n8n vs Zapier vs Make: which one should you choose?
Choose Zapier for a quick start, Make for moderate complexity, or n8n if your data must stay on your own server. All three do the same thing at a high level: they connect tools and move data between them without manual work. They differ in price, ease of use, and where your data lives. Zapier is the easiest to start with and has the widest catalogue of integrations. Make offers a visual canvas that combines power with ease of use. n8n is the only one of the three with true self-hosting. Unlike Zapier and Make, its prices are published in euros: EUR 20 a month, billed annually, for the cheapest paid plan, checked on 8 October 2026.
How do n8n, Make and Zapier differ in pricing model?
The three tools charge differently, and that is exactly what often raises the bill unexpectedly. Zapier counts every successfully completed action as a task. By its own pricing page, triggers, filters and built-in tools do not consume tasks. Every action on an external app adds to the monthly limit. Make counts credits per module action. n8n counts by execution of the whole workflow, no matter how many steps it contains. A ten-step flow costs the same as a one-step flow, as long as it runs once.
Zapier and Make publish their prices in US currency, so this article does not convert them into euros. n8n publishes its prices directly in euros. The Starter plan is EUR 20 a month, up to 2,500 executions. The Pro plan is EUR 50 a month, up to 10,000 executions. The Business plan is EUR 667 a month, self-hosted only, up to 40,000 executions. All n8n prices, checked on 8 October 2026, apply to annual billing.
Which tool is easiest to use, and who does each one suit?
Zapier is built for a linear, guided path that a team with no programming experience learns in hours. Make uses a canvas with branches that fork and rejoin, accessible to people with no programming experience but with more power underneath, learned in days. n8n is built on nodes and a technical interface. It takes weeks to learn, but gives the most freedom, including custom code inside the flow when the ready-made blocks are not enough.
Which of the three offers self-hosting?
Of the three tools, only n8n offers true self-hosting: you install it on your own server and the data never leaves your infrastructure. Zapier and Make run only in the vendor's cloud. If a contract or an internal rule requires that the data never leave your own server, n8n's self-hosting is the direct answer.
Which tool has the most integrations?
Zapier has the widest catalogue of connected apps of the three. By their own catalogues (8 October 2026), Zapier connects over 10,000 apps, Make over 3,000 and n8n around 2,300. n8n makes up for its narrower list with a direct connection to any app with a public API through its built-in HTTP node. A missing ready-made integration is therefore rarely a blocker for a technical team.
What is the practical rule for choosing?
If the team has no technical person and wants a result within hours, Zapier is the safer choice despite the higher cost at high task volume. If the process has moderate complexity and the team has at least one confident, if not fully technical, person, Make sits in the middle of the two. If the data has to sit on your own server, n8n gives the most freedom of the three. The same holds if the process needs a lot of custom code and AI steps.
Questions
Can you migrate from Zapier to n8n later?
Yes, but not automatically: each flow is rebuilt in the new tool, step by step, not imported with a button. Switching tools is therefore its own project, not a five-minute restart.
Which of the three tools suits AI agents inside a flow best?
n8n has built-in nodes for models and AI agents, ready-made in its template library. Zapier and Make also offer AI steps, but more limited compared with n8n's technical freedom.
Do you have to pay for the most expensive plan right away?
No. All three tools have a free or entry plan, enough to prove the process works before you pay for volume.
Sources
- Can business process automation be done without code?No-code automation is built by dragging blocks, not by programming. Which tools allow it (Activepieces has over 450 integrations) and where they fall short.
- What is the difference between RPA and business process automation?RPA copies clicks on a screen for one task. Business process automation connects a whole process through APIs. When each one earns its place.
- What is speed to lead?Speed to lead means contacting a buyer in seconds or minutes. In 1.25 million leads, trying within an hour gave nearly seven times the chance of a conversation.
Next step
The tool follows the process, not the other way round.
We build with the tool you already use, or with n8n if you have none. Write to us about what you want to connect and we will say which of the three fits.
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