Short answer: Zapier is the simplest for basic automations; Make offers more visual power at a lower price; n8n is the most flexible and can be self-hosted with no per-task fees, making it best for complex, high-volume or data-sensitive automations.
The quick answer
How they charge
Zapier and Make are cloud services billed by usage (tasks or operations), so costs grow as your automations run more often. n8n offers a cloud plan too, but it can also be self-hosted on your own server, where there are no per-task fees: you pay for the server, not each run. Always check each vendor's current pricing pages, as plans change.
Data privacy
With Zapier and Make, your data passes through the vendor's cloud. A self-hosted n8n instance keeps workflow data on infrastructure you control, which is useful for customer, financial or health information and for UK GDPR.
Power and flexibility
n8n supports complex branching, loops, custom code, sub-workflows and AI agent steps, and can connect to any API. Make is also powerful for visual builders. Zapier prioritises simplicity.
AI automation
All three now support AI steps. n8n stands out for building AI agents and for connecting to local AI models on your own hardware, avoiding per-call AI fees entirely.
Which should you choose?
- Choose Zapier if you need a few simple automations and want the easiest set-up.
- Choose Make if you want visual power at a lower cost and are happy in the cloud.
- Choose n8n if automations are core to your business, volumes are high, data is sensitive or you want AI agents and local models.
We're n8n specialists (our founder is an n8n Ambassador) and run n8n in production on our own servers. See our workflow automation service.
Frequently asked questions
Is n8n free?
n8n's self-hosted Community Edition is free to use under its licence; you pay for hosting. n8n also offers paid cloud and enterprise plans.
Can I move my Zapier automations to n8n?
Yes. Most Zapier and Make workflows can be rebuilt in n8n, often with better error handling.
Craig McIntosh is the founder of Digital Agency Scotland, with 30 years in technology, a BEng in Computing and an MSc in Marketing from Edinburgh Napier University. He's an n8n Ambassador and built the agency's private AI stack, the DAS Core.
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