n8n vs Zapier vs Make:
what automation really costs.
Zapier charges one task per action step. Make.com charges one credit per module call. n8n charges one execution per workflow run, however many steps are inside it. That single difference is why headline prices tell you almost nothing. A ten-step workflow run 5,000 times a month costs 45,000 Zapier tasks, 50,000 Make credits and 5,000 n8n executions for identical work. Set your real volume below and the calculator turns it into an annual bill for all four options, including self-hosted n8n with your own maintenance time priced in.
n8n vs Zapier vs Make:
what automation really costs.
Zapier charges one task per action step. Make.com charges one credit per module call. n8n charges one execution per workflow run, however many steps are inside it. That single difference is why headline prices tell you almost nothing. A ten-step workflow run 5,000 times a month costs 45,000 Zapier tasks, 50,000 Make credits and 5,000 n8n executions for identical work. Set your real volume below and the calculator turns it into an annual bill for all four options, including self-hosted n8n with your own maintenance time priced in.
Free tool
Work out what you are actually paying.
Set your monthly workflow runs and the average number of steps in them. The calculator converts that single workload into Zapier tasks, Make credits and n8n executions, then prices each one at current published rates. Self-hosted n8n includes your own maintenance time, because free software is only free if your hours are worth nothing. Prices verified August 2026, annual billing, GBP excluding VAT.
Free tool
Work out what you are actually paying.
Set your monthly workflow runs and the average number of steps in them. The calculator converts that single workload into Zapier tasks, Make credits and n8n executions, then prices each one at current published rates. Self-hosted n8n includes your own maintenance time, because free software is only free if your hours are worth nothing. Prices verified August 2026, annual billing, GBP excluding VAT.
The crossover points
Where each option actually wins.
There is no single cheapest platform, only a cheapest platform at your volume and your workflow length. Three crossovers matter, and one of them catches almost everybody.
Make wins in the middle, which is where most people are
Below roughly 15,000 workflow runs a month, Make Core is usually the cheapest hosted option by a clear margin, and it stays competitive well past that because overage is metered per credit rather than sold in tiers. Small team, handful of production scenarios, no appetite for running infrastructure: this is the default answer and it is not close.
Zapier wins on connectors, and only on connectors
It is the most expensive option at every volume modelled here, often by an order of magnitude. What it buys is the largest app catalogue in the category and the shortest path from idea to working automation. If the tool you need only has a Zapier integration, price is irrelevant because there is no alternative. Otherwise it is hard to justify past a few thousand tasks a month.
n8n Cloud has a gap you can fall into
The Pro plan covers 10,000 executions a month. The next plan up is Business at 800 euros a month for 40,000. That is a thirteenfold price increase for four times the executions, with nothing in between. Between 10,000 and 40,000 executions, n8n Cloud is the most expensive hosted option here rather than the cheapest. At 18,000 runs it costs around £6,773 a year against £868 on Make. This is the most common way teams end up overpaying for n8n, and it is invisible from the pricing page.
Self-hosted n8n wins at volume, and then wins enormously
Because the cost is flat, the crossover arrives and the gap becomes absurd. At 100,000 runs a month on ten-step workflows, self-hosted n8n costs under £1,000 a year against roughly £12,000 for Make and £63,000 for Zapier. Anyone running that volume on a metered platform is paying a large annual fee for the privilege of not managing a server.
The crossover points
Where each option actually wins.
There is no single cheapest platform, only a cheapest platform at your volume and your workflow length. Three crossovers matter, and one of them catches almost everybody.
Make wins in the middle, which is where most people are
Below roughly 15,000 workflow runs a month, Make Core is usually the cheapest hosted option by a clear margin, and it stays competitive well past that because overage is metered per credit rather than sold in tiers. Small team, handful of production scenarios, no appetite for running infrastructure: this is the default answer and it is not close.
Zapier wins on connectors, and only on connectors
It is the most expensive option at every volume modelled here, often by an order of magnitude. What it buys is the largest app catalogue in the category and the shortest path from idea to working automation. If the tool you need only has a Zapier integration, price is irrelevant because there is no alternative. Otherwise it is hard to justify past a few thousand tasks a month.
n8n Cloud has a gap you can fall into
The Pro plan covers 10,000 executions a month. The next plan up is Business at 800 euros a month for 40,000. That is a thirteenfold price increase for four times the executions, with nothing in between. Between 10,000 and 40,000 executions, n8n Cloud is the most expensive hosted option here rather than the cheapest. At 18,000 runs it costs around £6,773 a year against £868 on Make. This is the most common way teams end up overpaying for n8n, and it is invisible from the pricing page.
Self-hosted n8n wins at volume, and then wins enormously
Because the cost is flat, the crossover arrives and the gap becomes absurd. At 100,000 runs a month on ten-step workflows, self-hosted n8n costs under £1,000 a year against roughly £12,000 for Make and £63,000 for Zapier. Anyone running that volume on a metered platform is paying a large annual fee for the privilege of not managing a server.
Before you migrate
Check you are moving the right thing.
A saving on the calculator is not on its own a reason to migrate. Rebuilding a working automation estate takes weeks, because credentials, error handling, retry logic and every edge case fixed quietly over two years all have to be rebuilt and retested. A £3,000 annual saving is worth having. It is not worth three weeks of your operations lead plus a fortnight of things silently not firing. The harder check matters more. A lot of the automation we are asked to move was built to work around a process that does not make sense: duplicate entry between two systems that should have been integrated, a weekly report assembled from three exports because nobody agreed the source of truth, approval chases that exist because the approval step was never designed. Moving that to a cheaper platform makes a bad process cheaper to run. Work out what the process should be first, then pick the platform that runs it for the least money. In that order the migration usually gets smaller, because a fair proportion of the workflows turn out not to be needed.
Before you migrate
Check you are moving the right thing.
A saving on the calculator is not on its own a reason to migrate. Rebuilding a working automation estate takes weeks, because credentials, error handling, retry logic and every edge case fixed quietly over two years all have to be rebuilt and retested. A £3,000 annual saving is worth having. It is not worth three weeks of your operations lead plus a fortnight of things silently not firing. The harder check matters more. A lot of the automation we are asked to move was built to work around a process that does not make sense: duplicate entry between two systems that should have been integrated, a weekly report assembled from three exports because nobody agreed the source of truth, approval chases that exist because the approval step was never designed. Moving that to a cheaper platform makes a bad process cheaper to run. Work out what the process should be first, then pick the platform that runs it for the least money. In that order the migration usually gets smaller, because a fair proportion of the workflows turn out not to be needed.
The model
How each platform counts what you use.
Zapier: per action
One task per action. The trigger is free, and built-in utilities including Filter, Formatter and Paths do not draw down your allowance. A six-step Zap therefore costs five tasks every time it runs. Modelled as runs multiplied by steps minus one. AI steps are charged at one, three or five tasks depending on model tier, so AI-heavy flows cost considerably more than this.
Zapier: per action
One task per action. The trigger is free, and built-in utilities including Filter, Formatter and Paths do not draw down your allowance. A six-step Zap therefore costs five tasks every time it runs. Modelled as runs multiplied by steps minus one. AI steps are charged at one, three or five tasks depending on model tier, so AI-heavy flows cost considerably more than this.
Make: per module call
One credit per module call, including the trigger module, so the same six-step scenario costs six credits per run. Routers and iterators multiply it: looping over ten line items in a single step spends ten credits on its own. Modelled as runs multiplied by steps. Make renamed operations to credits in August 2025, so older articles use the other word for the same thing.
Make: per module call
One credit per module call, including the trigger module, so the same six-step scenario costs six credits per run. Routers and iterators multiply it: looping over ten line items in a single step spends ten credits on its own. Modelled as runs multiplied by steps. Make renamed operations to credits in August 2025, so older articles use the other word for the same thing.
n8n: per workflow run
One execution per run regardless of node count, so the same scenario costs one execution whether it has three nodes or thirty. Sub-workflows, manual test runs from the canvas, automatic error retries and polling checks each count as separate executions. Modelled as runs. Self-hosted Community Edition has no execution limit at all.
n8n: per workflow run
One execution per run regardless of node count, so the same scenario costs one execution whether it has three nodes or thirty. Sub-workflows, manual test runs from the canvas, automatic error retries and polling checks each count as separate executions. Modelled as runs. Self-hosted Community Edition has no execution limit at all.
what clients say
But don't just take it from me.
We bring Jack in whenever we need serious Bullhorn Automation expertise. He takes our most tangled requirements and turns them into clean automations that just work, and he's become our go-to second pair of eyes whenever a build needs sense-checking. It's clear he has a deep understanding of Bullhorn and the recruitment industry as a whole. Overall, he's saved us hours of build time.
Kathy Walker, Fractional Marketing Director & Co-Founder, JK&Co.
We’ve had the pleasure of working with Jack across several projects and have consistently been impressed with the quality of work delivered. Communication is always clear, deadlines are met without issue, and there's a strong sense of accountability and transparency throughout. What stands out most is the flexibility to adapt to varying requirements while maintaining a high standard of execution.
Tina Tucker, Marketing Account Director, Thrive Recruitment Marketing
what clients say
But don't just take it from me.
We bring Jack in whenever we need serious Bullhorn Automation expertise. He takes our most tangled requirements and turns them into clean automations that just work, and he's become our go-to second pair of eyes whenever a build needs sense-checking. It's clear he has a deep understanding of Bullhorn and the recruitment industry as a whole. Overall, he's saved us hours of build time.
Kathy Walker, Fractional Marketing Director & Co-Founder, JK&Co.
We’ve had the pleasure of working with Jack across several projects and have consistently been impressed with the quality of work delivered. Communication is always clear, deadlines are met without issue, and there's a strong sense of accountability and transparency throughout. What stands out most is the flexibility to adapt to varying requirements while maintaining a high standard of execution.
Tina Tucker, Marketing Account Director, Thrive Recruitment Marketing
what clients say
But don't just take it from me.
We bring Jack in whenever we need serious Bullhorn Automation expertise. He takes our most tangled requirements and turns them into clean automations that just work, and he's become our go-to second pair of eyes whenever a build needs sense-checking. It's clear he has a deep understanding of Bullhorn and the recruitment industry as a whole. Overall, he's saved us hours of build time.
Kathy Walker, Fractional Marketing Director & Co-Founder, JK&Co.
We’ve had the pleasure of working with Jack across several projects and have consistently been impressed with the quality of work delivered. Communication is always clear, deadlines are met without issue, and there's a strong sense of accountability and transparency throughout. What stands out most is the flexibility to adapt to varying requirements while maintaining a high standard of execution.
Tina Tucker, Marketing Account Director, Thrive Recruitment Marketing
Book a Call
Paying more than the calculator says?
The diagnostic call is 30 minutes. You tell me what your automation estate looks like and what it costs, and I will tell you whether the bill is a platform problem or a process problem. Those need different fixes, and only one of them is solved by switching. If moving platforms is genuinely the answer, you will get a straight view of what the migration involves before you commit to it.
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frequently asked questions
Common questions answered
Is n8n cheaper than Zapier?
Almost always, and the gap widens with workflow length. Zapier charges one task per action step, while n8n charges one execution per workflow run no matter how many steps are inside it. A ten-step workflow run 5,000 times a month costs 45,000 Zapier tasks and 5,000 n8n executions for identical work. The exception is very low volume, where the entry tiers are close enough that the difference does not justify a migration.
Is n8n cheaper than Zapier?
Almost always, and the gap widens with workflow length. Zapier charges one task per action step, while n8n charges one execution per workflow run no matter how many steps are inside it. A ten-step workflow run 5,000 times a month costs 45,000 Zapier tasks and 5,000 n8n executions for identical work. The exception is very low volume, where the entry tiers are close enough that the difference does not justify a migration.
What is the difference between a Zapier task, a Make credit and an n8n execution?
A Zapier task is one action. The trigger is free and built-in utilities such as Filter, Formatter and Paths do not count, so a six-step Zap costs five tasks per run. A Make credit is one module call including the trigger, so the same workflow costs six credits per run, and routers and iterators multiply that further. An n8n execution is one workflow run regardless of node count, so the same workflow costs one execution. This is why comparing the headline monthly prices tells you almost nothing.
What is the difference between a Zapier task, a Make credit and an n8n execution?
A Zapier task is one action. The trigger is free and built-in utilities such as Filter, Formatter and Paths do not count, so a six-step Zap costs five tasks per run. A Make credit is one module call including the trigger, so the same workflow costs six credits per run, and routers and iterators multiply that further. An n8n execution is one workflow run regardless of node count, so the same workflow costs one execution. This is why comparing the headline monthly prices tells you almost nothing.
How much does self-hosted n8n really cost?
The software is free with no execution limit and no user limit, and a VPS capable of running it costs around four to seven euros a month. The real cost is maintenance: updates, backups, expired credentials and the occasional restart. At one hour a month valued at £75, that is £900 a year, which is more than most teams pay for a hosted plan. Self-hosting becomes cheaper than Make at roughly 15,000 workflow runs a month. Below that, free software is the more expensive option.
How much does self-hosted n8n really cost?
The software is free with no execution limit and no user limit, and a VPS capable of running it costs around four to seven euros a month. The real cost is maintenance: updates, backups, expired credentials and the occasional restart. At one hour a month valued at £75, that is £900 a year, which is more than most teams pay for a hosted plan. Self-hosting becomes cheaper than Make at roughly 15,000 workflow runs a month. Below that, free software is the more expensive option.
Does n8n Cloud have a free plan?
No. n8n Cloud discontinued its permanent free tier and now offers a time-limited trial only. The free option is the self-hosted Community Edition, which has no licence fee, no execution cap and no user cap, but requires you to run and maintain the server. Community Edition also gives you access to community-built nodes, which n8n Cloud blocks for security reasons.
Does n8n Cloud have a free plan?
No. n8n Cloud discontinued its permanent free tier and now offers a time-limited trial only. The free option is the self-hosted Community Edition, which has no licence fee, no execution cap and no user cap, but requires you to run and maintain the server. Community Edition also gives you access to community-built nodes, which n8n Cloud blocks for security reasons.
Why is my bill higher than the calculator says?
Usually polling triggers. A trigger that checks every five minutes fires around 8,640 times a month whether or not there is anything to process, and every one of those checks is a billable unit on all three platforms. Switching to webhooks where the source app supports them is the single largest cost reduction available on any platform, and it is free. The second most common cause is AI steps: Zapier moved to model-based task rates in June 2026, charging one, three or five tasks per step depending on the model tier, with tool calls charged again at the same multiplier.
Where do these prices come from?
Vendor pricing pages, verified August 2026, using annual billing where offered and converted to GBP at 0.78 USD and 0.85 EUR, excluding VAT. Zapier Professional is modelled from its published 750-task and 2,000-task tiers, with the intermediate rungs interpolated on a declining cost-per-task curve because Zapier does not publish every step of the ladder. Make Core is $10.59 a month for 10,000 credits, with overage at 1.25 times the included rate. n8n Cloud is 24, 60 and 800 euros a month for 2,500, 10,000 and 40,000 executions, less 17 percent on annual billing. Self-hosted is 4.50 euros a month for a VPS plus your own maintenance time. Build cost, premium app access and seat counts are excluded. Vendors change pricing several times a year, so check their pricing pages before committing.
Where do these prices come from?
Vendor pricing pages, verified August 2026, using annual billing where offered and converted to GBP at 0.78 USD and 0.85 EUR, excluding VAT. Zapier Professional is modelled from its published 750-task and 2,000-task tiers, with the intermediate rungs interpolated on a declining cost-per-task curve because Zapier does not publish every step of the ladder. Make Core is $10.59 a month for 10,000 credits, with overage at 1.25 times the included rate. n8n Cloud is 24, 60 and 800 euros a month for 2,500, 10,000 and 40,000 executions, less 17 percent on annual billing. Self-hosted is 4.50 euros a month for a VPS plus your own maintenance time. Build cost, premium app access and seat counts are excluded. Vendors change pricing several times a year, so check their pricing pages before committing.