AI and automation
n8n, Make, or Zapier: which one fits?
Current billing units, list prices, deployment responsibility and governance trade-offs. A dated comparison for teams shortlisting an automation platform.
TL;DR
- Zapier bills successful actions as tasks. Its official plan guidance says usage is shared across Zap workflows, Lead Router and MCP. Choose it when the required apps and actions exist and the team values a managed interface.
- Make bills in credits. Most standard module actions use one credit, while some built-in AI features vary with usage. Verify the workflow against the current credit rules because old operations estimates no longer describe the billing model.
- n8n bills paid plans by complete workflow execution, regardless of step count. Community Edition is self-hosted. Paid deployment and governance features differ by tier on the current pricing page.
- Self-hosting changes who operates infrastructure. It does not itself prove security, privacy or regulatory compliance.
- Shortlist by required connectors and actions, billing unit, data path, permissions, failure handling, environments, logs and the team that will operate it.
What each platform is built for
The billing unit changes which workflow becomes expensive.
Zapier counts successful actions as tasks. Trigger checks do not count as tasks. Its Free plan currently includes 100 monthly tasks and two-step Zaps, while paid allowances and overage rates depend on the selected plan. Check the live Zapier pricing selector with the expected number of successful actions.
Make counts credits. Most standard module actions use one credit, but built-in AI and advanced features can use dynamic amounts. At the 10,000-credit selector on 29 July 2026, Make listed Core at $12, Pro at $21 and Teams at $38 per month. The currency and allowance matter, so do not compare those numbers directly with tasks or executions.
n8n counts a complete workflow run as one execution regardless of its step count. On 29 July 2026, n8n listed annual-billing prices of €20 per month for Starter with 2,500 executions, €50 for Pro with 10,000 and €667 for self-hosted Business with 40,000. Community Edition is available for self-hosting, but infrastructure and operations remain your responsibility.
A task, a credit and a workflow execution are not comparable units.
Side-by-side comparison
Billing, deployment and ownership across the three platforms.
| Dimension | Zapier | Make | n8n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billing unit | Successful action task | Credit; usage may be fixed or dynamic | Complete workflow execution on paid plans |
| Public entry allowance | Free: 100 tasks/month | Free: 1,000 credits/month | Cloud Starter: 2,500 executions/month |
| Dated paid example | Use live selector; plan and task allowance change price | $12 Core at 10,000 credits/month | €20 Starter at 2,500 executions/month, billed annually |
| Hosted option | Vendor hosted | Vendor hosted; organisation chooses US or EU region | n8n Cloud; Enterprise may be hosted |
| Self-host option | No standard self-host edition | No standard self-host edition | Community, Business and Enterprise options |
| Code and API work | Code steps and app actions, subject to plan and task rules | HTTP, code and custom-app options vary by tier | Code, HTTP and custom nodes; self-host adds server access |
| Governance | Verify roles, SSO, logs and retention on the chosen plan | Verify roles, SSO, logs and retention on the chosen plan | Cloud and self-hosted governance features differ by tier |
| Operating owner | Vendor operates platform; customer owns workflow and connected systems | Vendor operates platform; customer owns workflow and connected systems | Vendor for Cloud; customer owns infrastructure for self-hosted |
| Best shortlist condition | Required action exists and task economics fit | Scenario credit model and region choice fit | Execution model and technical ownership fit |
At a glance
- Task
- Zapier bills a successful action. Trigger checks do not consume tasks.
- Credit
- Make bills module and feature use; some AI usage is dynamic.
- Execution
- n8n paid plans count a complete workflow run regardless of step count.
Automation next step
Scope this as an automation: Automation tools compared
Tell us the manual step you want gone. We reply with what is realistic to automate and what it costs.
When each fits
Match the tool to your workflow complexity.
Shortlist Zapier when the exact actions exist and task economics fit
Confirm every trigger and action in the vendor directory, including premium-app or plan restrictions. Model the number of successful actions per case, retries and seasonal peaks. The managed platform can reduce infrastructure work, but the customer still owns permissions, workflow logic, connected-system changes and exception handling.
Shortlist Make when scenario credits and region choice fit
Map every module action and AI feature to the current credit rules before comparing cost. Make lets an organisation choose a US or EU data centre when it is created, and the region cannot later be changed. Region choice is one data-flow input. A compliance conclusion requires the complete processing context.
Shortlist n8n when execution billing and technical ownership fit
A multi-step workflow still counts as one execution on paid plans, which can suit complex runs. Self-hosting gives your organisation infrastructure control, but also makes it responsible for patching, secrets, access, backups, monitoring, availability, retention and incident response. Price that work before calling Community Edition free.
Build custom when the workflow does not fit any platform
Consider a custom service when required actions, latency, testability, deployment controls or ownership cannot be met cleanly by the shortlist. Compare the custom option against the same acceptance criteria and total operating responsibilities. Custom code removes one vendor dependency but creates a software product your team must own.
Common questions
What teams ask when choosing an automation platform.
Which platform is suitable for EU personal data?
The platform alone cannot answer that. Document purpose, data categories, people affected, connectors, vendors and subprocessors, storage and transfer locations, retention, credentials, logs and automated actions. Review the current contract, DPA and security evidence for the chosen plan. Self-hosting changes responsibility but does not prove compliance. Involve the accountable privacy, legal and security owners.
What is the real cost of Zapier at scale?
Count successful actions per business case, monthly cases, retries and peaks, then enter that task allowance in the live pricing selector. Include pay-per-task settings, premium features and connected-app fees. Do not convert Make credits or n8n executions into tasks without modelling the actual workflow.
Can non-technical teams use Make?
A visual editor still requires an understanding of data types, permissions, retries, error routes and connected APIs. Test the intended operator with one real workflow and a failure exercise. Their ability to diagnose and recover the workflow is more useful than a generic skill label.
When does it make sense to build automation from scratch?
When required actions, latency, evaluation, deployment controls or ownership cannot be met cleanly by a platform, and the organisation can own a software service. Write the acceptance criteria first and compare build plus operation against the platform alternative. Avoid custom code merely because a visual workflow looks untidy.
How do I migrate from Zapier to Make or n8n?
Inventory active workflows, owners, credentials, schedules, dependencies, volumes, failure history and downstream writes. Rebuild against acceptance cases, compare outputs in a controlled parallel period, define rollback, then cut over one workflow at a time. The migration estimate depends on actions, custom logic, test data and risk; workflow count alone is not enough.
How we approach automation at Some Tech Work
We start from the workflow and pick the platform that fits it.
The first question we ask is which manual workflow needs attention, how often it runs, and what happens when it fails. If you are still mapping the tool landscape, db.fyi is the directory we keep separate for that job. The workflow answer determines whether a platform like Make or n8n is right, or whether a custom-built service is cleaner. Test the operating prerequisites in the SME automation readiness guide, review our project planning bands, or rank candidates with the free AI automation opportunity scorecard.
We do not name a universal winner. The recommendation records required actions, billing model, data flow, permissions, environments, test evidence, failure path, recurring costs and operating owner. The workflow is tested against representative cases before cutover and handed over with monitoring, rollback and an exception runbook.
Written by
Vineet Talwar
Co-founder, Tech & Operations at Some Tech Work. WordCamp speaker across Europe and Asia, and host of the WP Shoutout podcast.
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