Make.com vs Uplizd: General Automation vs AI-First Workflows in 2025

Here's the truth about Make.com vs Uplizd: they're designed for completely different jobs, and the smartest teams use both together.

Make.com connects your business apps (Gmail, Slack, Salesforce—2,400+ integrations). Uplizd powers your AI workflows (RAG chatbots, document analysis, multi-agent systems).

Think of it this way: Make.com is your business automation layer. Uplizd is your AI intelligence layer.

Let me show you exactly when to use each (spoiler: often you want both).

---

TL;DR: The One-Minute Answer

Bottom Line: Make = connect any app to any app. Uplizd = AI-powered workflows with massive cost savings. Most teams use both together via webhooks.

---

The Core Difference (Visualized)

Make.com: "Connect Any App to Any App"

Make.com is the integration hub for your business apps.

What it does:

• •Connects Gmail → Google Sheets
• •Syncs Shopify orders → Slack notifications
• •Routes form submissions → CRM → email campaigns
• •Automates repetitive tasks between apps

What it does NOT do:

• •Native AI/LLM support (you can call OpenAI API, but it's expensive and manual)
• •RAG pipelines
• •Vector database integration
• •Multi-agent orchestration
• •LLM cost optimization

Target user: Marketing ops, sales ops, business automation teams

Example workflow: "When customer fills form → Add to Salesforce → Send welcome email via SendGrid → Post to Slack"

---

Uplizd: "Connect AI/LLMs to Your Workflows"

Uplizd is the AI intelligence platform for your products.

What it does:

• •Builds RAG chatbots (knowledge base search)
• •Analyzes documents with AI
• •Orchestrates multi-agent systems
• •Generates content, summaries, insights
• •99.9% LLM cost savings via caching

What it does NOT do:

• •Pre-built connectors for 2,400 business apps (use webhooks instead)
• •Replace traditional automation tools

Target user: AI engineers, product teams, SaaS builders

Example workflow: "When user asks question → Search 10K docs in vector DB → Generate AI answer with GPT-4 → Analyze sentiment → Route complex queries to human → Learn from feedback"

---

The AI Gap: What Make.com Can't Do

Let's be honest about Make.com's AI limitations:

Reality check: You CAN call OpenAI API from Make.com with an HTTP module. But you're paying full price ($20-500/month for LLM calls) with no caching, no RAG, no vector DB support.

---

Real-World Example: AI-Powered Customer Support

Let's build an AI support system with both platforms and compare.

Scenario: Process 1,000 customer questions/month with AI

With Make.com Only (Painful and Expensive)

Total monthly cost:

Make.com Pro Plan:    $18.82/month
OpenAI API:           $200/month (no caching)
Pinecone Vector DB:   $70/month
──────────────────────────────────
TOTAL:                $288.82/month

Pros:

• •✅ You can connect result to other apps (Slack, email, CRM)

Cons:

• •❌ Expensive LLM costs (no caching)
• •❌ No RAG support (must build yourself)
• •❌ Manual prompt engineering
• •❌ 10+ hours dev time for RAG setup

---

With Uplizd (Fast and Cost-Optimized)

Total monthly cost:

Uplizd Starter:       $19/month
LLM API (cached):     $5/month (99% cache hit rate)
Vector DB:            $0 (included)
──────────────────────────────────
TOTAL:                $24/month

Pros:

• •✅ 92% cost savings ($24 vs $289)
• •✅ 2-minute setup (vs 10 hours)
• •✅ Built-in RAG and vector DB
• •✅ AI Copilot generates workflow

Cons:

• •❌ No direct CRM/Slack integrations (use webhooks or hybrid approach)

---

The Power Combo: Make.com + Uplizd Together

Here's where it gets exciting. Use both platforms together for maximum power:

Architecture

Business Automation Layer (Make.com):

• •Handles app integrations (CRM, email, Slack, e-commerce)
• •Routes data between business tools
• •Triggers workflows based on events

AI Intelligence Layer (Uplizd):

• •Processes requests with AI
• •Analyzes documents and sentiment
• •Generates intelligent responses
• •Makes decisions with multi-agent systems

Communication: Webhooks (bidirectional)

---

Real Example: E-commerce with AI

Scenario: Intelligent order processing + customer support

Workflow:

1. •Customer places order (Shopify) → Make.com detects
2. •Make → Adds to CRM (Salesforce)
3. •Make → Sends order confirmation (SendGrid)
4. •Customer asks question → Make.com triggers Uplizd webhook
5. •Uplizd AI chatbot searches knowledge base (RAG)
6. •Uplizd generates personalized answer
7. •Uplizd analyzes sentiment (is customer angry?)
8. •If complex/angry → Uplizd returns flag to Make
9. •Make → Creates support ticket (Zendesk)
10. •Make → Notifies support team (Slack)

Result: Business automation (Make) + AI intelligence (Uplizd) = Fully automated, intelligent system

---

Cost Comparison: Hybrid Approach

Scenario: 1,000 customer interactions/month with AI + app integrations

Using Make.com Only (AI via HTTP calls)

Make.com Pro:         $18.82/month
OpenAI API:           $200/month (no caching)
Pinecone:             $70/month
──────────────────────────────────
TOTAL:                $288.82/month

Using Make.com + Uplizd (Hybrid)

Make.com Core:        $10.59/month (for app automation)
Uplizd Starter:       $19/month (for AI workflows)
LLM API (cached):     $5/month (99% cache hit rate)
──────────────────────────────────
TOTAL:                $34.59/month

Savings: $254.23/month (88% reduction)

Bonus: Better architecture (separation of concerns), faster AI workflows, built-in RAG support.

---

When to Use Which Platform

Choose Make.com if you need:

Ideal customer: Marketing teams, sales ops, business automation specialists

Real example: A marketing agency automating client reporting: Google Analytics → Google Sheets → Data Studio → Client email via SendGrid

---

Choose Uplizd if you need:

Ideal customer: SaaS builders, AI engineers, product teams shipping AI features

Real example: A healthcare company building HIPAA-compliant patient intake chatbot with RAG knowledge base (10K medical documents) and sentiment detection

---

Choose Both (Hybrid) if you need:

This is the recommended approach for most teams building AI-powered products.

---

Use Case Matrix: Quick Decision Guide

---

Migration Scenarios

Scenario 1: "I already use Make.com, should I switch?"

Answer: No! Keep Make for app automation.

✅ Keep Make.com for:

• •CRM, email, e-commerce app connections
• •Business process automation
• •Data synchronization between tools

✅ Add Uplizd for:

• •AI-powered features (chatbots, RAG, analysis)
• •LLM cost optimization (99.9% savings)
• •Multi-agent workflows

✅ Connect them:

• •Use webhooks (Make → Uplizd → Make)
• •Best of both worlds

Migration time: 0 minutes (you're adding, not replacing)

---

Scenario 2: "I only need AI workflows (no app integrations)"

Answer: Choose Uplizd.

• •No need for 2,400+ app integrations
• •Uplizd has webhooks for essential connections
• •99.9% LLM cost savings from day one
• •Purpose-built for AI

Example: You're building an internal AI tool for document analysis. No need for CRM/email integrations. Uplizd is perfect.

---

Scenario 3: "I currently use Make.com to call OpenAI API"

Answer: Migrate AI workflows to Uplizd.

Why migrate:

• •Save 92% on costs ($289 → $24/month)
• •Get built-in RAG and vector DB support
• •AI Copilot generates workflows in 2 minutes
• •Keep Make.com for non-AI automation

How to migrate:

1. •Use Uplizd AI Copilot to describe your workflow
2. •Copilot generates equivalent workflow (2 min)
3. •Test and deploy (10 min)
4. •Connect back to Make via webhooks (5 min)

Total migration time: 15-20 minutes per workflow

---

Pricing Breakdown

Make.com Pricing

Hidden costs for AI:

• •LLM API calls: $50-500/month (no caching)
• •External vector DB: $20-100/month (Pinecone, Weaviate)
• •Dev time: 10-40 hours/month for AI setup

Real TCO (with AI): $80-650/month

---

Uplizd Pricing

Everything included:

• •Infrastructure (K8s, PostgreSQL, Redis)
• •LLM caching (99.9% cost savings)
• •Vector databases (Qdrant, Pinecone, Chroma)
• •Multi-tenancy
• •Enterprise features (SSO, quotas, audit logs)

Real TCO: $19-599/month (no hidden costs)

---

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can Make.com do AI workflows? A: Technically yes (via HTTP module calling LLM APIs), but it's expensive ($200-500/month LLM costs) and manual (no RAG, no vector DB, no caching). Not recommended for serious AI work.

Q: Can Uplizd integrate with my CRM like Make.com does? A: Via webhooks, yes. But if you need deep CRM integrations, use Make.com to handle that layer, then trigger Uplizd for AI processing. This is the hybrid approach (recommended).

Q: Which should I learn first? A: Depends on your goal:

• •Building AI products → Uplizd
• •Automating business processes → Make.com
• •Building AI-powered business automation → Both (start with Make, add Uplizd)

Q: Can they work together? A: Absolutely! This is the most powerful setup. Make.com handles app automation, Uplizd handles AI intelligence, connected via webhooks.

Q: I have a Make.com workflow calling OpenAI. Should I migrate to Uplizd? A: Yes, for massive cost savings (92% reduction) and better AI capabilities (RAG, vector DB, multi-agent). Keep Make for non-AI steps.

---

Key Takeaways

Make.com is Perfect For:

• •✅ App integrations (2,400+ pre-built connectors)
• •✅ Business process automation (CRM, email, e-commerce)
• •✅ Data synchronization between SaaS tools
• •✅ Simple if/then workflows (no AI needed)

Uplizd is Perfect For:

• •✅ AI workflows (RAG chatbots, document analysis, agents)
• •✅ 99.9% LLM cost savings (caching is game-changer)
• •✅ Vector databases (native support for Qdrant, Pinecone, Chroma)
• •✅ Multi-agent systems (orchestration built-in)
• •✅ Fast AI development (AI Copilot generates workflows)

The Hybrid Approach (Recommended):

• •✅ Use Make.com for business automation layer
• •✅ Use Uplizd for AI intelligence layer
• •✅ Connect via webhooks for best of both worlds
• •✅ Save 88%+ on costs vs Make-only AI approach

---

Ready to Try Uplizd?

Build AI workflows in 5 minutes—no credit card required:

• •✅ 100K tokens/month free (try before you buy)
• •✅ All 40+ AI templates (RAG, agents, chatbots)
• •✅ AI Copilot generates workflows (just describe what you need)
• •✅ 99.9% LLM cost savings (instant cost reduction)

---

Different tools for different jobs. Use both for maximum power.

*Last Updated: November 2025