Zapier vs Make vs n8n (2026): Prices, Limits and Which to Choose

By Piyush Gupta, founder of NQD.ai · Prices checked October 22, 2026 · 9 min read

The short answer

Make is the cheapest paid plan ($12 a month billed yearly), Zapier connects the most apps (9,000+) and n8n is the only one you can run on your own server for free. Zapier Professional starts at $19.99 a month and n8n Cloud at $20, billed yearly.

The price that matters is set by how each counts usage. Zapier charges a task for every action step, Make a credit for every module that runs, triggers included, and n8n one execution per run however many steps it has. So a 10-step workflow run 300 times a month needs Zapier's $89 plan, Make's $12 plan or n8n's $20 plan.

Every price and rule here comes from each company's own website, help centre or docs, read on October 22, 2026. We build automations on all three, so we've no reason to favour one.

Plans and prices

Monthly prices in US dollars, billed yearly / billed monthly. Make and n8n include unlimited users on every plan.

US prices before tax, read on October 22, 2026. Make's are its US prices; it shows plans and prices by country.
Plan	Price per month	Included each month	Good to know
Zapier
Free	$0	100 tasks	Two-step Zaps only. Checks for new data every 15 minutes. 1 user.
Professional	$19.99 / $29.99	750 tasks	2,000 tasks for $49 / $73.50; 5,000 for $89 / $133.50. Checks every 2 minutes. 1 user.
Team	$69 / $103.50	2,000 tasks	25 users, shared workspace and app connections. Checks every minute.
Make
Free	$0	1,000 credits	2 active scenarios. Runs at most every 15 minutes.
Core	$12 / $16	10,000 credits	Unlimited active scenarios, runs as often as every minute. 20,000 credits for $21 / $28.
Pro	$21 / $28	10,000 credits	Adds priority execution, custom variables and full-text log search.
Teams	$38 / $51	10,000 credits	Adds teams, team roles and shared scenario templates.
n8n
Cloud Starter	$20 / $24	2,500 executions	5 runs at once, each up to 5 minutes. Logs kept 7 days.
Cloud Pro	$50 / $60	10,000 executions	Up to 50 runs at once, each up to 40 minutes. Logs kept 30 days.
Community Edition	Free + a server	Unlimited	Self-hosted: you install, update and back it up. No SSO, Git or shared projects.

In the UK: n8n charges the same numbers in pounds (£20 or £24 for Starter, £50 or £60 for Pro). Make shows UK visitors lower prices but still in dollars, from $9 a month billed yearly for Core. Zapier prices in dollars and works out your local price at the exchange rate on the day you pay.

How each counts usage

How usage is counted, from each company's own help pages on October 22, 2026.
	Zapier	Make	n8n
You pay for	Tasks	Credits	Executions
What counts	Each action step that runs successfully	Each module that runs, including a trigger checking for new data	Each run of the whole workflow, however many steps
What doesn't count	Triggers, filters, paths, Formatter and delay steps, and steps that fail	Router and error-handler modules	Test runs from the editor, sub-workflows, and checks that find nothing new
AI steps	1, 3 or 5 tasks a run by model tier, plus tool calls; 1 with your own key	1 credit an operation plus credits for the AI tokens; just 1 an operation with your own key (paid plans)	Your own model keys; self-hosted, no credit limits
At the limit	Pay-per-task at 1.25× your rate, up to 3× your allowance, then Zaps stop	Scenarios stop until you add credits; extra credits cost 25% more, or turn on top-ups	Not stated for Starter and Pro

Two consequences. Many steps make Zapier expensive and barely move n8n. And frequent checking costs on Make, which charges a credit for every check, but not on Zapier, which says it “never charges you a task to check for new data”. n8n doesn't count an app trigger's check that finds nothing, but it does count every run of a schedule.

The same workflows on all three

A: a trigger and 9 actions that runs 300 times a month when something happens, such as a new order or form. B: a trigger that checks a spreadsheet every 5 minutes and one action, with about 100 new rows a month.

The cheapest plan that covers each workflow, US prices billed yearly / monthly.
	A: 10 steps, 300 runs	B: checks every 5 minutes
Zapier	2,700 tasks: Professional with 5,000 tasks, $89 / $133.50	100 tasks (checks are free), but checking more often than every 15 minutes needs Professional: $19.99 / $29.99
Make	3,000 credits: Core, $12 / $16	8,740 credits, since every check costs one: Core, $12 / $16
n8n	300 executions: Cloud Starter, $20 / $24	With the spreadsheet's own trigger, 100 executions (empty checks are free): Starter, $20 / $24. With a 5-minute schedule, about 8,640: Pro, $50 / $60

If some of workflow A's steps are filters or Formatter steps, Zapier doesn't count them and the bill falls. If they call an AI model, every platform charges more. For what the AI usage itself costs, and what it costs to have an automation built, see how much AI automation costs.

Apps, users, AI and data

Apps: Zapier says 9,000+, Make 3,500+, and n8n 500+ native integrations (over 2,400 in its directory with community and partner nodes).
Users: Zapier's Free and Professional plans have 1 user and Team 25. Make and n8n include unlimited users on every plan.
AI: Zapier's AI steps cost 1, 3 or 5 tasks a run by model tier, and its Copilot builds Zaps without using tasks. Make includes AI agents on every plan, charging a credit an operation plus credits for the tokens used, or just a credit an operation with your own AI key. n8n's AI Agent node, built on LangChain, runs on your own model keys.
Where your data lives: Zapier on AWS in the US; Make on AWS in the EU or North America; n8n Cloud on Microsoft Azure in Frankfurt; a self-hosted n8n wherever you put it. Zapier and Make state SOC 2 Type II; n8n says it aligns to SOC 2, with annual independent audits.
Run history: Make keeps detailed logs for 7 days on Free and 30 on paid plans; n8n for 7 days on Starter and 30 on Pro; Zapier keeps Zap history for 29 to 69 days.

Self-hosting n8n

n8n's Community Edition is free to run on your own server. Its licence lets you use it “for your own internal business purposes”: n8n's FAQ says that if workflows are only built by people in your organisation, it's free, and that an agency may charge clients to build and maintain workflows, but may not host n8n as a service for clients to build their own.

You give up a few things the paid plans have: single sign-on, Git version control, environments, and shared projects (only the instance owner and a workflow's creator can see it). And you take on the server: DigitalOcean's basic $6 a month server is, in n8n's own guide, enough, and managed n8n hosts such as Sliplane (from €9 a month before VAT) and Elestio (from $11) run it for you. Updates and backups are yours.

Which to choose

Zapier suits you if

you need an app the others don't connect to;
your workflows have only a few action steps;
you want the gentlest start and nothing to maintain.

Make suits you if

you want the lowest monthly price for many small workflows;
your team needs several logins (users are unlimited);
you want your data hosted in the EU without running a server.

n8n suits you if

your workflows have many steps or many AI calls;
you want to self-host, or keep data in the EU;
someone technical can look after it.

Where NQD.ai fits

We build automations, so read this part with that in mind. We build on Zapier, Make, n8n or custom code, whichever suits the workflow, in accounts in your name. The platform plan and AI usage are billed to you at cost, so the counting rules above decide part of your bill, and we pick the platform with that in mind.

We build your first automation free, live in 30 days. Running it costs $199 a month (£149 in the UK) per automation, for hosting, monitoring, fixes and updates; our first 5 founding clients get 3 months free, then $149 (£109) a month.

Book a Free Call

Or see the automation offer in full and every NQD.ai price on one page.

Every price here comes from each company's own website on October 22, 2026. They change plans often; if one has changed, email support@nqd.ai and we'll correct it.

Frequently asked questions

Which is cheapest: Zapier, Make or n8n?

On entry price, Make: Core is $12 a month billed yearly ($16 monthly) for 10,000 credits. n8n Cloud Starter is $20 ($24) for 2,500 executions and Zapier Professional $19.99 ($29.99) for 750 tasks; Zapier and Make also have free plans, and n8n's self-hosted Community Edition is free. For a given workflow it depends on how each counts: a 10-step workflow run 300 times a month needs Zapier's $89 plan, Make's $12 plan or n8n's $20 plan.

What's the difference between a Zapier task, a Make credit and an n8n execution?

A Zapier task is one action step that runs successfully; triggers, filters and Formatter steps don't count. A Make credit is used by each module that runs, including a trigger checking for new data, so a scenario that checks every minute uses credits even when nothing has changed. An n8n execution is one run of the whole workflow, however many steps it has.

Is n8n really free?

The self-hosted Community Edition costs nothing for your own business's workflows: its licence allows use "for your own internal business purposes". You pay for the server instead, from $6 a month for a basic DigitalOcean server, or about €9–$11 a month for a managed n8n host, plus the time to keep it updated and backed up. n8n's own cloud starts at $20 a month billed yearly.

How many apps do Zapier, Make and n8n connect to?

Zapier says it connects to 9,000+ apps, Make to 3,500+, and n8n has 500+ native integrations, with more than 2,400 in its directory counting community and partner nodes.

Which is best for AI automations?

All three run AI steps. Zapier charges 1, 3 or 5 tasks per AI run depending on the model tier, plus tool calls. Make charges 1 credit per operation plus credits for the tokens used with its own AI, or just 1 credit per operation with your own key on paid plans. n8n has an AI Agent node built on LangChain and uses your own model keys, so a self-hosted n8n adds no platform charge for AI. For workflows with many AI calls, the counting method matters more than the AI features.

Where do Zapier, Make and n8n store my data?

Zapier stores data on AWS in the United States. Make runs on AWS in the EU or North America. n8n Cloud stores data in the EU, on Microsoft Azure servers in Frankfurt, and a self-hosted n8n keeps everything on your own server. Zapier and Make state SOC 2 Type II, and n8n says it aligns to SOC 2 with annual independent audits.

More price guides

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AI automation costZapier, Make and n8n plans, AI usage, and what builders charge
Google Ads management costThe fees 12 agencies publish, and what the ads cost by industry
Google Ads budgetSet a budget from cost per lead, with 23 industries, Google's budget rules and how long to test

Sources

All read on October 22, 2026.

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