Make (formerly Integromat) is a visual automation platform built around a flowchart-style scenario builder with 3,000+ app integrations and a free tier. Kestra is a workflow orchestration platform for engineering and data teams that need data pipelines, infrastructure automation, and production workflows at scale, with version control and the option to self-host.
Declarative YAML orchestration platform for engineering and data teams. Define data pipelines, infrastructure automation, and business workflows in version-controlled YAML. Any event, any language, self-hosted or on Kestra Cloud, with no operation-credit billing and no execution time ceiling.
No-code visual automation platform built around a flowchart interface. Drag-and-drop modules connect 3,000+ apps into multi-step scenarios. A free tier and low entry price make it accessible to teams that need complex multi-app automation without writing code.
Make is cloud-first SaaS, so there is no infrastructure to configure. Scenarios are built entirely in the browser. The free tier limits active scenarios to two and scheduling to 15-minute intervals, which constrains how much you can test before needing a paid plan.
curl -o docker-compose.yml \https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kestra-io/kestra/develop/docker-compose.ymldocker compose up
# Open localhost:8080# Pick a Blueprint, run it. Done.Download the Docker Compose file, spin it up, and you're ready (database and config included). Open the UI, pick a Blueprint, run it. No cloud account required, no operation credits, no scenario limits.
Sign up at make.com, create a scenario, add modules for your trigger app and action apps, connect each via OAuth, and configure the data mappings. Free tier allows 2 active scenarios with 15-minute minimum scheduling intervals.
YAML is readable on day 1. Our docs are embedded in the UI for easy reference, the AI Copilot writes workflows for you, or start with our library of Blueprints. Workflows live in Git and deploy through your existing CI/CD pipeline.
Make scenarios are built by connecting modules in a visual flowchart. Each module represents an app action or data transform. Scenarios support iterators, routers, aggregators, and filters for complex logic. All configuration happens in the browser with no local files.
Orchestrate data pipelines, infrastructure provisioning, business processes, and event-driven automations in one platform. No operation-credit ceiling, no execution time limit. Self-host with full control or use Kestra Cloud.
Build complex multi-step automations visually across 3,000+ apps. More capable than two-step tools for routing, filtering, and data transformation. Not designed for data pipeline workloads, long-running computations over 40 minutes, or infrastructure automation.
| | | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary use case | Universal workflow orchestration | Visual multi-step app automation |
| Workflow definition | Declarative YAML (version-controlled) | Visual flowchart builder (cloud-stored, no files) |
| Deployment model | Self-hosted or Kestra Cloud | Cloud-first (on-prem agents for Enterprise only) |
| Languages supported | Agnostic (Python, R, Bash, Node.js, SQL & more) | No-code (custom functions available on Enterprise) |
| Execution time limit | No limit | 40 minutes maximum on all plans |
| Data pipeline support | Native support (ETL, dbt, Spark, Airbyte) | Not designed for data pipeline or compute-heavy workloads |
| Infrastructure automation | Native support | Not designed for this |
| Self-service for non-engineers | Kestra Apps | ✓ Visual scenario builder requires no coding |
| GitOps and version control | Native Git sync, Terraform provider | No native version control (scenario blueprints only) |
| Multi-tenancy and RBAC | Enterprise namespace isolation | Team roles on Teams plan; advanced controls on Enterprise |
| Pricing model | Infrastructure cost (no per-operation billing) | Per-operation credits; free tier caps at 1,000 ops/month |
| Open source | Open source (Apache 2.0) | Closed source SaaS |
Kestra made the data mesh possible. We produce far more data now, and deliver it nearly 10 times faster.
Kestra flows run for as long as the task requires, from seconds to hours, with no ceiling on execution time. A dbt run against a large model, a Spark job processing overnight data, or a file export from cloud storage all complete at their natural pace. Retry logic, timeout configuration, and execution monitoring are available as YAML-level settings on every workflow.
1,200+ plugins cover dbt, Airbyte, Spark, Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks, and every major data warehouse, cloud provider, and message queue. Data engineers define ETL pipelines in the same declarative YAML they use for event-driven automations and business process workflows. DAG visualization and data-specific retry semantics are built in, not bolted on.
Kestra flows are YAML files in a repository. Every modification is a commit, deployments are tracked, and rolling back a broken workflow is a git revert. Teams review automation changes in a pull request before they go live, the same process they use for any other production change.
Find answers to your questions right here, and don't hesitate to Contact Us if you couldn't find what you're looking for.
See how Kestra can simplify your workflows—and scale beyond operation-credit limits.