Where the schedule lives and what it defaults to
A new scenario runs every 15 minutes. To change it, click Every 15 minutes on the scenario toolbar to open the schedule settings. [1] Make Academy also describes opening it from the scheduling icon in the lower-left corner or from the trigger icon on the first module. [2]
A schedule only matters once the scenario is active. After you save it, Make prompts you to activate the scenario, and a scenario that is not activated does not run on its schedule. [3] The organization dashboard shows the time remaining until the next run, which is a quick sanity check after any change. [1]
This page covers the schedule settings themselves. If your question is how many credits a polling scenario will burn, the polling credit budget guide does that arithmetic in depth.
Every schedule option, in plain terms
Make's help center lists At regular intervals, Once, Daily, Weekdays (Mon-Fri), Weekly, Monthly, Specified dates and On demand, plus Immediately for some triggers. [1] Make Academy describes the same choices with slightly different labels: Every day, Days of the week and Days of the month. [2] Expect the labels in your editor to match one of these sets.
| Option | What it does | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| At regular intervals | Runs every set number of minutes; advanced settings add time windows by time of day, weekday or month [1] [2] | Polling triggers that need regular checks | Each check costs the trigger credit even with nothing new [4] |
| Once | Runs a single time at a chosen date and time [2] | A one-off import or migration | Nothing runs afterwards; reschedule if you need it again |
| Every day / Daily | Runs at one or more times each day; Make's example adds three run times to one scenario [1] | Morning digests and nightly syncs | Uses the organization time zone [2] |
| Days of the week / Weekdays / Weekly | Runs on chosen weekdays; advanced settings allow ranges such as Monday to Friday [2] | Office-hours work | Weekend data waits until Monday |
| Days of the month / Monthly | Runs on set dates each month, such as the 1st, 10th and 15th [2] | Invoicing and monthly reports | Choose dates every month has |
| Specified dates | Runs on exact dates and months you pick [2] | Campaigns with known send dates | Easy to forget once the dates pass |
| On demand | No schedule; runs only from Run once or an API call [1] | Scenarios you trigger by hand or from another system | Nothing happens unless something starts it |
| Immediately (as data arrives) | Only for instant triggers; runs as soon as data arrives [2] [5] | Webhooks and instant app triggers | Set Maximum runs to start per minute to protect rate limits [1] |
Minimum intervals and how many checks each one makes
Make Academy says the shortest interval is one minute and that on the free plan the minimum gap between executions is 15 minutes. [2] Make's help center says the minimum interval depends on your plan and points to the pricing page, [1] so check what your schedule dialog accepts before designing around one-minute polling.
A trigger uses one credit per run regardless of how many results it finds. [4] Make's own scheduling tutorial gives the arithmetic: every 5 minutes is 288 credits a day, hourly is 24 a day or 720 a month, and once a day is 30 a month. [3] The table extends the same formula to a 30-day month. Add one credit per bundle for each action module on top.
- Time windows are the cheapest change: Make lets interval schedules run only within chosen hours, weekdays or months. [2]
- Start and End dates under Show advanced settings stop a temporary scenario on time. [1]
| Schedule | Checks per day | Checks per 30-day month | Share of the free plan's 1,000 credits [6] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Every 1 minute | 1,440 | 43,200 | 4,320% |
| Every 5 minutes | 288 | 8,640 | 864% |
| Every 15 minutes (default) | 96 | 2,880 | 288% |
| Every 30 minutes | 48 | 1,440 | 144% |
| Every 60 minutes | 24 | 720 | 72% |
| Hourly, 09:00 to 17:00 on weekdays only (9 runs a day, about 22 weekdays) | 9 on weekdays | About 198 | About 20% |
| Every day at one time | 1 | 30 | 3% |
| Weekdays at one time | 1 on weekdays | About 22 | About 2% |
| Once a month | Not applicable | 1 | 0.1% |
How the scenario time zone works
Make Academy says the Every day option runs in your organization's time zone, which you change under Profile, Time zone options, Scenarios, My organization. [2] The same organization time zone is the default for Make's date functions such as formatDate and parseDate when you do not pass a time zone. [7]
Neither source spells out how weekly, monthly or specified-date schedules handle time zones. Assume they follow the same organization setting, and confirm by checking the next-run time on the dashboard after you save. [1]
- Set the organization time zone first, then pick daily run times.
- If your team spans time zones, write the intended zone into the scenario name, such as Daily digest 07:00 New York.
- After a daylight saving change, check the dashboard next-run time once to confirm runs still land when you expect.
Instant triggers: immediately, rate limits and the queue
An instant trigger is a webhook: the service sends data to Make when something happens, and adding one sets the schedule to Immediately as data arrives. [5] Make's scheduling page adds a control most people miss: Maximum runs to start per minute, which defaults to 100. When a scenario hits that ceiling, Make queues later requests and processes them as capacity allows. [1] If a scenario with a Webhook response module goes over the limit, the caller receives HTTP 429 and has to retry. [1]
You can also put an instant scenario on a regular schedule. The webhook then holds incoming data in its queue until the next run. [5] Each webhook queue holds up to 667 items per 10,000 credits licensed per month, capped at 10,000, and Make rejects data once the queue is full. [8] Make also caps incoming webhook traffic at 300 requests per 10 seconds. [8]
| Situation | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Source app offers an instant trigger and speed matters | Immediately, with a sensible per-minute cap | No check credits; data processed on arrival |
| Downstream API has a strict rate limit | Immediately with a low Maximum runs to start per minute | Make queues the overflow instead of hitting the API [1] |
| Only a polling trigger exists | Regular intervals with time windows | Fewer paid checks outside working hours |
| Results are only read once a day | Every day at one time | 30 checks a month instead of 2,880 |
| You run it by hand or from another system | On demand | No checks at all until started |
A five-minute schedule review
Run through this list whenever you activate a scenario or inherit one from a colleague.
- Is the scenario active, and does the dashboard show the next run when you expect it? [1]
- Does the trigger have an instant option you are not using?
- Could a time window or a daily schedule replace an all-day interval?
- Is the organization time zone the one your run times assume? [2]
- For instant scenarios, is Maximum runs to start per minute set below what downstream apps allow? [1]
- For temporary scenarios, are Start and End dates set? [1]
- Test-only scenarios: deactivate them or lengthen the schedule so they stop using credits. [3]
Watch demos / Official walkthroughs
See how the tools work.
Videos load from YouTube only when you press play. These are provider videos, not our own product tests.
Make / Official video
Make—Building Your First Automated Workflow from Scratch
What to look for: Follow how modules connect and how data moves through the first workflow.
Watch on YouTubeQuestions before you decide
What is the shortest schedule interval in Make?
Make Academy says the shortest interval is one minute and that the free plan's minimum gap between runs is 15 minutes. Make's help center says the minimum depends on your plan and points to the pricing page, so confirm the figure for your plan in the schedule dialog.
Which time zone does a daily Make schedule use?
Make Academy says the Every day option runs on your organization's time zone, which you change under Profile, Time zone options, Scenarios, My organization. Set it before you pick run times, or a 9:00 run may fire at 9:00 somewhere else.
Can I set an instant trigger to run on a schedule instead?
Yes. Make says that if you reschedule a scenario with an instant trigger, the webhook stores incoming data in a queue until the next run. Each webhook queue holds up to 667 items per 10,000 credits licensed per month, to a maximum of 10,000 items.
How do I stop an instant scenario from overwhelming an API?
Open the schedule settings from Immediately as data arrives and fill in Maximum runs to start per minute. The default is 100. Requests over the limit are queued and processed as capacity allows.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- Make Help Center: Schedule a scenario Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Make Academy: Scheduling your scenario Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Make Help Center: Step 10, schedule your scenario Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Make Academy: Credit consumption in Make Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Make Help Center: Types of modules Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Make pricing and credits FAQ Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Make Help Center: Date and time functions Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Make Help Center: Webhooks Accessed 30 Oct 2026
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