Best value: n8n. The self-hosted version is completely free and unlimited, and even the paid cloud plans undercut the competition once your workflows get busy.
Easiest to learn: Zapier. The friendliest start for total beginners, but by far the most expensive at scale.
Middle ground: Make. Cheaper than Zapier, easier than self-hosted n8n, and visually the most pleasant editor of the three.
If you only read one more section, make it the cost scenario — the gap is bigger than most people expect.
All three of these tools do the same basic job: they connect your apps together so routine computer tasks happen automatically. When a customer fills in your form, the details go into your spreadsheet, a welcome email goes out, and you get a notification — without you touching anything. If you're new to this whole idea, start with our plain-English guide to n8n, which explains how automation tools work from zero.
The tools differ in three ways that matter to a small business: how much they cost once you're actually using them, how hard they are to learn, and how much control they give you. This comparison covers all three, with real numbers.
The numbers side by side
Here's the headline comparison. Every figure below was verified in July 2026 — but pricing pages change, so always double-check before you buy.
| Feature | n8n | Make | Zapier |
|---|---|---|---|
| App integrations | 400+ native, plus a universal HTTP Request node that connects to almost anything | 2,000+ | 8,000+ |
| Free tier | Self-hosted version: completely free and unlimited | 1,000 credits/month | 100 tasks/month |
| Entry paid price | Cloud Starter ~€20–24/month (2,500 workflow executions) | Core $10.59/month (10,000 credits) | Professional $29.99/month (750 tasks) |
| Higher tier | Cloud Pro ~€50–60/month (10,000 executions) | Pro $18.82/month | Team $103.50/month |
| Pricing model | Per workflow execution (a 10-step run counts once) | Per credit/operation (each step counts) | Per task (every action step counts) |
| Self-host option | Yes — free and unlimited | No | No |
Two rows in that table decide most of the money question, so read them twice: pricing model and self-host option. Zapier and Make charge you for every single step your workflow takes. n8n's cloud plans charge per complete run, no matter how many steps are inside it — and the self-hosted version charges nothing at all.
Zapier: the friendly one with the painful bill
Zapier is the tool most people hear about first, and it earned that position. The interface is the simplest of the three: pick a trigger, pick an action, done. Its library of 8,000+ app integrations is the biggest in the industry, so whatever obscure software your business runs on, Zapier probably connects to it.
The problem is the pricing model. Zapier counts tasks, and every action step in your workflow is a task. A modest five-step workflow that runs 200 times a month burns 1,000 tasks. The free plan gives you just 100 tasks a month — enough to try the tool, not enough to run a business on. The Professional plan costs $29.99/month for 750 tasks, and the Team plan is $103.50/month. Busy workflows climb past those limits fast, and the bill climbs with them.
Pros
- The easiest tool of the three to learn — genuinely beginner-proof.
- 8,000+ app integrations, the largest library available.
- Huge amount of tutorials and community help online.
- Reliable and polished; very little ever goes wrong.
Cons
- The most expensive option by a wide margin once usage grows.
- Free plan (100 tasks/month) is too small for real business use.
- Every action step counts as a task, so multi-step workflows get pricey fast.
- No self-host option — you're always renting.
Want the easiest possible start? If budget isn't your main concern and you value simplicity above everything, Zapier is a perfectly good choice.
Try Zapier →Make: the visual middle ground
Make (formerly Integromat) sits between the other two in almost every way. Its editor shows your workflow as a map of connected bubbles, and many people find it the most enjoyable tool to actually use. It handles branching logic — "if this, do that, otherwise do something else" — far better than Zapier's basic plans.
Pricing is friendlier, too. The free plan includes 1,000 credits a month, the Core plan costs $10.59/month for 10,000 credits, and the Pro plan is $18.82/month. Make counts credits (one per operation, and each step in your workflow is an operation), so multi-step workflows still multiply your usage — but the entry prices are low enough that the damage is manageable. Its 2,000+ app integrations cover everything a typical small business uses.
Pros
- Genuinely affordable: Core plan is $10.59/month for 10,000 credits.
- The most visual, satisfying editor of the three.
- Handles complex, branching workflows well.
- Generous free plan (1,000 credits/month) that's actually usable.
Cons
- Charges per operation, so every step still adds to the meter.
- 2,000+ integrations is good, but far behind Zapier's library.
- No self-host option.
- The credit system takes a little mental math to predict your bill.
Want power without Zapier prices? Make is the sweet spot for many small businesses — visual, capable, and cheap to run.
Try Make →n8n: the value champion
n8n plays a different game. It's open source, which means you can run the self-hosted version completely free, with no usage limits — your only cost is a small server, typically around $15/month. If you'd rather not touch a server, n8n Cloud starts at roughly €20–24/month (Starter, 2,500 workflow executions), with Pro at roughly €50–60/month (10,000 executions).
Crucially, n8n's cloud plans count executions — complete runs of a workflow — not individual steps. Your ten-step monster workflow costs the same per run as a two-step simple one. And since n8n 2.0 (released January 2026), the platform ships with 70+ AI nodes, making it the most practical of the three for AI-powered automation: summarizing emails, drafting replies, classifying support tickets, and so on.
The trade-offs: it has the steepest learning curve of the three, and its 400+ native integrations are the smallest library here — though the universal HTTP Request node fills most gaps by connecting to almost any service with an API (a standard way apps talk to each other). Self-hosting also means you handle updates and backups yourself.
Pros
- Self-hosted version: completely free, unlimited use — unbeatable value.
- Cloud plans count whole workflow runs, not individual steps.
- 70+ AI nodes since n8n 2.0 — the strongest AI automation of the three.
- Handles the most complex logic of the three tools.
- Self-hosting keeps your business data on your own server.
Cons
- Steepest learning curve — expect a weekend, not an evening, to get comfortable.
- 400+ native integrations is the smallest library of the three.
- Self-hosting means you own the maintenance.
- Cloud entry price (~€20–24/month) is higher than Make's cheapest plan.
Want the most automation per dollar? Start with the free self-hosted version or a cloud trial and build one real workflow — you'll know quickly if it fits.
Try n8n →What a busy workflow actually costs
Abstract pricing pages hide the real story, so let's make it concrete. Imagine a 10-step workflow that runs 10,000 times a month — for example, processing every order in a busy online shop: check stock, create an invoice, update the spreadsheet, email the customer, notify the team, and so on.
Here's roughly what that single workflow costs per month on each platform:
- Zapier: about $400+/month. Every one of the 10 steps is a billable task, so 10,000 runs means 100,000 tasks. That blows straight past the standard plans into expensive territory.
- Make: about $150/month. Each step is an operation, so the same math applies — but Make's credit prices are far lower than Zapier's task prices.
- n8n Cloud: about $55/month. Only complete runs count, so 10,000 executions fit the Pro plan tier regardless of how many steps are inside.
- n8n self-hosted: about $15/month. The software is free and unlimited; you pay only for a small VPS to run it on.
Same workflow, same result — and the most expensive option costs more than 25 times the cheapest one. This is why the pricing model matters more than the sticker price on the entry plan. If your workflows are light (a few runs a day, a few steps each), all three are affordable. The moment things get busy, they diverge dramatically.
Can you start for free?
Yes — with all three, but the free tiers are very different animals. Zapier's free plan (100 tasks a month) is best thought of as a demo: fine for learning the interface, too small for real business use. Make's free plan (1,000 credits a month) is genuinely usable for a light workflow or two, and a patient freelancer could run on it for months. n8n is in a league of its own here: the self-hosted version is completely free with no limits at all. It's the only free tier in this comparison that you could run a whole business on — provided you're willing to look after a small server.
A sensible path looks like this: learn on Make's free plan or n8n's free self-hosted version, automate one real task, and only pull out a credit card when a workflow has already proven it saves you time.
Who should pick which?
Pick Zapier if you are completely non-technical, you want to be running in ten minutes, your workflows are simple and low-volume, and you'd rather pay more than learn more. Also pick it if you depend on an obscure app — with 8,000+ integrations, Zapier is the most likely to support it out of the box.
Pick Make if you want real power at gentle prices and you enjoy seeing your processes laid out visually. It's the best fit for freelancers and small teams who have outgrown Zapier's free plan but don't want to manage servers. The $10.59 Core plan covers a surprising amount of work.
Pick n8n if you want the best long-term value, you run (or plan to run) busy or complex workflows, you want AI built into your automations, or you care about keeping your data on your own server. It's the choice we recommend most often — just budget that first weekend to learn it.
Final verdict
For most small businesses in 2026: start with Make or n8n — not Zapier.Zapier is the best-known tool here, but fame isn't value. Its per-task pricing punishes exactly the behavior automation is supposed to encourage — automating more of your work. For a busy business, it's hard to justify a $400+/month bill for a workflow that costs about $15/month to run on self-hosted n8n.
If you want the gentlest learning curve at a fair price, choose Make. If you want the most power, the strongest AI features, and the lowest long-term cost — and you'll invest one weekend learning the ropes — choose n8n. Our beginner's guide to n8n walks you through the first steps.
Whichever you pick, start with one annoying task and automate it well. A single workflow that reliably saves you an hour a week is worth more than a dozen half-finished experiments — and it's the clearest signal that you're ready to pay for a plan. The best automation tool is the one you actually finish setting up.
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