n8n vs Zapier vs Make in 2026: which automation platform fits?

Pick Zapier if non-technical people will build most automations and you need the widest app coverage. Pick Make if you want a visual canvas with more control per dollar on mid-complexity workflows. Pick n8n if you have technical help, run long multi-step or AI-heavy workflows, or need to self-host.

All three now ship AI agents and MCP support. The real differences in 2026 are the pricing unit, who builds the workflows, and where your data lives.

Key takeaways

• Pricing units differ, and that decides cost. n8n charges per workflow execution, Make per module action (credit), Zapier per successful action (task).
• Zapier has the most apps at 9,000+. Make lists 3,000+. n8n lists 500+ plus a generic HTTP node.
• Only n8n self-hosts. Its Community Edition is free and its Business plan is self-hosted only.
• AI agents are everywhere, packaged differently. Zapier Agents is a separate product. Make AI Agents and n8n's AI Agent node come with the plan.
• Entry pricing is close. Paid plans start around $12 to $20 or €20 per month, as of October 2026. Volume is where they split.

How do n8n, Zapier and Make compare at a glance?

All prices are as of October 2026, from each vendor's pricing page.

How does pricing actually work for each platform?

This is the section that saves money. The three vendors count usage in different units, so the same workflow can cost very different amounts.

n8n: you pay per run, not per step

n8n defines an execution as "a single run of your entire workflow. It doesn't matter how many steps are in the workflow or how much data it processes."

Cloud plans as of October 2026, billed annually:

• Starter: €20 per month, 2,500 executions, 5 concurrent executions, unlimited users, 1 shared project.
• Pro: €50 per month, 10,000 executions, up to 50 concurrent executions, admin roles, workflow history, 7 days of insights.
• Business: €667 per month, self-hosted only, 40,000 executions, SSO, SAML, LDAP, Git version control and multiple environments. Startups under 20 employees get 50% off.
• Enterprise: custom, with 200+ concurrent executions and 365 days of insights.

Annual billing saves 17%, and the cloud trial needs no credit card. Cloud plans also include monthly credits for n8n's AI Assistant, which helps you build workflows.

Zapier: you pay per action that moves data

Zapier says tasks "are used when a Zap successfully moves data or completes an action." Polling for new data does not count. AI steps, code and SDK calls all use the same task model.

• Free: $0, 100 tasks per month, 1 user, two-step Zaps, unlimited Zaps, Tables and Forms.
• Professional: from $19.99 per month for 750 tasks, multi-step Zaps, unlimited premium apps, webhooks and AI fields.
• Team: from $69 per month for 2,000 tasks, 25 users, shared Zaps and connections, SAML SSO.
• Enterprise: contact sales.

Yearly billing saves 33%. If you hit your limit, pay-per-task billing kicks in at higher rates, and Zaps pause at your maximum.

Make: you pay per module action

Make says "each module action in your scenario, like adding a Google Sheet row or fetching Gmail account data, counts as one credit." Error handlers and routers use zero credits.

As of October 2026, at 10,000 credits per month billed monthly:

• Free: $0, 1,000 credits, 2 active scenarios, 15-minute minimum interval.
• Core: $12 per month, unlimited scenarios, 1-minute interval, 40-minute max execution time.
• Pro: $21 per month, adds custom variables, full-text execution log search and priority execution.
• Teams: $38 per month, adds team roles, template sharing and SSO.
• Enterprise: custom.

Annual billing saves 15% or more, and a slider scales credits up to 8M+ per month.

What this means in practice

Take a 12-step workflow that runs 1,000 times a month. On n8n that is 1,000 executions. On Make it is roughly 12,000 credits, depending on which modules run. On Zapier it is up to 12,000 tasks if each step is an action. Long workflows favor n8n. Short, simple ones cost little anywhere.

What AI agent features do n8n, Zapier and Make offer?

n8n

n8n's AI Agent node takes input from a trigger, usually a chat message, and you define its behavior with system prompts. You can "use any LLM or vector store", add memory, give the agent tools from 500+ nodes, and add human-in-the-loop approval steps. There are evaluations for AI workflows, error handling and fallbacks, and an MCP server so other AI systems can call your n8n workflows. If you need to keep data in-house, self-hosting is the differentiator.

Zapier

Zapier Agents is sold separately from Zaps. The free tier includes 400 activities per month, and Pro includes 1,500 activities for $33.33 per month billed annually. Zapier pitches agents that "do work across 9,000+ apps," with company knowledge you add as FAQs, docs and links, plus a Chrome extension. Zapier MCP is available to all accounts, and one MCP tool call uses two tasks. Zapier Copilot (beta) helps build Zaps, even on Free.

Make

Make AI Agents (beta) are on every plan. Make says they "reason, choose what to do next, and trigger real workflows" across 3,000+ integrations. The Reasoning panel shows each decision step by step on the canvas. You can set rules, add manual approvals, or stop the agent at specific points, and reuse one agent across many workflows. All plans also include Maia by Make, the Make MCP Server and an AI Toolkit.

Which is best for technical vs non-technical teams?

• Zapier is the simplest mental model: trigger, then actions. It suits sales, marketing and ops people who want results without a canvas.
• Make is visual and more flexible, with routers and error handlers. It suits operators who like to see the whole flow.
• n8n gives you JavaScript or Python inside workflows and self-hosting. It suits teams with an engineer or a technical ops person.

How to choose: a decision guide

Answer these in order. Stop at the first clear yes.

1. Must data stay on your own servers, or do you need Git-based environments? Choose n8n self-hosted.
2. Will mostly non-technical people build, and do you need niche app connectors? Choose Zapier.
3. Are your workflows long, branching or AI-heavy, running thousands of times a month? Choose n8n on cost, or Make if nobody will touch code.
4. Do you want a visual builder with lots of headroom at a low entry price? Choose Make.
5. Do you need many seats on a small budget? n8n cloud includes unlimited users. Zapier Professional is 1 user.

Watch out for:

• Zapier's task math on long Zaps. Ten actions per run multiplies quickly.
• Make's credit math on scenarios that loop over many items. Each module action counts.
• n8n's operating overhead if you self-host. Someone has to run, patch and monitor it.
• Agent pricing on Zapier, which sits outside your Zap plan.

Are there alternatives worth a look?

Yes. Activepieces is an open-source option with AI agents and MCP. Workato is enterprise iPaaS with governance. Gumloop and Lindy focus on AI agents for non-technical teams rather than classic automation.

Bottom line

There is no single winner. Zapier wins on reach and ease. Make wins on visual control per dollar. n8n wins on cost for complex workflows, code freedom and self-hosting.

Before you decide, take your three most important workflows, count steps and monthly runs, and price each one in executions, tasks and credits. The cheapest platform on paper is often not the cheapest for your workflows. Then start on the free tier of your top pick and build one real workflow before you commit.