Hi there,
If you're paying for Zapier right now, there’s a decent chance you’re spending money on something you could be getting for free.
And honestly, I didn’t realize how big the gap was until I started comparing the free plans side by side.
Here’s the reality:
Zapier free plan
100 tasks/month
Maximum 5 Zaps
Single-step automations only
Make free plan
1,000 operations/month
Unlimited scenarios
Multi-step automations included
That’s not just a “better free plan.”
It’s an entirely different level of flexibility.
So what exactly is Make?
Make (previously called Integromat) does the same core job as Zapier: it connects your apps and automates repetitive work.
But the experience feels completely different.
Instead of showing automations as a long list of steps, Make lets you build them visually — like a flowchart. You can actually see how your data moves from one app to another.
The first time I used it, it clicked immediately.
Going back to Zapier afterward felt a bit like trying to navigate with the lights off.
A simple workflow you can build today
Here’s one automation that’s genuinely useful for creators and consultants:
New Beehiiv subscriber → save to Notion → send yourself a Slack notification
Three steps.
Runs comfortably on Make’s free plan.
On Zapier?
Every run eats into your paid task credits.
Those little costs add up fast when your newsletter starts growing.
Is there a catch?
A little.
Make does have a slightly steeper learning curve than Zapier. Expect about 20–30 minutes before things start feeling natural.
But once you get past that, it’s incredibly powerful — especially if you’re running lean as a freelancer, coach, consultant, or solo founder.
Paying $20–50/month for basic automations becomes harder to justify when Make’s free tier already covers most day-to-day workflows.
My recommendation:
Start with Make’s free plan.
Upgrade only when you genuinely outgrow it — which is a much better problem to have.
Talk Tuesday,
Mubashir
KnowTheTech
