Make
MakeVisual automation with real branching, cheaper than the alternative.
3 other automation options, compared on the facts that decide a subscription: price, free tier, and what each one is actually for.
Usually one of three reasons: the price stopped making sense, the free tier disappeared, or the tool does one thing well and everything else badly. All three are visible in the table below without reading a review.
| Option | Pricing | Free tier | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dify | Open source; cloud free tier, paid from about $59/mo | Yes | Self-hostable platform for building LLM apps without a backend team. |
| Make | Free tier; paid from about $9/mo | Yes | Visual automation with real branching, cheaper than the alternative. |
| n8n | Open source, self-hosted free; cloud from about $24/mo | Yes | The self-hostable automation tool for people who can read code. |
| Zapier | Free tier; paid plans from about $20/mo | Yes | The connective tissue between apps, now with AI steps. |
Start from the constraint, not the feature list. If you need a free tier to evaluate, that removes half the table immediately. If you are replacing a subscription you already pay for, compare the entry price rather than the enterprise tier you will never buy. Everything below is checked weekly and dated.
Visual automation with real branching, cheaper than the alternative.
The self-hostable automation tool for people who can read code.
The connective tissue between apps, now with AI steps.