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n8n vs Zapier vs Make: what will your workflows cost?

Enter how often your workflows run and how many steps they have. We apply each vendor's own counting rules and published prices, verified October 13, 2026.

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Across all workflows, e.g. orders, leads or form entries processed.
Steps after the trigger that do something: create, update, send, look up.
Only Make charges for checks that find nothing. Applied once per workflow.
Ignored when workflows start instantly.
n8n prices in euros. Edit to today’s rate.
A small private server handles most small-business volumes.
Zapier Professional-
Make-
n8n Cloud-
n8n self-hosted-Server cost only. Add the time to keep it updated and backed up.

Monthly price on annual billing, in USD, for the smallest plan that covers your usage. Prices verified October 13, 2026. The outlined option is the cheapest hosted plan.

How they count

Same workflow, three different meters.

This is why the price gap grows with every step you add.

PlatformWhat you pay forWorth knowing
ZapierTasks: each successful action stepTriggers, filters and paths are free; a 6-step Zap run once uses up to 5 tasks
MakeCredits: each module run, trigger includedScheduled checks use a credit every time, even when nothing new is found
n8n CloudExecutions: one per workflow runSteps inside the run do not change the count
n8n self-hostedNo usage feeYou pay for the server and the time to keep it updated and backed up

← Swipe to see the full table →

Sources, read October 13, 2026: Zapier pricing, how Zapier counts tasks, Make pricing and n8n pricing.

Beyond price

Which one should you actually use?

Zapier

Simple workflows, low volume, and a team that wants the quickest setup and the biggest library of ready-made connections.

Make

Visual, branching scenarios at moderate volume, with good value per credit when workflows start instantly rather than polling.

n8n

Many steps, high volume, AI agents, custom code, or data that should stay on your own infrastructure. See n8n automation.

FAQ

Automation cost questions.

Because n8n counts one execution per workflow run, however many steps it has, while Zapier counts each action step as a task and Make counts each module run as a credit. The more steps a workflow has, the bigger the difference.
When your workflows are simple, your volume is low, and you want the fastest setup and the largest catalogue of ready-made app connections. For a few hundred tasks a month, the price difference may not justify a switch.
The community edition has no licence fee for your own internal business use under n8n’s Sustainable Use License. You pay for the server, and someone has to keep n8n updated, backed up and monitored. That time is a real cost, and it belongs in the comparison.
It is the lowest published price for each vendor and the fairest like-for-like comparison. Monthly billing costs more on all three: roughly 50% more on Zapier, 18% more on Make and 20% more on n8n Cloud.
They were read from each vendor’s own pricing page on October 13, 2026: Zapier, Make and n8n. We re-check them every month. Always confirm before you buy. For four real workflows priced side by side, see our guide n8n vs Zapier vs Make: what your workflows really cost.
From our guides

Researched from vendor pages and official sources, with dates and prices checked.

All guides on AI agents and automation →
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