Four automation tools ranked on pricing model, connector breadth, branching logic and learning curve, with the real cost at your run volume.
Automation is priced per run, so the cheapest tool depends entirely on how often your workflows fire. A small business with a handful of lead-routing Zaps pays almost nothing; the same business polling a spreadsheet every minute can spend more on automation than on the apps it connects. Estimate volume first, then pick the pricing model that fits it, then choose the builder your team can maintain.
All prices at the time of verification (2026-09-09).
How to choose
The automation buying criteria come down to four questions: how is it priced, does it connect to your apps natively, can it branch and recover from errors, and can a non-developer maintain it. Add one more: should the automation live in a platform you already pay for. If the workflow is "new lead, send follow-up, book a call", a CRM does that without a per-task bill. Reach for a standalone tool when the workflow crosses systems. Estimate savings with the AI automation savings calculator before you commit.
The picks in depth
Zapier is the default because it is the easiest and connects the most. If an app has an API it almost certainly has a Zapier connector, which minimises dead ends, and the trigger-then-actions builder needs no training. The free plan allows 100 tasks a month on two-step Zaps, which is enough to prove a concept but not to run one; Professional at $29.99 ($19.99 annual) gives 750 tasks, multi-step Zaps, unlimited premium apps, webhooks and AI fields, scaling by task volume from there. Task-based billing is the weakness: every action step consumes a task, complex branching is clunkier than in Make, and polling intervals on lower tiers add latency. Choose Zapier for lead routing between forms, CRMs and email tools at modest volume. Skip it for high-volume data pipelines; see Zapier vs Make.
Make gives more power per dollar. Core is $12 a month ($10.20 annual) for 10,000 credits, unlimited active scenarios, one-minute scheduling and 30-day logs; Pro is $21 and Teams $38 at the same entry credit level. The visual canvas shows every module and data flow, routers and iterators handle arrays and multi-branch logic, and the HTTP module hits any REST API without a connector. The free plan allows 1,000 credits, 2 active scenarios and 15-minute polling, which is real if small production use. The trade-off is the learning curve; the canvas and data-mapping syntax intimidate non-technical users, and the connector library is smaller. Choose Make if someone on the team thinks in flows and volume matters. Skip it if you want a linear wizard.
GoHighLevel is automation for one job: lead follow-up. SMS, email and voice workflows, appointment calendars, a unified inbox, funnels and review requests share a $97 flat plan with unlimited contacts and users. It replaces several point tools for a local-service business that lives on text-message follow-up. The costs are usage-based telecom and AI charges on top of the subscription and a dense interface that usually needs templates or a consultant to set up. Choose GoHighLevel if speed-to-lead via SMS is the business. Skip it if you want a general-purpose connector; it does not do that.
HubSpot is the pick when the workflow starts and ends with a contact. Its workflow automation runs across sales, marketing and service on one record, so "lead fills form, gets sequence, rep gets task" needs no external tool. The free tier covers 2 users and 1,000 contacts; Starter is $20 per seat with no annual contract. Deeper workflow features arrive on Professional at $100 per seat with a mandatory $1,500 onboarding fee, which is the cliff to plan around. Choose HubSpot if you already run your CRM there. Skip it as a way to automate apps outside HubSpot.
What to avoid
Do not schedule a polling trigger every minute on a per-task plan. Do not build a business-critical workflow without an error path; the run that fails silently is the expensive one. And do not automate a process you have not done manually at least ten times, because you will automate the wrong thing.
When not to buy
If you have one repetitive handoff a week, do it by hand and write down the steps; the free tiers of Zapier or Make will cover it when it becomes daily. If every workflow you can think of lives inside one platform, use that platform's automation and skip the extra bill. Buy a standalone automation tool when a cross-app process costs you hours every week and you can name the trigger, the steps and the failure case.