Zapier or a custom build?
Short answer
Use Zapier for a few steps between supported apps that someone on your team will own. A fixed-scope build fits when two of these hold: the work runs through your core system and several other tools, a person approves changes, nobody in-house will maintain it.
- Zapier
- LOJIK build
Side by side
What you get, what you pay
Plans, prices and who does the work, row by row. Numbers link to the page they came from.
| Zapier | LOJIK build | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | No-code automation across 9,000+ apps.1 | Software and automations built around one business’s workflow, to a fixed scope. |
| Who builds and runs it | You do. When an app changes and a step breaks, the fix is yours. | LOJIK builds it. Your team runs it with a documented handoff, or LOJIK manages it. |
| How you pay | Per task: each unit of work Zapier completes. Triggers and built-in tools like Formatter and Filter don’t count.2 | Once per build. You approve the scope, schedule and price before work starts. |
| Starting price | Free for 100 tasks a month on two-step Zaps. Pro is $19.99 a month billed annually, or $29.99 monthly, for 750 tasks.2 | A one-time fixed price, quoted after we review your workflow. One connection between systems costs less than several systems that sync. |
| Checks on changes | Whatever steps you add yourself. | A human review step anywhere money or customer records change, and an audit log you can read. |
| As usage grows | With pay-per-task billing on, tasks past your plan’s limit cost more each than the plan’s own.2 | One price for the build. Your volume is priced in when the scope is set, not billed per run. |
LOJIK figures come from LOJIK's approved price book and are estimates until a LOJIK expert reviews the workflow.
Honest answer
When each one is the better choice
Each option wins somewhere. Two or more of these holding is a good sign it fits.
Zapier
Two or more of these hold:
- The job is a few steps between apps Zapier already supports.
- Someone on your team will build it and fix it when an app changes.
- Your monthly volume fits a plan’s task allowance.
LOJIK build
Two or more of these hold:
- The work runs through your core system and two or more other tools.
- A person has to approve changes to money or customer records.
- Nobody in-house has time to build it or keep it running.
Your plan
Start from your industry
Each link opens the plan builder with the builds this page is about already picked.
Questions
Asked and answered.
Tell us about the job. We will say plainly whether a tool is enough.
Talk it throughIs Zapier cheaper than a custom build?
For small jobs, yes. Zapier Pro is $19.99 a month billed annually for 750 tasks, while a LOJIK build is a one-time project, quoted after we review the workflow. A build is for work a tool plan can’t hold together: several systems, an approval step, or nobody to maintain it.2
When is it time to move off Zapier?
When fixing broken steps after app changes takes real staff time, when task costs keep climbing past your plan, or when the job needs a person to approve changes and a log of what happened.
What does a LOJIK build include?
A proposal that sets the scope, schedule, responsibilities and price for you to approve, the build itself with a human review step anywhere money or customer records change, and a documented handoff so your team can run it.
Sources
Every figure, dated
Each number on this page links here. Prices change, so every source shows when we last read it.
- Zapier app directory checked Sep 17, 2026
- Zapier pricing checked Sep 17, 2026
Product names are trademarks of their owners. LOJIK is not affiliated with them.
Compare
Keep comparing
- Zapier, Make or n8n?Zapier bills tasks, Make bills credits, n8n bills executions. See what your workflow would use on each, with prices checked against each vendor's pricing page.ZapierMaken8nLOJIK buildChecked Sep 17, 20264 dated sources
- What does workflow automation cost?What automation costs as a tool plan, a fixed-scope build or a full-time hire, with every price checked against its source and dated.ZapierMaken8nLOJIK buildFull-time hireChecked Sep 17, 20267 dated sources
- Who should automate your workflows?Upwork, Toptal, a Zapier or Make partner, an in-house hire or a fixed-scope build: what each costs, who scopes the job and who keeps it running. Fees checked against each source.UpworkToptalZapier or Make partnerIn-house hireLOJIK buildChecked Sep 17, 20268 dated sources
Weighing something else?
Apps, automations, integrations or a whole system: tell us what you are choosing between. We will say when a tool is enough and what a build would cost.