Lava vs Make: AI teammate vs visual scenario builder

Lava vs Make, short version. Make (called Integromat until February 22, 2022) is a visual scenario builder that bills in credits: a free plan with 1,000 credits a month, and paid plans from $9/month on Make's own comparison pages (as of November 2025). Our product, Lava, is an AI teammate for research, reports, and customer follow-ups, with plans from $14.99/month and approvals you set to Always asks, Asks on sends, or Never asks. Pick Make to wire lots of apps together step by step and run the same flow at high volume, paying a credit per step. Pick Lava if you'd rather hand the work to a teammate that can check with you before it sends, and pay per query rather than per operation.

So yes, this is our page. Make's wins stay in plain sight anyway, and each number links to a dated source.

How we evaluated

On November 9, 2026 we read Make's pricing page, comparison pages, Help Center and blog, plus our own plans page and launch post. Then we compared both on the 5 dimensions the top-ranking Make comparisons use: pricing, integrations, how you build, AI, support.

No timed bakeoff (we'd have to invent the numbers). So the example below is a step-by-step walkthrough of how each tool gets set up, with nothing measured. Where Make's pages disagree, we show both.

Lava vs Make at a glance

The quick grid. Make's paid prices come with a caveat; see Pricing.

Lava vs Make pricing: two kinds of credits

Both tools say "credits." Different units, so don't divide one by the other.

Make switched from operations to credits on August 27, 2025, converting existing operations 1:1 (Make Help Center). For non-AI features, 1 operation still uses 1 credit. Run AI through Make's AI Provider and your credit use can go up.

Now the awkward part. Make's own pages disagree on price:

Early-stage company? Make's pricing page mentions a Start-up Plan with 50% off Business (Make pricing page).

Ours is shorter, straight from lava.so/plans, billed monthly.

A Lava credit is our own unit, and it doesn't map onto a Make credit. Plans include 18 to 240 a month; past that, you top up.

Here's the difference that matters. In Make, every module step is an operation, and every operation is a credit: a 10-module scenario that runs 1,000 times burns about 10,000 credits. A Lava credit works more like dollars: it funds the AI work a query actually needs, not each step. Depending on the query and model, that's hundreds of model calls per credit, and often many full agent tasks. Our measured bakeoffs put a full agent task (read a document, produce a structured answer) at about a tenth of a cent on the cheapest models, and small queries cost less still.

So which is cheaper? For a fixed flow that fires thousands of times a month, very likely Make. But when one Lava query does the job of ten Make operations, the math flips fast. We're not trying to win the pipe-fitting contest. We're saying per-step billing and per-query billing price very different things.

Integrations and app coverage

Make wins this one. Clearly.

Make's integrations directory is titled "3,500+ Integration Apps," and its site-wide button says 3,000+ native apps (2 pages, 2 numbers). Niche tool in your stack? Check Make first.

We don't publish an integration total. Lava CRM and Lava Slides come with every account with no connection step, and we started with an MCP server (our July 2026 post). Gmail, Slack, HubSpot and Notion are all on the app list on our teams page. Anything more niche, check first.

How you build: scenarios vs routines

Different shapes entirely.

In Make you build a scenario: modules on a canvas, connected in order, with fields mapped between them. You see each branch. You also own each branch, so when an app renames a field, the fix is yours.

In Lava you describe the work in plain language and save it as a routine with a schedule. Scheduled routines run in the cloud, unattended. Basic includes 1 routine, Starter 3, Plus unlimited.

Which is easier? Depends what you mean by easy, and how much you like looking at wiring. Like seeing it? Then Make's canvas, with each branch laid out in front of you, is hard to beat. Rather not look at it at all... that's us.

AI capabilities and AI agents

Make has been busy here. It launched Make AI Agents in beta on April 14, 2025, and the newer Make AI Agent (New) app is in open beta (Make says functionality and pricing may change). The Make MCP Server comes with all plans, free included.

But in Make, AI is a step inside a flow you designed. In Lava, the AI teammate does the work, and the approval mode decides how often it stops to ask (from our workspace launch post):

• Always asks pauses before each change.
• Asks on sends pauses before sends, deletions, payments, and external sharing.
• Never asks runs without approval prompts.

Those modes cover work you hand the teammate directly. Scheduled cloud routines are different, they run unattended without approval pauses (same post), so anything on a schedule should draft rather than send. Boring, but true.

Walkthrough: one inbound lead, set up in both tools

The task: a lead fills in your website form. You want a HubSpot contact, a Slack alert in #sales, and a reply drafted in Gmail.

In Make

1. Start a scenario with a trigger for the form (a webhook or your form tool's app).
2. Add a HubSpot module to create or update the contact, mapping fields from the trigger.
3. Add a Slack module that posts to #sales.
4. Add an AI step to write the reply, then a Gmail module to save it as a draft.
5. Test with sample data, then switch it on.

Cost lands in Make credits: 1 per operation for non-AI modules, possibly more for the AI step. Nothing here pauses for a person. The draft is your checkpoint.

In Lava

1. Describe the job in plain language and save it as a routine: post new leads to #sales in Slack and draft a reply to each in Gmail.
2. Keep the reply as a Gmail draft. Scheduled routines run unattended, so the draft is where a person steps in.
3. Schedule it.

Side note, we left the form trigger and the HubSpot write out of the Lava column because our public docs don't cover them, so ask us before you count on them. Cost? Lava credits, from your monthly allowance (no conversion to Make credits).

The real difference? In Make you wrote down every step, so you know exactly what'll happen. In Lava you describe the outcome and the teammate works out the steps. Different trade. There's a pricing trade too: Make bills each step, so the wiring you just built is the bill. Lava bills the query, so the same work in one Lava query is one credit, not ten operations.

Who should choose which

Choose Make if:

• you need a specific app from a 3,500+ directory
• you like seeing every branch on a canvas
• you run one fixed flow at high volume
• you want to start free

Choose Lava if:

• the work needs judgment: account research, reports, customer follow-ups
• you want approvals set by mode, not built into each flow
• you want a CRM and slides that come with the account
• your work is AI-heavy, and you'd rather pay per query than per step
• nobody on the team wants to maintain scenarios (or fix them when an app renames a field)

Verdict: making the choice

Make is the better plumber. Big catalog, visual builder, a real free plan, cheap at volume. If your problem is "move this field from A to B thousands of times a month," use Make (seriously). Just notice what its pricing rewards: more steps, billed per step.

We fit when the job isn't a fixed path: read the lead, look up the company, write something sensible, decide if it's ready to send. That's a teammate's job. It's also where the credit math tilts our way: one query that replaces ten Make operations costs one Lava credit, and depending on the query and model, one credit can stretch to hundreds of model calls' worth of work. Start on Basic at $14.99/month, give your 1 routine a drafting job, and read what it writes before anything goes out.

Still comparing? See Lava vs Lindy and our AI workspaces roundup. Buying for a company? See Lava for teams.

FAQ

Is Make the same as Integromat?

Yes. Integromat launched the Make brand and platform on February 22, 2022, and support for Integromat ended in 2023.

How much does Make cost in 2026?

Free includes 1,000 credits a month. Make's comparison pages list Core at $9/month, Pro $16 and Team $29 (as of November 2025); its 2026 blog lists Core $12, Pro $21 and Teams $38. Neither states the billing period, so check make.com/en/pricing.

What is a credit in Make, and how is that different from a Lava credit?

Make credits replaced operations on August 27, 2025; for non-AI features, 1 operation uses 1 credit. A Lava credit is our own unit and works like a budget of AI spend: 18 to 240 included per month by plan, and depending on the query and model, one credit can cover hundreds of model calls' worth of work. They don't convert 1:1.

Does Make have AI agents?

Yes. Make AI Agents launched in beta on April 14, 2025, and the newer Make AI Agent (New) app is in open beta.

What's the difference between an AI agent and a workflow automation tool?

A workflow tool like Make runs the steps you defined, in order. With Lava, you hand the job to an AI teammate and choose when it pauses for approval: Always asks, Asks on sends, or Never asks. Scheduled cloud routines run unattended.

Which is better for a small team: Lava or Make?

For moving data between apps on fixed rules, Make, thanks to its free plan and 3,500+ app directory. For research, reports, or customer follow-ups with a person reviewing drafts, Lava, from $14.99/month.

Sources and methodology

Every price, count and date comes from these pages. Make's pricing page renders prices with JavaScript, so its paid prices come from its comparison pages and blog.

• Make vs n8n (Make): https://www.make.com/compare/make-vs-n8n, checked 2026-11-09
• Make vs Zapier (Make; prices as of Nov 2025): https://www.make.com/compare/make-vs-zapier, checked 2026-11-09
• Make blog, Aug 4, 2026: https://www.make.com/en/blog/best-ai-automation-tools, checked 2026-11-09
• Make blog, Jun 17, 2026: https://www.make.com/blog/best-ai-agent-platforms, checked 2026-11-09
• Make pricing: https://www.make.com/en/pricing, checked 2026-11-09
• Make pricing page (pricing-parameters URL): https://www.make.com/en/help/general/pricing-parameters, checked 2026-11-09
• Make credits announcement: https://help.make.com/introducing-credits-new-billing-unit-live-in-make, checked 2026-11-09
• Make integrations: https://www.make.com/integrations, checked 2026-11-09
• Make 2022 year in review: https://www.make.com/en/blog/2022-make-year-in-review, checked 2026-11-09
• Integromat evolves to Make: https://www.make.com/integromat-evolves-to-make, checked 2026-11-09
• Make AI Agents press release: https://www.make.com/make-ai-agents-press-release, checked 2026-11-09
• Make AI Agent (New): https://help.make.com/introduction-to-make-ai-agent-new, checked 2026-11-09
• Make MCP Server: https://www.make.com/mcp, checked 2026-11-09
• Lava Plans: https://lava.so/plans, checked 2026-11-09
• Lava workspace launch, Oct 17, 2026: https://build.lava.so/blog/introducing-lava-workspace, checked 2026-11-09
• Lava blog, Jul 13, 2026: https://www.lava.so/blog/mcp-server-vs-workspace, checked 2026-11-09
• Lava homepage: https://lava.so, checked 2026-11-09