GoHighLevel workflows vs. Zapier and Make: when you need both
Short answer
Start with GoHighLevel's workflows: they cover messaging, calendars, pipelines, payments and webhooks inside HighLevel, and standard actions carry no extra charge. Add Zapier or Make when you need an app HighLevel doesn't connect to. HighLevel's own help center says the same: workflows first, a webhook next, then a connector like Zapier or Make when that's simpler. Each tool bills by use, so watch the busiest steps.
What HighLevel workflows cover on their own
- Fourteen groups of actions, including contacts, messaging, appointments, opportunities, payments, AI, internal logic and delays
- An inbound webhook trigger, so another app can start a workflow by sending data to a URL
- An outbound webhook action, and a custom webhook action that calls another app's API with its own method, headers and payload
- Standard actions have no extra charge; inbound webhooks, custom webhooks, Google Sheets and Slack actions are premium and billed per run after 100 free lifetime runs
What Zapier and Make add
- Thousands of other apps, for when the system you need isn't in HighLevel's integrations
- Zapier's LeadConnector app: an instant Pipeline Stage Changed trigger, and actions to add or update contacts and opportunities, add a contact to a workflow, stop workflows and add tasks
- Make's GoHighLevel app: triggers for events and contact updates, actions for contacts, opportunities, tasks and notes, and a general API call
- Zapier bills by task (each successful action; triggers and filters don't count), and Make by credits (by default one per operation)
Side by side
| Question | HighLevel workflows | Zapier or Make |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Anything that starts and ends in HighLevel | Connecting HighLevel to apps it doesn't integrate with |
| How it's billed | Standard actions included; premium actions per run | Per task (Zapier) or per credit (Make) |
| How fast it starts | On the trigger | Instant triggers right away; polling triggers on a schedule (every 1 to 15 minutes on Zapier, by plan) |
| Where it breaks | Inside one tool, with execution logs | Across two tools: check both histories |
| Who maintains it | Whoever runs HighLevel | Whoever owns the Zapier or Make account, too |
When you need both
- Another app starts the job. A new row in a spreadsheet or a sale in another store sends a webhook to HighLevel's inbound webhook trigger, or a Zap adds the contact to a workflow.
- HighLevel does the customer-facing part. Texts, emails, booking and the pipeline stay in a workflow, where the conversation history lives.
- Something has to go back out. A stage change triggers a Zap, or a webhook action sends the data on to the other app.
What to watch
- Zapier doesn't run Zaps for data that existed before the Zap was turned on
- Two tools means two places to look when something breaks
- Busy steps cost more on usage billing: filter early, so tasks and credits aren't spent on records you'll ignore
Common questions
- Do I need Zapier if I have GoHighLevel?
- Often not. If the job stays inside HighLevel, workflows handle it. You need Zapier, Make or a webhook when another app has to be involved.
- Should I use Zapier or Make?
- Both connect to HighLevel. Pick the one whose apps, pricing and editor suit you; the HighLevel side works the same way.
- Can you set it up for me?
- Yes. We build the workflows, and the Zapier or Make side if you need it, in your own accounts, and test them on real leads before they go live.
GoHighLevel, set up for you
Speed to lead: never miss a lead
Every lead from every source captured, answered in seconds and qualified, so the calls and messages you'd lose turn into booked jobs.
Follow-up, reviews & reactivation
Nurture that turns "not yet" into booked, old leads and past customers brought back, and review and referral requests after every job.
Related fixes
GoHighLevel workflow not triggering: a checklist
Usually it's still in Draft, the trigger filters don't match, or re-entry is off. The execution logs tell you which.
Read the fixGoHighLevel form not submitting, or not creating a contact
Check Submissions first. Then deduplication settings, an out-of-date embed code, sticky contact on shared devices, or a form HighLevel didn't build.
Read the fixGoHighLevel opportunities not moving pipeline stages
Usually a workflow trying to move a deal backward, no opportunity to update, or several opportunities on one contact.
Read the fix
Want GoHighLevel set up and running for you?
Book a free 15-minute call. Tell us what you sell and where your leads come from, new account or the one you have, and we'll tell you what we'd set up, how long it takes and what it costs.