Make.com Review 2026: Why Total Control Beats Simplicity

Automation often feels like an exclusive club for coding wizards or Fortune 500 companies. Yet, when small businesses look for tools to connect their apps and save time, they often hit a wall: the market options are either too simple and limited, or way too expensive for someone just starting out.

Enter Make.com (formerly Integromat).

At first glance, the platform can be intimidating. Instead of a linear “To-Do” list, you are greeted with an infinite blank canvas where you drag and drop modules, connecting them like a digital mind map. It looks complex, but this feature offers something rare in competitor tools: total freedom of creation.

After extensive testing for this Make.com review, the verdict is in: the platform isn’t just about saving time; it’s about building workflows that mirror actual human reasoning.

In this analysis, Peaklly explores whether this “extra complexity” is worth your time and if the competitive pricing justifies the learning curve.

What is Make.com?

Make is a robust visual automation platform that lets you connect apps and transfer data between them without writing a single line of code.

Picture this scenario: every time someone fills out a form on your site, that person needs to be added to an email list, and a notification needs to pop up in Slack. Make acts as the “digital glue” that allows Typeform, Mailchimp, and Slack to talk to each other automatically.

The game-changer highlighted in this Make.com review is its non-linear structure. You can create branching paths, set up loops, handle errors, and format data mid-process, all visually.

Make.com Review: The Zapier Comparison

Comparing Make to Zapier is inevitable, they solve the same problem. However, their philosophies are worlds apart. A useful analogy to understand the difference is:

• Zapier is like an iPhone: It’s sleek, user-friendly, and works “out of the box,” but you have to do things the way the system wants you to. Stepping outside their walled garden is difficult and expensive.
• Make is like Android (or Linux): It requires a bit more setup initially, but it offers absolute control. You can customize every detail, create alternative routes, and apply precise filters.

Why Does Make Stand Out?

The deciding factor is Visual Flexibility. In Zapier, automations are traditionally linear (Step 1 → Step 2 → Step 3). To create conditional logic, like 

“If the client is VIP, send an email; if not, just send an SMS”

you would need to use “Paths,” which often pushes you into a more expensive plan.

In Make, this is native. You visualize the flow, drag a connection to the left, another to the right, and you’re done. You feel like you’re in control of the logic, rather than fighting against the tool.

What About the Price?

The math here is the strongest point of this Make.com review. The entry-level plan for Make starts at $9/month for 10,000 credits/operations. The competition charges significantly more for a much smaller volume of tasks. For anyone looking to scale processes, Make proves to be the smarter financial choice in the long run.

Hands-On Tutorial: Building Your First AI Automation

To prove that the tool is accessible, the Peaklly team built a real-world scenario for Lead Classification using ChatGPT.

The Scenario

Your company receives a contact form submission, and you need to know if the lead is “Hot” (ready to buy) or “Cold” (needs nurturing), without reading every message manually.

Step 1: The Trigger

Drag the Google Forms (or Typeform) module onto the canvas. Set it to “Watch Responses.” Now, every time a new form arrives, Make wakes up.

Step 2: The Brain (OpenAI/ChatGPT)

Connect the OpenAI module to the form. In the prompt, the instruction is simple:

“Analyze the message below and classify the purchase intent as ‘High’ or ‘Low’. Reply with one word only.”

Step 3: The Router (The Secret Sauce)

Here lies the power of Make. Add a Router module, which splits the workflow into two paths:

• Path A (Hot Lead): If ChatGPT replies “High,” Make pushes the data to your CRM (HubSpot) and fires a notification to Slack: “🔥 Hot Lead: [Client Name]”.
• Path B (Cold Lead): If it replies “Low,” Make simply saves the contact to a Spreadsheet for future newsletters.

In just 15 minutes, you’ve built a system that replaces the manual work of a triage assistant.

Pricing and Plans (2026)

The billing model is based on credits (or “operations”), where every action a module takes consumes one unit. In 2026, Make has consolidated most of its structure into a credit system, keeping the “pay per step” logic.

• Free: $0/month. Includes 1,000 credits/ops. Perfect for testing. Unlike other trials, this doesn’t expire by time, only by volume.
• Core: Starts at $9/month. Jumps to 10,000 credits/ops. Arguably the best value for money in the automation market today.
• Pro: Starts at $16/month. Adds priority execution and custom variables.
• Teams: Starts at $29/month. Designed for agencies managing multiple permissions.

Pros and Cons

To ensure this Make.com review is completely transparent, here are the strengths and weaknesses:

👍 What We Love (Pros)

• Visual Interface: Watching the workflow run in real-time (the bubbles processing data) is both educational and satisfying.
• ROI: 10,000 ops for ~$9/mo is a price point that is hard to beat.
• Native Tools: Includes JSON, Iterators, and Aggregators at no extra cost.
• Deep Integration: Robust connections with Google and OpenAI.

👎 Where It Needs Improvement (Cons)

• Learning Curve: It requires study. It’s not as “click-and-done” as simpler tools.
• Support: On the free plan, response times can be slower.

Verdict: Is Make Worth It?

If you are just looking for a simple, one-off integration (like “Save Gmail attachment to Drive”) and plan to never look at it again, simpler tools might suffice.

However, if you want to build an efficient business, automate real marketing and sales processes, and do so without breaking the bank on expensive licenses, this Make.com review concludes that the platform is the top choice in 2026.

The freedom to build any workflow imaginable is a competitive advantage. And starting with the Free Plan (1,000 ops) is the perfect risk-free way to test the waters.

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