n8n vs Zapier vs Make: what your workflows really cost
The three tools count usage in completely different ways, so the cheapest one depends on your workflows. Here are four real ones, priced from each vendor's published plans.
Zapier, Make and n8n all connect your apps and automate the work between them. Their prices look similar on the pricing pages, but they measure usage in different units, and that is what decides your bill.
Our interest: we build workflows on n8n, so we have a stake in this comparison. Every price below comes from the vendors' own pricing pages (annual billing, checked 13 Oct 2026), and in several of the examples another tool comes out cheaper. We say so.
How each one counts usage
| Tool | Billing unit | A 6-step workflow run once costs |
|---|---|---|
| Zapier | Tasks: each successful action step. Triggers, filters and paths are free. | Up to 5 tasks (the trigger plus 5 actions) |
| Make | Credits: each module run, trigger included. Scheduled checks use a credit every time. | About 6 credits |
| n8n Cloud | Executions: one per run of the whole workflow, however many steps. | 1 execution |
| n8n self-hosted | No usage fee. You pay for the server. | Nothing extra |
Four real workflows, priced
Monthly price on each tool's cheapest plan that covers the volume, annual billing, instant (webhook) triggers. n8n bills in euros, the others in US dollars.
| Workflow | Runs a month | Action steps | Zapier | Make | n8n Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website lead to CRM Form submission adds the lead to the CRM, tags it, emails the owner and logs it to a sheet | 300 | 4 | $39 1,200 tasks | $9 1,500 credits | €20 (Starter) 300 executions |
| Online store orders Each order creates an invoice, updates stock, notifies the customer, posts to the team chat, logs to a sheet and updates the CRM | 3,000 | 6 | $189 18,000 tasks | $29 21,000 credits | €50 (Pro) 3,000 executions |
| AI support triage Each incoming ticket is classified by an AI model, enriched from the CRM, routed, answered in draft and logged | 8,000 | 8 | $489 64,000 tasks | $55 72,000 credits | €50 (Pro) 8,000 executions |
| High-volume sync Order, inventory and accounting sync for a busy store or marketplace seller | 20,000 | 10 | Above 100,000 tasks 200,000 tasks | $182.16 220,000 credits | Above Cloud Pro 20,000 executions |
Self-hosted n8n would run all four for the cost of one small server. Make is the cheapest hosted option in most rows, because its credit tiers are inexpensive even though it counts every step. Zapier is the most expensive wherever workflows have several steps, and above 100,000 tasks a month it moves to plans you have to ask Zapier about. Run your own numbers in the automation cost calculator.
Why step count decides the bill
Take the online store workflow at 3,000 runs a month and add steps. Zapier and Make bills rise with every step; n8n's does not.
| Action steps | Zapier | Make | n8n Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | $129 | $16 | €50 (Pro) |
| 6 | $189 | $29 | €50 (Pro) |
| 10 | $289 | $29 | €50 (Pro) |
| 15 | $289 | $55 | €50 (Pro) |
AI workflows make this worse on per-step tools: each call to an AI model, each lookup and each formatting step is another task or credit. A workflow that grows from 3 to 15 steps as you add checks and AI goes from $129 to $289 a month on Zapier at this volume.
The cost of checking every five minutes
Not every app can notify your workflow instantly. When it cannot, the workflow checks for new data on a schedule. Make charges a credit for every check, even when nothing new is found. Three workflows checking every five minutes make 25,920 checks a month before doing any work. For 1,000 runs of a five-step workflow, Make's bill is $9 with instant triggers and $29 with five-minute checks (30,920 credits instead of 6,000). Where an app offers webhooks, use them.
n8n Cloud's 10,000-execution ceiling
n8n Cloud's published plans stop at Pro: €50 a month (annual billing) for 10,000 executions. The next plan, Business, is €667 a month for 40,000 executions and is self-hosted only. So a business that grows from 9,000 to 12,000 runs a month faces a large jump on n8n's own plans. The practical options at that point are to self-host the free community edition, which n8n licenses for internal business use under its Sustainable Use License, or to keep high-volume workflows on Make.
Self-hosting is cheap in cash but not free in time. Someone has to apply n8n updates (including security fixes), back up the database and watch for failed runs. Budget for that, or for a care plan from whoever sets it up.
Which one to choose
- Zapier if your workflows are short, volume is low and you want the easiest setup with the largest library of ready-made app connections.
- Make if you want the lowest hosted price for moderate volumes and your apps support instant triggers.
- n8n Cloud if your workflows have many steps or AI calls and stay under 10,000 runs a month, or you need custom code and complex logic.
- Self-hosted n8n if you run high volumes, want your data on your own server, or need to keep costs flat as you grow, and you have someone to maintain it.
Sources
- Zapier pricing, Zapier, checked 13 Oct 2026
- How Zapier counts tasks, Zapier Help Center
- Make pricing, Make, checked 13 Oct 2026
- n8n plans and pricing, including what counts as an execution, n8n, checked 13 Oct 2026
Every number in this guide links to one of these sources or comes from our own work. Read how we research and update guides.
What changed
- : First published. Prices from each vendor's pricing page, annual billing, checked 13 Oct 2026.