{ "title": "Make Alternatives 2027: 10 Paid, Free & Open-Source", "url": "https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/make/", "summary": "The best Make alternatives in 2027 are Zapier (best overall, $29.99/mo), IFTTT (best free plan) and Activepieces (best open source, MIT (enterprise folders under a separate commercial licence)). Make itself starts at $16/mo. Zekai checked these prices on vendor pages on 14 Nov 2026; 7 more are compared below, including 1 with a free plan and 3 open source.", "tool": { "name": "Make", "starting_price": "$16/mo", "free_plan": "1,000 credits a month; no card, no time limit", "price_checked": "2026-11-14", "pricing_url": "https://www.make.com/pricing" }, "task": "Workflow automation (no-code)", "prices_checked": "2026-11-14", "date_modified": "2026-11-14", "alternatives": [ { "name": "Zapier", "type": "Free plan + paid", "starting_price": "$29.99/mo", "free_plan_limit": "100 tasks a month; two-step Zaps, Tables and Forms", "best_for": "Largest app catalogue with a simple builder", "difference": "Free plan allows 100 tasks a month and two-step Zaps; paid plans add multi-step Zaps, AI fields, Zapier MCP and an SDK, with tasks pooled across Zaps, Tables and AI steps.", "price_checked": "2026-11-14", "pricing_url": "https://zapier.com/pricing", "website": "https://zapier.com", "zekai_score": 9.1, "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/zapier/" }, { "name": "n8n", "type": "Paid", "starting_price": "$24/mo", "free_plan_limit": "No free plan", "best_for": "Execution-priced workflows with code and AI agents", "difference": "Bills per workflow execution with unlimited steps, 2.5k on Starter, instead of per credit; includes AI Agent nodes, an MCP Server Trigger and JavaScript or Python code steps.", "price_checked": "2026-11-14", "pricing_url": "https://n8n.io/pricing", "website": "https://n8n.io", "zekai_score": 9.3, "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/n8n/" }, { "name": "Power Automate", "type": "Paid", "starting_price": "$15/user/mo billed yearly", "free_plan_limit": "No free plan", "best_for": "Microsoft 365 flows plus desktop RPA", "difference": "Premium is $15 per user a month with cloud flows, attended desktop flows (RPA) and process and task mining; pricing is per user or bot rather than per credit.", "price_checked": "2026-11-14", "pricing_url": "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-automate/pricing", "website": "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-automate", "zekai_score": 8.5, "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/power-automate/" }, { "name": "Zoho Flow", "type": "Free plan + paid", "starting_price": "$25/mo billed yearly", "free_plan_limit": "100 tasks a month, 5 flows, 15-minute polling", "best_for": "Automation for teams already on Zoho apps", "difference": "Free plan caps 5 flows and 100 tasks a month; Standard is $25 for 5k tasks, and Professional adds 5-minute polling, premium apps and on-prem integration; a Zia AI row appears in its plan comparison.", "price_checked": "2026-11-14", "pricing_url": "https://www.zoho.com/flow/pricing.html", "website": "https://www.zoho.com/flow/" }, { "name": "IFTTT", "type": "Free plan + paid", "starting_price": "$2.09/mo billed yearly", "free_plan_limit": "1,000 credits a month, unlimited Applets, hourly polling", "best_for": "Cheap consumer and smart-home applets", "difference": "Free plan gives 1,000 credits and unlimited Applets across 1,000+ services, polling hourly; paid plans from $2.09 add 5,000 credits, with AI-generated Applets and an IFTTT.ai MCP listed.", "price_checked": "2026-11-14", "pricing_url": "https://ifttt.com/plans", "website": "https://ifttt.com" }, { "name": "Gumloop", "type": "Paid", "starting_price": "$37/mo", "free_plan_limit": "No free plan", "best_for": "Prompt-built AI agents across company tools", "difference": "Pro includes unlimited agents and seats, 35+ models, bring-your-own API keys and 20k monthly credits plus an 8% orchestration fee; it centres on AI agents rather than scenario routing.", "price_checked": "2026-11-14", "pricing_url": "https://www.gumloop.com/pricing", "website": "https://www.gumloop.com", "zekai_score": 8, "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/gumloop/" }, { "name": "Activepieces", "type": "Open source", "starting_price": "$20/mo (hosted)", "free_plan_limit": "No limit (self-hosted)", "licence": "MIT (enterprise folders under a separate commercial licence)", "best_for": "Open-source Zapier-style builder with MCP pieces", "difference": "Cloud Free gives 1,000 credits a month, unlimited flows and 5 users, Plus is $20 flat; its README counts 280+ pieces exposed as MCP servers, and most of the code is MIT.", "price_checked": "2026-11-14", "pricing_url": "https://www.activepieces.com/pricing", "website": "https://www.activepieces.com", "repository": "https://github.com/activepieces/activepieces", "zekai_open_source_page": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/activepieces/", "commercial_use": "Yes for the MIT parts; files in the ee folders need a commercial licence.", "runs_on": "Docker-based self-hosting or hosted cloud; resource needs are not stated in the README.", "setup": "moderate: Docker deployment per the project's deploy docs; cloud is the easy route.", "github_stars": 25500, "stars_checked": "2026-11-14", "last_commit": "2026-11-14", "last_release": "2026-11-08", "zekai_score": 8.2, "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/activepieces/" }, { "name": "Windmill", "type": "Open source", "starting_price": "Free (self-hosted)", "free_plan_limit": "No limit (self-hosted)", "licence": "AGPL-3.0 (parts Apache-2.0; enterprise features proprietary)", "best_for": "Code-first workflows and internal apps", "difference": "Windmill runs scripts in 20+ languages as flows, apps and AI agents with Git sync; Make is a no-code visual builder with prebuilt app modules instead.", "website": "https://www.windmill.dev", "repository": "https://github.com/windmill-labs/windmill", "zekai_open_source_page": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/windmill/", "commercial_use": "Yes for AGPL parts, sharing changes if offered as a service; enterprise features need a licence.", "runs_on": "Self-hosted server with a database; cloud and dedicated instances are offered.", "setup": "hard: Needs a server, a database and workers; you write scripts in code.", "github_stars": 18600, "stars_checked": "2026-11-14", "last_commit": "2026-11-14", "last_release": "2026-11-14", "zekai_score": 7.5, "zekai_review": "https://zekaiwork.com/free-open-source/windmill/" }, { "name": "Node-RED", "type": "Open source", "starting_price": "Free (self-hosted)", "free_plan_limit": "No limit (self-hosted)", "licence": "Apache-2.0", "best_for": "Event-driven flows for devices and APIs", "difference": "Node-RED is low-code, event-driven programming on Node.js with a library of community nodes and flows; it has no hosted plan or credit billing like Make.", "website": "https://nodered.org", "repository": "https://github.com/node-red/node-red", "commercial_use": "Yes (Apache-2.0).", "runs_on": "Runs on Node.js; installs with npm on a PC, server or small device.", "setup": "easy: One npm install command, then open the editor in a browser.", "github_stars": 23800, "stars_checked": "2026-11-14", "last_commit": "2026-11-13", "last_release": "2026-10-21" }, { "name": "Huginn", "type": "Open source", "starting_price": "Free (self-hosted)", "free_plan_limit": "No limit (self-hosted)", "licence": "MIT", "best_for": "Self-hosted agents that watch and act", "difference": "Huginn describes itself as a hackable IFTTT or Zapier on your own server, with agents that scrape sites and watch feeds; it has no drag-and-drop scenario designer like Make.", "website": "https://github.com/huginn/huginn", "repository": "https://github.com/huginn/huginn", "commercial_use": "Yes (MIT).", "runs_on": "Ruby application with a database on your own server; the README does not state sizes.", "setup": "hard: Ruby app and database on a server you maintain.", "github_stars": 50500, "stars_checked": "2026-11-14", "last_commit": "2026-11-09", "last_release": "2026-11-09" } ], "faq": [ { "q": "What is the best alternative to Make in 2027?", "a": "Zapier is the best overall Make alternative on this page ($29.99/mo). For no cost, IFTTT has a free plan (1,000 credits a month, unlimited Applets, hourly polling). To self-host, Activepieces is open source (MIT (enterprise folders under a separate commercial licence))." }, { "q": "Is there a free version of Make?", "a": "Yes. Make has a free plan: 1,000 credits a month; no card, no time limit. Paid plans start at $16/mo, checked on 14 Nov 2026." }, { "q": "Is there a 100% free alternative to Make?", "a": "Yes. Activepieces, Windmill, Node-RED, Huginn are open source and free to self-host. Zapier, Zoho Flow, IFTTT have a free plan with limits, shown in the table." }, { "q": "What is cheaper than Make?", "a": "IFTTT starts at $2.09/mo billed yearly, against $16/mo for Make, as listed on each vendor's pricing page on 14 Nov 2026." }, { "q": "How much do Make alternatives cost for a team of 5?", "a": "If each of 5 people buys the entry paid plan, at the prices Zekai checked on 14 Nov 2026, the monthly cost is IFTTT $10.45/mo, Power Automate $75/mo, Activepieces $100/mo, against Make $80/mo for Make. Team and business plans can cost more per seat. The Zekai Cost Finder on this page recalculates for any team size." }, { "q": "Which is better, Zapier or Make?", "a": "Free plan allows 100 tasks a month and two-step Zaps; paid plans add multi-step Zaps, AI fields, Zapier MCP and an SDK, with tasks pooled across Zaps, Tables and AI steps. Choose Zapier if your team wants the widest app coverage and simple linear Zaps, and per-task pricing is acceptable. Stay with Make if you want 1,000 free credits, routers and complex branching on a cheaper entry plan." }, { "q": "Why are people leaving Make?", "a": "The documented reasons are: Make's help centre says the billing unit moved from operations to credits, existing balances converted 1:1, and usage can rise when scenarios use Make's AI Provider (19 Jan 2026); Make's pricing FAQ says credits expire at the end of the term, and scenarios stop running when credits run out until more are added or the plan is upgraded (14 Nov 2026). Each is sourced in the section above." }, { "q": "What is the best alternative to Make?", "a": "Zapier for the widest app list and simplest builder, n8n if you want execution-based billing or self-hosting, and Activepieces if you want an open-source, MIT-licensed builder." } ], "publisher": "Zekai (zekaiwork.com) — independently reviewed; prices read on vendor pages on the dates shown.", "licence": "Free to quote with a link to https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/make/. Bulk copying or republishing the dataset is not permitted." }