Switching from Zapier to Make without disrupting live workflows requires three things: running both platforms in parallel during the transition, migrating Zaps in order of complexity from simple to complex, and deactivating each Zap only after the Make equivalent has proven reliable over at least 3 successful runs.

The migration itself is faster than most Zapier users expect — especially with Claude and the Make MCP server handling blueprint generation. The risk management is the part that takes discipline: not cutting over too fast, and not leaving both running indefinitely once Make is stable.

For the full context on why this migration is worth doing and what the MCP server provides, see the Make vs Zapier vs N8N Complete 2026 Guide. This post covers the step-by-step transition plan.

How Do You Audit Your Existing Zap Stack Before Migrating?

Before building anything in Make, map what you have. In Zapier, go to your Zaps list and export or document:

• Active Zap name
• Trigger app and event
• Action steps (apps and actions in order)
• Run frequency (instant vs. scheduled)
• Average runs per month (Zapier shows this in your task history)

Categorize each Zap into three tiers based on business criticality: Tier 1 (revenue-critical — payment processing, client notifications, CRM updates), Tier 2 (operational — internal notifications, logging, reporting), Tier 3 (nice-to-have — non-urgent automations that are easy to rebuild if they gap briefly).

Migrate in reverse order: Tier 3 first, then Tier 2, then Tier 1. The low-stakes Zaps are your practice runs for Make. By the time you reach Tier 1, you will have caught any credential issues, field mapping quirks, and timing differences with apps that behave slightly differently between platforms.

How Do You Set Up Make in Parallel Without Disrupting Zapier?

Create your Make scenarios in “draft” status (deactivated) until testing is complete. Activating a Make scenario while the corresponding Zap is still active means the same trigger fires both — for notification and logging Zaps, this creates duplicate records. For write operations (creating CRM contacts, writing to sheets), it creates duplicates in your systems.

The correct parallel-run approach:

1. Build the Make scenario from the Zap screenshot using Claude
2. Test using Make’s “Run once” button with real test data
3. Verify the output matches what the Zap was producing
4. Activate the Make scenario
5. Monitor for 24–48 hours while the Zap is still active — watch for both to fire and confirm Make’s output is correct
6. Deactivate the Zap only after 3+ clean Make runs

The exception: Zaps with webhook triggers. Both a Make webhook and a Zapier webhook can receive the same event if you update the sending app to send to both endpoints. This is the only clean parallel-run option for webhook-triggered Zaps. For polling triggers (Gmail, Google Drive checks), the duplicate run issue does not apply because each platform processes independently.

How Do You Handle Apps That Behave Differently Between Platforms?

Most app connectors behave identically between Zapier and Make — the underlying API calls are the same. A few common differences to watch for:

HubSpot: Make’s HubSpot module uses API field names (e.g., firstname) while Zapier shows display labels (“First Name”). The data is the same — just verify the mapping.

Gmail: Make’s Gmail trigger uses real-time watch by default. Zapier polls every 1–15 minutes. Your Make scenario fires faster — confirm downstream systems handle faster input correctly.

Slack: Make’s Slack module supports Block Kit message formatting that Zapier’s does not. Your migrated Slack notifications will use simpler formatting initially — upgrade them after migration if desired.

Google Sheets: Make’s Sheets module is generally faster and more flexible. Column mapping uses header names — confirm your sheet headers exactly match what the scenario is configured to write to.

How Do You Migrate Zaps With Custom Code Steps?

Zapier’s Code by Zapier steps (JavaScript or Python) have no direct Make equivalent module. In Make, custom logic runs through a Tools module (for built-in functions) or an HTTP module calling an external function endpoint.

For simple transformations (reformatting strings, calculating values, parsing data), Make’s built-in functions in the module mapping interface often eliminate the need for a code step entirely. Describe what the code step does to Claude and ask whether Make’s native functions handle it — for most cases they do.

For genuinely complex code logic, the options are: move the logic to a serverless function (AWS Lambda, Cloudflare Workers) and call it via Make’s HTTP module, or use Make’s built-in Tools → Set Variables module for multi-step calculations.

How Do You Confirm the Migration Is Complete?

Migration is complete when all active Zaps are deactivated and their Make equivalents have been running reliably for at least two weeks without errors. Before downgrading or canceling your Zapier plan:

• Check Zapier’s task history — confirm no Zaps fired in the last 7 days (they should all be off)
• Check Make’s execution logs — confirm all your critical scenarios ran successfully since activation
• Confirm error notifications are configured in Make so failures surface the same way Zapier’s error emails did

Keep Zapier’s data (task history, error logs) accessible for 30 days after migration in case you need to cross-reference a historical run. Then cancel or downgrade your Zapier plan.

How Do You Know It Worked?

Every Make scenario shows its last run time and status in the scenario list. Green check = successful run. Red X = error. After two weeks of green checks on your critical scenarios, the migration is complete.

Set up Make’s notification settings to email you on any scenario failure — this replicates Zapier’s error email behavior and ensures you catch anything that breaks without actively monitoring the dashboard.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Migrating Tier 1 Zaps first. Always start with low-stakes automations to build your Make confidence before touching revenue-critical workflows.
• Activating Make and deactivating Zapier on the same day. Run them in parallel. The 24–48 hour overlap catches issues before they gap your operations.
• Not testing with real trigger events. The “Run once” test button is essential — do not skip it and assume the scenario works because the blueprint imported cleanly.
• Forgetting to check Make’s operation count. If you have high-volume Zaps, verify your Make plan covers the operations you will consume before activating.

Information in this article is deemed to be accurate at time of publishing. 4Spot Consulting reviews and updates content periodically as best practices evolve.