Make vs Zapier Free: which fits your first workflow?

For a first workflow that needs a filter or several processing steps, Make Free is worth trying. Zapier Free can fit a simple one-trigger, one-action workflow when the exact app and action are available on its Free plan.

The Zapier details here are based on its official documentation. The Make example uses fictional data and runs manually on a Free account.

1. Check which steps Free allows

Check the current Make Free limits (opens in a new tab) and Zapier Free features (opens in a new tab) before choosing. Make calls a workflow a scenario and a step a module. Zapier calls a workflow a Zap.

Zapier gives new accounts a 14-day trial of premium features. A filter or extra action that works during that trial may stop being available on Free. Its Filter documentation (opens in a new tab) explicitly requires a paid plan.

For example, "new enquiry, then create one record" may fit Zapier Free. "New enquiry, reject small budgets, create a record, then notify someone" needs more than its Free two-step limit. Make Free supports that sequence of steps, but you still need to check each app, action and connection permission.

2. Compare billing for your actual workflow

A Make credit and a Zapier task measure different things. Make's ordinary non-AI module operations normally use one credit each. A polling trigger can consume a credit while checking for new data. See Make's credit rules (opens in a new tab).

Zapier counts successful action steps as tasks. Triggers and polling checks use no tasks, and some built-in steps are exempt. Its task rules (opens in a new tab) explain the exceptions. Plan eligibility still applies to a step even when that step uses no tasks.

Before registering, write down the trigger, each action, expected frequency and records processed per run. Check the exact events and fields in each provider's app directory. If Make fits, use our Make Free workflow worksheet to estimate usage. A larger monthly allowance does not necessarily cover more runs, because credits and tasks are counted differently.

3. Try a safe three-step Make workflow

This practice produces a project summary and estimates working hours from a fictional budget. It uses a practice hourly rate of 50. It does not receive a live form, create a CRM record or send a message.

1. Click Create scenario. Name it Free plan workflow practice. Choose Tools > Set variables. Add project with value Example studio, then budget with value 750. Click the module's Save.

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Make Set variables contains fictional project Example studio and budget 750.

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2. Click the small plus beside the module. Add Tools > Compose a string. Paste the text below into Text and click the module's Save. In a fresh scenario, the first module is number 1. The project and budget references should become mapping chips.

3. Add Tools > Set variable after it. Set Variable name to hours. Paste the formula below into Variable value and click Save.

4. Click the connecting line between modules 1 and 2. Label the filter Budget at least 500. Map 1. budget, choose Numeric operators: Greater than or equal to, and enter 500. Click the filter's Save.

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Make filter maps budget with Numeric operators: Greater than or equal to, and threshold 500.

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The numeric rule includes a budget of 500 and stops smaller or empty inputs.

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5. Use the bottom toolbar's Save, then click Run once. Leave Inactive unchanged. Open the white bubble above module 2 to see Example studio | Budget: 750. Module 3 should show hours: 15.

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Make output shows hours 15 and one credit used by the final Set variable module.

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The final module outputs 15 hours. Each of the three executed modules used one credit.

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This accepted run uses three credits, one per module. The filter adds no extra credit in this practice. The module bubbles show the counts; open one to inspect its output and credit usage. Make explains the operation and bundle views (opens in a new tab). Connected workflows can have different costs, especially when one run returns several records or uses AI.

4. Check rejected inputs and reruns

1. Open module 1, change budget to 300, save the module and scenario, then click Run once. Only module 1 should execute. The filter shows zero bundles passed; modules 2 and 3 produce no new output. This run uses one credit.
2. Try an empty budget. It also stops at this filter. A completed run therefore does not mean an enquiry passed your rule. Check the filter result.
3. Try 500. It should pass and produce hours: 10, because the rule includes the boundary.
4. Restore 750 and run again. The values repeat, and another accepted run uses three more credits. This practice has no duplicate prevention. Repeating a connected create or send action needs a separate duplicate check.

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Make run passes zero bundles through the budget filter, leaving the two later modules unexecuted.

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With budget 300, the filter passes zero bundles. The last two modules have no operation.

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5. Choose your next step

Choose Make Free for a small filtered workflow when its exact integrations fit and you are willing to learn how to connect its modules. Start with the practice above, then estimate the usage of your intended connected workflow before switching it on.

Choose Zapier Free when one supported trigger and one non-premium action are enough. Its uncharged polling checks can be useful for an infrequent task. Recheck the Free restrictions after any premium trial.

If neither Free plan supports your required action, keep the task manual while checking the alternatives. A built-in rule in the original app may already solve it.

If the practice does not match the result

If the pasted references stay as plain text, select the relevant project or budget field from Make's mapping panel. Use your actual module number if it differs from 1. If everything stops, confirm the numeric operator, threshold and budget value. Keep this practice Inactive while checking it; the green completion state alone does not prove the filter passed.

If Make’s integrations and Free allowance fit your task, start with Make Free (opens in a new tab) and try the filtered practice above. If a simpler built-in rule or Zapier’s Free workflow already covers the job, use that instead.

Sources: the linked Make pricing, credit and operation documentation, and Zapier's Free-plan, filter and task documentation. Recheck the providers' current limits before committing to a workflow.