The short answer: If you want the easiest start and your workflows are simple, choose Zapier. If you want the best value for multi-step workflows with a visual builder, choose Make. If you’re technical — or have someone who is — and want maximum power and control, including self-hosting, choose n8n. And if you only need one or two trivial automations, you may not need a paid plan at all.
The longer answer depends on four questions about your situation. This guide walks through them, with verified pricing and the honest trade-offs vendors won’t put on their own comparison pages.
Every fact in this guide was verified on 16 July 2026. Automation pricing changes frequently — check the linked pricing pages before committing to an annual plan. When something changes, we update this page, not just write a new one.
Updated 16 July 2026: Make has moved from “operations” to “credits,” n8n now includes unlimited active workflows on every plan, and Zapier now includes AI agents built into Zap workflows in your plan (they run on task-based pricing), while its standalone Agents and Chatbots products remain paid add-ons. The tables and verdict below reflect these changes. (Prior version verified 15 July 2026.)
The 30-second comparison
| Zapier | Make | n8n | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Beginners, simple workflows | Visual builders, best value | Technical users, full control |
| Pricing model | Per task (every action step counts) | Per credit (each module run = 1; AI steps cost more) | Per execution (whole workflow = 1) |
| Typical SMB cost | $19.99/mo (750 tasks) → $69/mo Team; in-Zap AI agents included (task-priced) | ~$9/mo annual ($10.59 monthly), 5k credits; one credit-scaled plan | €20/mo cloud Starter (annual), or free self-hosted |
| Free tier | Limited (~100 tasks/mo) | 1,000 credits/mo | Unlimited self-hosted; unlimited active workflows on all cloud plans too |
| Learning curve | Easiest | Moderate | Steepest |
| Self-hosting | No | No | Yes |
| Integrations | Largest library (7,000+ apps) | Large (2,000+) | Smaller (1,000+), plus code nodes for anything with an API |
Verified 16 July 2026
Question 1: How steep does your cost curve get?
The three tools count usage differently, and this — not the sticker price — is what decides your bill.
Zapier counts tasks. Every action step in a workflow consumes one task (the trigger is free). A 5-step workflow running 100 times a day burns roughly 12,000 tasks a month, which pushes you into plans costing hundreds of dollars. Independent 2026 comparisons consistently find Zapier costing 5–8× more than n8n at scale; moving from 10K to 100K tasks can add $500+/month. New in 2026: Zapier now includes AI agents built into Zap workflows in your plan — they run on task-based pricing, so AI steps consume tasks rather than a separate fee. Only Zapier’s standalone Agents and Chatbots products are paid add-ons. See our full Zapier pricing guide for the current model (an MCP tool call still counts as 2 tasks).
Make counts credits. Make renamed “operations” to credits in late 2025 — same idea, new label. A standard module run is 1 credit; AI features and code cost more. the paid Make plan starts at $9/month billed annually ($10.59 month-to-month) for 5,000 credits and scales up by credits (Make retired the old Core/Pro/Teams tiers for a single credit-scaled plan) — all starting from the same 10,000-credit base, with higher tiers adding execution priority and team features rather than more base credits. For a small business running moderate multi-step workflows, Make is still the value sweet spot.
n8n counts executions. One workflow run = one execution, no matter how many steps it contains. The cloud Starter plan (~$20–24/month) includes 2,500 executions; a 20-step workflow costs exactly what a 2-step one does. Self-hosted n8n has no execution limits at all — you pay only for your server (a $5–10/month VPS handles most small-business loads). As of 2026, every n8n plan — cloud and self-hosted — includes unlimited active workflows, a limit that used to push people up-tier and is now simply gone. Cloud Starter is €20/month (billed annually) for 2,500 executions, Pro €50/month for 10,000.
A worked example. Say you automate lead handling: form entry → enrich → score → add to CRM → notify on WhatsApp → log to sheet (6 steps), 2,000 leads/month.
| Platform | Monthly consumption | Approx. cost |
|---|---|---|
| Zapier | ~10,000 tasks | $70–100+/mo tier (before any AI-Agent add-on) |
| Make | ~12,000 credits | ~$19/mo (annual) |
| n8n cloud | 2,000 executions | ~€20/mo Starter (annual) |
| n8n self-hosted | irrelevant | server cost only |
If your volumes are a tenth of this, the differences shrink to pocket change — which is exactly why Zapier still wins the next question.
Running real volume? On the numbers above, Make is the cost winner. Start Make free → (paid Make plan free 1 month via our link.)
Question 2: Who will build and maintain this?
Non-technical and want it working today → Zapier. The most forgiving editor, templates for everything, and community answers for almost any app pair. You pay a premium for that ease; at low volume, the premium is small in absolute terms.
Comfortable with a visual canvas, willing to invest a weekend → Make. Make’s scenario builder is genuinely more powerful — routers, iterators, granular error handling — but it demands you think in flows. Most people who cross the learning hump don’t go back.
Technical, or you have a developer → n8n. Fair-code licensed, self-hostable, JavaScript/Python code nodes, and increasingly the default for AI-agent workflows. The catch: you own the maintenance. An unpatched self-hosted instance is a liability, not a saving. If nobody on the team patches servers, use n8n Cloud or pick Make.
Question 3: Where does your data have to live?
If you handle customer data under strict compliance requirements — or simply don’t want workflow data transiting a US SaaS — self-hosted n8n is the only complete answer: data never leaves your infrastructure. For Indian businesses thinking about DPDP obligations, that posture is worth weighing before standardizing on a US cloud tool. Zapier and Make are cloud-only; both are reputable, but “our vendor is reputable” and “the data never left our server” are different compliance positions.
Question 4: What are you actually automating?
- Simple bridges (“new form entry → add row → Slack message”): any of the three. Pick on ease (Zapier) or value (Make)
- Multi-step business processes (lead routing, invoicing chains, approvals): Make or n8n — Zapier’s per-task pricing punishes exactly this shape
- AI-agent workflows (LLM calls, RAG steps, tool use): n8n has moved fastest here, and execution-based pricing suits token-hungry, many-step flows; Make is catching up; Zapier works but costs the most per experiment
- WhatsApp/CRM automation for Indian SMBs: all three can do it via APIs and BSP integrations, but count carefully — chat automations run often, and per-task pricing compounds fast. We’re publishing a dedicated India-focused guide on this next
Choose in 60 seconds
- Is anyone on the team technical? No → skip n8n self-hosted.
- Will your workflows exceed ~5 steps or ~5,000 runs/month? No → Zapier’s ease is worth its premium. Yes → continue.
- Data-residency or compliance constraints? Yes → n8n self-hosted. No → continue.
- Willing to spend a weekend learning a canvas? Yes → Make. Prefer maximum power for AI workflows → n8n Cloud.
Don’t choose any of them if…
- You need one automation between two big-name apps — check whether the apps’ native integration already does it free
- Your workflow runs a handful of times a month — a free tier will cover you indefinitely; don’t buy a plan for a problem you don’t have yet
- You’re automating a process you haven’t yet run manually — automate the proven version of a process, not your guess at it
Our verdict
For most solo founders and small teams starting in 2026, choose Make — its pricing rewards real multi-step automation and the learning curve is a weekend, not a semester. Choose Zapier when speed-to-working matters more than cost and volumes stay low. Choose n8n when you have technical capacity, AI-heavy workflows, data-residency requirements, or cost sensitivity at scale — self-hosted, nothing else comes close on price per workflow.
Comparing only these two? Our dedicated Zapier vs Make (2026) guide goes deeper on cost and features.
Disclosure: The button below is an affiliate link — if you start a paid Make plan through it, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Make is our recommended pick here on its own merits; our verdict is never for sale. How we make money →
Try Make free → Free plan available — and via our link you can try the paid Make plan via our link.
One 2026 wrinkle sharpens the case for Make and n8n: because Zapier meters every AI step as tasks, if AI steps are central to your workflows, Zapier’s real cost climbs faster than its plan price suggests.
Whichever you pick: start on the free tier, build your first three workflows, and buy the plan your measured usage justifies — not the one the pricing page nudges you toward.
FAQ
Is n8n really free? Self-hosted, yes — free with no execution caps; you pay only for your own server (roughly $5–10/month on a small VPS). n8n Cloud is the paid, zero-maintenance option starting around €20/month (annual). And every n8n plan now includes unlimited active workflows — a limit that used to push people to higher tiers is simply gone as of 2026.
Can I switch platforms later? Workflow logic transfers conceptually but not mechanically — expect to rebuild each workflow. One more reason to start small and free before standardizing your whole business on one tool.
Which has the most integrations? Zapier, by a wide margin (7,000+ apps). But n8n’s HTTP and code nodes can talk to anything with an API, so for technical users the catalog size matters less than it appears.
What about Power Automate, Pipedream, or others? Legitimate in specific contexts — Microsoft-centric shops should shortlist Power Automate; developer-first teams like Pipedream. This guide covers the three tools most small businesses actually shortlist. If you’re specifically looking to leave Zapier, see our best Zapier alternatives (2026).
Did Make switch from operations to credits? Yes — in late 2025 Make renamed “operations” to “credits.” A standard module run is still 1 credit, but AI and code steps consume more, so watch AI-heavy scenarios. The paid Make plan starts at 5,000 credits per month for $9 billed annually ($10.59 monthly) and scales up (verified 16 July 2026).
How we work: we verify pricing and limits against vendor pages and current independent comparisons, date every claim, and tell you when a tool isn’t right for you. Some links on this site may become affiliate links; recommendations are never for sale.
Related comparisons
Related: Make.com pricing explained (2026) — full plan and credit-cost breakdown.
Related: n8n pricing explained (2026) — plans, execution costs, and self-host vs cloud.
Related: n8n vs Zapier — the direct pairwise comparison of the two.
Explore the Zapier Buying Guide
Our complete, evidence-checked guide to Zapier’s plans, pricing and costs — updated as each part goes live.
- ✓ Zapier Pricing
- ✓ Zapier Free Plan
- ✓ Zapier AI Agents Pricing
- ✓ Zapier Enterprise Pricing
- ⬜ Zapier Cost Calculator (Coming Soon)
Not sure which automation tool fits you? Get our free Automation Decision Kit — a one-page framework to pick between Make, Zapier and n8n based on your budget and skills.
Reviewed by Perinah Yaduvanshi — Editor, Auto Decision Hub
At Auto Decision Hub we test AI & automation tools and verify every price against the vendor’s official source, dated. Recommendations are by real use case, never paid placement. How we work →
