Choose Zapier if you want the easiest setup and the most app connections. Choose Make.com if your workflows have branches, loops and data to reshape, and you want more automation per dollar. Choose n8n if you have technical help and want to self-host, write code inside workflows, or keep costs flat as volume grows. All three connect your apps and run steps automatically, including AI steps. The right one depends on how complex your workflows are, how many times they run, and who will build and maintain them.
We build on all three, and we're Make.com specialists. Here's how they compare in 2026 and how we help clients choose.
The quick comparison
| Zapier | Make.com | n8n | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Simple, linear workflows built by non-technical staff | Multi-step workflows with branches, loops and data mapping | Technical teams, high volume, self-hosting, custom code |
| Ease of use | Easiest | Moderate, visual canvas | Steepest |
| Built-in app connections | 9,000+ | 3,500+ | 2,000+ |
| Free plan | 100 tasks/month | 1,000 credits/month | Self-hosted Community Edition (you run the server) |
| Paid plans start at | $19.99/month (annual) for 750 tasks | $12/month for 10,000 credits, less on annual billing | €20/month (annual) for 2,500 workflow runs |
| What you pay for | Each successful action step | Most module actions | Each full workflow run, however many steps |
| Self-hosting | No | No | Yes |
Prices are from each vendor's pricing page as of this writing (Zapier, Make, n8n). They change often, so check before you buy.
The biggest difference: how each one charges
The headline prices look similar. What you actually pay depends on how each platform counts usage, and they count very differently.
- Zapier counts tasks. Each successful action step in a Zap is a task. The trigger, filters, formatter steps, paths and delays don't count, but AI steps and code steps do, and some actions cost more than one task. A five-action Zap that runs 1,000 times uses about 5,000 tasks.
- Make counts credits. Most module actions use one credit, including reading data, searching, and transforming it with Make's built-in tools. Routers and error handlers are free, and some AI features use more than one credit. A scenario can use two credits per run or thousands if it loops through many records.
- n8n counts executions. One run of a whole workflow is one execution, whether it has three steps or thirty. A daily workflow uses about 30 executions a month.
That's why the same workflow can cost very different amounts on each platform. A long workflow that runs often favors n8n's per-run pricing. A short workflow that runs a few hundred times a month is cheap anywhere. And a workflow that loops through hundreds of rows per run can get expensive on Zapier or Make faster than you'd expect.
A quick way to estimate: count the action steps in your workflow, multiply by how often it runs each month, and compare that number to each plan's allowance. Then double it, because successful automations tend to grow.
Zapier: the easiest place to start
Zapier is the best-known automation platform, and it's the easiest to learn. You build a Zap as a list of steps: when this happens, do this, then this. It connects to more than 9,000 apps, so whatever tools you use, Zapier probably supports them.
Strengths:
- Fastest to learn for non-technical staff
- The largest app library by a wide margin
- Built-in extras like Tables, Forms, AI agents and an AI Copilot that drafts Zaps from a description (Zapier)
Limitations:
- Gets expensive as task volume grows, since every action step counts
- Complex logic (many branches, loops, heavy data reshaping) is possible but awkward compared with Make or n8n
- Cloud only, so your data passes through Zapier's servers
Pick Zapier if your workflows are straightforward, the people building them aren't technical, and volume is modest. For many small offices, Zapier is the right answer and there's no reason to make it harder.
Make.com: more control per dollar
Make (formerly Integromat) uses a visual canvas: you drag modules onto a map and connect them, with routers to split the flow, filters to decide which path data takes, and iterators to loop through lists. You can see every step and the exact data that passed through it, which makes troubleshooting much easier.
Strengths:
- Handles branching, looping and data transformation well
- Usually more automation for the money than Zapier at the same volume
- Built-in error handling: retry, skip, roll back or alert when a step fails
- HTTP and webhook modules connect almost any app with an API, even without a built-in connector
- AI modules for OpenAI, Claude and others, plus Make's own AI agents
Limitations:
- Steeper learning curve than Zapier
- Fewer built-in apps (3,500+, which still covers most business tools)
- Cloud only
- Scenarios that loop through large lists can use credits quickly if they aren't designed carefully
Pick Make if your processes have real logic in them: different paths for different customers, records to clean up and reshape, several systems to keep in sync. This is where we do most of our automation work, and it's usually the best balance of power, price and maintainability for small and midsize businesses.
n8n: power and control for technical teams
n8n is also visual, but it's built with developers in mind. You can drop JavaScript or Python into a workflow, call any API, and run the whole platform on your own server. Its pricing counts whole workflow runs rather than steps, which makes it attractive for long or high-volume workflows.
Strengths:
- Self-hosting: run it on your own infrastructure, so data stays where you put it
- Per-execution pricing that doesn't penalize long workflows
- Code steps when no-code tools run out
- Strong AI agent tooling for building assistants that use your tools and data
Limitations:
- Steepest learning curve of the three
- Self-hosting means you own the server: updates, backups, security and uptime
- Cloud plans are priced in euros and cap runs per month (n8n)
Pick n8n if you have a developer (in-house or a partner like us), you need data to stay on your own servers for compliance or client reasons, or your workflows are long and run constantly. Don't self-host n8n just to save $20 a month; a server nobody patches is a bigger risk than a subscription. Exposed keys and unpatched servers are exactly how breaches like the Railway incident cause damage.
What about AI?
All three now treat AI as a core feature. You can add steps that summarize an email, pull details out of a PDF, sort incoming requests or draft a reply, and all three offer some form of AI agent that decides which steps to take.
The differences are smaller than the marketing suggests. What matters more:
- Who pays for the AI. Some AI steps use the platform's built-in AI and cost extra tasks or credits. Others call your own OpenAI or Anthropic account, billed separately. Either way, the AI cost is usually small; our guide to what AI automation costs shows the math.
- What the AI can reach. An agent that can update your CRM or send emails needs limits and review steps. Start with AI that drafts and sorts, and keep a person approving anything that goes to customers or touches money.
- Where your data goes. If you handle health, financial or client-confidential data, check each platform's data handling, and consider self-hosted n8n.
How to choose: five questions
- Who will build and maintain it? Non-technical staff: Zapier. A tech-comfortable operations person or a partner: Make. A developer: any of the three, and n8n becomes an option.
- How complex is the workflow? A straight line of steps: Zapier. Branches, loops, lookups and data cleanup: Make or n8n.
- How many runs and steps per month? Estimate tasks, credits or executions as shown above. High volume with long workflows favors n8n; moderate volume with complex logic favors Make.
- Do your apps have connectors? Check each platform's app directory for your CRM, accounting, scheduling and industry tools. If a tool has no connector but has an API, Make and n8n handle that well.
- Where must your data live? If it can't leave your infrastructure, self-hosted n8n is the only one of the three that fits.
If you're still unsure, start with the tool your team will actually use. An automation that runs on Zapier beats a more powerful one on n8n that nobody can fix.
When none of them is the right tool
Automation platforms are great glue between apps. They're a poor fit when the "automation" is really a product: a customer portal, a complex scheduling system, or something that runs thousands of times an hour with strict uptime needs. At that point, custom code is often cheaper and more reliable over time. Our post on custom software vs. off-the-shelf covers how to make that call.
Before choosing any platform, decide what to automate. Our guide on what a small business should automate first explains how to rank tasks by hours saved and risk.
Get help choosing (and building)
Prodjex builds and maintains automations on Make, Zapier and n8n, and custom integrations when none of them fit. As Make.com specialists, we also rescue scenarios that grew messy, time out or burn through credits.
If you're starting from scratch, our AI Readiness Audit maps how work flows through your business and gives you a ranked list of automations, with the platform we'd recommend for each. Our AI automation service then builds the top one, and our care plans keep it running.
Book a free call and tell us what you want to automate. We'll tell you which platform we'd use, and why.