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Free Make Alternatives (2027): Is Make (Integromat) Free, and 9 Automation Tools With a Real Free Plan, From n8n and Activepieces to Zapier and IFTTT

Free Make (Integromat) Alternatives: Automation Tools With a Real Free Plan

Make, the visual automation platform that used to be called Integromat, has a free plan, but it is small: enough to test a workflow, not to run a business on. If you are hitting its limits, you have two kinds of free alternatives. Some are hosted tools with a free tier (Activepieces, Zapier, IFTTT). Others are free to run on your own server with no execution limit (n8n, Node-RED, Windmill, Huginn). We checked every free plan, limit and licence below on the official pricing page or code repository in November 2026, and we say clearly which tools are open source and which are only free.
Quick answer: if you want a hosted free plan that feels like Make, try Activepieces (1,000 credits a month, and one run counts as one credit however many steps it has). If you can run a small server, n8n is the most capable free Make alternative, free to self-host for your own business under its fair-code licence. For simple personal and social automations use IFTTT; if your company lives in Microsoft 365, start with Power Automate; and for devices, webhooks and APIs pick Node-RED.
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Is Make Free? What the Free Plan Includes in 2027

Yes, Make has a Free plan, and Integromat no longer exists as a separate product: Make announced that Integromat evolves to Make, stopped supporting Integromat in 2023, and integromat.com now redirects to make.com. On the Make pricing page (checked November 2026), the Free plan costs $0 and includes 1,000 credits a month, the no-code visual builder, 3,500+ apps, and routers and filters. Each module action, such as adding a Google Sheets row, uses one credit. The limits are what push founders to look elsewhere: only 2 active scenarios, a 15-minute minimum interval between scheduled runs, a 5-minute maximum run time, 5 MB files, 512 MB of data transfer and 7 days of execution logs. Make AI Agents (beta) are listed on every plan, including Free. The paid Core plan removes the scenario cap and allows runs every minute; in the page's default view (annual billing) it showed $11 a month for 10,000 credits.

Free Make Alternatives Compared

ToolWhat is freeFree limit (Nov 2026)Open source?
Make (baseline)Free cloud plan1,000 credits/month, 2 active scenarios, 15-minute intervalNo
n8nSelf-hosted Community EditionNo execution limit when self-hosted; cloud is a trial onlyNo: fair-code (Sustainable Use License)
ActivepiecesFree cloud plan and self-hosting1,000 credits/month, unlimited flows, up to 5 usersYes: MIT core
ZapierFree cloud plan100 tasks/month, two-step Zaps, 15-minute pollingNo
IFTTTFree cloud plan1,000 credits/month, unlimited Applets, hourly checksNo
Power AutomateDesktop flows on Windows; cloud flows with Microsoft 365Standard connectors only; Premium needed for premium connectorsNo
Node-REDFree softwareNo limit; you run itYes: Apache-2.0
WindmillSelf-hosted Community EditionUnlimited executions, up to 50 users, 3 workspacesYes: AGPLv3 (enterprise code proprietary)
HuginnFree softwareNo limit; you run itYes: MIT
AutomatischFree softwareNo limit; you run itYes: AGPL-3.0 (enterprise files separate)
Sources: each tool's official pricing page (default view), licence file or documentation, checked November 2026. Self-hosted tools are free to use, but you pay for the server and your own time.

The Best Free Alternatives to Make in 2027

1. n8n: the most powerful free Make alternative if you self-host

n8n is the closest match to Make's visual canvas: you chain nodes into workflows, add AI agents and MCP tools, and drop into code when you need it. What is free: the self-hosted Community Edition, which n8n's pricing page says is available on GitHub. Run it on a small server or with Docker and there is no execution limit. n8n Cloud has no free plan, only a free trial (1,000 executions); after that, Starter costs €20 a month billed annually for 2,500 executions. Licence, honestly: n8n is free to self-host but not open source. Its Sustainable Use License allows use for your own internal business, non-commercial or personal purposes, and files marked ".ee" need a paid enterprise licence. Automating your own startup is fine; reselling n8n as a service is not.
New to n8n? Our n8n guide for beginners walks you through the first workflows.

2. Activepieces: the best hosted free plan

Activepieces is a no-code flow builder with AI agents, tables and chat. Its pricing page lists a Free plan, free forever with no card: 1,000 credits a month, unlimited flows, up to 5 users, and access to flows, agents, tables, MCPs and the API. The big difference from Make is how usage is counted: in Activepieces one run costs one credit however many steps it has (AI steps cost 2 to 20 credits), while Make charges a credit per module action. When the free credits run out, flows stay switched on but wait for new credits. Plus costs a flat $20 a month for 10 times the free credits. The core code is MIT-licensed, so you can also self-host it, and new releases came out in late October 2026.

3. Zapier Free: the easiest start, with tight limits

Zapier has the largest app directory and the gentlest learning curve. Its pricing page lists a Free forever plan with unlimited Zaps, Tables and Forms, but only 100 tasks a month, two-step Zaps (one trigger, one action) and 15-minute polling. Premium apps and webhooks need a paid plan; Professional starts at $19.99 a month on annual billing. Zapier Free is enough for one or two simple automations, such as sending new form entries to a spreadsheet. Anything with branches or several steps is easier on Make or Activepieces.
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4. IFTTT: free automations for apps, phones and smart devices

IFTTT ("If This Then That") connects 1,000+ services, from social networks and Google Sheets to smart home devices. It now runs on credits: the IFTTT plans page shows a Free plan with 1,000 credits a month, all features unlocked and unlimited Applets, including multi-action Applets, filters, queries and AI features. Applet runs, MCP use and AI steps all draw on the credits. The trade-off is speed: on Free, IFTTT checks your services for new triggers every hour, against every 15 or 5 minutes on paid plans. Starter costs $2.09 a month billed annually. Good for personal productivity and social posting; too slow for customer-facing workflows.

5. Microsoft Power Automate: free if you already use Windows or Microsoft 365

Power Automate is not one free plan but several free entitlements. According to Microsoft's Power Automate licensing FAQ, Windows 11 users can build attended desktop flows (RPA that clicks through apps on your own PC) for personal productivity, but without cloud flows; Windows 10 users can download Power Automate for desktop. Work or school accounts can build cloud flows with standard connectors under Power Automate Free, and Microsoft 365 licences cover the same standard connectors. Premium connectors, unattended RPA and custom connectors need Power Automate Premium, listed at $15 per user a month paid yearly, with a 30-day free trial. Choose it if your team already works in Outlook, Teams, SharePoint and Excel.

6. Node-RED: free, open-source flows for APIs and devices

Node-RED describes itself as low-code programming for event-driven applications: you wire nodes together in the browser to collect, transform and act on data. It is Apache-2.0 open source, completely free, runs on a laptop, a Raspberry Pi, in Docker or in the cloud, and its library lists 5,000 nodes and flows. It is strongest for webhooks, APIs, home automation and IoT rather than ready-made SaaS connectors. Version 5.0.9 was the latest when we checked in November 2026.

7. Windmill: free self-hosted workflows for teams that write code

Windmill turns scripts in Python, TypeScript, Go, SQL and other languages into workflows, schedules, webhooks and internal apps. On the Windmill pricing page the self-hosted Free and Open-source edition has unlimited executions, up to 50 users (10 with SSO) and 3 workspaces. Its code is mostly AGPLv3, some parts are Apache-2.0, and enterprise features sit under a proprietary licence. New versions ship several times a week (v1.859.0 came out on 3 November 2026). Pick it if you have a developer and want automations that live next to your code.

8. Huginn: free agents that watch the web for you

Huginn is an MIT-licensed, self-hosted system of agents that watch websites, RSS feeds, inboxes and webhooks, then alert you, send digests or post to chat tools. Its README calls it a hackable version of IFTTT or Zapier on your own server. It has no hosted plan, so you need Docker and some patience, but there are no limits, and the project is still maintained: a new release (v2026.11.01) came out at the start of November 2026.

9. Automatisch: a free, open-source Zapier-style builder (check its activity)

Automatisch calls itself an open-source Zapier alternative: a no-code builder you can self-host so business data stays on your servers, with a cloud version offered too. Its licence is AGPL-3.0, with enterprise files under a separate licence. Check before you commit: its latest GitHub release, v0.15.0, dates from August 2025, and the last code change was in January 2026, so development has slowed. For a self-hosted tool with active development, Activepieces or n8n are safer bets.

Make Alternatives That Closed or Changed

The 2025 version of this article listed three tools that no longer fit a free Make alternatives list:
  • Automate.io: shut down. Notion announced it was acquiring Automate.io in September 2021. The archived Automate.io homepage says the product was retired on 31 October 2022 and all customer data was deleted on 15 November 2022. automate.io now redirects to notion.com.
  • Pipedream: changed direction. Its pricing page now presents Pipedream as the integration layer for AI agents. The Free plan is for development only, and running integrations in production needs the Startup plan at $99 a month billed annually. Workday announced an agreement to acquire Pipedream in November 2025. It is now a developer tool for AI products rather than a free Make replacement.
  • Budibase: a different category. It is still open source and free to self-host with unlimited apps and automations, but it is an internal app builder. See our open-source Retool alternatives instead.

Which Free Make Alternative Should You Choose?

  • You want a hosted free plan with multi-step flows: Activepieces.
  • You can run a small server and want Make-level power for free: n8n (fair-code) or Windmill (open source, more code).
  • You only need one or two simple automations: Zapier Free or IFTTT Free.
  • Your team lives in Microsoft 365: Power Automate.
  • You automate devices, webhooks or real-time data: Node-RED.
  • You want to monitor websites, prices or feeds: Huginn.
  • You need strictly open-source licences: see our open-source Make alternatives and open-source Zapier alternatives.
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How Founders Use Free Automation Tools

Start with the jobs you repeat every week: new leads from a form into your CRM, invoices into a spreadsheet, a daily digest of mentions, or a social post for every new article. Build one workflow on a free plan, watch how many credits or tasks it uses for two weeks, and only then decide whether to pay or self-host. If you stay on Make, read about Make as a no-code integration platform and AI agents coming to Make.com; if you want help, here are experts in Make.com automations. Our guide to AI marketing automation shows which marketing tasks are worth automating first.
Automations work best on top of a free stack you already trust. We have also checked free Asana alternatives for project management, open-source Airtable alternatives for databases, free Mailchimp alternatives for email, free Hootsuite alternatives for social media and free Google Analytics alternatives for website stats. Before you automate anything, validate your startup idea with real customers, and turn what you learn into articles with the F/MS AI SEO Tool so people find you in Google and AI assistants.

FAQ About Free Make Alternatives

Is Make free?

Yes. Make's Free plan costs $0 and includes 1,000 credits a month, but only 2 active scenarios, a 15-minute minimum interval between scheduled runs and 7 days of execution logs (checked November 2026).

Is Integromat free, and does it still exist?

Integromat became Make. Make stopped supporting Integromat in 2023, and integromat.com now redirects to make.com, so the free option today is Make's Free plan.

What is the best free alternative to Make?

For a hosted free plan, Activepieces: 1,000 credits a month, unlimited flows and up to 5 users, with one credit per run however many steps it has. If you can self-host, n8n is the most capable free option.

Is n8n free?

The self-hosted Community Edition is free to use for your own business, with no execution limit. n8n Cloud has a free trial only; Starter costs €20 a month billed annually.

Is n8n open source?

No. n8n uses the Sustainable Use License, which n8n calls fair-code. You can read and self-host the code for internal business, non-commercial or personal use, but not resell it as a service.

Is Zapier's free plan better than Make's?

Usually not for complex work. Zapier Free gives 100 tasks a month and only two-step Zaps, while Make Free allows multi-step scenarios with 1,000 credits a month. Zapier is easier for a first simple automation.

Is IFTTT still free?

Yes. IFTTT's Free plan includes 1,000 credits a month, unlimited Applets and all features, but it checks for new triggers only every hour.

Is Power Automate free?

Partly. Windows 11 users can build desktop flows for personal use, and work or school accounts can build cloud flows with standard connectors. Premium connectors need Power Automate Premium at $15 per user a month paid yearly.

What happened to Automate.io?

Notion acquired Automate.io in 2021. Automate.io was retired on 31 October 2022 and its customer data was deleted on 15 November 2022.

Where can I get a backlink by writing about my startup?

You can publish a guest post in one of the Fe/male Switch startup blogs, which rank in Google and in AI tools. Get a quality backlink.

About the Author

Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
2026-11-04 01:49 Top Alternatives