The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →iTechGuides is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more
There is no universal winner between n8n, Zapier, and Make: choose by the workflow you need to automate, how each service bills that workflow, and whether your team wants managed cloud software or the responsibility of self-hosting. n8n counts workflow executions, Zapier counts tasks, and Make uses credits, so headline plan prices are not directly comparable.
How to choose between n8n, Zapier, and Make
Start with one representative workflow—not a platform’s feature count. Write down its trigger, the actions it must complete, how many records or loop iterations it processes, any AI calls, and the exact app events it needs. Then estimate monthly usage under each service’s billing rules.
- Consider Zapier if you want a managed, no-code route and its connector supports the precise triggers and actions you need. Zapier describes its catalogue as having 8,000+ integrations, a vendor-reported count that may not use the same definition as other vendors’ counts. Zapier pricing and task details.
- Consider Make if you prefer building visual scenarios and can estimate usage in credits for the modules and data involved. Make presents its Scenario Builder as a visual, drag-and-drop tool; this is the company’s feature description, not an independent usability assessment. Make pricing and plans.
- Consider n8n if execution-based billing, custom logic, or self-hosting suits your needs and your team can take on the technical work. n8n describes code steps, API connections, webhooks, and custom nodes; those capabilities do not remove the need to operate and secure a self-hosted instance. n8n pricing.
These are fit-based recommendations from vendor-described features, not a measured ranking. Neither plan entry prices nor advertised integration totals establish which service will cost less or work better for a particular automation.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
How the billing units change the comparison
Each platform meters a different unit of work. A workflow that starts once but processes many records or performs many actions can therefore produce very different billable usage across the three services.
#1 Best Overall
| Platform | Primary billing unit | What to count when estimating |
|---|---|---|
| n8n | Workflow execution | Monthly workflow runs. n8n says pricing is based on monthly executions “regardless of complexity,” so the number of steps does not itself increase the execution count. |
| Zapier | Tasks | Successful action steps, plus any actions or AI tool calls that consume more than one task under the applicable rules. Some built-in steps use no tasks. |
| Make | Credits | Module processing, data bundles, and built-in AI use. Most modules use one credit, but some consume more. |
For Zapier, the official task-rate page says each successful standard app action step uses one task. It lists Formatter, Paths, Filters, Delay, Looping, Sub-Zaps, Digests, Zapier Manager, Storage, Tables, and Forms as zero-task steps. Some other action types can consume more than one task, so counting every step as one is not a reliable estimate. Zapier task usage rates.
Make says its billing unit changed from operations to credits in November 2025. Most modules consume one credit, but some modules and built-in AI features use more; consult the current details for the modules your scenario will run. Make’s plans and credit information.
For AI by Zapier, documentation updated October 1, 2026, sets task multipliers of 1x for Standard, 3x for Advanced, and 5x for Premium. Successful AI tool calls also consume tasks at the selected model tier. Apply those multipliers to the relevant calls in your estimate rather than treating an AI step as an ordinary one-task action. Zapier’s AI billing documentation.
PC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchHow to estimate a workflow’s monthly cost
- Describe one real workflow. Record its trigger, app actions, branches, loops, records processed, AI steps, and expected monthly starts.
- Estimate n8n usage. Count complete workflow executions per month. Compare that number with the allowance for the plan under consideration; n8n’s published pricing describes its unit as the complete execution, regardless of complexity.
- Estimate Zapier tasks. Count successful billable app actions, identify zero-task built-ins and actions with different task rates, and apply the AI-by-Zapier tier multiplier to relevant calls.
- Estimate Make credits. Work through the scenario’s modules and the data they process, checking which modules or AI features use more than one credit.
- Compare like with like. Check each plan’s included monthly allowance, any overage or pay-as-you-go terms, the applicable billing period, and any feature or app access limits. Treat annual-billing prices as commitments, not monthly rolling prices.
- Add operating costs where relevant. For self-hosted n8n, account for infrastructure, monitoring, backups, security updates, and staff time—not just license fees.
Do not conclude that a platform is cheapest from its advertised starting price. The vendors count work differently, and the same workflow can create multiple Zapier tasks or Make credits while remaining one n8n execution. Your actual bill depends on the workflow, selected plan, and current billing terms.
Rank #2
- Book - powershell for sysadmins: workflow automation made easy
- Language: english
- Binding: paperback
What the current published plans show
The figures below are vendor-published plan details accessed in 2026. They can change, and the Make page notes that prices and plan details may vary. Check the live plan page for your region and billing period before choosing.
| Platform and plan | Published price and allowance | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|
| n8n Starter | €20/month billed annually; 2,500 workflow executions/month | Current n8n pricing-page listing; not a guaranteed future price. |
| n8n Pro | €50/month billed annually; 10,000 workflow executions/month | Current n8n pricing-page listing; not a guaranteed future price. |
| n8n Business | €667/month billed annually; 40,000 workflow executions/month | Listed as self-hosted only on the plan card. Enterprise pricing is custom. |
| Zapier Free | 100 tasks/month | Current pricing-page listing; plan and task limits can change. |
| Zapier Pro | $19.99/month in an indexed annual-billing example | Task-tier selection and the pricing interface are dynamic; verify the current offer and included tasks. |
| Make Free | 1,000 credits/month | Current Make comparison-page listing; verify current terms. |
| Make Core | Starts at $9/month for 10,000 credits/month | Current Make comparison-page listing; prices, billing period, and geography may vary. |
| Make Pro and Team | Pro: $16; Team: $29 | The cited comparison page lists these prices but does not establish a monthly credit allowance for each here; verify current plan details. |
| Make Enterprise | Custom pricing | As described on Make’s comparison page. |
n8n says its plans include unlimited users, workflows, and integrations, alongside the execution allowances shown on its pricing page. Plan allowances and plan-gated features still matter when comparing options. See n8n’s current plan details.
Zapier describes its plan as including unlimited Zaps and app integrations, while task limits and access to apps or features depend on the plan. The page’s current free-tier and annual Pro examples are not enough on their own to predict your bill. Check Zapier’s current pricing.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteBuilders, connectors, and maintenance
Zapier: managed no-code automations
Zapier describes its approach as no-code and its catalogue as covering 8,000+ integrations. Treat that count as a vendor claim, not proof that the exact trigger, action, fields, or plan access you need is available. Verify the specific app connection and the behavior of the required event on the plan you intend to use. Zapier’s task-rate and integration information.
Make: visual scenarios and credit-based processing
Make emphasizes its drag-and-drop Scenario Builder and describes Make Grid, available on paid plans, as a visual map of connected automation scenarios. Its cloud-first service avoids requiring customers to provide infrastructure for the platform, according to Make’s own comparison. Those descriptions do not establish independent usability or scalability results. Make’s plan and feature descriptions.
n8n: code options and self-hosting
n8n describes a source-available, low-code builder with JavaScript and Python code steps, API connections, webhooks, custom nodes, branching and merging, and connections to AI and language models, including local models through Ollama. Its comparison page reports 1,000+ integrations and also describes generic API connections and custom nodes; the count is vendor-reported and not directly comparable with Zapier’s. n8n’s comparison of its features and Zapier.
n8n Cloud avoids much of the setup and maintenance work associated with operating an instance. Community Edition is not a zero-effort deployment: the operator supplies infrastructure and handles installation, security, updates, and maintenance. n8n’s pricing page lists SSO/LDAP on Business and external secret-store integration on Enterprise; verify current feature gates and contractual controls rather than inferring compliance from a feature list. n8n’s plan and deployment details.
Recommended Free Tools
n8n’s comparison characterizes Zapier as cloud-only. This is n8n’s description of a competing product, not an independent audit. Confirm deployment options directly with the vendor when they affect your decision. n8n’s comparison page.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to check connector and AI fit
Verify the exact app events
An integration-directory total is a poor substitute for testing fit on paper. For every required app, check whether the platform offers the precise trigger and action, which fields it exposes, any relevant limits, and whether the feature is available on your plan. Zapier reports 8,000+ integrations and n8n reports 1,000+, but the counts are vendor claims based on potentially different definitions. Zapier’s integration and task information; n8n’s feature comparison.
Assess AI capability separately from AI cost
For an AI-assisted workflow, identify the model options, tools the AI can invoke, approval points for human review, and what the service provides for testing and debugging. Then calculate metering separately: Zapier’s documented tier multipliers affect tasks, while Make says some built-in AI features use more than one credit. n8n lists AI and language-model connections, including local models via Ollama, but a feature listing does not establish that an agent will reliably perform your production task. Zapier AI billing; Make credit information; n8n AI feature descriptions.
Deployment and governance trade-offs
Self-hosting can give a team more control over where and how it operates an automation service, but it also makes the team responsible for infrastructure and ongoing operations. n8n’s Community Edition requires the operator to handle security, installation, and updates; cloud hosting shifts much of that setup and maintenance work away from the customer. Compare that operational burden with your team’s actual capacity, not just the software plan price.
For any platform, review the contractual and technical controls that apply to your data, access management, logging, retention, and required region. The published feature and pricing pages do not support a complete independent security or compliance ranking of all three vendors. A listed feature such as SSO or secret-store integration is not, by itself, proof that a service meets a particular regulatory obligation.
What the available evidence can and cannot establish
The prices, billing rules, integration counts, and feature descriptions above come from official vendor pages, including vendor-authored comparisons. They are useful for understanding what each company currently says it offers, but they are not a neutral feature audit or a head-to-head test. No independent 2026 comparison establishes which platform is easiest to use, most reliable, fastest, or most productive for a typical team. Choose by validating your own workflow and checking current plan terms.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
