How to Convert Zapier Zaps to Make.com Scenarios for Cost Savings

In today’s fast-paced business environment, optimizing operational costs without sacrificing efficiency is paramount. For many organizations, automation platforms like Zapier have been indispensable. However, as your automation needs grow, the associated costs can quickly escalate. Make.com offers a powerful, flexible, and often more cost-effective alternative for complex workflows. This guide provides a practical, step-by-step approach to migrating your existing Zapier Zaps to Make.com Scenarios, empowering you to reduce spending while enhancing your automation capabilities.

Step 1: Assess Your Current Zapier Zaps and Prioritize Migration

Before you begin the migration, take a comprehensive inventory of all your active Zapier Zaps. Document each Zap’s trigger, actions, filters, and any custom logic. Pay close attention to the number of tasks each Zap consumes monthly, as this will highlight the most impactful Zaps for cost savings. Prioritize Zaps that are critical to daily operations, frequently executed, or generate high task volumes. This strategic assessment ensures you focus your efforts on migrations that yield the quickest and most significant return on investment, streamlining your transition to Make.com without disrupting core business processes.

Step 2: Understand Make.com’s Interface and Core Concepts

Make.com, while conceptually similar to Zapier, operates with a different visual paradigm and terminology. Before diving into rebuilding, familiarize yourself with Make.com’s “Scenarios” (the equivalent of Zaps), “Modules” (individual app connections or actions), and the visual flow builder. Unlike Zapier’s linear “if this, then that” structure, Make.com allows for more intricate, multi-path workflows that resemble a flowchart. Understanding how data flows between modules, the role of filters, routers, and iterators, is crucial. Invest a little time navigating the dashboard and reviewing Make.com’s extensive documentation to build a foundational understanding, which will significantly speed up your migration.

Step 3: Recreate Triggers in Make.com Scenarios

The first step in rebuilding any automation is setting up the trigger. Identify the trigger application and event for each Zapier Zap you’re migrating. In Make.com, you’ll select the corresponding app and then choose a “Watch” module (e.g., “Watch New Rows” for Google Sheets, “Watch Events” for calendars) or a “Webhook” module for instant triggers. Configure the connection to the relevant service and define the parameters that will initiate the scenario. Many apps offer identical trigger options in Make.com, making this a straightforward process. Ensure your Make.com trigger is set up to capture the same data fields that your Zapier Zap was relying on for subsequent actions.

Step 4: Map and Rebuild Actions & Logic

This is where the bulk of the migration effort lies. For each action in your Zapier Zap, find the equivalent module in Make.com. Make.com often provides more granular control and a wider array of actions within a single app’s modules. Replicate any filters, delays, or pathing logic using Make.com’s dedicated tools: “Filters” between modules, “Sleep” modules for delays, and “Routers” for branching logic. Pay close attention to data mapping—ensure the output from one module correctly feeds into the input fields of the next. Complex conditional logic may require using Make.com’s built-in functions or a “Tools” module for advanced text or number manipulation.

Step 5: Test Your New Make.com Scenarios Thoroughly

Testing is critical to ensure your migrated scenarios function flawlessly. Make.com provides robust testing tools, including the ability to run a scenario once, view the execution history, and inspect the data flow through each module. Use real-world data whenever possible, perhaps by temporarily triggering the scenario with a new entry in your source application. Compare the outputs of your Make.com scenario with the expected outputs from your original Zapier Zap. Test all possible paths, error conditions, and edge cases to catch any discrepancies or missed logic before going live. This meticulous testing phase minimizes the risk of operational disruptions.

Step 6: Deactivate Zapier Zaps and Monitor Performance

Once you’ve thoroughly tested a Make.com scenario and are confident in its performance, it’s time to deactivate its corresponding Zapier Zap. Do not delete the Zap immediately; simply turn it off. This provides a safety net if any unforeseen issues arise with the Make.com scenario. After deactivation, closely monitor the Make.com scenario’s performance and execution logs for the first few days or weeks. Keep an eye on error rates, processing times, and ensure all expected outcomes are being met. This monitoring period is crucial for fine-tuning and ensuring a smooth, reliable transition, allowing you to fully realize the cost savings and efficiency gains.

Step 7: Optimize and Scale with Make.com’s Advanced Features

With your core automations migrated, explore Make.com’s advanced capabilities to further optimize and scale your operations. Features like data stores, error handlers, aggregators, and custom webhooks can significantly enhance the robustness and efficiency of your workflows. Consider consolidating multiple simple Zaps into a single, more sophisticated Make.com scenario using routers and filters to reduce operational overhead. Leverage Make.com’s pricing structure, which is often more favorable for high-volume or complex automations, to unlock further cost savings and expand your automation footprint across your organization without prohibitive expenses. This ongoing optimization ensures you maximize your investment.

If you would like to read more, we recommend this article: Maximizing ROI: Why Your Business Needs a Strategic Automation Framework