GoHighLevel and Make (Integromat): When It Beats Zapier and How to Get Started

By Damian Qualter | GoHighLevel Expert | 200+ Implementations

GoHighLevel and Make – The honest starting point for this comparison: Make doesn’t always beat Zapier. For a service business with three simple Zaps firing at low volume, Zapier’s interface is faster to use, and the support documentation is better. Choose the tool that solves your problem in the least time, not the one with the technically superior architecture.

GoHighLevel and Make

That said, there are clear scenarios where Make’s approach to automation logic produces better outcomes than Zapier — particularly for conditional routing, high-volume agencies, and complex data handling. Understanding which scenarios those are before you commit to a tool is worth the 15 minutes it takes to read this article.

The one-line summary: Zapier for simple, low-volume automations where setup speed matters. Make for complex logic, high volume, or agency-scale operations where cost and capability matter more.

Make Pricing Overview

Make bills per “operation” — each module execution in a scenario counts as one operation. A 4-module scenario firing 500 times per month uses 2,000 operations. At Core plan prices, that’s $9/month (approx. £7/month). The equivalent in Zapier (2,000 tasks) requires the Professional plan at $49/month (approx. £39/month). The cost difference at comparable volume is significant. Verify current pricing at make.com.

Where Make Wins: The Three Real Advantages

1. Conditional Branching Without Plan Upgrades

In Zapier, routing a trigger down different paths based on conditions requires the Paths feature — available on the Professional plan ($49/month, approx. £39/month) and above. A standard Starter Zap follows one linear path.

In Make, a Router module sends execution down multiple branches based on conditions — included in the Core plan at $9/month. No upgrade required.

Real-world scenario: A mortgage broker receives leads from three sources — Unbiased.co.uk (email notification), Facebook Lead Ads (native GHL), and website form (native GHL). Each source requires different lead handling: different pipeline assignment, different follow-up workflow, different compliance tagging.

In Zapier (Starter plan): three separate Zaps, each one checking the source and acting accordingly. Managing three Zaps for what is logically one process is administratively messy and creates synchronisation problems when one gets updated, but another doesn’t.

In Make (Core plan): one scenario with a Router module. Three branches, each handling a different source. One scenario to maintain, one place to update.

2. Operations Cost vs Zapier Tasks

For an agency running 20 client GoHighLevel sub-accounts, each with automation bridges to Xero and a project management tool — estimating conservatively at 300 automation events per client per month — that’s 6,000 automation events per month. In Zapier (assuming 2 action steps per event), that’s 12,000 tasks. Zapier’s next plan tier above Professional is Team at $69/month for 2,000 tasks — still not enough; you’d need to negotiate or upgrade further.

In Make (Core plan): $9/month for 10,000 operations. Additional operations are available at incremental cost rather than requiring a full plan upgrade.

3. Error Handling Built Into the Scenario

Make allows you to define error-handler routes for each module — what happens when the GoHighLevel API returns a 429 rate-limit response, and what happens when an Xero invoice creation fails because the customer doesn’t exist yet. These recovery paths are built into the scenario as additional routes, not as separate monitoring tools.

Zapier offers basic error notification emails. It doesn’t let you build what should happen next when something fails. For production automation infrastructure serving paying clients, configurable error handling isn’t a nice-to-have — it’s what separates architecture that runs reliably from architecture that requires manual intervention when something unexpected happens.

Connecting GoHighLevel to Make

Step 1: In Make, create a new scenario and add a module. Search “GoHighLevel.”

Step 2: Select your trigger or action event from Make’s GoHighLevel module library (New Contact, Contact Updated, New Appointment, Opportunity Stage Changed, Contact Tag Added are the primary triggers).

Step 3: Click Add a connection → Enter a name → Paste your GHL API key (from GoHighLevel Settings → Integrations → Zapier — Make uses the same key).

Step 4: Select your sub-account location from the dropdown and save.

GoHighLevel Webhook Trigger in Make (The More Reliable Pattern)

For real-time triggers — where you need the scenario to fire the moment something happens in GHL rather than on Make’s polling schedule — use GoHighLevel’s outbound webhook rather than Make’s polling trigger.

Setup:

1. In Make, add a Webhooks module as the trigger → Custom Webhook → Copy the generated URL
2. In GoHighLevel, create or open a workflow. Add a Webhook action step and paste the Make webhook URL as the destination
3. In GHL, set the workflow to fire on the trigger event you’re connecting to (contact tag added, form submitted, appointment status changed, etc.).

When the GHL event fires, the webhook posts the contact/event data to Make instantly. Make receives it and runs the scenario in real time — no polling interval, no delay.

This pattern gives you instant execution comparable to native integrations, with full Make logic capability for the processing that follows.

Make + GoHighLevel for Agencies: Sub-Account Routing

This is Make’s most significant structural advantage for GoHighLevel agencies.

In Make’s GoHighLevel module, the sub-account (location) is a module-level parameter — not fixed at the connection level. This means a single scenario can receive data from one source and route it to different GHL sub-accounts based on a field value in the payload. GoHighLevel and Make work incredibly well together.

Example: An agency with a centralised lead intake form. Leads from different sources belong to different client sub-accounts. A single Make scenario receives all lead webhooks, checks a field (e.g., client ID or campaign name), and routes each lead to the correct GHL sub-account — creating the contact, applying the appropriate tags, and starting the correct workflow, all in a single scenario.

Managing this in Zapier requires a separate Zap per client sub-account. Managing it in Make requires one scenario with a Router module. At ten clients, Make’s architecture is already cleaner. At twenty, it’s considerably more maintainable.

Make’s Limitations with GoHighLevel

The GoHighLevel module is community-maintained, not official. Zapier’s GHL integration is more actively maintained and has broader trigger/action coverage. Make’s GHL module may lag behind GHL API updates — a new GHL feature may be available in Zapier before it appears in Make’s module.

Workaround: Use GoHighLevel’s outbound webhook → Make webhook trigger for any event not available as a native Make module trigger. This covers virtually any GHL event not in Make’s predefined list, at the cost of slightly more setup time.

Learning curve: Make’s visual canvas is more powerful but less intuitive than Zapier’s linear interface. For non-technical operators, the first scenario takes longer to build in Make than the equivalent Zap in Zapier. This is a real cost — particularly for businesses where the founder is doing their own automation setup.

The Decision: Zapier or Make?

Frequently Asked Questions

Does GoHighLevel integrate with Make (Integromat)?
Yes. GoHighLevel has a native module in Make’s library. Connect via your GHL API key from Settings → Integrations → Zapier. Available triggers include New Contact, Contact Updated, New Appointment, Contact Tag Added, and Opportunity Stage Changed. For events not in the module, use a GoHighLevel outbound webhook → Make custom webhook trigger.

When should I use Make instead of Zapier with GoHighLevel?
Use Make when your automation needs conditional branching (routing to different destinations based on logic), when automation volume makes Zapier’s task pricing expensive, when you’re managing multiple GHL sub-accounts as an agency, or when you need configurable error handling for production-critical automations.

How do I connect GoHighLevel to Make?
In Make, add a GoHighLevel module to a scenario. Select your trigger or action type. Click Add a connection, enter a name, and paste your GHL API key (from GoHighLevel Settings → Integrations → Zapier). Select your sub-account from the dropdown. Save.

How much does Make cost compared to Zapier?
Make Core is $9/month (approx. £7/month) for 10,000 operations. Zapier Professional is $49/month (approx. £39/month) for 2,000 tasks. At comparable automation volume, Make is 3–5× cheaper. For high-volume agency operations, this difference is significant annually.

What can Make do with GoHighLevel that Zapier can’t?
Conditional routing (Router module) at the base plan level with no upgrade required, configurable error-handler paths per module, sub-account routing within a single scenario, and native support for iterators and aggregators for multi-record automation loops.

Is Make better than Zapier for GoHighLevel agencies?
For agencies managing multiple sub-accounts with complex automation requirements and high volume, Make’s architecture and pricing are more suitable. The sub-account routing capability in a single scenario — vs a separate Zap per client in Zapier — is the clearest practical advantage at agency scale.

How do I set up a GoHighLevel webhook trigger in Make?
In Make, add a Webhooks module → Custom Webhook → copy the generated URL. In GoHighLevel, open or create a workflow, add a Webhook action step, set the destination to Make URL, and set the GHL workflow trigger to the event you want to capture. When GHL fires the event, data posts to Make instantly.

Does Make support all GoHighLevel triggers?
Make’s native GoHighLevel module covers the most common triggers. For events not available in the module, use GHL’s outbound webhook → Make custom webhook trigger, which effectively supports any GHL workflow event. The native module has fewer triggers than Zapier’s GHL integration — the webhook approach is the reliable workaround.

Can Make handle GoHighLevel sub-accounts for agencies?
Yes. In Make’s GoHighLevel module, the sub-account/location is a module-level parameter, not a fixed connection setting. A single scenario can route to different sub-accounts based on a field value — enabling centralised automation management across multiple client accounts within a single Make workspace.

What is the difference between a Make operation and a Zapier task?
Both count individual action executions. In Zapier, each action step in a Zap that runs once consumes one task. In Make, each module in a scenario that executes once consumes one operation. The accounting is similar in principle, but Make’s plans include significantly more operations per pound/dollar — Make Core provides 10,000 operations/month for $9, vs Zapier Starter’s 750 tasks for $19.99. GoHighLevel and Make.

Want your GoHighLevel Zapier stack built and tested correctly?

to discuss your integration requirements.