Zapier vs Make vs n8n
All three connect apps to each other so a change in one triggers work in another, without you standing up a service to do it. On published facts they separate along two axes, not on capability: where the automation runs, and what the first paid plan costs. Zapier and Make are hosted products with no self-hosting option. n8n can run on infrastructure you control. Zapier and Make are classed no-code here; n8n is low-code, meaning you are expected to drop into expressions and code nodes rather than stay in the builder.
| Criteria | Build and manage AI teammates that take action across 9,000+ apps. | Visual workflow automation for multi-step integrations, AI-powered scenarios, and complex business processes. | n8n for workflow automation: AI agents, code flexibility, and self-hosted deployment. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | |||
| Starting price | Free | From $9.00 | From $20.00 |
| Capabilities | |||
| Free tier | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | No | No | No |
| API available | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | No | No | Yes |
Our verdict
Pick by constraint rather than by preference. If the data cannot leave your own network for regulatory or contractual reasons, n8n is the only one of the three that qualifies, and its first paid tier is EUR 20 per month billed by n8n in euros. If you want the lowest paid entry point and are content on a hosted platform, Make starts at USD 9 per month. Zapier is the only one of the three that lists a command-line surface alongside web and an API, which matters if you intend to manage automations from a developer workflow rather than from a browser. All three offer a free tier, so the price above is the point at which you commit, not the point at which you can start. None of the three is open source.