Make
Visual automation platform for scenarios across apps and APIs
A handful of workflows can be coded quickly, but Make's paid value is the visual builder, app modules, scheduling, observability, and maintenance.
Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability
What you give up
- visual scenario builder
- app modules
- scheduling
- operations history
- error handling
- team governance
Why people still pay
They pay because workflows evolve and break; a maintained builder reduces the upkeep.
Your build guide
The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.
Before you start
- Runtime and tools: TypeScript, Node, PostgreSQL and a database-backed job worker with a small React run inspector.
- Before starting: Credentials for only the chosen integrations, their current API documentation, example payloads and an always-on worker for schedules.
Use these project rules and optional skill references alongside the prompt. Review each skill before adding it to your agent; the AGENTS.md export includes the same guidance.
Project rule — domain: Store ScenarioVersion, Run, PageCursor, Bundle and StepReceipt; preserve bundle lineage and define whether a filter removes a row or stops an entire branch.
Project rule — scope and recovery: Start with a linear scenario and one explicit branch, not a universal visual language. Unknown write outcomes need reconciliation, and schema drift must pause the affected mapping.
Project rule — acceptance: A paginated fetch repeats a page and one line item fails mapping; deduplicate source IDs, quarantine the bad bundle and resume the rest without duplicating writes.
Project rule — delivery: document real setup commands and permissions; do not claim a build, accuracy level, performance result or security certification that has not been demonstrated.
Recommended skill: supabase-postgres-best-practices — review this PostgreSQL domain schema, uniqueness constraints, transaction boundaries and access-scoped queries; Supabase hosting is not required. Follow the maintainer's installation instructions and match its requirements to the chosen runtime.
Recommended skill: sharp-edges — review configuration and API defaults against the app-specific invariants and recovery boundaries above; this is not a security certification. Follow the maintainer's installation instructions and match its requirements to the chosen runtime.
Implementation plan
Phase 1
Pin the working slice and create its example input: Build one scenario that fetches order pages, maps line items, filters a condition and writes a reviewed summary to a destination table. Confirm setup: Credentials for only the chosen integrations, their current API documentation, example payloads and an always-on worker for schedules.
Phase 2
Implement persistence and write-time invariants before decorating the UI: Store ScenarioVersion, Run, PageCursor, Bundle and StepReceipt; preserve bundle lineage and define whether a filter removes a row or stops an entire branch.
Phase 3
Connect the working view to real saved state. Persist trigger identity, step input version and external receipts before marking success. Retry bounded transient failures; unknown write outcomes require reconciliation. Do not promise exactly-once execution across external services.
Phase 4
Expose the app-specific limits and recovery path in context: Start with a linear scenario and one explicit branch, not a universal visual language. Unknown write outcomes need reconciliation, and schema drift must pause the affected mapping.
Phase 5
Walk through this concrete acceptance case and preserve its exported evidence: A paginated fetch repeats a page and one line item fails mapping; deduplicate source IDs, quarantine the bad bundle and resume the rest without duplicating writes. Finish the README and backup/restore instructions; report unfinished capabilities explicitly.
Build the following focused alternative to Make. This is a deliberately limited personal or small-team substitute, not parity with the paid service. WORKING SLICE Build one scenario that fetches order pages, maps line items, filters a condition and writes a reviewed summary to a destination table. SETUP AND ARCHITECTURE Use TypeScript, Node, PostgreSQL and a database-backed job worker with a small React run inspector. Prerequisites: Credentials for only the chosen integrations, their current API documentation, example payloads and an always-on worker for schedules. Before integrating anything, record actual versions and permissions, plus model files or provider limits only where used, in the README; make unavailable dependencies visible rather than simulating success. DOMAIN MODEL AND INVARIANTS Store ScenarioVersion, Run, PageCursor, Bundle and StepReceipt; preserve bundle lineage and define whether a filter removes a row or stops an entire branch. IMPLEMENTATION CONTRACT Persist trigger identity, step input version and external receipts before marking success. Retry bounded transient failures; unknown write outcomes require reconciliation. Do not promise exactly-once execution across external services. Provide an input/setup view, the main work view, and a review/export view appropriate to this workflow. Preserve the last saved state if a job or save fails. Include empty, loading, permission-denied, partial and retryable-error states. Log identifiers and error categories without secret values or unnecessary private content. APP-SPECIFIC BOUNDARY AND RECOVERY Start with a linear scenario and one explicit branch, not a universal visual language. Unknown write outcomes need reconciliation, and schema drift must pause the affected mapping. ACCEPTANCE SCENARIO A paginated fetch repeats a page and one line item fails mapping; deduplicate source IDs, quarantine the bad bundle and resume the rest without duplicating writes. Also reopen the app after an interrupted operation, confirm the saved record/export remains inspectable, and document the recovery action. These are implementation acceptance requirements, not a claim that this guide has been tested. DELIVERY Deliver a runnable repository with migrations or project-format versioning, a non-sensitive example, environment/permission setup, the exact manual acceptance steps, and a backup/export-and-restore walkthrough. Implement the working slice before optional integrations; list any deferred paid-product capabilities honestly. Do not add capabilities outside the working slice just to resemble the original product. PROJECT RULES FOR AGENTS.md Keep the domain invariants above executable at the write boundary. Propose scope changes before adding providers or permissions. Never fabricate source evidence, publish results, identity matches or successful delivery. Preserve user originals and require an explicit confirmation for destructive changes or external publication.
$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy or download AGENTS.md
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Alternatives to building your own
all 3 free alternatives to Make →· no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
Make pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| free | $0/workspace | $0/workspace | 1,000 credits/month; 2 active scenarios; 15-minute minimum schedule; 5-minute execution cap; 5 MB files. |
| core | $12/workspace | $9/workspace | 10,000 credits/month at entry price; unlimited active scenarios; 1-minute scheduling; 40-minute runs; 100 MB files.Price scales with the selected credit allowance from 10,000 to 8,000,000+ credits/month. |
| pro | $21/workspace | $16/workspace | 10,000 credits/month at entry price; unlimited scenarios; priority execution; 250 MB files; 30-day logs.Price scales with selected credits. |
| teams | $38/workspace | $29/workspace | 10,000 credits/month at entry price; unlimited users and scenarios; team roles; 500 MB files; 30-day logs.Price scales with selected credits. |
| enterprise | — | — | Custom credits; unlimited scenarios; 1,000 MB files; 60-day logs; overage protection.Quote required. |
free tier1,000 credits/month, 2 active scenarios, 15-minute scheduling, 5-minute execution cap and 5 MB maximum file size
billingmonthly + annual (annual saves at least 15%); annual credits can remain usable for the 12-month term
hidden costsMost module actions use 1 credit, but AI and code features can use more. Extra-credit packs or auto-purchase are available; credits expire at the end of the monthly or annual term, and scenarios pause when credits run out unless protection is enabled.
pricing sources checked 2026-08-11 · pricing source ↗
Questions about Make
Can you build your own Make with AI?
Partly. A handful of workflows can be coded quickly, but Make's paid value is the visual builder, app modules, scheduling, observability, and maintenance.
What does the Make build prompt cover?
The prompt starts with this scope: Build one scenario that fetches order pages, maps line items, filters a condition and writes a reviewed summary to a destination table. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: visual scenario builder; app modules; scheduling. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.
How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?
Start with the Make prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.
How long will this Make project take?
The catalogue estimate is weekend for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.
What would I give up by replacing Make?
visual scenario builder; app modules; scheduling; operations history; error handling; team governance. They pay because workflows evolve and break; a maintained builder reduces the upkeep.
What price is this guide comparing against?
The recorded Core plan is $12/mo (monthly), checked 2026-07-30. Check the linked pricing source before buying. Building your own also has hosting, API and maintenance costs; the recorded amount is not a guaranteed saving.
What can I use instead of building Make?
Activepieces Community Edition: A polished visual workflow builder with hundreds of connectors and one Docker command. Automatisch: A cleaner, smaller automation canvas when your scenarios do not need Make's long tail. n8n Community Edition: The closest broad replacement, with more self-hosting and fewer glossy scenario diagrams. Compare all listed options at https://howtovibecodeit.dev/make/alternatives. Check each option's license, hosting needs and feature limits.