Kovca vs. Make

Workflow automation built for developers and AI agents

Make lets you design detailed automations on a visual canvas, with routers, filters, and thousands of apps. Kovca takes a different approach: build, deploy, and execute programmable workflows through APIs, webhooks, and AI coding agents.

For developers who ship automation as part of their product, and the coding agents they build with.

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Why developers choose Kovca

A Make alternative built around code and agents

Make is a powerful visual automation platform. Kovca is opinionated: workflows are versioned infrastructure that your application and your AI agent can build, call, and operate.

Workflows your AI agent can operate

Connect Claude Code, Cursor, or VS Code to Kovca's remote MCP server and your agent can find nodes, build and edit drafts, validate, test, publish, run, and turn automations on. The API key sets the limit (Run, Author, or Publish), so an agent can build and test freely while publishing stays with a person. Every edit lands on the same draft you see in the Studio.

The MCP server

Workflows as application infrastructure

Every published workflow is an endpoint with a typed input and output contract. Call it with a bearer key and an Idempotency-Key, pin a version so a later publish never changes what your code receives, and look up any run and its steps by ID. The same workflow can also start from a schedule, an inbound webhook, or an app event.

Workflows API

Structured AI decisions

Decision AI nodes classify, score, and decide from outcomes you define, and return typed fields you branch on. There's no model to choose, no AI provider account to connect, and no output parser to configure: a successful evaluation is 5 credits. Generative AI nodes cover writing, summarizing, and extraction when you need words instead.

Decision AI

One experience for developers and agents

The Studio canvas and its assistant, the kovca CLI, your AI agent over MCP, and the API all edit the same drafts, run the same validation, and publish the same immutable versions. Sketch on the canvas, script it from the terminal, or hand it to an agent, without switching tools or formats.

The Studio

Feature comparison

Kovca and Make, side by side

Both platforms cover the basics. The differences are in how each one does it, so every row says how, not just whether.

Kovca and Make capabilities, last reviewed November 6, 2026
Capability	Kovca	Make
Visual workflow builder	Studio canvas, with tests on saved examples Docs	Scenario builder canvas, plus Make Grid to map scenarios and their dependencies
AI-assisted building	Studio assistant on the web and kovca agent in the terminal, included within free daily limits Docs	Make describes building scenarios by prompting or from an AI chat
MCP server for coding agents	Remote MCP server on every plan; each API key is Run, Author, or Publish Docs	Make MCP server: run scenarios on every plan; management tools on paid plans
Agent-managed lifecycle	Build, edit, validate, test, publish, run, and turn automations on or off over MCP Docs	On paid plans, MCP tools view and modify scenarios, connections, webhooks, and data stores
Workflows as agent tools	Expose a published workflow as its own wf_ tool with its input schema Docs	Active and on-demand scenarios run as MCP tools
Call a workflow from your code	Every published workflow is an execute endpoint with typed input and output, idempotency keys, and run lookup Docs	Custom webhook trigger with a Webhook response module; on-demand scenarios can also run through the Make API
Inbound webhooks	Webhook triggers with signature verification and de-duplication Docs	Custom webhooks, processed in parallel by default
Schedules and app events	Schedule trigger and 400+ app events Docs	Interval, daily, weekly, monthly, and on-demand schedules, plus instant app triggers
Structured AI decisions	Decision AI nodes: typed outputs from outcomes you define, model included, fixed credits per evaluation Docs	Make AI Toolkit modules, such as categorization and sentiment, on Make's AI provider or your own on paid plans
AI agents and generation	Generative AI nodes for writing, summarizing, extracting, and analysis, model included Docs	Make AI Agents with tools and knowledge files, and AI Toolkit modules for summarizing and translating
Custom code	No code step: built-in logic and data nodes, and HTTP actions	Make Code app (JavaScript and Python) on paid plans, in open beta
Human approval and waits	Approvals, delays, and callbacks; a run can wait up to 90 days Docs	Sleep module pauses a run
Versioning	Every publish is an immutable version, on every plan; callers can pin one Docs	Saved versions kept for 60 days (the latest until a newer one is saved), with restore
Workflows as code	kovca CLI export and apply, for review in pull requests Docs	Scenario blueprints through the Make API
Integrations	34 apps, plus any HTTP API Docs	Thousands of apps, a far larger library
Templates	17 workflow templates with step-by-step guides Docs	A large library of public templates
Hosting	Managed service only	Cloud; an Enterprise on-prem agent connects scenarios to systems behind your firewall
Pricing	Credits for steps that succeed: 5,000 free a month, then $0.001 per credit, no monthly fee Docs	Credits (formerly operations): one per module operation, with AI usage added; a free plan and monthly paid plans

Last reviewed November 6, 2026, from each product's public documentation and pricing. Make features and availability vary by plan and change over time; check Make's documentation for current details.

Make sources

Choose Kovca when

Automation is part of what you ship

Your application calls workflows like functions: typed input and output, idempotent retries, and pinned versions.
You want an AI coding agent to build, test, and publish workflows on every plan, with publishing gated by the key you give it.
You need classification, scoring, or yes/no decisions as typed fields with a fixed price per evaluation, without choosing a model.
You want every published version kept, so callers and running automations never change underneath you.
Some cases need a person: a run pauses for an approval, a delay, or a callback for up to 90 days, then continues on the same version.

Make may be a better fit when

You need breadth, or detailed visual data flows

You depend on an app Kovca doesn't connect to. Make connects thousands of apps; Kovca connects 34, plus any HTTP API you configure yourself.
You build detailed data flows visually, with routers, iterators, and aggregators, and want to see every module on the canvas.
You want to drop into code. The Make Code app runs JavaScript and Python on paid plans; Kovca has no custom code step.
Your automations must reach systems behind your firewall. Make's Enterprise on-prem agent does that; Kovca reaches only public endpoints.
You want to start from a large library of public templates.

See the difference

An agent builds, tests, and runs a workflow

Claude Code connects to Kovca's MCP server and builds a GitHub issue triage workflow while it appears in the Studio.

1
Connect
Add Kovca's MCP server to Claude Code with an Author key.
2
Ask
Describe the workflow. The agent finds nodes, builds the draft, and tests it, and you watch it appear in the Studio.
3
Review and publish
An Author key can't publish, so a person reviews the workflow, publishes it, and exposes it as an agent tool.
4
Run
The agent calls the published workflow as its own tool, and the run is recorded in Executions.

MCP setup guide More about the MCP server

Connect Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http kovca https://kovca.io/api/v1/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: ******"

FAQ

Questions about Kovca and Make

Is Kovca an alternative to Make?

Yes, for developers who build workflows their application calls and their AI agents operate. Kovca isn't a drop-in replacement: it doesn't import Make blueprints and it connects far fewer apps. You rebuild a scenario in the Studio, from the CLI, or by asking an agent to build it over MCP.

Does Kovca support MCP?

Yes. Kovca is a remote MCP server over Streamable HTTP, on every plan. Each API key is Run, Author, or Publish, and tools above the key's level are refused, so an agent can build and test without being able to publish. Make also has an MCP server; the comparison table shows how the two differ.

Can I build workflows using Claude Code or other coding agents?

Yes. Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, and other MCP clients that connect to a remote server with an API key header can list nodes, create and edit drafts, validate, test, publish, and run workflows. Hosted chat apps that require an OAuth sign-in to connect aren't supported yet.

Can I call Kovca workflows from my application?

Yes. Every published workflow has an endpoint, POST /v1/workflows/{id}/execute, that takes a bearer API key and typed JSON input. Send an Idempotency-Key so a retry returns the original run, pin a version so later publishes don't change your contract, and look up any run with GET /v1/runs/{id}. Outbound webhooks tell you when runs finish or wait.

Does Kovca support third-party integrations?

Yes. 34 apps have triggers and actions, including Gmail, Slack, GitHub, HubSpot, Stripe, Jira, and Notion. You sign in to an app once and every workflow in the workspace can use it, and any other HTTP API is reachable with an HTTP action. Make connects many more apps.

Can I self-host Kovca?

No. Kovca is a managed service, and there is no self-hosted edition. Make is a cloud service too, with an Enterprise agent for reaching systems on your own network.

How does Kovca pricing compare with Make?

They measure different things. Kovca charges credits for what succeeds: 5,000 free credits a month, then $0.001 per credit with no monthly fee. A Decision AI step is 5 credits and a run started by the API is 1; logic steps, tests, and simulated actions are free, and there's no separate AI provider account to pay. Make counts credits, one for each module operation plus AI usage, on a free plan and monthly paid plans. Which costs less depends on your workload.

Build your next automation with Kovca.

Create workflows visually, manage them with AI agents, and integrate them directly into your applications. 5,000 free credits a month, no card required.