Updated October 27, 2026. Zapier and Make.com are both hosted, no-code automation services. Zapier has the larger catalog (9,000+ apps against Make.com's 3,500+), longer waits through its Delay tool (up to 30 days), and a built-in Human in the Loop approval step.[3, 4, 6, 8] Make.com gives more on its free plan, 1,000 credits a month with routers and filters, and shows each module's bundles and credit use in its run history.[4, 12]
Key takeaway
Choose Zapier when you need the widest app coverage, waits of days inside one run, or a human approval step.
Choose Make.com when you want branching and data mapping on a canvas, a usable free plan, and module-level detail on every run.
Zapier wins on catalog breadth: 9,000+ apps and 40,000+ actions, against Make.com's 3,500+ standard apps.
Zapier wins on waits inside one run: the Delay tool holds a run up to 30 days; Make.com's Sleep stops at 300 seconds.
Zapier wins on human approval: Human in the Loop pauses a run for approve, decline or edit, and AI tools can require approval before they act.
Make.com wins on free-plan allowance: 1,000 credits a month with routers, filters and two active scenarios, against 100 tasks and two-step Zaps.
By Gabriel Lespérance, CTO, Trampoline AI. Updated · Facts checked · Published by the Avalanche team. Avalanche competes with both.
01 / The core differenceZapier vs Make.com
Many apps and long waits, or a free-form canvas with a time limit
Neither product can be self-hosted, both bill by the action rather than by the run, and both now add AI agents inside workflows. What separates them in practice is shape: Zapier caps a Classic Zap at 100 steps but lets it wait for weeks, while Make.com lets a scenario branch freely but stops it after 40 minutes.[5, 4]
A Classic Zap is a sequence of up to 100 steps, including paths, that can pause for up to 30 days.[5, 6] A Make.com scenario is a canvas of modules with routers and filters, where one run ends after 5 minutes on Free or 40 minutes on paid plans and Sleep pauses at most 300 seconds.[4, 7] Pick the one whose shape matches your process before comparing price.
1,000 credits/month, routers and filters, two active scenarios[2, 4]
Make.com edge
Catalog counts are each vendor's own figure on October 27, 2026. Tasks and credits are different units, so 1,000 credits is not ten times the work of 100 tasks. Zapier rows describe Classic Zaps; Next Gen Zaps are in early access by request.
03 / Where each one winsOne claim per card
Where each one wins
Where Zapier wins
The widest catalog
Zapier connects 9,000+ apps and 40,000+ actions, and Zapier MCP exposes them to AI assistants at two tasks per successful call.[3]
Waits measured in days
The Delay tool holds a run for up to 30 days, so a follow-up a week later stays in the same Zap.[6]
Approval built in
Human in the Loop sends a review by email or Slack; reviewers approve, decline or edit, and a timeout skips or ends the run.[8]
Retries on a schedule
Autoreplay retries the errored steps automatically, without replaying the steps that succeeded.[9]
Where Make.com wins
More on the free plan
Free includes 1,000 credits a month, routers and filters, all 3,500+ apps, and two active scenarios on a 15-minute schedule.[4]
Detail per module
Scenario history shows each module's bundles, output, duration and credits, and exports to CSV.[12]
Resume at the failed module
With Store incomplete executions on, a retry starts at the module that failed, with the configuration it had then.[13]
Build by chat
Maia builds and edits scenarios and agents from a conversation; it is in public beta on paid plans, with a trial on Free.[14]
04 / Detailed comparison4 buyer questions
What changes for your team.
01
The shape of a run
Buyer question
Which handles longer or more complex workflows, Zapier or Make.com?
Zapier limits a Classic Zap to 100 steps, counting every step in its paths, and suggests splitting larger processes across Zaps.[5] Time is generous: Delay holds a run up to 30 days.[6] Zapier's Next Gen Zaps, in early access by request, allow runs of up to a year including pauses.[18]
Make.com limits time instead of steps. One scenario run stops at 5 minutes on Free and 40 minutes on Core, Pro, Teams and Enterprise; Sleep pauses at most 300 seconds, and Make.com documents longer waits as two scenarios linked by a data store.[4, 7] A process that waits three days for a signature fits in one Zap and needs two Make.com scenarios; a process with 150 branching modules that finishes in ten minutes fits Make.com better.
As of October 27, 2026, Make.com shows Core at $9, Pro at $16 and Teams at $29 a month at the 10,000-credit tier, each marked "Save 15%".[4] Zapier Free is $0 with 100 tasks a month and two-step Zaps; Professional starts at $19.99 a month and Team at $69 a month with yearly billing selected, rising with the task tier.[2]
Both meter actions. Make.com counts most non-AI module operations as one credit, and a module runs once per bundle it processes; the Make Code app uses 2 credits per second.[10, 4] Zapier counts tasks per action, with the rate set by AI model tier, tools and code runtime; an AI by Zapier step can use up to 75 tasks per run by default.[2, 15] Make.com's lower list price does not settle it: build your busiest workflow in both and read the usage.
What happens when a Zap or a scenario fails, and can I roll back?
Zapier replays only the errored steps of a run, by hand or with Autoreplay; replaying the entire run instead reruns every step on the current version.[9] Make.com resumes a stored incomplete execution at the failed module, while its Replay feature reruns the current scenario through every module.[13, 19] In both, the targeted retry is the safer choice when earlier steps sent emails or wrote records.
Zapier publishes read-only numbered versions; rolling back means opening an old one, choosing Edit from this version and publishing it again. History lasts 1 month on Professional, 6 on Team and 1 year on Enterprise.[11] Make.com keeps each saved version 60 days; you restore it and then Save, because restoring alone does not persist.[17]
AI by Zapier is a step that reasons, calls app tools and returns typed output fields; a Require approval before running toggle, off by default, pauses before any tool you mark.[15] Make AI Agent (New), in open beta, runs inside a scenario with module, scenario and MCP tools, knowledge files and structured output, and has a per-step timeout of up to 600 seconds.[20]
For sign-off, Zapier's Human in the Loop is a dedicated step with reviewers, edits and a timeout.[8] Make.com's guidance is to give the agent an output-review tool and send drafts to Slack for confirmation, which works but is assembled by you rather than enforced by the platform.[16]
On the vendors' own counts, yes: Zapier lists 9,000+ apps and 40,000+ actions, Make.com 3,500+ standard apps.[3, 4] Check the specific trigger and action you need in each.
Can either be self-hosted?
No. Both are hosted services. Make.com's Enterprise on-premise agent lets scenarios reach apps on a local network, but the platform stays hosted.[21, 4]
What is the difference between Zapier tasks and Make.com credits?
A Zapier task is billed per action, at a rate set by AI tier, tools and code runtime.[2] A Make.com credit is usually one module operation, and a module runs once per bundle; AI and code features can cost more.[10]
How long can a Make.com scenario run?
5 minutes on Free and 40 minutes on paid plans, and Sleep pauses at most 300 seconds.[4, 7] A Classic Zap can wait up to 30 days with Delay.[6]
Which has a better free plan?
Make.com's Free plan includes 1,000 credits a month, routers and filters, and two active scenarios.[4] Zapier Free includes 100 tasks a month and two-step Zaps, plus Tables and Forms.[2]
06 / Where Avalanche fitsNeither of these
Where Avalanche fits
Avalanche is for the processes that strain both: long, document-heavy agentic work written as a few coarse steps in Python. On Avalanche Cloud, each step is a checkpoint, so a failure retries without redoing finished work, and each run's typed step inputs and outputs stay in one history for your organization, so you can compare a step across many runs and versions. Schedules and webhooks are declared in the workflow code and follow rollbacks. The runtime is MIT-licensed.
[8]Request approval with Human in the LoopZapier · Checked https://help.zapier.com/hc/en-us/articles/38731463206029-Request-approval-to-keep-your-workflow-running-with-Human-in-the-Loop
[9]What is replay?Zapier · Checked https://help.zapier.com/hc/en-us/articles/19220226086797-What-is-replay
