You’re probably overpaying for Make.com – and 4 other no-code traps

Feeling burned by bloated automation bills, flaky plugins, or AI tools that overpromise and underdeliver? You’re not alone.

This week, we break down where your money might be disappearing, share quick fixes for frustrating tech issues, and spotlight the no-code tools that are helping founders earn — and the ones you should probably ditch.

Cost Watch

Where your money’s leaking — and how to plug the holes.

The founder of FormulaBot recently got hit with a $4,999 OpenAI bill after going viral on Reddit. No API caps. No monetization in place. Just a runaway success and a very real invoice.

Lesson: If you’re using usage-based APIs like OpenAI, cap your usage and gate your app before you share it with the world.
Read the full story → https://www.reddit.com/r/nocode/comments/1bnr22m/solopreneur_making_40k_mrr_with_a_no_code_saas

Make.com may look like a cheaper Zapier alternative, but it charges for every single operation — including background checks and polling that return nothing.

Many founders are blowing through their monthly usage just by letting Make run in the background.
Compare pricing here → https://www.make.com/en/blog/make-vs-zapier

Trying to integrate with Toast POS? Heads up: there’s a $50/month fee per location just to access their API.

It’s not always disclosed up front, and it can catch you off guard.
Toast’s API fees → https://help.marginedge.com/hc/en-us/articles/11316106332179-Connecting-to-Toast-via-API

In contrast, Lyzr AI Studio is getting great feedback for keeping things simple.

No usage overages. No weird pricing math. Just a clean tiered structure that indie founders appreciate.
Check Lyzr’s pricing → https://www.lyzr.ai/pricing

No-Code Lifelines

Quick, reliable fixes for this week’s tech headaches.

If Bubble’s ChatGPT plugin is giving you grief (which it is for many), don’t waste time trying to debug it.

Just bypass the plugin and use Bubble’s API Connector to hit OpenAI directly. You’ll get better formatting, more control, and fewer errors.
Here’s how → https://forum.bubble.io/t/api-connector-plugin-setup-for-a-customized-chatgpt/360814

Connecting Make.com to Toast or another POS with no native plugin? Use the HTTP module to send raw API calls and push the data wherever you need it.

One solo founder used this to send orders from Toast directly into their CRM — no code required.
Make.com HTTP setup guide → https://www.make.com/en/help/tools/http

Struggling to display ChatGPT output in Bubble? Ask it to return structured JSON.

A simple prompt tweak — like “return an array of objects with 'title' and 'description' fields” — can make integration with Bubble’s repeating groups way easier.
Forum post example → https://forum.bubble.io/t/how-to-display-json-objects-in-repeating-groups/325996

And if your Make scenarios are racking up usage like crazy?

Try this: replace constant polling with a basic external cron job that only runs when needed. A $5/month server can save you hundreds in wasted operations.
How to schedule Make.com scenarios → https://help.make.com/schedule-a-scenario

Money Pit or Money Maker?

What’s worth your time — and what’s just burning it.

Lyzr AI Studio is quickly becoming a favorite. It’s easy to use, great for spinning up MVPs, and doesn’t punish you with surprise fees.

If you’ve got a real use case and want to build fast, it’s worth trying.
Full review → https://reply.io/blog/lyzr-ai-review

Those flashy AI “founder interview generators” that promise polished bios and posts in seconds?

They’re often stiff, repetitive, and... kind of cringe.

Use them to draft, sure. But unless you heavily edit, you’re just putting robotic content into the world — and it won’t convert.

And finally, a PSA: generic ChatGPT wrappers aren’t working anymore.

Users have moved on. Founders who are still shipping slight variations of GPT chat UIs are mostly seeing silence.

Meanwhile, niche tools like FormulaBot (AI for Excel) and Summarify (auto-summarizing links) are pulling in real revenue by solving one clear problem.
Summarify's story → https://www.reddit.com/r/SaaS/comments/1dcrcdl/simple_ai_wrapper_in_automode_8_months_4k_in

Takeaways

• Cap your API usage before things scale

• Use direct API calls when plugins fail

• Format AI output so it works cleanly with your no-code frontend

• Use automation triggers smartly to save operations

• Focus on real problems — not repackaged AI tools

Have something to share? Built something smart? Solved something painful?

Hit reply and let me know. You might be featured in next week’s issue.

Until then — build smarter, not harder.
– The AI No-Code Rescue Team