Workflow automation · Comparison
Make vs n8n Cloud vs Zapier
3 products compared side by side: what you pay for with each one first, then the five access facts, entry prices, recorded plan limits and the bottom line of each review. The evidence note under the table says how each product was checked.
Side by side
| Metric | Make | n8n Cloud | Zapier |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | Worth the priceA visual builder for branching, multi-step scenarios at a low price per action, with an EU data center on every plan. | Saves engineering timeWorkflows that mix visual steps with your own code, billed per run rather than per step, with a self-hosted edition as an exit. | Built-in reachConnect more than 9,000 apps in multi-step workflows without code, and pay only for actions that succeed. |
| Overall score | 7.8Best | 6.6 | 5.4 |
| Free option | Free plan | 14-day free trial | Free plan |
| Card to start | –Not measured | No card needed | –Not measured |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $9/mo | $20/mo | $19.99/mo |
| Pricing model | Tiered | Tiered | Tiered |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices | Public prices |
| Billing unit | Credits: most module actions use one, the trigger included; routers and error handlers none | Executions: one per run of a whole workflow, whatever its length | Tasks: one per successful action; triggers, polling and built-in tools use none |
| Free option | Free plan: 1,000 credits a month, 2 active scenarios; no trial stated | No free cloud plan; 14-day trial (1,000 executions), no card; Community Edition self-hosted | Free plan: 100 tasks a month, two-step Zaps, 1 user; 14-day Professional trial, no card |
| Reference scenario (2,000 runs, annual) | $9/mo on Core, 10,000 credits (10,000 needed), computed | $20/mo on Starter, 2,500 executions (2,000 needed), computed | $129/mo on Professional, 10K tasks (8,000 tasks needed), computed |
| Month-to-month price | $10.59 for Core 10,000 credits ($18.82 Pro, $34.12 Teams) | $24 for Starter; $60 for Pro 10,000 executions | $193.50 for Professional 10K tasks; from $29.99 for 750 tasks |
| Usage past the plan | Extra credits at the plan rate plus 25%, manual or auto-purchase | Not stated for Cloud plans | Pay-per-task at 1.25× the base rate (annual) or 2.5× (monthly), up to 3× the tier |
| Code steps | Make Code App (JavaScript or Python) from Core, 2 credits per second of code | JavaScript and Python code steps on every plan | Code by Zapier on every plan; 30 seconds of included runtime per step on Professional |
| SOC 2 / ISO 27001 | SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3; ISO 27001-certified security program | SOC 2 Type 2 and SOC 3; ISO 27001 not stated | SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3; ISO 27001 not stated |
| HIPAA BAA | Not stated | Not stated | Not offered: Zapier says it cannot sign BAAs |
| EU data hosting | Every plan: US or EU data center chosen when the organization is created | Every Cloud plan: Frankfurt, Germany (the only stated region) | Not offered: data stored on AWS in the United States |
| SSO | Company SSO (OAuth2 or SAML2) on Enterprise | SAML and LDAP on Enterprise (Business is self-hosted only) | SAML on Team in the plan table; Enterprise in the FAQs |
| Workflow export | Scenario blueprints as JSON on every plan | Workflows download as JSON on every plan | Zaps as JSON on Team and Enterprise |
| Self-hosting | No | Yes: Community Edition free on GitHub; Business and Enterprise licences | No |
| Bottom line | From its public pages, Make is the lowest-cost way to run our scenario, with branching, error handling, code and an EU region from the $9 Core plan. Every module run counts as a credit, and SSO and audit logs are Enterprise features. | From its public pages, n8n Cloud has the most predictable per-run price here, with code, AI and webhooks on the $20 Starter plan and a self-hosted edition as an exit. It has no free cloud plan, hosts in Frankfurt only, and keeps SSO and audit logs for Enterprise. | From its public pages, Zapier offers the broadest app directory here and a complete builder on Professional, priced per successful action. Costs grow with action volume, data stays in the US, and the audit log and Zap export start on Team. |
Evidence: Make: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; n8n Cloud: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Zapier: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run. Prices in USD as listed, excluding tax. "–" means not recorded.
When to pick each
In the words of each review, with the date its facts were checked.
From our Make review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Make when
- You want the scenario for $9 a month instead of $129, and EU hosting on a self-serve plan.
- Pick Zapier when
- You want 9,000+ apps and logic steps that never use tasks.
From our Make review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Make when
- You want a free plan, a choice of US or EU region, and the lowest price for short workflows.
- Pick n8n Cloud when
- You want long workflows to cost the same as short ones, or a self-hosted edition to move to later.
From our n8n Cloud review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick n8n Cloud when
- You want per-run pricing, code steps and unlimited users from $20 a month.
- Pick Zapier when
- You want a permanent free plan and 9,000+ apps without writing code.
From our n8n Cloud review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick n8n Cloud when
- You want long workflows to cost the same as short ones, and a self-hosted edition to move to.
- Pick Make when
- You want a free plan, a choice of US or EU region, and the lowest price for short workflows.
From our Zapier review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Zapier when
- You want the largest app directory and logic steps that use no tasks.
- Pick Make when
- You want the same scenario for $9 a month (Core, 10,000 credits, annual) and an EU data center on every plan.
From our Zapier review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Zapier when
- You want a permanent free plan and 9,000+ apps without writing code.
- Pick n8n Cloud when
- You want to pay per workflow run rather than per action ($20 a month for 2,500 executions on Starter, annual) or self-host later.
Entry price
Baseline: each product's cheapest paid plan, per month. Included usage differs, so read the line under each price.
- MakeLowest priceCore$9/mo10,000 credits a month, billed annually; $10.59 month to month; tiers to 300,000 credits
- Unlimited active scenarios, scheduling down to the minute
- Make Code App (2 credits per second of code)
- Make API (60 calls a minute)
- 30 days of execution logs, 100 MB files
- n8n CloudStarter$20/mo2,500 executions a month, billed annually ($240 a year); $24 month to month; shown as 20€ on the page
- Unlimited users and workflows, every integration
- 5 concurrent executions, 1 shared project
- Code steps, webhook triggers, AI Agent node, n8n API
- 7 days of execution logs, 1 day of workflow history
- ZapierProfessional$19.99/moFrom 750 tasks a month, billed annually; $29.99 month to month. 10K tasks: $129 annual, $193.50 monthly
- Multi-step Zaps, Paths, webhooks and premium apps
- Versions, autoreplay and custom error settings
- AI by Zapier and code steps with 30 seconds of runtime
- One user
Prices as listed on each pricing page, in USD per month, excluding tax. Observed: Make 2026-10-16, n8n Cloud 2026-10-16, Zapier 2026-10-16.
Which one fits
- If you need to start today without a sales call
- MakeSelf-serve sign-up; the highest score of the 3 self-serve products here (7.8/10).
- If you want to try it without entering a card
- n8n Cloud14-day free trial, no card needed; scored 6.6/10.
- Lowest starter price
- Make$9/mo for the Core, 10,000 credits (billed annually) plan.
- Highest overall score
- Make7.8/10 (Good). The review shows the score breakdown and the run behind it.
Picked by fixed rules from the table above, not by hand. How we score
Full reviews
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