Zapier vs Make vs n8n: Which Automation Platform?

The Real Question: Who Will Maintain It?

All three platforms do the same basic job. Something happens in one app (a form is submitted, a deal changes stage, an invoice is paid), and the platform runs a series of actions in other apps. Any of them can handle the typical small-business workflow, such as sending new web leads to a CRM, texting the sales rep and logging the lead in a spreadsheet.

The deciding factor is usually who builds and fixes the workflows. Automations break when an app changes a field, an API key expires or someone renames a column. If an office manager will own that, Zapier's simplicity is worth paying for. If a developer or technically minded operator owns it, Make or n8n will give them more control for less money.

How Each Platform Bills (and Why It Matters)

The billing units are different, and they can change your costs dramatically for the same workflow.

• Zapier counts tasks. According to Zapier's help center, a task is each successful action step. Triggers, filters, paths and built-in utilities such as Formatter and Delay do not count. A five-action Zap that runs 1,000 times uses about 5,000 tasks. Agents use a separate unit called activities.
• Make counts credits. Make replaced operations with credits as its billing unit. Most non-AI modules cost one credit per operation, while some AI and file features cost a variable number of credits.
• n8n Cloud counts executions. An execution is one run of an entire workflow, however many steps it contains. A 20-step workflow costs the same as a 2-step one.

The practical effect: long, multi-step workflows that run often get expensive fastest on Zapier, somewhat less so on Make, and least on n8n. For a handful of simple automations, the difference is small and ease of use should win. Model your top three workflows against each pricing page before committing.

Self-Hosting and n8n's License

n8n is the only one of the three you can run on your own servers. Its self-hosted Community edition is free and includes nearly the full feature set; registering adds a few extras, and paid Business and Enterprise licenses add features such as SSO, environments and Git-based version control.

n8n is often described as open source, but it is more precise to call it source-available or "fair-code". Most of its code is under the Sustainable Use License, which allows use for your own internal business purposes or for personal and non-commercial use. It restricts redistributing or selling n8n as a commercial offering, and files marked as enterprise require a separate paid license. Running n8n to automate your own company's operations fits within those terms. Building a product that resells n8n's functionality to others may not, so read the license and ask a lawyer if that applies to you.

Self-hosting is not free in practice: someone must handle the server, updates, backups, security patches and monitoring. For regulated data, that control can be the whole point. For a five-person office, n8n Cloud or another hosted platform is usually the better trade.

AI Features in All Three

Each platform now includes AI building blocks. Zapier offers AI steps, an AI Copilot that helps build Zaps, Agents and an MCP server that lets AI assistants trigger Zapier actions. Make provides AI modules and agent features, and lets you either use its built-in AI provider or connect your own model account. n8n has AI agent and LLM nodes that work with most major model providers, and it is popular for building retrieval and agent workflows because developers can mix code, AI and integrations freely.

For anything customer-facing, the platform matters less than the design: clear instructions, limited permissions and a human review step for risky actions. Our guide on automating lead follow-up with AI shows a typical pattern.

Choosing for a Small Business

A sensible default: start on Zapier if nobody on staff is technical and the automations are simple. Move to Make when the logic gets more complex or the bill grows. Choose n8n from the start when you have technical help, expect high volume or have data that should stay in your own environment. Whichever you choose, document each workflow (what triggers it, what it changes, who owns it), because undocumented automations become a liability when the person who built them leaves. If you want help scoping, see our AI automation services.