Given our precious productive times, it can genuinely be taxing switching from one task to the other, especially with how fast-paced today’s innovations transpire. It can cost us up to 40% of our productive time dealing with these uncertainties.

Clicking and swiping in vain can be a thing of the past nowadays, thanks to no code tools. We can automate our tasks and forget ever doing it again using these helpful databases—platforms for workflow automation promise in helping us reclaim lost hours stripped from our precious time.

Two of today’s innovative tools are Zapier and Make (formerly known as Integromat). Let’s dig in and figure out when it comes to Zapier vs Make which one is better.

Workflow Automation - A Web Worker’s Blessing

By the nature of their designs, most, if not all, workflows tend to be challenging and a bit complex, even for starters. Building websites need the accomplishment of loads of numerous yet very essential steps. Many of which potentially require more than three clicks even with fancy and functional, intuitive website builders.

To efficiently manage our websites and eventually achieve traffic growth, it will surely take even more clicks before we can do so. These steps can take all day long.

However, instead of acting like Superman and doing everything by ourselves — data copying-and-pasting, numerous entry reconciliations, publishing posts through a specific schedule — “outsourcing” these necessary jobs to either Make or Zapier may be the best way out for you to move forward.

These no code tools transform the then-complex, multi-step action into a now-easy, no-click process that’s self-executing. Practical yet functional, aren’t they?

Some tasks you can initiate using workflow automation tools are as follows:

File uploading and streamlining directly to your website
Posting updates on social media
Building websites for job boarding
Simplifying invoices received by clients
Track submitted forms and processes
Improving the marketing of emails
Creating personalised auto-responders

The innovation Zapier and Make (Integromat) can do to your everyday work, and business procedures can surely alleviate all those days of heavy workloads and gruelling tasks management.

Before getting into the Zapier vs Make discussion, let’s understand both individually.

What is Zapier: A Brief Background

Zapier is known for items to point-and-click automated workflows.It acts as a tool that links and stitches popular apps quite impressively, such as Slack, Gmail, Salesforce, Microsoft apps, Mailchimp and the list goes on and on.

With that being said, Zapier helps automate tedious and repetitive tasks on your own without requiring a dev friend’s assistance. In addition, Zapier connects numerous apps then automates exchanges of data and the interactions that occur between them.‍

Zapier has coined this automation and has called them Zaps. Each Zap has two components, Trigger and Follow-up.

A trigger for one or more actions to start happening like getting a new order.

A follow-up action that takes place after the initial one, for instance, data related to an order data is added to a spreadsheet.

Templates of pre-made connections like those mentioned earlier, creating customised Zaps for automation of more complex tasks are available for potential users.

The Zap Editor is a helpful feature that helps you start building simple and “connected” Zaps for streamlining tasks and multi-step Zaps that are based on conditional IFTTT logic. Zaps are activated by automatic triggers or specific events.

How It Works

Zapier provides an experience of a fully visualised automation design. It starts by choosing the particular app you desire to combine with those from the roster included in the drop-down menu. Afterwards, you can select the event that will trigger it.

Following that, the selection of follow-up actions takes place — these are the types of automation you need. Click save, and forget about doing tasks manually from now on.

Zapier also helps build more complex workflows, making things easy for you. Add filters in programming more detailed conditions like saving entries that only contain the word “survey.” In addition, also start adding numerous path scenarios in running different actions that will depend on your programmed condition. Once the Zapier basics become human nature to you, go ahead and create much more complex scenarios that follow the automation sequence, like end-to-end customer documentation for your collection process.

Once you know how it works, pay attention to the following:

1. Competitive Edge

As a no code tool that provides no-frills, Zapier’s no code automation involving routine personal or business-related tasks is easy to create in general.

2. Cost

Zapier offers its new user free plans in addition to pro tiers and starts at $19.99 per month.

What is Make? A Brief Background

Make is formerly known as Integromat. Few weeks ago it got rebranded. Anyways, it is an automation platform that helps app integration and data workflows be streamlined with some significant, repeatable actions.

Much like Zapier, Make or Integromat customises task automation scenarios using self-built, multi-logic workflows that utilise a graphical scenario editor. It comes with 650-plus pre-made app integrations.

Additionally, you can connect it to any other business app using APIs with a bit of coding required. This feature puts Make above Zapier, making it more versatile. Start fine-tuning your every scenario, like in Zap, using the following:

Tools - configures programming multi-step scenarios, filters data, and refines process logic

Modules – assigns extra commands to a scenario such as Actions, Aggregators, Iterators, Searches, and Triggers

Functions – works with binary functions making use of texts, numbers, dates, closely resembling those used in Excel

Make’s universe of automation rules is massive, making the whole scenario development scene bewildering for newbies.

How It Works

Make allows two apps to exchange data using APIs or application programming interfaces. Every app integrated becomes a so-called “API in a box.”

Configure these data exchanges among integrated apps using different apps with pre-programmed connection types called Modules — instead of doing code writing.

However, if you want a multi-step process set up on autopilot then mastering these few more tools would great:

Filters - capture entries tailor-fitted towards a specific goal or parameter, such as flagging every transaction more than $150 then moving them to your free shipping table

Router modules – divides workflows into several individual routes, processing the data in these said different ways with conditional logic

Iterator – separates item groups into individually broken-down deliverables. With emails having several attachments, utilise this Iterator in splitting up those particular attachments. Afterwards, save every detail in its own Dropbox folder

Once you know how it works, pay attention to the following:

1. Competitive Edge

Make supports more advanced automated workflows amongst its peers. However, Make requires a little bit of coding. Especially if you are working with JSON/XML data or working with customizable app integrations. Therefore, it is a great open for developers who want to create custom applications.

2. Cost

Make has limited free plans, with premium ones starting at $9 per month. So as the per month fee is not high, you can easily try Make for a month for $9. If you like it then upgrade your plan as per your requirements.

Zapier Vs Make (Integromat)- Comparison

After knowing brief backgrounds about our two no code tools on the hot seat – Zapier and Make (formerly known as Integromat) – we can now compare how each one resembles or differs from the other.

They have similar value propositions, namely workflow automation and simple app integration. However, Zapier and Make can deliver this promise with different approaches:

The creators of Zapier have designed it as a no code tool. Its interface is straightforward in its drag-and-drop features, well-suited for any routine task possible.
Make is both a low-code and a no code tool. Although setting up visually appealing simple task automation is quite possible, much more advanced scenarios demand more extensive knowledge of process automation logic. Additionally, a bit of “hacking together” may also require some coding.

As Make helps support those more complex jobs, individual users and small businesses looking for an affordable solution for an end-to-end business may find this database a nice upgrade later. This fact may also ring true with Zapier.

1. Talk About Features

Let’s dive deeper at how these two no code tools – Zapier and Make – stack up in terms of the features they possess, with built-in apps and native integrations taken into consideration.

Both of these no code tools possess pre-made app connectors. Zapier has over 3,000 supported app integrations, while Make has around 650 options.

Zapier offers more turnkey scenarios for automation. However, regular users are restricted from adding integration while using other unsupported apps. On the other hand, you can use Zapier as a platform in programming customised API connections. But you must have some coding skills. Meanwhile, Make’s fewer out-of-the-box app integrations have lesser restrictions in terms of customization.

Webhooks allow the connection of any foreign application with the help of HTTP. Make supports three (3) known data formats, namely FormData, JSON, and query string – validating it against any structure you specify. However, this may not be the same using Zapier since it has only added webhooks quite recently, having supported scenarios being more limited.

2. Ways of Workflows

With Zapier:

Designs are primarily for linear workflows, with examples such as this one: Action A > Action B > Action C, with this tool being an exemplar in this particular department.
Recently expanded its support towards conditional multi-step workflows using the Paths tool – triggering one or more alternative scenarios, basing the outcome on some earlier actions
You can set up automation only on apps that have initially supported them
You can create your own custom workflows of different types.

With Make (Integromat):

Offers unlimited complexity with its automation scenarios
Makes use of built-in apps, added custom webhooks, and converging or dividing automation paths
Adds routers in setting alternative execution scenarios
Allows you to get as creative as you want, but, of course, ensuring the whole thing works

3. Testing Workflows

Once everything’s settled, check how smoothly the workflows work. Remember, smoother workflows ensure that all your data is getting rendered correctly.

With Zapier’s Task History area, debugging your Zaps would be no problem. Quickly check everything visually and functionally, too: three months’ worth of data flows, test integrations, and auto-alert notifications whenever something’s broken. Overall, catching errors using Zapier will surely be a walk in the park for you and your business.

Meanwhile, Make is also very convenient because it supports real-time workflow tests. However, sometimes finding the root cause of issues, especially in advanced scenarios, become really hard.

4. Historical Data

Make allows ingestion of current and historical data (accumulated data before a scenario activation) to become more manageable. Set up specific dates, and the scenario will do everything for you - pulling out and processing all applicable historical data it will find. This feat gives a significant advantage to Make compared to Zapier.

In Zapier, you can bulk up and import historical data to Zapier. But remember to first copy everything in a Google Sheet, then format it like a CSV file. Afterward, create a Zap for data import. Then, rinse and repeat whenever importing any extra insights will be needed.

Zapier Vs Make (Integromat) - Exclusive Features

Zapier:

In-built formatting tool automatically re-formats all data
One-click delay option helps launch Zaps
Native functionality available for sending text messages
The point-and-click automation experience is very user-friendly
Pre-built connections with 3,000-plus apps

Make:

Custom webhooks in calling up web services and data sources from third-party providers
Encode or extract text URLs
Fully log all executed operations
Process historical data or set up custom timestamps
Schedule scenarios only running on specific days or times
Scrape away data from HTML websites
Split or merge inputs of data within scenarios
Supports editing, updating and archiving docs
Supports the JSON/XML parsing and serialisation, cycles and transactions
Unlimited numbers of steps provided in a scenario
Uses binary functions in refining processes
Uses error handling on program fallback executions for exceptional events

Final Thoughts: Zapier Vs Make (Integromat)

We have dealt with the topic Zapier vs Make at great length. And while analysing both, we have come up with a conclusion that can boil down to these takeaways:

Make is way better and suitable for such advanced workflow automation and out-of-the-box scenarios. Quite a robust low code tool, it can sometimes come with a learning curve, although all the efforts will surely be well worth it!

Web flows using Make will be easy since several integrations and templates are pre-built for even the most common of actions. However, if you want to build much more complex scenarios, you’ll need to start learning the ins and outs of different modules, functions, and tools and how they work to your advantage.

Whereas Zapier is better suited for newbies and one-time users. Truly a no code tool, very intuitive, and easy to learn, Zapier works best for first-timers, and those will only be using these tools one-time, big-time. However, as with most SaaS apps, Zapier can become a more restrictive app when it comes to customization.‍

Zapier’s web flows are made accessible because of their simplicity. Also they have pre-made integrations and are readily available. The majority of the functional scenarios.

Zapier Vs Make (Integromat)

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