n8n vs Make vs Zapier: Which automation platform wins

The math of every action

Zapier charges for every successful action step. If you run a workflow with four actions 5,000 times a month, you pay for 20,000 tasks on Zapier Professional, which costs $189 per month when you bill annually. n8n Cloud charges per execution, so a 20-step workflow costs the same as a 2-step one. Make uses a credit system. A single step typically costs one credit on Make. For a workflow with 15,000 records using five actions each, Make requires 75,000 credits, whereas n8n counts 15,000 executions.

Zapier stays in the premium tier because of its simplicity and its connection to over 9,000 apps. The Professional plan starts at $19.99 per month when billed annually for 750 tasks. The Team plan costs $69 per month for 25 users and includes shared app connections and SAML SSO. Make provides a middle ground for those who want a visual canvas. Make has 3,000 integrations. The Core plan costs $12 per month for 10,000 credits, while the Pro plan is $21 per month and includes priority execution.

Choosing the right builder

Zapier connects over 9,000 apps. The Professional plan starts at $19.99 per month when billed annually for 750 tasks. The Team plan costs $69 per month for 25 users and includes shared app connections and SAML SSO. Make provides a visual canvas where data flows along connecting lines. This makes designing workflows with loops and routers easier than in Zapier. Make includes 3,000 integrations. The Core plan costs $12 per month for 10,000 credits, while the Pro plan is $21 per month and includes priority execution.

You probably already know that Zapier is the most famous name in this space. It is the easiest path for non-technical teams because the trigger-and-action model is very approachable. The platform allows users to build automations from natural language descriptions using AI. Make sits between Zapier and n8n in terms of complexity. It provides a flowchart-style canvas that excels at branching logic. The pricing for Make is more aggressive than Zapier for users who need high volumes of operations.

n8n is the choice for technical users who want maximum control. It is source-available, so you can self-host the Community Edition for free. This option allows you to run unlimited workflows and executions without per-task limits. You only pay for the server, which can cost as little as $3 to $7 a month on a basic VPS. n8n also has native support for building AI agents using the Tool Node and LangChain.

Technical ownership and n8n

n8n allows for self-hosting the Community Edition for free. You only pay for the server, which costs $3 to $7 on a basic VPS. This provides full data ownership and eliminates per-task pricing. However, self-hosting requires manual maintenance of the server, HTTPS, and backups. n8n also revealed a severe remote code execution flaw, CVE-2026-21858, which received a CVSS score of 10.0. n8n supports building AI agents with the Tool Node and persistent memory.

n8n Cloud offers a managed experience for those who do not want to handle infrastructure. The Starter plan is $20 per month for 2,500 executions. The Pro plan is $50 per month for 10,000 executions. The Business plan is $800 per month for 40,000 executions. Every cloud plan includes unlimited users and unlimited workflows. These cloud plans also include AI credits, ranging from 2,300 to 13,700 per month. Will the rise of specialized AI agents eventually make traditional integration platforms obsolete? I pick n8n for high-volume workflows and Zapier for quick connections.