n8n, Make, and Zapier all connect business applications and move data between them without manual copying. From a distance they look interchangeable: pick a trigger, add some steps, turn it on. The differences show up later, when the monthly bill arrives, when a workflow needs a loop or a custom API call, when something fails at 2 a.m., or when a client asks where their data is stored.
This comparison covers how each platform charges, where it runs, how it handles errors and custom code, and what kind of team it suits. Plan details change often: everything below reflects each vendor’s official pricing and documentation as of September 2026, so confirm current terms before committing.
The short version
- Zapier is usually the fastest way for a nontechnical team to connect popular apps. It has the largest app catalog of the three and a simple step-by-step builder. Costs scale with the number of action steps that run.
- Make offers a visual canvas with more control over branching, iteration, and data transformation. It bills by credits consumed per module action, and it tends to suit teams comfortable thinking in data flows.
- n8n is the most developer-friendly. It can be self-hosted, bills its cloud plans per workflow execution rather than per step, and supports JavaScript and Python inside workflows. It asks more of whoever maintains it, especially if you host it yourself.
Comparison table
| Factor | Zapier | Make | n8n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billing unit | Tasks: action steps that run. Triggers and some built-in utility steps (such as Filter, Formatter, Paths, and Delay) don’t count, according to Zapier’s pricing page. | Credits: most module actions use 1 credit; some features, such as the Code app or certain AI features, use more. | Cloud plans: workflow executions. One execution is one full run, regardless of how many steps it contains. |
| Free option | Free plan with a small monthly task allowance and two-step Zaps. | Free plan with a monthly credit allowance and a 15-minute minimum schedule interval. | No free cloud plan (a trial is available); the self-hosted Community edition is free to use under its license. |
| Hosting | Zapier-hosted only. | Make-hosted only. | n8n Cloud or self-hosted on your own server or cloud account. |
| Data location | Hosted on AWS in the United States; Zapier states it doesn’t offer EU-only data storage. | AWS, with EU and North America options listed on the pricing page. | n8n Cloud data is stored in the EU (Frankfurt). Self-hosted data stays wherever you host it. |
| Builder style | Linear steps, with Paths for branching. | Visual canvas with routers, iterators, and aggregators. | Visual canvas of nodes with branching, merging, and loops. |
| Custom code | Code by Zapier steps run JavaScript or Python on paid plans, with plan-based runtime limits. | Make Code app runs JavaScript or Python on paid plans (listed as open beta), billed by execution time. Custom functions are Enterprise-only. | Code node runs JavaScript or Python on every plan. Self-hosted instances can enable external npm modules. |
| Error handling | Custom error handler paths per step on paid plans; Autoreplay for retries. | Error handlers (such as Retry, Resume, Commit, Rollback, and Skip) plus stored incomplete executions that can be retried. | Per-node Retry On Fail and On Error options, error output branches, and dedicated error workflows using the Error Trigger. |
| App catalog | Largest of the three; Zapier’s pricing page cites 9,000+ apps. | Make’s pricing page cites 3,000+ standard apps. | Smaller built-in catalog; the HTTP Request node and community nodes fill gaps. |
| Best fit | Nontechnical teams connecting mainstream apps quickly. | Teams that need complex data handling in a visual tool. | Technical teams, high-volume or multi-step workflows, and data-control requirements. |
Pricing models: what you are actually paying for
The unit each platform counts matters more than the headline price. The same workflow can be cheap on one and expensive on another.
Zapier: tasks
On Zapier’s pricing page, a task is counted when an action step runs. Zapier doesn’t charge for the trigger checking for new data, and several built-in steps (including Filter, Formatter, Paths, Delay, and Looping) don’t count as tasks. A Zap with a trigger and four action steps that runs 1,000 times uses about 4,000 tasks. Plans also differ in how often polling triggers check for new data: the pricing page lists 15 minutes on the free plan, 2 minutes on Professional, and 1 minute on Team and Enterprise. Instant (webhook-based) triggers aren’t affected by that interval.
Make: credits
Make’s pricing is based on credits. Most module actions consume one credit, while some advanced features use more. For example, Make’s Code app documentation says it consumes two credits per second of execution time. Because every module counts, long scenarios that process many items per run consume credits quickly. Paid plans allow scheduling down to one-minute intervals; the free plan’s minimum is 15 minutes.
n8n: executions, or your own server
n8n’s cloud plans count workflow executions. An execution is one run of the whole workflow, whether it has three nodes or thirty. That makes long, multi-step workflows comparatively predictable to budget. The alternative is self-hosting. n8n’s documentation describes a free self-hosted Community edition with most features, plus paid Business and Enterprise licenses that unlock features such as SSO, environments, and Git-based version control. Self-hosting isn’t free in practice: you pay for the server, database, backups, and the time to update and monitor it.
A note on n8n’s license
n8n isn’t licensed under a standard open-source license. It uses the Sustainable Use License, which permits use for your own internal business purposes. According to n8n’s license FAQ, syncing your company’s own data, building workflows as a consultant, and running n8n on an internal server are allowed. Offering n8n as a paid hosted service or white-labeling it for customers isn’t, and using n8n as the back end of an app that collects your end users’ own credentials requires a separate commercial agreement. If you’re building a product, read the license first.
Hosting, data residency, and compliance
For many small businesses a managed service is simpler than running a server. Hosting becomes decisive when contracts or industry rules dictate where data may be processed.
- Zapier states on its data privacy page that it hosts data on AWS servers in the United States and doesn’t support an EU-only storage option. It relies on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework for transfers.
- Make lists AWS hosting in the EU and North America on its pricing page.
- n8n Cloud stores hosted data in the EU, on servers in Frankfurt, according to its pricing page. Self-hosted n8n keeps data wherever you deploy it, including inside your own network. That control comes with responsibility for patching, access control, encryption keys, and backups.
None of these statements makes a platform automatically compliant with a given regulation. Compliance depends on your contracts, the data you process, and how you configure the workflows.
Error handling and reliability
Every automation eventually fails. What matters is whether you find out and can recover the record.
Zapier
Zapier’s custom error handling lets you add an error path to an action step, so a failure can trigger its own actions, such as logging the error message or alerting a team member. It’s available on paid plans. Adding an error handler turns off Autoreplay for that Zap, and runs containing error handlers can’t be manually replayed, so choose your recovery approach deliberately.
Make
Make offers several error handler types, including Retry, Resume, Commit, Rollback, and Skip, which you attach to individual modules. Make can also store incomplete executions when a scenario setting is enabled, so failed runs can be resolved later or retried automatically for supported error types. This model is flexible but takes some learning to configure correctly.
n8n
In n8n, each node can retry on failure and choose what happens on error: stop, continue, or send the error down a separate output branch. At the workflow level, you can assign an error workflow that starts with the Error Trigger and receives details about the failed execution, including a link to it when the execution was saved. On a self-hosted instance, reliability also depends on your infrastructure: if the server is down, webhooks aren’t received.
Custom code and API flexibility
All three platforms can call arbitrary APIs through HTTP or webhook steps, and all three now support code in some form. The differences are in limits and cost.
- Zapier: Code by Zapier runs small JavaScript or Python snippets with runtime and data-size limits that vary by plan. Zapier recommends building a custom app on its developer platform for heavier API work.
- Make: the Code app runs JavaScript or Python in a sandbox with plan-based CPU, memory, and time limits, and it is billed by execution time. Custom functions, which are reusable JavaScript functions for data transformation, are limited to Enterprise customers.
- n8n: the Code node runs JavaScript or Python as an ordinary step, and code doesn’t add execution charges on cloud plans. On n8n Cloud you can’t import external npm modules; self-hosted instances can enable them.
Sample workflow (hypothetical): the same lead-handling workflow built on each platform. This is an illustration for comparison, not a client project, and it does not include performance or cost benchmarks.
| Trigger | A website form submission sent by webhook. |
|---|---|
| Applications | Website form, a CRM, Slack or email, Google Sheets. |
| Data inputs | Name, email, phone, requested service, message. |
| Processing logic | Reject submissions without a valid email; search the CRM by email; create or update the contact; notify the sales channel; log the lead in a sheet. |
| Expected outputs | One CRM contact per person, one notification, one sheet row per submission. |
| Failure points | Expired CRM credential, CRM rate limits, missing fields, duplicate submissions. |
| Error handling | Retry temporary CRM errors; route permanent failures to an alert with the failed record attached. |
| Validation and testing | Send complete, incomplete, and duplicate test submissions against a test CRM pipeline and a copy of the sheet. |
| Business application | Faster lead response and fewer leads lost in an inbox. |
In Zapier: a Webhooks by Zapier or form-app trigger, a Filter step for the email check, a CRM “find or create” style action where the CRM’s integration offers one, then Slack and Google Sheets actions. An error handler on the CRM step sends failures to an alert. It’s quick to build, and task usage grows with each action step.
In Make: a custom webhook module, a filter on the route, CRM search and create/update modules with a router, then Slack and Google Sheets modules. A Retry or Resume handler on the CRM module and stored incomplete executions help recovery. Credits scale with the number of modules that run.
In n8n: a Webhook node, a Code or If node for validation, CRM nodes (or the HTTP Request node if there’s no built-in node), then Slack and Google Sheets nodes, with Retry On Fail on the CRM node and a shared error workflow. On cloud plans, each submission is one execution regardless of step count.
Native features handle this on all three platforms. Custom development is needed when the CRM lacks a ready-made integration or deduplication rules are complex.
A decision framework
Work through these in order; the first clear answer usually decides.
- Do you have a hard data-location or self-hosting requirement? If data must stay on your infrastructure, self-hosted n8n is the only one of the three that allows it. If it must stay in the EU, compare Make’s EU hosting with n8n Cloud; Zapier states it doesn’t offer EU-only storage.
- Who will maintain the workflows? If the maintainers are nontechnical staff, Zapier’s linear builder is the easiest to hand over. If someone on the team is comfortable with data structures, Make or n8n Cloud opens up more options. Self-hosted n8n needs someone who can manage a server.
- Are your key apps supported natively? Check each platform’s integration directory for the specific triggers and actions you need, not just the app name. An integration that exists but lacks the action you need is a common surprise.
- How many steps, how many runs? Estimate monthly runs and steps per run, then calculate usage under each billing model. Many steps at high volume tends to favor execution-based pricing; a few simple workflows often fit comfortably in any platform’s lower tiers.
- How much custom logic is involved? Heavy data transformation, loops over large lists, or unusual APIs favor n8n or Make. Mostly “when this happens, do that” favors Zapier.
- What happens when it fails? Decide who gets alerted and how failed records are recovered, then confirm the platform and plan you’re considering supports that approach.
Using two platforms is also reasonable, at the cost of two places to monitor.
Migrating between platforms
Moving between these platforms means rebuilding, not importing. Inventory each workflow’s trigger, steps, and credentials, rebuild against test records, then switch over and turn off the old version. If you’re troubleshooting an existing setup instead, our guides to n8n workflows that won’t run and Zapier not sending data cover platform-specific failure points.
Modern Streamline builds and maintains workflows on all three platforms. See our n8n automation services and Make and Zapier automation services for what that involves.
Not sure which platform fits your business?
Tell Modern Streamline which applications you use, what you want to automate, roughly how often it runs, and any data or hosting requirements. We can review your requirements and discuss which platform, or combination, makes sense.
FAQ
Is n8n free?
The self-hosted Community edition is free to use under the Sustainable Use License for internal business purposes, but you pay for hosting and maintenance. n8n Cloud is a paid service with a free trial.
Which is cheapest: n8n, Make, or Zapier?
It depends on your workflows. Zapier counts action steps, Make counts credits per module action, and n8n Cloud counts whole executions. Estimate your monthly runs and steps, then price each option using its current pricing page.
Which platform is best for a nontechnical team?
Zapier is typically the easiest to learn and hand over. Make and n8n offer more control but take longer to learn, and self-hosted n8n requires server administration skills.
Sources
- Zapier: Pricing
- Zapier Help: Set up custom error handling
- Zapier Help: Code by Zapier
- Zapier: Data privacy overview
- Make: Pricing
- Make Apps Documentation: Make Code
- Make Help: Custom functions
- Make Help: Error handlers
- Make Help: Incomplete executions
- n8n: Pricing
- n8n Docs: Choose how to use n8n
- n8n Docs: Sustainable Use License
- n8n Docs: Handle errors gracefully
- n8n Docs: Code node