Make routers and filters: send one trigger down several paths

How a router moves a bundle

A router branches a scenario into several chains of modules, and each route processes data according to the condition you set with a filter. [1] You add one from Tools, Flow control, or by right-clicking the line between two modules and choosing Add a router. [1] [2]

Routes run one after another, not in parallel: Make does not start the second route until the first finishes. [1] To change the order, right-click the router, choose Order routes, move routes with the arrows and click Apply; Auto-align arranges with set order only tidies the canvas. [1] [2]

A route without a filter receives every bundle. In Make Academy's example, one weather bundle goes through the router to both a Google Sheets route and a Slack route. [2] A bundle that passes the filters on two routes therefore runs down both. That is useful for sending one lead to a CRM and to Slack, and a bug when you meant either-or.

Fallback routes and route order

A fallback route handles data that does not match the conditions of any other route. Click the route, choose Yes to mark it as the fallback and save; the router shows it with a special arrow, and it is meant to run last. [1] You can still add a filter to a fallback route. [1]

Order matters when a later route depends on something an earlier route did, such as writing a CRM record that a later route updates. Because routes run in sequence, put the producing route first. [1] Make Academy's Explain flow control, under Controls, animates the path data takes, which is the fastest way to confirm the order. [2]

Filter operators and AND/OR rules

You add a filter by clicking the line between two modules, or by right-clicking it and choosing Set up a filter. [3] [4] Each condition takes one or two operands and an operator, and bundles that fail are not processed further. [3] Give every filter a label; Make Academy calls this optional but recommended. [4]

Conditions combine with AND and OR. An AND rule adds a criterion that must also be met; an OR rule adds an alternative, and the bundle passes if it meets any one of them. In the editor, an AND filter shows one blue line and an OR filter splits it in two. [5]

• Make filters cannot be copied natively in the scenario editor; Make points to a Chrome DevTool extension workaround. [3] Rebuild filters carefully, or keep the conditions written in the label.

What routing costs

The router itself is free: Make's pricing FAQ says no credits are counted for the Router module. [6] Filters are free too, and Make Academy's example shows why that matters: 5 form responses arrive, a filter passes only the 3 with a rating of 2 or lower, and the Slack module runs 3 times for 3 credits. [7] Make Academy also notes that a filter can cut a two-credit scenario to one credit per run. [8]

So the bill is the trigger plus, for each route, the bundles that pass its filter multiplied by the modules on it. Overlapping filters double-bill: a bundle that runs down two routes pays for the modules on both.

Worked example: VIP, standard and spam leads

One web form feeds a router with three routes. Route order is spam first, then VIP, then the fallback, so the cheapest check runs first and the default case catches everything else.

Route 1, spam: message contains the word http OR email does not exist. One module adds the response to a review sheet. Route 2, VIP: budget greater than or equal to 10000 AND message does not contain the word http AND email exists. Two modules create a CRM deal and post to Slack. Route 3, fallback, standard: one module adds the person to an email list. Because the VIP filter repeats the inverse of the spam conditions, a spam message with a big budget cannot go down both routes, and anything that is neither spam nor VIP lands in the fallback.

• 100 leads a month on an instant trigger, with 10 VIP and 15 spam: 100 trigger runs, 20 VIP credits, 15 spam credits and 75 standard credits, so 210 credits.
• If route 3 were an ordinary route with no filter instead of a fallback, every VIP and spam lead would also go down it: 25 extra credits and 25 wrong people on the standard list.

Test checklist for each branch

Test every route with data built to hit it, then one bundle built to hit none. Run once executes the whole scenario, and disabling routes isolates the one you are testing. [8] Scenario run replay can rerun an earlier run's trigger data against your edited filters on all plans, at the normal credit cost. [9]

• Spam: submit a message containing a link, confirm only route 1 shows a bubble.
• Spam without email: leave email blank, confirm route 1 and not the fallback.
• VIP: budget 10000 exactly, to test the greater than or equal boundary; confirm route 2 only.
• VIP with a link: budget 50000 and a link; confirm route 1 only.
• Standard: budget 500, no link; confirm only the fallback runs.
• Read the numbered bubbles after each run; the numbers show how many bundles each module processed. [7]
• Use Explain flow to confirm route order matches your plan. [2]

Sources & verification

Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.

1. Make Help Center: Router Accessed 30 Oct 2026
2. Make Academy: Adding a router Accessed 30 Oct 2026
3. Make Help Center: Filtering Accessed 30 Oct 2026
4. Make Academy: Adding a filter Accessed 30 Oct 2026
5. Make Academy: More options with filters Accessed 30 Oct 2026
6. Make pricing and credits FAQ Accessed 30 Oct 2026
7. Make Academy: Introduction to bundles Accessed 30 Oct 2026
8. Make Academy: Run once Accessed 30 Oct 2026
9. Make Help Center: Scenario run replay Accessed 30 Oct 2026