Make vs Render — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Make starts at $12/mo. Render starts at $25/mo. Make is $13/mo cheaper on the entry tier than Render.
How pricing works
These two tools don't price the same way, so the headline numbers below aren't directly comparable until you plug in your own volume.
- Make (Per Usage) — Make bills on usage — Operations/credits per month on top of a paid plan starting at $12/mo. The plan includes an allowance; anything beyond it is metered.
- Render (Hybrid) — Render is hybrid: a fixed subscription from $25/mo plus metered usage on top (Workspace members / services). Your real bill moves with volume, not seat count.
Per-minute, per-credit and per-token rates exclude any downstream model, speech or telephony costs unless the vendor states otherwise.
Visual workflow automation (formerly Integromat), positioned as the power-user alternative to Zapier. Distinctive for its visual scenario builder that handles complex multi-branch logic Zapier can't. Priced per operation with 1,000 free ops/month. Popular with developers, ops teams, and agencies who hit Zapier's complexity ceiling. Growing share from Zapier and losing some to n8n (self-hostable) as low-code automation splinters into three tiers by user sophistication.
PaaS positioned as the alternative to Heroku for developers who want simple Docker/Node deploys with Postgres and Redis included. Distinctive for a genuine free tier for personal projects and its focus on Docker-native deploys (Vercel/Netlify are frontend-only). Priced $19-$225/mo across four tiers. Popular with Series A/B startups migrating off Heroku after its 2022 free-tier removal, indie hackers, and Rails/Django teams.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | Make monthly | Make annual | Render monthly | Render annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Free / Hobby | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Entry paid | Core / Pro | $12 | $9 | $25 | $25 |
| Pro / power | Pro / Scale | $21 | $16 | $499 | $499 |
| Teams | Teams / — | $38 | $29 | — | — |
| Enterprise | Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | Custom |
Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.
What each is best for
Make is worth it if… ops-savvy solopreneurs and small teams that need visual automation across hundreds of apps — particularly if you value flexibility over Zapier's simplicity. Free tier covers 1,000 ops/month; Core adds more ops and premium apps; Pro adds priority execution; Teams adds team collaboration.
Render is worth it if… developers building full-stack web apps that want Heroku-style ease with cheaper pricing — particularly for teams that need PostgreSQL + Redis + background workers in one platform. Free tier covers hobby projects; Individual covers indie devs; Team adds collaboration; Scale for larger production apps.
Bottom line: Choose based on how you want to pay — Make is per usage, Render is hybrid.
Choose Make over Render if…
Choose Make if…
- You want to pay only for actual usage (per usage, from $12/mo).
- You match the profile Make is built for: ops-savvy solopreneurs and small teams that need visual automation across hundreds of apps — particularly if you value flexibility over Zapier's simplicity.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
Choose Render if…
- You're fine with a base subscription plus metered usage on top (from $25/mo).
- You match the profile Render is built for: developers building full-stack web apps that want Heroku-style ease with cheaper pricing — particularly for teams that need PostgreSQL + Redis + background workers in one platform.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| Make | Render | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price | $12/mo | $25/mo |
| Enterprise available | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | Per Usage | Hybrid |
| Verification | Pricing under review | Checked October 3, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified October 3, 2026. Tracked daily.
