Pricing models at a glance (September 2026)
| Zapier | Make | n8n | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billing unit | Tasks - each successful action step | Credits - each module action | Executions - each workflow run, regardless of steps |
| Free tier | 100 tasks/month | Up to 1,000 credits/month | Self-hosted Community Edition |
| Entry paid plan | Professional from $19.99/month (annual) for 750 tasks | Core $12/month (10,000 credits) | Cloud Starter €20/month for 2,500 executions |
| Next tier | Team from $69/month (annual) | Pro $21/month; Teams $38/month | Cloud Pro €50/month for 10,000 executions |
Prices change - always check each vendor's pricing page.
A worked example
A 5-step workflow (trigger + 4 actions) that runs 3,000 times a month - for example, new lead → enrich → create CRM record → notify sales → add to email sequence:
- Zapier: 4 action steps × 3,000 runs = 12,000 tasks a month, well above the entry tier.
- Make: each module action uses a credit, so roughly 5 × 3,000 = 15,000 credits a month.
- n8n: 3,000 executions a month, because each run counts once regardless of steps.
The more steps in a workflow, the more per-execution pricing favors n8n. For a handful of simple, low-volume Zaps, the difference doesn't matter - Zapier's ease of use usually wins.
Where each tool fits
Zapier
- Best for: non-technical teams, quick wins, the widest range of app integrations.
- Watch out for: costs climbing with multi-step, high-volume workflows; limited control over complex logic.
Make
- Best for: complex branching, data transformation and visual scenario building at a lower cost per action.
- Watch out for: a steeper learning curve for non-technical users.
n8n
- Best for: high-volume workflows, sensitive data you'd rather keep on your own server, custom code steps and AI workflows.
- Watch out for: self-hosting means someone owns updates, backups and uptime. n8n's Community Edition is "fair-code" licensed - read the license if you plan to embed it in a product you sell.
When to skip all three
Build a small custom integration service when:
- Volume is very high or latency matters.
- The APIs involved aren't supported well by any of the tools.
- You need complex error handling, retries and audit trails.
- The integration is core to your product.
Making automations reliable
Whatever you choose: document every workflow in plain English, send failures to a person who will act on them, run automations under company-owned accounts (not an employee's personal login), and review them quarterly. The most common automation failure isn't a bug - it's an expired token that quietly stops a workflow for weeks.
We build and migrate automations across all three - see business process automation.
Sources
Prices, plans and laws change. We review this guide periodically; check the linked sources for the latest figures. Nothing here is legal or financial advice.
