Als je je verdiept in het bouwen van automations, kom je direct de twee onbetwiste marktleiders tegen: Zapier en Make (voorheen Integromat). Maar welke van de twee is de beste keuze voor jouw website? In dit uitgebreide artikel leggen we de unieke eigenschappen, de verborgen kosten en de fundamentele verschillen haarfijn voor je bloot, zodat je direct de juiste technische fundering kiest.
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Wat doen Zapier en Make automations?
Before naming the differences, it is important to understand what these platforms share. Both Zapier and Make act as the digital glue between all your separate applications. They work on a simple 'If this, then that' principle (Triggers and Actions). As soon as a specific event occurs in app A (e.g. a new lead fills in a form on your website), the software automatically performs an action in app B (e.g. the lead is immediately added to your Mailchimp list and a deal is created in your CRM). In this way, you eliminate manual and error-prone work, speed up customer follow-up and create a scalable, automated ecosystem without having to hire a very expensive programmer.
Zapier: The king of usability
Zapier is the absolute pioneer and best-known name in the world of automations. Zapier's greatest strength lies in its unprecedented user-friendliness and gigantic range of standard links. The platform supports native integrations with more than 5,000 different applications. Virtually any business tool you can think of can be linked with a few mouse clicks. Zapier's interface is extremely linear. You work from top to bottom in a clear step-by-step plan. This makes the platform extremely accessible to novice
users and marketers without any technical or programming knowledge. Need a simple automation, such as forwarding an email attachment to a specific Google Drive folder? Within Zapier, you literally have this up and running in five minutes. The platform guides you seamlessly through the whole process, provides clear error messages and ensures a very stable connection between your favourite tools.
Make: The visual powerhouse for complex flows
Where Zapier opts for a linear, simple list view, Make takes a completely different tack. Make (the new name of the popular Integromat) works with an infinite, visual canvas on which you build your automations through an intuitive drag-and-drop system. Make's absolute superpower lies in handling highly complex, non-linear workflows. With Make, you can easily add logical routes ('routers'). With these, you split a process into several paths based on specific conditions. If a lead comes from the United Kingdom, the data goes to path A (the Dutch sales team). If the lead comes from Belgium, it follows path B. Although Make, with over 1,500 standard applications, has a smaller offering than Zapier, the individual integrations are often much deeper and more advanced. In addition, Make has powerful modules to manipulate data, perform calculations and communicate directly with APIs, making it the absolute favourite of technical specialists and data analysts.
Het verschil tussen Zapier en Make automations
To make choosing the right software easier, we have conveniently put the key features of both titans side by side.
| Functionality | Zapier | Make (formerly Integromat) |
| Interface & Design | Linear (Step by step, list view) | Visual canvas (drag & drop, clear) |
| Learning curve | Very low (Ideal for beginners) | Medium to high (Requires logical understanding) |
| Number of Applications | 5,000+ (Huge range) | 1,500+ (Focus on in-depth modules) |
| Complex Logic | Limited (Complicated with many ramifications) | Very strong (Easily split routes with routers) |
| Pricing model | Per 'Task' (Relatively expensive when scaling up) | Per 'Operation' (Very affordable, even at volume) |
The features of Zapier
Zapier has secured its position as market leader for good reason. The platform offers a robust set of functionalities specifically designed to make building automations as accessible and effective as possible, without having to dive into the code.
A huge app library
Zapier's absolute crown jewel is its integration library. With more than 5,000 native supported applications, the chances are almost 100 per cent that the software you use every day is among them. From the big CRM systems like Salesforce and HubSpot, to dedicated email marketing tools and local accounting packages; Zapier seamlessly links it together without you having to rely on complex API documentation or webhooks. Built-in Zapier tools and formatters In addition to simply moving data from A to B, Zapier provides powerful internal tools
to edit that data along the way. For example, the 'Formatter' tool lets you automatically split a full name into a first name and last name, standardise date displays
standardise date views or convert currencies before they end up in your accounting system. You can also use 'Filters' to make an automation run only if a specific, hard condition is met.
specific, rock-solid condition is met.
Multi-step Zaps for long processes
Whereas before you could only link one action to one trigger (a 1-to-1 connection), with multi-step Zaps you build complete chain reactions. As soon as a customer pays an invoice (the trigger), Zapier can immediately send a thank-you email, update the customer record in your CRM ánd send a message in your team's internal Slack channel. You thus streamline an entire business process in one clear flow.
Zapier AI for lightning-fast building
Zapier is betting heavily on artificial intelligence to make the platform even more accessible. With the built-in AI assistant, you can simply type in normal human language what you want to achieve, for example: "If I get an e-mail with an attachment, save it to Google Drive and send me a text message". The AI then builds the full, working base of this Zap for you within seconds.
The features of Make
Whereas Zapier focuses on ultimate ease of use, Make (formerly Integromat) positions itself as the dream for technical marketers and data specialists. Its features are designed for maximum control and handling highly complex, layered scenarios. The visual drag-and-drop editor Make completely abandons the traditional, linear list view. You work on an infinite, visual canvas. You simply drag applications (modules) to the right place and visually connect them by drawing lines. This visual overview is absolutely indispensable
when building processes consisting of twenty or thirty different steps. You can see at a glance exactly how the data flows and where the process might branch off.
Advanced routers and iterators
This is where Make leaves the competition far behind. With 'Routers', you effortlessly split an automation into multiple, parallel paths based on very specific conditions.
In addition, Make offers 'Iterators' and 'Aggregators'. These allow you to split bundles of data (such as a complete order list with ten different products from your online shop) into separate items, process them individually, and then merge them into one well-organised document or e-mail.
Extensive error handling
Something always goes wrong in the world of automations; an API is temporarily inaccessible or a form is missing a required field. Whereas a Zapier flow then often simply stops and displays an error message, Make allows you to build visual 'Error handlers'. You tell the system exactly what to do if a specific step fails. You can have the system ignore the task, follow an alternative route, or automatically retry the action after five minutes (a rollback).
In-depth data manipulation and features
Within Make's modules, you have access to a huge arsenal of advanced functions very similar to Excel formulas. Whether you need to perform complex mathematical calculations on prices, replace specific text strings (RegEx), or calculate dates and time zones dynamically based on user input; Make offers the technical depth to perform every imaginable operation right within your workflow.
Which automation tool suits your company best?
The final choice depends entirely on your technical knowledge, your available budget and the complexity of the processes you want to streamline. To get you started, we have worked out the ideal scenarios's for both platforms.
When do you resolutely choose Zapier?
Choose Zapier if you are an entrepreneur, marketer or SME company without a dedicated IT department. If your processes are relatively simple (A leads to B, and sometimes C) and you want to be able to quickly build and manage the automations yourself, this is your platform. Also, if you use very niche-specific, small or very new software tools, these are much more likely to be readily available in Zapier's vast library. You pay a premium price for the licence, but you save a huge amount of time on the actual implementation and maintenance, because really everyone on your team understands the interface within half an hour.
When will you confidently choose Make?
Choose Make if you want to set up complex, multiple data flows and you are not afraid of a slightly steeper learning curve. Are you an e-commerce party with complicated logistics processes, or an agency that has to filter and forward customer data through dozens of conditions? Then Make's visual overview is absolutely indispensable. As soon as an automation contains more than five steps and various 'if/then' scenarios's, Zapier becomes cluttered, while Make excels just then. Moreover, Make is the undisputed winner if you need to process huge volumes of data, as their pricing model is considerably more scalable and cost-effective in the long run.
Understand the hidden costs of automations
The biggest difference between the two platforms is felt in the wallet. It is crucial to properly understand the pricing model before hanging your entire business operations on a tool.
Zapier charges per 'Task'. A task is counted only when an action has actually been successfully completed. This sounds fair, but with Zapier you pay relatively high per task. As soon as your company grows and you want to process thousands of leads per month automatically, the licence costs with Zapier quickly run into hundreds of pounds per month. Make charges per 'Operation'. Every step in your process, including simply checking for new data (a polling trigger), costs an operation. So you use up your credit much faster with Make, but because the packages are many times cheaper than with the competition, you are almost always significantly cheaper on the bottom line at medium to high volume. To make this abstract difference immediately tangible, we have put the price models and consumption clearly side by side for you:
| Feature pricing model | Zapier | Make (formerly Integromat) |
| Basics of checkout | By 'Task' | By 'Operation |
| What does Make cost? | Only successfully executed actions | Really every step (including checking for data) |
| Cost per unit | Relatively high | Very low |
| Financial impact when growing | Runs up to hundreds of pounds at lightning speed | Remains extremely affordable, even with heavy usage |
| Most advantageous choice at | Low volumes and simple, linear flows | Medium to high volumes and complex processes |
Let our specialists build your automations
You now know exactly what the strengths and weaknesses of both Zapier and Make are. Still, devising a flawless, logical flow and handling customer data securely is a skill in itself. After all, a small error in your settings could cause invoices not to be sent or you could accidentally overwrite crucial files. At Monkey Vision , our technical specialists take this process completely out of your hands. We analyse your current software, advise independently whether Zapier or Make is the best choice for your specific situation and then build watertight automations that structurally save you lots of time and money. Shall we take a look together at which manual processes in your company we can fully automate today?
