n8n vs Zapier vs Make.
Zapier when non-technical staff own a few simple connections. Make when a technical operator wants cheap, visual branching. n8n when workflows are complex, volume is high, or the data should stay on your own servers. The three bill in different units, so the plan price alone tells you little. Below is each one on billing unit, price at volume, self-hosting, licence, AI, code, error handling and data location, read on the vendors' own pages on 23 October 2026.
Thirteen questions, three tools.
Zapier and Make prices are in US dollars. n8n shows euros or dollars depending on where you are; both are given where they differ. Annual prices are per month, billed yearly.
| Question | n8n | Zapier | Make |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A workflow tool with a node canvas, code steps and AI agent nodes. Run it on n8n's cloud or install it on your own server. | A hosted automation service built around Zaps: a trigger in one app and actions in others. Also sells Tables, Forms, chatbots and Agents. | A hosted visual builder where scenarios are drawn as connected modules, with routers, iterators and error-handler routes. |
| What you pay for | Executions. One execution is one run of a whole workflow, however many steps it has or how much data it processes. | Tasks. Each successful action step is a task. Triggers, failed actions, Filter, Formatter, Paths, Delay and Looping do not count. An MCP tool call is billed as two tasks. | Credits. Most module actions cost one credit, the trigger's read included. Routers and error handlers are free; Make's own AI Provider can cost more. |
| Entry price | Cloud Starter: $20 a month billed annually ($24 billed monthly) for 2,500 executions. Pro: $50 a month for 10,000 executions ($60 monthly). n8n's euro page shows €20 and €50 billed annually. | Professional: $19.99 a month billed annually for 750 tasks, $29.99 billed monthly. Team, with 25 seats and SAML SSO, from $69. | Core: $9 a month billed annually for 10,000 credits, $10.59 billed monthly. Pro $16, Teams $29 for the same credits. |
| Price at volume (50,000 runs of a five-step workflow) | 50,000 executions. Cloud Pro's 50,000 tier is $120 a month billed annually. Self-hosted Community edition: nothing to n8n. | 200,000 tasks (four actions per run). Professional: $769 a month billed annually, $1,149 billed monthly. | 250,000 credits (five modules per run), so the 300,000-credit tier. Core: $182.16 a month billed annually, $214.31 billed monthly. |
| Free option | No free cloud plan; a trial with 1,000 executions and no card. The self-hosted Community edition is free. | Free plan: 100 tasks a month, two-step Zaps only, 15-minute polling, one user. | Free plan: 1,000 credits a month, two active scenarios, 15-minute minimum interval. |
| Self-hosting | Yes. Community edition free; Business (€667 or $800 a month billed annually, 40,000 executions) is self-hosted only. | No. Zapier runs only on its own infrastructure. | No for the platform. Enterprise adds an on-prem agent that reaches systems inside your network. |
| Licence | Fair-code under n8n's Sustainable Use License: free for your own business use and for agencies building on your instance. Hosting it for clients to build their own workflows, or white-labelling it, needs a commercial licence. | Proprietary subscription. | Proprietary subscription. |
| AI and agents | AI Agent node, AI steps with your own model keys, MCP in both directions, evaluations and human approval on chosen tools. Cloud plans include Assistant credits. | Zapier Agents, billed in activities outside the task pool (400 a month free). AI by Zapier steps count as tasks. Zapier MCP on every plan. | Maia builds scenarios from a prompt; Make AI Agents (beta), an AI Toolkit and an MCP server on every plan, using Make's AI Provider or your own key. |
| Code and custom logic | JavaScript or Python in Code steps on every plan, sub-workflows, and custom nodes on a self-hosted install. | Code by Zapier in JavaScript or Python; each code step is a task, and extended runtime is billed in 30-second blocks. | Make Code App in JavaScript or Python on paid plans, at two credits per second of run time. Custom JavaScript functions on Enterprise. |
| App integrations | More than 2,000 listed, plus an HTTP Request node for any API. | More than 9,000 apps, the largest catalogue of the three. | More than 3,500 apps, plus custom apps for any public API. |
| Error handling and retries | Per-node Retry On Fail and On Error (stop, continue, or route to an error output), plus an error workflow that runs whenever an execution fails. | Autoreplay of errored runs and custom error handlers in a Zap, both on paid plans only. | Error-handler routes (Resume, Ignore, Break, Commit, Rollback) at no credit cost, and storage for incomplete executions so failed runs can be finished later. |
| Data location and compliance | Cloud data is hosted in the EU (Frankfurt, per n8n's pricing FAQ). Self-hosted, it stays wherever you run it. n8n aligns its security programme to SOC 2 and publishes a SOC 3 report. | Data stored on AWS in the United States; SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3. A DPA with standard contractual clauses covers transfers; no EU hosting option is listed. | Hosted on AWS in the EU or North America. SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3, an ISO 27001-certified security programme. SSO and audit logs are Enterprise only. |
| Who should own it | An engineer or a technical operations person. Self-hosted, someone who will also look after the server. | Operations, marketing or sales staff who build their own automations. | A technical operator comfortable with data structures, without needing to write code. |
Read on each vendor's own pages on 23 October 2026; the sources are listed below. The five-step volume example and its conversion into tasks and credits are our arithmetic: Zapier does not count the trigger, Make does. Prices change often, so check the source before you budget. For the full n8n price list and self-hosting costs, see n8n pricing.
Each is the right answer for someone.
Choose Zapier when
FitsA handful of simple connections between well-known apps, built and changed by non-technical staff, where the widest app catalogue matters most.
Watch forEvery action step is a task, so loops and long Zaps get expensive fast. Data sits in the US, and SSO starts on Team.
Choose Make when
FitsWorkflows branch, transform data and run at moderate volume, and a technical operator is happy in a hosted visual tool. It is the cheapest hosted option per unit of the three.
Watch forIterators and polling triggers consume credits on every pass, Make's AI Provider can cost more than one credit, and scenarios stop when credits run out unless you buy more.
Choose n8n Cloud when
FitsYou want code steps, AI agents and per-run billing without running a server, and your volume fits Starter or Pro.
Watch forStarter allows 5 concurrent executions and Pro 20 or 50; anything over waits in a queue. SSO, Git and environments are on the self-hosted Business plan.
Choose self-hosted n8n when
FitsVolume is high, data must stay on your infrastructure, or you need custom nodes, and someone will own the server, the database and the upgrades.
Watch forThe free edition has no SSO, Git, environments or credential sharing, and files in queue mode need S3 storage, which is a paid feature.
The subscription is the small line.
Three costs decide the budget, and only the first is on a pricing page.
Count runs, then convert
Count how many times each workflow runs a month and how many steps and loop passes it has. n8n bills the run, Zapier the action steps, Make every module pass. The same workflow can cost ten times more on one than another.
Hosted, or your own server
Zapier, Make and n8n Cloud run the infrastructure for you. Self-hosted n8n moves a server, a Postgres database, backups and upgrades onto your team, which costs little in hosting and real hours in people.
Error handling, alerts, an owner
What breaks automations is missing retries, silent failures and nobody owning them. One workflow built properly with us is $8,000 fixed over 3 weeks; a migration is an embedded pod at $3,000–$7,500 per engineer per month; monitoring and fixes afterwards are Managed AI Operations from $3,000 a month.
Where each fact came from.
All read on 23 October 2026.
Do not choose on the starter price. List your five busiest workflows with runs per month, steps and loop passes, convert them into executions, tasks and credits, and add who will own the tool. That table usually makes the choice for you. We build on all three, and we will tell you when the Zap you already have is fine.
n8n vs Zapier vs Make
n8n vs Zapier: which is better?
Zapier, for a few simple connections owned by non-technical staff who want the largest app catalogue (more than 9,000 apps). n8n, when workflows branch, loop or need code, when volume makes per-task billing expensive, or when data should stay on your own servers. Zapier bills each action step as a task; n8n bills one execution per workflow run, however many steps it has.
n8n vs Make: which should we use?
Make is the cheaper hosted tool at moderate volume and suits a technical operator who wants a visual builder: Core is $9 a month billed annually for 10,000 credits, checked on 23 October 2026. n8n suits teams that write code in their workflows, build AI agents, need to self-host, or run workflows with many steps or loops, where Make's per-module credits add up and n8n's per-run billing does not.
Zapier vs Make: what is the difference?
Zapier is easier for non-technical users and has more apps (more than 9,000 against Make's 3,500+). Make handles branching, iteration and data transformation in one visual scenario and costs less per unit: 10,000 credits on Make Core are $9 a month billed annually, while 10,000 tasks on Zapier Professional are $129, checked on 23 October 2026. A credit and a task are not identical, because Make also charges for the trigger.
Which is cheapest at high volume?
Self-hosted n8n, if you can run it, because the Community edition costs nothing to n8n and you pay only for hosting and time. Of the hosted options, for 50,000 runs a month of a five-step workflow (our example) we worked out about $120 a month on n8n Cloud Pro, $182 on Make Core and $769 on Zapier Professional, all billed annually, at prices checked on 23 October 2026.
What is the difference between an execution, a task and a credit?
An n8n execution is one run of a whole workflow. A Zapier task is one successful action step; triggers, filters, paths, formatting and failed steps are free. A Make credit is spent by almost every module action, including the trigger reading data and each pass of an iterator; routers and error handlers are free. Since August 2025 Make bills in credits instead of operations, converted one for one.
Is n8n really free?
The self-hosted Community edition is free under n8n's Sustainable Use License for your own business use, and an agency may build and maintain workflows on your instance. You pay for the server and database. It lacks SSO, Git version control, environments and sharing of workflows and credentials. n8n Cloud has no free plan, only a trial.
Can we move from Zapier or Make to n8n?
Yes. Plan it as a rebuild: n8n's nodes, expressions and error handling differ from Zapier's and Make's, so each workflow is rebuilt and tested in n8n. Move the high-volume, complex or sensitive workflows first and leave simple automations that work where they are. Plan for credentials to be reconnected and for each rebuilt workflow to run alongside the old one until the outputs match.
What does Gigabit charge to build automations?
One workflow, scoped, built and deployed with up to three tool integrations and error handling, is $8,000 fixed over 3 weeks. Several workflows or a migration are staffed as an embedded pod at $3,000–$7,500 per engineer per month. Running them afterwards is Managed AI Operations from $3,000 a month. We build on n8n, Zapier and Make, on your accounts and under your licence.
Where to go next.
n8n development
Self-hosted n8n, workflows and AI agents with error handling, tests and monitoring.
n8n developmentZapier and Make
An inventory of what is running, the fragile parts rebuilt, and a migration when the bill stops making sense.
Zapier and Maken8n pricing
Every n8n plan, what an execution is, and what self-hosting really costs.
n8n pricing
Pick the tool after you have counted the runs.
Thirty minutes on your busiest workflows, what they would cost on each tool, and who should own them.