — |
Zapier prices from the verified slider mapping at toolradar.com/blog/zapier-pricing-2026: 750 tasks = $19.99/mo, 2K = $49, 5K = $73.50, 10K = $103, 50K = $349, 100K = $599, 500K = $1,799, 2M = $5,999. Make Core prices for the 60K, 600K, and 3M stops are derived from the published "proportional scaling" rule against the $9 / 10K base; published actuals may vary by ±10-20% for high-volume tiers and may include negotiated discounts not visible to non-customers.
The crossover: why Make's "10× cheaper" stops being true at 100K runs/mo
At Hobby and Small workloads, Make wins by 5-8x because Zapier's entry-tier markup is steep — $19.99/mo for 750 tasks is the most expensive per-task price Zapier sells. Once you cross into the 50K-100K task band, Zapier's tier-jump compression kicks in: 50K tasks costs $349/mo, ten times the 5K-task price for ten times the volume — a 1:1 scaling. Make's slider, by contrast, scales credits at a near-linear $0.0009/credit floor across the whole range. At 600K credits (Make Medium) the bill is ~$675/mo; at 500K Zapier tasks (Medium) the bill is $599/mo. Same workload, Zapier now $76/mo cheaper.
The gap widens at Large. Make's 3M-credit slider stop carries an estimated $2,700/mo; Zapier's 500K-task tier is $1,799/mo. Across 12 months that's an $11K spread in Zapier's favour — and Zapier still has one more slider step ($5,999 / 2M tasks) before forcing Enterprise.
The takeaway: the headline ratio inverts somewhere between 50K and 100K monthly runs. For teams in that band, modelling both platforms before committing matters more than the per-unit-price snippet you find on a comparison page.
Three things that move the line
1. HTTP-heavy workflows tilt further toward Zapier
Make charges one credit per module call, trigger included, even when a module is a no-op Filter or a HTTP Request that fans out a single payload. Zapier's built-in Filter, Formatter, Path, and Delay steps are free. A 6-module Make scenario that touches Filter twice still bills 6 credits; the equivalent Zap may bill 4 tasks. For scenarios that orchestrate many HTTP calls with conditional routing, the effective ratio shifts another 20-40% toward Zapier — and the Make HTTP module's 40-second timeout often forces splitting one logical scenario into two billable ones, doubling the trigger credit.
2. Make's 40-minute scenario cap fragments large batch jobs
Any single Make scenario must finish in 40 minutes (covered here). For high-throughput batch processing — nightly enrichments, weekly reconciliations — the runtime cap forces fragmenting one workflow into many smaller ones, each paying its own trigger credit. At 500K runs/mo, fragmenting a 100K-run nightly batch into ten 10K-run chunks adds 9 extra trigger credits per night × 30 = ~270 extra credits/mo. Negligible at scale, but combined with the HTTP-heavy effect it can push Make 5-10% higher than the table.
3. Zapier AI Actions bill 2 tasks each
Zapier's AI Actions (Tables, Forms, the Zapier Agents platform) consume two tasks per call per the pricing-page footnote. If a workflow leans on AI Actions for classification, extraction, or routing, multiply Zapier task estimates by ~1.3-1.5×. That shaves 15-25% off Zapier's apparent advantage at the Medium and Large tiers — enough, in some shapes, to flip the matrix back toward Make. Workflows that mostly call vendor APIs directly (no AI Actions) keep the numbers above as-stated.
Decision rules
- Under 50K runs/mo — Make. The gap is wide enough that even with HTTP-heavy patterns Make wins on cost; the only reason to pick Zapier in this band is integration breadth (Zapier's 8,000+ vs Make's 3,000+ apps).
- 50K-500K runs/mo — model both. The crossover is real and the right answer depends on workflow shape (Filter density, HTTP-call ratio, AI Action usage).
- 500K-2M runs/mo — Zapier on published tiers; Make's Enterprise quote may undercut but requires a sales call.
- Above 2M runs/mo — both platforms are Enterprise. At this scale a self-hosted alternative (n8n on a VPS, or an in-house orchestrator) typically beats both on TCO; cost stops being the question and reliability / staffing / data residency take over.
FAQ
Is Make cheaper than Zapier?
For most small-to-mid workloads (under 50K runs/mo), yes — Make Core is 5-8× cheaper than Zapier Professional on a 12-month basis. Above 100K runs/mo the ratio inverts in Zapier's favour because of how each platform's slider scales.
What is the difference between a Make credit and a Zapier task?
A Make credit bills every module invocation including the trigger. A Zapier task bills only successful actions; trigger checks and built-in steps (Filter, Formatter, Path, Delay) are free. A 6-step workflow typically costs 6 credits on Make and 4-5 tasks on Zapier.
Does Make charge for trigger checks?
Yes. Make counts the trigger module as one credit per scenario run. Polling triggers don't burn extra credits between runs, but every executed run pays for its trigger.
What happens when you exceed your Zapier task allotment?
Zapier charges per-task overage on the next tier's rate; without usage alerts configured, the next invoice can run 30-100% higher than the base plan. The fix is to set a hard task-limit alert in account settings and snap to the next slider tier before overage kicks in.
How accurate are the high-volume Make prices in the table above?
Make publishes prices only for the entry slider stops; prices at 600K, 3M, and beyond are derived from the published proportional-scaling rule against the $9 / 10K base. Real bills may differ by ±10-20% depending on negotiated volume discounts. Confirm with a Make sales quote before committing to a year-long contract above the 80K-credit stop.
Related
- Make vs Zapier in 2026 — feature, integration, and AI capability breakdown (the qualitative companion to this cost model).
- Zapier "Response payload size exceeded" fix — a Zapier-side hard limit that affects which workflows actually fit in the plan you priced.
Pricing verified against vendor pages on May 24, 2026. Re-verify quarterly — both platforms have shifted slider stops within the last 12 months.