Make.com (formerly Integromat) and Zapier are the two most widely used automation platforms for UK businesses in 2026. Zapier starts at £79 per month on its Professional plan, charges per task, and offers 6,000+ app integrations with a simple two-step automation builder. Make.com starts at £9 per month, charges per operation rather than per task, offers 1,500+ integrations, and provides a visual canvas that handles multi-branch and conditional workflows far more easily than Zapier. At automation volumes above 2,000 tasks per month, Make.com is consistently 60 to 80 per cent cheaper than equivalent Zapier plans. For UK businesses using GoHighLevel as their CRM, Make.com's official native GHL module provides significantly better integration depth than Zapier's native connector. The main advantage Zapier retains is its larger app library and slightly simpler onboarding for first-time automation users.
Last updated: 19 May 2026
The most important difference between Make.com and Zapier is how they handle complex automation logic. Zapier uses a linear step-based model: trigger - action 1 - action 2 - action 3. You can add conditional Paths on the Professional plan, but the structure is fundamentally linear and each branch follows the same step-by-step format.
Make.com uses a visual canvas model where automation scenarios are built as connected nodes on a drag-and-drop canvas. Multiple branches, loops, iterators, routers, and error handlers are all visible simultaneously on one screen. A complex automation that processes a new CRM contact differently depending on which campaign it came from, what product it expressed interest in, and whether a previous contact record exists, is straightforward to build and read on Make.com. On Zapier, the same logic requires multiple separate Zaps and careful management of which Zap runs first.
The practical result: Make.com scales to automation complexity that Zapier cannot handle cleanly, at a lower price point. The tradeoff is a steeper learning curve - Make.com's visual canvas requires 4 to 8 hours of learning time to use fluently, versus Zapier's 1 to 2 hours.
| Volume | Zapier Cost | Make.com Cost | Monthly Saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 tasks/month | £79 (Professional) | £9 (Core) | £70 |
| 5,000 tasks/month | £159 (Professional+) | £9-16 (Core/Pro) | £143-150 |
| 20,000 tasks/month | £320 (Team) | £29 (Teams) | £291 |
| 50,000 tasks/month | £599 (Company) | £65 (custom) | £534 |
The cost comparison requires a clarification: Zapier counts each action step as a task, so a 3-step Zap running 1,000 times consumes 3,000 tasks. Make.com counts each operation similarly - a 3-step scenario running 1,000 times consumes approximately 3,000 operations. The volume comparison in the table above uses equivalent automation load, not just workflow count.
For a UK business running typical marketing automation - lead capture form to CRM, welcome email sequence, appointment booking confirmation, and review request - total monthly operations are typically 8,000 to 15,000. On Zapier this costs £159 to £320 per month. On Make.com this costs £9 to £29 per month. The annual saving is £1,800 to £3,500 for the same automation output.
| Feature | Make.com | Zapier |
|---|---|---|
| Visual builder | Canvas (nodes and connections) | Step list (linear) |
| App integrations | 1,500+ | 6,000+ |
| Conditional logic | Excellent (routers, filters) | Basic (Paths on Pro+) |
| Loops and iterators | Yes (built in) | No (requires workarounds) |
| Error handling | Advanced (handlers, rollback) | Basic retry |
| EU data residency | Yes (paid plans) | US only |
| GoHighLevel integration | Official native module | Native but limited |
| AI actions | OpenAI and Anthropic modules | Zapier AI (broader) |
| Custom webhooks | Yes (all plans) | Yes (Professional+) |
| Team collaboration | Yes (Teams plan) | Yes (Team plan) |
The app library gap is Zapier's strongest argument. Zapier integrates with 6,000+ applications versus Make.com's 1,500+. In practice, the most commonly automated UK business workflows - Google Workspace, Xero, Slack, HubSpot, Shopify, Stripe, GoHighLevel, Calendly, Typeform, and Airtable - are all available on both platforms. The gap matters only if your specific tools are among the 4,500 that Zapier supports but Make.com does not.
For UK agencies and businesses using GoHighLevel as their primary CRM, Make.com has a significant advantage: an official, native GoHighLevel module that covers contacts, opportunities, conversations, calendars, sub-accounts, workflows, and custom values. The module receives regular updates aligned with GHL's API development roadmap.
Zapier's GoHighLevel integration covers the basics - contact creation, contact update, opportunity creation, and basic triggers. Advanced GHL features including sub-account management, workflow manipulation, conversation events, and custom field handling require workarounds or direct API calls, which bypasses the visual simplicity that makes Zapier attractive in the first place.
For any UK agency building client automations on a GoHighLevel backbone, Make.com is the correct automation middleware. The native integration depth alone justifies the switch from Zapier, independent of the cost savings.
Zapier processes all automation data through US-based infrastructure, relying on the UK-US Data Bridge adequacy arrangement for personal data transfers from UK businesses. This is legally valid but means personal data passes through US servers. Make.com offers EU data residency on paid plans, with servers in the European Union, which provides cleaner GDPR documentation for UK businesses handling personal data.
The practical difference for most UK SMEs is small - both platforms provide Data Processing Agreements that satisfy UK GDPR requirements. The difference becomes more relevant for businesses handling sensitive personal data in regulated sectors (healthcare, financial services, legal) where data residency documentation is scrutinised more carefully.
Choose Make.com if: you are running more than 2,000 automation tasks per month and the cost difference justifies a slightly steeper learning curve; you use GoHighLevel and need deep CRM integration; your automations involve multi-branch logic, loops, or complex data transformations; or UK GDPR data residency is a documentation requirement for your sector.
Choose Zapier if: you are new to automation and want the fastest possible path to first working automation; your specific tools are only available in Zapier's app library; your team is non-technical and will not invest time learning Make.com's canvas; or your automation volume is very low (under 500 tasks per month) where the cost difference is small.
Migrating from Zapier to Make.com is a manual process - scenarios must be rebuilt in Make.com's canvas rather than imported. The process for most common automation sets:
A business with 10 to 15 active Zaps should budget 4 to 8 hours for migration. Most users report that the rebuilt Make.com scenarios are clearer and more maintainable than the original Zapier equivalent, particularly for multi-step workflows. Softomate offers automation migration services for UK businesses switching from Zapier to Make.com.
Yes, significantly. Make.com Core at £9 per month provides 10,000 operations, equivalent to Zapier Professional at £79 per month (2,000 tasks, where multi-step Zaps consume tasks per step). At equivalent automation volumes, Make.com is typically 60 to 80 per cent cheaper than the corresponding Zapier plan. The cost advantage increases with automation volume - at 50,000 tasks per month, Make.com costs approximately £65 versus Zapier at £599 per month.
Make.com and Integromat are the same product. Integromat rebranded to Make.com in 2022 under new ownership (Celonis). The underlying automation platform, scenario builder, and integrations are the same. Existing Integromat accounts were migrated automatically to Make.com accounts. If you used Integromat previously, Make.com is the current version with an updated interface and expanded integration library.
Yes. Make.com has a native Xero module that covers invoices, contacts, bank transactions, quotes, credit notes, and accounts. Common UK business automations include: creating Xero invoices automatically when a new deal closes in the CRM, syncing new Xero contacts to email marketing platforms, and sending payment received notifications to Slack. The Xero integration works on all Make.com paid plans.
Make.com supports UK GDPR compliance through EU data residency on paid plans, a comprehensive Data Processing Agreement, GDPR-compliant data deletion capabilities, and documentation of data flows through automation scenarios. UK businesses should review Make.com's DPA and confirm EU data residency is activated on their account if GDPR data residency documentation is required by their sector or clients.
Make.com has a steeper learning curve than Zapier. The visual canvas and data mapping interface are more powerful but less immediately intuitive. Most users become comfortable building basic scenarios after 2 to 4 hours of learning with Make.com's documentation and academy resources. Complex scenarios with loops, routers, and error handling require more experience. For beginners with no prior automation tool experience, Zapier's simpler interface may be preferable for the first few months.
Make.com delivers better value than Zapier for the vast majority of UK businesses running serious automation volumes. The 60 to 80 per cent cost advantage, combined with a superior GoHighLevel integration, EU data residency, and more capable conditional logic handling, makes Make.com the correct choice for UK agencies and growing businesses. Zapier's wider app library and simpler onboarding remain genuine advantages for non-technical users at very low automation volumes. The migration from Zapier to Make.com is manageable, the savings are immediate, and most businesses find their rebuilt Make.com scenarios are more maintainable than the original Zapier equivalents.
Softomate implements Make.com automation for GoHighLevel agencies and UK service businesses. If you are spending more than £100 per month on Zapier, book a free automation review and we will quantify your Make.com saving.
Written by Deen Dayal Yadav, Founder and Director of Softomate Solutions, based in Stanmore, London. Connect on LinkedIn.Make.com is the cheapest cloud automation platform for UK businesses at approximately £8/month for 10,000 operations. n8n self-hosted is effectively free (server costs £5-15/month) with unlimited operations. Zapier is the most expensive at equivalent volumes. For UK businesses doing under 3,000 automations per month, all three are affordable; above 10,000 monthly operations, Make.com or n8n offers significantly better value.
Not for standard business automations. Zapier and Make.com are designed for non-technical users - connecting apps like Stripe, HubSpot, Google Sheets and Slack requires no coding. For advanced use cases (custom API connections, complex data transformation, UK-specific HMRC API integrations), developer involvement reduces setup time significantly. n8n always requires technical knowledge for server setup and advanced workflow design.
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