n8n vs Zapier vs Make: billing, builders and AI agents
n8n, Zapier and Make all connect apps and run steps for you. They differ in where they run, how they bill and how much control you get over each step.
This guide compares the three on the points that change your decision, with a link to each vendor's own page for every claim. Then it gives you a one-hour test so you can decide with your own workflow.
- Pick Zapier if you want the fastest setup and the widest app catalog, and you prefer a guided builder.
- Pick Make if you want a visual canvas with routers and fine control over data, without hosting anything.
- Pick n8n if you want to self-host, write code inside workflows when needed, or run long workflows without paying per step.
All three now offer AI agent features. That makes the agent feature a weak reason to choose one over the others.
The comparison
| Compare | Zapier | Make | n8n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Zapier's cloud | Make's cloud | n8n Cloud or your own server |
| Billing unit | Tasks | Credits | Workflow executions (Cloud) |
| What counts | Each action step that runs successfully | 1 credit per operation. With Make's AI Provider, AI steps also use credits for tokens. With your own AI provider key (paid plans), AI steps cost operations and you pay the provider for tokens | One run of a workflow, regardless of steps |
| Builder style | Linear steps | Visual canvas with routers | Visual canvas with nodes and code |
| AI agents | Zapier Agents | Make AI Agent (New) | AI Agent node |
| Self-host option | No | No | Yes, Community edition |
The sources for each row are below.
Zapier counts a task each time an action runs successfully. Its help page lists steps that do not count, including triggers, Filter and Paths steps, and Formatter steps.
Zapier help: How is task usage measured
Make renamed operations to credits. A non-AI module operation uses one credit, and AI features run through Make's AI Provider use credits based on tokens. With a custom AI provider connection on a paid plan, credits are based on operations and you pay your provider directly for tokens.
n8n Cloud pricing is based on monthly workflow executions, regardless of complexity.
n8n can be self-hosted with a free Community edition.
n8n docs: Choose how to use n8n
Why the billing unit matters most
The billing unit decides what a long workflow costs you.
Take a workflow with ten steps that runs once.
- On Zapier, each successful action step is a task, apart from the step types Zapier excludes, such as Filter, Paths and Formatter.
- On Make, each module operation is at least one credit.
- On n8n Cloud, it is one execution.
That does not make n8n cheaper for every case. Plan prices, limits and included volume differ, and they change. It does mean you should count steps and runs for your real workflow before you compare plan prices.
Check current plans on each pricing page.
Builder style
Zapier
You add a trigger and then actions in order. It is the most guided of the three, which helps when you are new.
Make
You build on a canvas. Routers split the flow into branches, and filters decide which items pass between modules.
n8n
You build on a canvas of nodes. When a built-in node does not do what you need, the Code node runs your own JavaScript or Python as a step.
The n8n docs keep a section on executions, which is where you debug a failed run.
n8n docs: Understand executions
AI agents in each tool
All three tools let a model choose actions.
Zapier Agents connect to your business knowledge and act across Zapier's app catalog, which Zapier lists as 9,000+ apps.
Make AI Agent (New) gives an agent modules, scenarios and MCP servers as tools, plus knowledge files and a chat panel for testing. Make lists it as available on all plans and in open beta.
Make help: Make AI Agent (New) app
The n8n AI Agent node connects a chat model to tool sub-nodes. You must connect at least one tool.
To compare these three and other tools as agent builders, read this guide.
No-code AI agent builder: compare n8n, Make, Zapier and more
For more on choosing between a fixed workflow and an agent, read this guide.
How agentic AI differs from traditional automation
Run a one-hour test
Reading comparisons only goes so far. Build the same small workflow in each tool and decide from that.
Step 1: Pick one real workflow
Choose something you would actually use. A good test is a form submission that gets cleaned, sent to a sheet and announced in chat.
Step 2: Write the acceptance check first
Write down what a passing run looks like. For example, the email is lowercased, the row lands in the sheet and the chat message includes the name.
Step 3: Build it in each tool
Set a timer for 20 minutes per tool. Note where you got stuck.
Step 4: Run it five times
Send five test submissions, including one with a bad email. Record whether each run passed your check.
Step 5: Count the billing units
Open each tool's usage page and write down how many tasks, credits or executions the five runs used.
Step 6: Decide
You now have three facts per tool. Build time, pass rate on your check and units used. Pick the one that wins on the fact you care about most.
Common reasons people switch
These are patterns to watch for in your own use. They are not survey results.
- Step count grows. Long workflows on per-step billing get expensive, which pushes people toward execution-based billing.
- Data rules. Teams that must keep data on their own servers look at self-hosting.
- Team skills. Teams without developers often stay on the more guided builders.
If self-hosting is the reason, also look at open-source options.
n8n alternatives that are open source
What this guide does not cover
This guide lists no plan prices, because they change. It makes no claims about speed or reliability, because those depend on your workflow and region.
For six n8n workflow ideas on video, watch this.
Watch: 6 n8n automations for entrepreneurs
New to n8n? Start here.
New to Make? Build a first scenario.
Sources
- Zapier help: How is task usage measured
- Zapier Agents
- Make help: Credits
- Make help: Make AI Agent (New) app
- n8n pricing
- n8n docs: Choose how to use n8n
- n8n docs: AI Agent node
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