Getting Started with AI Automation: Your easy start with Make AI Tools
Published by MakeWatch on YouTube
Updated Oct 5, 2026
Automation & Workflow Software
Make
No-code automation on a visual canvas, billed in monthly credits
From $9/mo
Make at a glance
from our research
No-code automation platform where teams build multi-step scenarios on a visual canvas
Routers split a scenario into filtered routes, and the Iterator runs later modules once per list item
Scenarios stop when credits run out, and extra credits bought manually cost 25% more
Make Plan: $10.59 a month, or $9 a month billed yearly, for 5,000 credits and unlimited users
Overview
What is Make?
Make is a no-code automation platform sold by Celonis, Inc. Its automations are called scenarios: you build one on a drag-and-drop canvas by chaining modules, each an action in an app such as fetching Gmail messages or adding a row to a Google Sheet, and data picked up at the start flows through every step after it. Make's pricing page names social media posting, lead management, email marketing and content creation among common uses.
A router splits a scenario into routes, each with its own filter, plus a fallback route for anything that matches none, and the routes run one after another. The Iterator turns an array, such as the line items of an order, into one bundle per item for the modules that follow. A scenario runs on a schedule, as often as every minute on paid plans, or the moment a request reaches its custom webhook URL. When a module hits a connection error or times out, Make schedules reruns at growing intervals, and any earlier run can be replayed with its original trigger data. Saved versions can be restored for 60 days.
Make runs in the browser and is hosted on AWS in the EU and North America; an open-source command-line tool arrived in 2026. It lists more than 3,000 apps, and scenarios export as JSON blueprints that another account can import. Every plan allows unlimited users. Billing is in credits: most module actions use one, routers and error handlers use none, and the paid plan is priced by its monthly credit allowance.
Our verdict on Make
Updated Oct 5, 2026Pricing checked Oct 5, 2026
Make suits people who need automations with branching and list handling but don't want to write code. A whole scenario sits on one canvas, routers send records down different routes, and the Iterator deals with each item of a list in turn, so a job like splitting an order into line items and filing each one stays in a single scenario. Users are unlimited on every plan, which means the bill doesn't grow as colleagues join.
Credits are the part to watch. Most modules use a credit each time they run, including the module that fetches the data, and modules after an Iterator run once per item, so a scenario that files a 50-line order spends credits on every line. When the balance reaches zero, scenarios stop until more credits arrive, although incoming webhooks are queued first. Extra credits bought manually cost 25% more than the plan's own, and the Make Code app uses 2 credits per second of execution. Several controls wait for Enterprise: SSO, audit logs, overage protection and the Human in the loop approval app all need it, and Enterprise prices aren't published.
The paid Make Plan starts at $10.59 a month, or $9 a month billed yearly, for 5,000 credits a month. The 10,000-credit tier costs $18.82 a month or $16 a month billed yearly, and the 40,000-credit tier $62.35 or $53. Unused credits expire at the end of each month on monthly billing, while yearly billing prepays a year of credits that last 12 months, which suits uneven workloads. Free, with 1,000 credits a month and two active scenarios, is enough to build a couple of real scenarios. Make has a no cash refund policy, so monthly billing is the safer start.
Choose Make for multi-step automations that branch, loop over lists or reshape data. If a niche app matters more than the canvas, Zapier says it integrates more than 9,000 apps against Make's 3,000+, though its Professional plan costs $19.99 a month billed yearly for 750 tasks. Technical teams with steady high volume should price n8n, which counts a whole workflow run as one execution however many steps it has.
Written by Lokesh Kapoor
Pros & cons
Make pros and cons
What it does well
- Unlimited users on every plan, so the bill doesn't rise as people join
- Routers and error-handler modules use no credits
- Any earlier run can be replayed with its original trigger data, on all plans
- Yearly billing prepays a year of credits that last 12 months, not one
Where it falls short
- Free allows two active scenarios, with at least 15 minutes between runs
- SSO, audit logs and the Human in the loop approval app need Enterprise
- No cash refunds, and monthly credits expire at the end of each month
Editor's assessment from vendor documentation and published pricing
Pricing
Make pricing
Make's paid plans start at $9/month, below the $20 median across the 5 tools in our Automation & Workflow Software ranking. A free plan is available.
Free
$0
Free plan
- 1,000 credits a month
- No-code visual workflow builder
- 3,000+ apps
- Routers and filters
- 15-minute minimum interval between runs
Usage: Includes 1,000 credits a month with no time limit on the plan; each module action in a scenario uses one credit. The Free plan allows 2 active scenarios, and extra credits can't be bought on it.
Make Plan
$9/mo
per month, 5,000 credits included
or $10.59/mo billed monthly
- Unlimited active scenarios
- 1-minute minimum interval between runs
- Access to 300+ Make API endpoints
- Full-text execution log search
- Teams and team roles
Usage: Priced by monthly credit tier starting at 5,000; each module action in a scenario uses one credit, and unused credits expire at the end of the term (after 12 months on yearly billing). Higher tiers include 10,000 credits at $18.82 a month ($16 billed yearly) and 40,000 credits at $62.35 ($53 billed yearly), and extra credits bought manually cost 25% more than plan credits.
Enterprise
Custom
Tailored pricing for larger teams
- Custom functions support
- 24/7 Enterprise support
- Access to Value Engineering team
- Overage protection
- SSO and audit logs
Usage: Priced through Sales. Credits overage protection keeps scenarios running once the credit limit is reached.
Checked against Make (Celonis)'s pricing page on October 5, 2026 · see the full breakdown
Capabilities
Make features
Checked against the same feature list as every other tool in its category.
Platform
- Included:Governance & audit logsRole-based access, approval policies and a full audit trail.Audit logs on Enterprise only
- Included:SSO & team managementSingle sign-on, provisioning and shared workspace administration.SSO on Enterprise only
Building & Logic
- Included:AI steps & agentsLanguage model steps for classification, extraction and drafting inside a workflow.
- Included:Branching & conditional logicPaths that diverge on conditions, with filters and routers.
- Included:Human approval stepsPauses a run until a person approves, then continues.Enterprise plan only
- Included:Loops & iteratorsProcesses each item in a list rather than only the first.
- Included:Visual workflow builderDrag-and-drop canvas for assembling steps without writing code.
Reliability
- Included:Error handling & retriesAutomatic retries with backoff, error branches and failure alerts.
- Included:Run history & replayInspect past runs step by step and replay a failed one after fixing the cause.
- Not included:Versioning & environmentsSeparate development and production versions with a promotion path.Version history only, no environments
Extensibility
- Included:1,000+ app integrationsA library broad enough that most apps are supported natively.
- Included:Custom code stepsDrop into JavaScript or Python when the visual builder runs out.
- Included:Generic HTTP & webhooksCall any API and receive inbound webhooks for apps without an integration.
- Not included:Self-hosting optionRun the platform on your own infrastructure with no per-execution fee.
Ecosystem
Make integrations
Videos
Watch Make in action
Product walkthroughs from Make's own YouTube channel.
Create Your First Scenario in Make
Published by MakeWatch on YouTube
Alternatives
Top Make alternatives
Tools that do the same job, from the same category.
Fit check
Will Make fit your team?
Support
- Email support
- Live chat
- Knowledge base
- Community forum
Training
- Webinars
- Documentation
- Video tutorials
Deployment
- Web
Typical users
- Freelancers
- Small businesses
- Mid-size companies
- Enterprises
FAQs
Make FAQs
Written by our editorial team.
Is Make free?
Yes. The Free plan has no time limit and includes 1,000 credits a month, but it allows two active scenarios, sets a 15-minute minimum interval between runs and stops each run after 5 minutes. It also leaves out the Make Code app, custom variables and team roles, and extra credits can't be bought on it. The paid Make Plan starts at $10.59 a month, or $9 a month billed yearly, for 5,000 credits. See Make pricing.
How do Make credits work?
Credits are Make's billing unit, and most module actions use one each, such as fetching Gmail data or adding a Google Sheets row. Routers and error handlers use none, AI steps through Make's AI Provider are charged by tokens and model, and the Make Code app uses 2 credits per second of execution. Unused credits expire at the end of the term: every month on monthly billing, after 12 months on yearly billing. Make sends alerts at 75% and 90% of the allowance.
What happens when you run out of Make credits?
Scenarios stop running until credits are added, although incoming webhooks are queued first, up to a limit that grows with the plan's credits. On the paid plan you can move to a larger credit tier, buy extra credits in packs of 1,000 or 10,000, or switch on automatic purchases of 10,000. Extra credits bought manually cost 25% more than the credits included in the plan. Enterprise adds overage protection, which keeps scenarios running past the limit, and the Free plan can't buy extra credits.
Is Make cheaper than Zapier?
At entry level, yes, though the two count work differently. Make's paid plan costs $9 a month billed yearly for 5,000 credits, and a credit pays for most module actions, including the module that fetches the data. Zapier's Professional plan costs $19.99 a month billed yearly for 750 tasks, and only successful action steps count, not triggers or filters. Zapier says it integrates more than 9,000 apps, against the 3,000+ Make lists. See Make vs Zapier.
Does Make use your data to train AI?
Not through its AI Toolkit: Make says it doesn't store data sent through the toolkit and doesn't use it to train the AI. Make's customer agreement says you remain the exclusive owner of your customer data and gives Celonis a limited license to host and process it to provide the service. Make also says it has completed SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 audits. Execution logs are kept for 7 days on Free, 30 days on the Make Plan and 60 days on Enterprise.
Sources & methodology
Product details come from Make (Celonis)'s public website and documentation (Czechia). Every plan and price was checked against the vendor's pricing page on October 5, 2026. We haven't tested this product hands-on; the verdict is a desk assessment. How we research and rank tools
- Founded 2016
- 6 languages supported
- make.com