n8n vs Zapier vs Make: the short comparison
If you run a service business, you probably do not care which brand wins. You care whether new leads reach your CRM, whether the monthly bill stays small and who fixes it when something breaks. The three tools handle the first part about equally well. They differ on the second and third.
This comparison supports our automation with n8n, Zapier and Make service. We build in all three and choose by the job, so we have no reason to push one. Figures come from each vendor’s own pages, opened in October 2026. Prices change, so check the live pages before you decide.
| Zapier | Make | n8n | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it counts | Tasks | Credits | Workflow executions |
| Free option | 100 tasks a month, two-step Zaps | 1,000 credits a month | Self-hosted Community edition |
| Paid prices on the vendor page | Professional from $19.99 a month billed annually, 750 tasks | Not shown on the page we opened | Cloud Starter, 2,500 executions a month, billed annually. The page showed prices in euros only, so see the vendor’s pricing page |
| Apps listed | 10,371+ | 3,500+ | 2,000+ integrations, plus an HTTP Request node |
| Who maintains it | Vendor | Vendor | Vendor (Cloud) or you (self-hosted) |
App counts are each vendor’s own marketing numbers, and they count things differently. Check that the specific apps you use are on the list.
How each tool counts usage
This is the part most comparisons skip, and it decides your bill.
Zapier counts tasks. Zapier’s pricing page says a task is counted whenever Zapier successfully completes a unit of work. Successful action steps count, including its AI and code steps. Triggers do not count, nor do failed actions or built-in tools such as Formatter, Paths, Filter and Delay. Some actions cost more than one task.
Make counts credits. Make’s help center says credits are what you buy and use, and that for non-AI apps one operation equals one credit. Some AI modules use more than one credit, and AI features that charge by tokens vary with the size of the input and output. Make’s error-handling guide says an error handler does not consume operations when it activates. One run can use a few credits or thousands, depending on how many records it handles.
n8n counts executions. n8n’s pricing page says plans are based on monthly workflow executions “regardless of complexity.” An execution is one complete run of a workflow. Step count and data volume do not change the count.
The practical effect: on Zapier and Make, a flow with ten steps costs about ten times a one-step flow. On n8n it costs the same.
One flow, priced three ways (for illustration)
Suppose a flow starts with a form submission and has four action steps: add a CRM record, notify the owner, send a confirmation, add a row to a sheet. These figures are round examples to show the arithmetic. They are not a quote.
500 runs a month
- Zapier: 500 runs x 4 action steps = 2,000 tasks. That fits the 2,000-task Professional tier at $49 a month billed annually, or $73.50 billed monthly. The free plan’s 100 tasks do not cover it.
- Make: each module operation uses about one credit, so a run of this flow uses roughly 4 to 5 credits, or about 2,000 to 2,500 credits a month. That is over the free plan’s 1,000. We cannot give a paid price, because Make’s page did not show one.
- n8n Cloud: 500 executions fits inside the Starter plan’s 2,500, its lowest Cloud tier.
3,000 runs a month
- Zapier: 3,000 x 4 = 12,000 tasks, which lands in the 20,000-task tier at $189 a month billed annually.
- n8n Cloud: 3,000 executions is above Starter’s 2,500, so the next tier, Pro, with 10,000 executions.
n8n’s page lists its prices in euros only, so we do not convert them: see the vendor’s pricing page for the current figure. Also note that annual and monthly rates differ. Zapier’s monthly rate for the 2,000-task tier is 50% higher than the annual rate.
One-step flow: a flow with a single action that runs 500 times a month is 500 tasks on Zapier, which fits the 750-task plan at $19.99 annually, and 500 executions on n8n, which fits Starter. Both sit on the lowest paid tier. The pricing model only matters once your flows get long or busy.
If your flow runs a few dozen times a month, none of this matters. Use a free plan if it covers the steps you need, or the lowest-priced paid plan.
What self-hosting n8n really means
n8n’s documentation says that with n8n Cloud, n8n handles hosting, updates and scaling. When you self-host, maintenance is your responsibility, and it takes technical skill to install and configure. The Community edition is free, but some features, such as SSO and projects, need paid plans, and n8n’s page does not state the Community license terms. Read them before using it commercially.
Self-hosting suits you if:
- Someone on your team or your builder will keep the server updated and backed up.
- You want the data to stay on a server you control.
- Your volume is high enough that the cost of the server and the care is lower than the executions fee.
It does not suit you if nobody will look at the server. A neglected server is a risk to your leads. For most small businesses we would pick a hosted plan first and move later only if there is a clear reason. n8n also offers a self-hosted Business plan with 40,000 executions a month, billed annually, but that is a long way from a small shop’s volume and price.
Which one fits which job
| Your situation | A sensible default |
|---|---|
| A few simple automations, nobody technical | Zapier or Make, hosted. Stay on the free or lowest paid plan |
| An app you use has a Zapier connection but nothing else | Zapier |
| Longer flows with branches, loops or many records | Make or n8n |
| High-volume flows with many steps | n8n, where the step count does not raise the bill |
| Data must stay on your own server | Self-hosted n8n, with someone to maintain it |
| You already pay for one tool and it works | Keep it |
Staying where you are is often the right answer. Moving a working flow costs time and risks a silent break.
Other things to compare
- Polling speed. Zapier says its free plan checks for new data every 15 minutes, and paid plans are faster (its pricing page lists 2-minute polling for Professional). Webhook-based triggers are quicker on any tool.
- Error handling. Make says its error handlers do not consume operations, and Zapier does not count failed actions. Whatever tool you use, add an alert that tells a person when a run fails.
- Who can read it. A flow that only its builder understands is a risk. Label steps, and keep a short how-to.
- Account ownership. Build in your own account, not the builder’s.
- Customer messages. If a workflow sends texts, they need the customer’s consent (TCPA), and business texting numbers need carrier registration (A2P 10DLC). Clinics should not route patient information through any tool unless the vendor signs a HIPAA business associate agreement. This is not legal advice.
How we choose
We pick by task count, steps per run, whether your apps connect, who will look after it and where the data should live. We tell you the expected monthly tool cost for each option before you decide, and the tool subscription is billed to you at cost. Our workflow builds are priced from $900 per workflow, and the tool you pay for is separate. If you are deciding whether a flow is worth building at all, work through automation ROI and what to automate first.
Not sure which tool you need? Ask for a free demo, or see the pricing and FAQ pages.
Published . Updated .