The 8 Best Make Alternatives in 2024

If you’re looking at workflow automation tools, what you’re really looking for is something to make your life easier for you and your team. You’re looking to solve a problem, and have it taken care of in the background, while you do more important stuff—like working on creative projects instead of entering data in a spreadsheet.

So, it’s particularly frustrating when a tool you expect to make your life easier… doesn’t. Even the best tools can be guilty of this, and Make is no exception. There are a couple of reasons you might be on the lookout for an alternative:

Frustration with errors, like delays in automations or outright failures
The complexity of configuring multi-step automations (and the steep learning curve)
The sting, and cost, of exceeding operational limits
Limited capabilities for testing workflows, making debugging a nightmare

Given these challenges (and the fact you’ve landed here looking for an alternative) we’ve curated a list of the best Make alternatives below.

What to look for in a Make alternative?

If you’re in the market for an alternative to Make, you likely have a clear picture of what you’re missing in your current workflow automation tool. Perhaps you're seeking a platform with easier setup, more dependable performance, or a more budget-friendly option.

Here are the key aspects to consider—and the criteria we used to evaluate the tools listed below:

Broad integration capabilities. The core of a good automation tool is its ability to connect with the apps and services you already use. While many alternatives may not boast as extensive a library as Make, remember that the quality of integrations often outweighs sheer quantity.
User-friendly design. Is the platform accessible to non-technical users, enabling quick and straightforward setup of automations? Or does it present a steep learning curve that demands a significant time investment upfront? The ideal tool should be intuitive, regardless of the technical proficiency of its users.
Variety in triggers and actions. A common shortfall of many automation tools is offering limited integration functionality (for instance, offering only basic triggers and actions). A platform that provides a wide array of customization options will allow for more precise tailoring of automations to suit your specific needs.
Responsive customer support. One of the major gripes with Make has been its customer support as the platform has scaled. Robust and complex integrations require reliable support for when obstacles arise. Optimal support ensures that help is readily available whenever you face a challenge.
Cost-effectiveness. Many automation tools adopt a pricing model that combines a monthly subscription fee with usage-based costs, which can quickly escalate. This is where alternatives like Relay stand out by offering a single, fixed monthly fee, ensuring you won't encounter unexpected expenses.

The 8 best Make alternatives in 2024

1. Relay

⭐G2: 5.0 (2 reviews); Capterra: No reviews (yet!)

🏆 Best for: Businesses seeking to incorporate human judgment into automated workflows.

🔬 Free trial: No; limited free plan.

Relay (👋 hi, that’s us!) is the newest—and we think the best—Make alternative available today. We've earned our top spot by providing all the essentials you'd expect from a workflow automation platform, along with several exclusive features you won’t find anywhere else.

First off, our standout human-in-the-loop functionality enables the incorporation of human judgment into your workflows. This feature is ideal for tasks requiring approvals, decisions, and data inputs that automation alone cannot handle. Additionally, we've seamlessly integrated AI into our platform to assist with data extraction, summarization, and even to navigate through conditional logic paths more effectively.

In contrast to Make, Relay is designed with teamwork at its core. Our playbooks (think of them as our take on Make's scenarios) can be built and refined collaboratively or as a team, with roles clearly defined to distribute manual tasks efficiently among team members. And thanks to our straightforward pricing model, you'll never be surprised by a paywall.

“Relay is the only tool we’ve used that conforms to our processes, rather than having to adjust the process to conform to the tool. It truly is the only tool we’ve used that feels frictionless for human-in-the-loop workflows.” — Hassaan Raza, Co-Founder & CEO, Tavus

Key features

Human-in-the-loop workflows. We make it easy to double-check any step before it happens. With steps for human approvals, decisions and data input, you can double-check documents, add personalized content to Slack messages, or review an email before its sent. It’s the best of both worlds—the power of automation with the nuance only humans can provide.
True AI-assistance. Add AI to your workflows without any custom prompts. For example, use AI Autofill to suggest paragraphs for emails, or summarize content from a Notion page or email, or AI Classify to intuitively guide your automations through conditional logic pathways.
Collaborative playbook creation. Most workflow tools are managed in a silo. Relay promotes teamwork by enabling you to build playbooks individually or collaboratively. With dynamic role assignments, you can delegate manual tasks to team members to keep things smooth.
Simple and predictable pricing. Relay offers transparent pricing with all fundamental features included across its tiers, and no usage-based fees. This means you won’t be surprised by extra costs for adding steps or integrating with certain tools—pay your monthly fee, and that’s all.

Limitations

Smaller integration library than Make. As a relatively new player, Relay's integration portfolio isn’t as extensive as Make's. However, we focus on the quality and depth of our integrations, offering multiple triggers and actions across a wide range of apps, from Airtable to Zendesk. And if there's an integration you need that's missing, let us know and we’ll add it!

Pricing

The below plans for Relay are billed yearly:

1. Free. 1 user per workspace, 1 playbook, 150 runs/month, 150 automations/month.

2. Startup. $9 per user per month. Up to 10 users, unlimited playbooks, runs, and automations.

3. Unlimited. $100/month. Unlimited users, playbooks, runs, and automations, plus priority support.

2. Zapier

⭐ G2: 4.5 (1,231 reviews) ; Capterra: 4.7 (2,782 reviews)

🏆 Best for: Advanced, visual workflow automation with deep customization.

🔬 Free trial: No; limited free plan.

Zapier is the household name in workflow automation and is usually the first tool you’ll come across when you look for Make alternatives. It has a straightforward no-code interface with some neat recent AI features (including the ability to write automations in plain language), and the largest app library of any of the tools on this list (around 5,000 and counting).

Key Features

An extensive app integration library of 5,000+ apps, offering the widest range on the market
Easy workflows with Zap templates that help you get started faster
Schedule automations and set conditions to run Zaps when certain conditions are met
A suite of automation products, including interfaces, Zaps and Tables

Limitations

Poor support. Zapier used to be known for its excellent support, but just look around at any review site and you’ll see a range of complaints about the levels of support available.
Can be surprisingly unreliable. Just because it’s the biggest name, doesn’t mean it’s the best. Zapier automations tend to break, often, and troubleshooting is a pain.
Gets very expensive, very fast. Zapier's pricing model, which scales with the number of tasks and premium app integrations, can lead to unexpected cost increases that tend to sneak up fast.

Pricing

Zapier pricing is extremely confusing, with a range of variables. It starts with an extremely limited free plan, with tiers ranging from USD $39 to USD 3,999/month (with additional fees based on usage). Told ya it ain’t cheap. It’s best to check out their payment page, which does a good job of helping guide you through the labyrinthine pricing tiers.

3. Pipedream

⭐ G2: 4.6 (15 reviews) ; Capterra: 5.0 (4 reviews)

🏆 Best for: Developers looking for a code-centric platform that supports custom JavaScript.

🔬 Free trial: No; limited free plan.

Pipedream, established in 2021, is another newcomer in the workflow automation arena. Tailored for developers, it presents itself as a formidable alternative to Make, especially for those who are comfortable incorporating custom JavaScript into their workflows. For developers looking to achieve finer control over their automations, or for those prepared to engage a developer, Pipedream could be the ideal choice.

Key features.

A developer-centric platform that allows for intricate workflow customization using custom code
Real-time event processing for immediate automation responses
Extensive integration support including popular services and custom APIS to connect and automate virtually any part of your operations

Limitations

Geared towards technical users so it’s pretty much inaccessible if you’re not a programmer. Seeing most users looking to get started with workflow automation are non-devs looking for a no-code solution, Pipedream simply isn’t going to fit the bill.

Pricing

Free. Offers 1,000 operations per month, access to 1,000+ apps.
Core. Starting at $9 per month, this tier provides 10,000 operations, unlimited active scenarios, and a one-minute interval between scheduled scenario executions.
Pro. Priced from $16 per month, the Pro plan includes all Core features plus 10,000 operations, custom variables, Scenario Inputs, full-text execution log search, enhanced operations usage flexibility, and priority scenario execution.
Teams. Starting at $29 per month for 10,000 operations, this plan is tailored for collaborative environments, offering features such as multiple teams and permissions, high-priority scenario execution, and the ability to create and share scenario templates.

4. Workato

⭐ G2: 4.7 (398 reviews) ; Capterra: 4.7 (52 reviews)

🏆 Best for: Enterprises requiring automation at scale.

🔬 Free trial: Yes; on request.

Workato is an Enterprise-level workflow automation platform, tailored specifically for the demands of large organizations, unlike Make, which appeals to a wide range of users. Designed to serve the sophisticated needs of companies like Atlassian, Adobe, and MGM, Workato is ideal for big businesses seeking advanced automation capabilities. However, its complexity (and cost!) may not suit smaller teams or those looking for simpler solutions.

👉 Check out our review about top Workato alternatives.

Key features

A wide array of integrations with 1,000+ business applications enabling seamless connectivity between enterprise systems, cloud services and popular apps
A library of thousands of pre-built automation recipes to speed up time to automation
Designed with enterprise-grade security and customizable governance controls to ensure data integrity and privacy

Limitations

Complex for non-technical users. Though, if you’re a big enough company to be using Workato, the chances are you’ll have a dedicated hire for automation creation and management.
There are cheaper options with better feature sets. Customers complain about Workato’s lack when it comes to anything beyond simple integrations, especially compared to other tools that are dramatically less expensive.

Pricing

Workato’s pricing model varies based on scale of use, number of connectors and tasks required. Contact Workato for a custom quote.

5. n8n

⭐ G2: 4.8 (18 reviews) ; Capterra: 4.6 (29 reviews)

🏆 Best for: An open-source, self-hostable automation tool.

🔬 Free trial: No; limited free plan.

n8n is an open-source workflow automation tool that presents a more flexible alternative to Make, incorporating additional complexities for those who need them. It enables users to execute complex automations not just between apps but in a variety of environments, including home automation and AI-driven interactions with services like Google Sheets. The ability to self-host n8n makes it particularly attractive to developers and tech enthusiasts keen on customizing their automation setup from the ground up.

Key features

An open-source license which means you have full access to modify, extend and customize the platform to your specific needs.
Visual workflow editor that allows you to drag-and-drop apps and workflows intuitively
Self-hosted or cloud options offering versatility in deployment
A great workflow library that you can copy and paste to your dashboard to speed up creation

Limitations

A steep learning curve for non-technical users. Again, this is a tool for devs and folks with programming knowledge.
Only just over 400 integrations, which puts it on the low side compared with competitors.

Pricing

Starter. $20 per month. For getting started and seeing what you can do with n8n. 2,500 workflow executions with unlimited steps, 5 active workflows and unlimited test ones.
Pro. $50 per month. For working in teams and running business-critical workflows. 10,000 workflow executions, 15 active workflows, Execution search, Global variables, debug in editor.
Enterprise. For organizations with stricter security or compliance requirements.

6. Klamp

⭐ G2: No reviews ; Capterra: No reviews

🏆 Best for: small businesses looking for a cost-effective way

🔬 Free trial: No; limited free plan.

Klamp is another new name in automation. While it has yet to really make a name for itself, it has a low-fi, personalised vibe that’s equal parts endearing and appealing. For example, they’ll provide a real person to be your “integration buddy” to help set up your automations, and if they don’t have an app that you need, they promise to add it within three days (for a price).

Key features

“Integration buddy” to assist you with end-to-end implementation
3-day guarantee on adding apps to their marketplace if they don’t have the app you need
Easy workflow migration from other tools

Limitations

Relatively untested. Klamp is extremely new to the industry, and as such doesn’t have the level of coverage from customer reviews that most other tools on this list do. So while it looks great, it is a bit of a risk compared to more tried-and-true solutions.

Pricing

The following Klamp prices are billed yearly:

Free. 2,000 actions, unlimited users, drafts and logs.
Pro. $46 per month for 60,000 actions/year. Aimed at startups and small businesses.
Premium. $208 per month for 600,000 actions/year. Everything in Pro, plus polling, formatting, conditions and filters, and new app requests.
Premium +. $1688 per month for 12 million actions/year. Everything in Premium, plus custom logic with paths, the ability to add delays between actions, and complex data migrations.
Embedded iPaaS. Custom pricing upon request. Includes everything in the previous tiers, plus control over branding, an admin panel and a dashboard with analytics.

7. Microsoft Power Automate

⭐ G2: 4.5 (417 reviews) ; Capterra: 4.4 (179 reviews)

🏆 Best for: anyone already using Microsoft Office 365

🔬 Free trial: Yes; 30 days.

Screenshot of Microsoft Power Automate interface

Microsoft is a behemoth. It’s the first ever company to top a $3 trillion valuation, and it doesn’t need us or anyone else to direct people to its products—they don’t seem to have any trouble doing so. But in the interest of our list here, we can’t leave Power Automate off. It’s a great all-around workflow tool, with a dizzying array of features (document automation! SAP procurement solutions! Managed environments!) and neat new AI features courtesy of their partnership with OpenAI.

Key features

Cost-effective licensing that’s even better when you get Microsoft Office 365
Easy debugging with errors occur, minimising downtime and the need for IT intervention
Pre-built templates that cover common automation needs

Limitations

Unintuitive design that feels a bit outdated (if you’re not a fan of the “Microsoft look”, run)
Crashes when dealing with a large number of tasks

Pricing

Power Automate Premium. $15 per user per month. Scale workflows with cloud and attended desktop flows enhanced with premium connectors, process mining, and more.
Power Automate Process. $150 per bot per month. License a bot that can be used for unattended desktop flows or cloud flows that can be accessed by unlimited users in the organization.

8. Bardeen

⭐ G2: 3.9 (30 reviews) ; Capterra: 4.7 (3 reviews)

🏆 Best for: a combination web scraping/automation tool

🔬 Free trial: No; free plan with limited access.

Bardeen is a bit different from most tools on this list, as it’s a Chrome extension. It combines classic app automation with data extraction through scrapers and browser agents, and even offers the ability to create workflows through natural language. It has a bunch of positive reviews on the Chrome store, with users praising the excellent workflow templates and data scraping features.

Key features

Supports simple and complex web scraping and web tasks like clicking menus and filling forms
Thousands of workflow templates for common use cases across sales, marketing, and recruitment
Automations through natural language using MagicBox

Limitations

Best as a web scraper rather than a full automation platform. Customers consistently cite the web scraping capabilities as Bardeen’s most effective use case.
Expensive beyond the free plan. Plans start at $10/month with increases linked to credit use (each iteration adds another 500 credits). These credits can run out quickly depending on the apps you’re connecting. For example, 1 Calendly record = 1 credit, but 1 minute of transcription through Bardeen costs 30 credits.

Pricing

The following Bardeen plans are billed annually:

Free. For individuals looking to use some of the basic scraping.
Professional. From $10 per month, with increases of $10 per 500 credits. Includes generative AI actions, CRM integrations, advanced scraping and premium actions.
Business. From $15 per month, with increases of $10 per 500 credits. Adds onboarding and training, admin analytics dashboard, and teamwide automations.

Your next steps

Making workflows simpler and boosting productivity doesn't have to be hard for teams looking to improve. With the right tool, automating your tasks can become an easy part of your day, letting you focus more on important work—or play. If you want a simple, smart platform that combines automation with human touch, why not try Relay today? See how it can change your team's work for the better.

Related reading:

Share this post