n8n vs Make vs Zapier: which one for a small business?

n8n, Make and Zapier do the same basic job: they connect apps and move data between them without anyone copying it by hand. The differences that matter to a small business come down to three things: how usage is billed, where your data lives and how complex your workflows can get. Here's the comparison, with October 2026 prices.

At a glance

The difference that matters: how usage is counted

The price depends not just on the plan but on how usage is counted:

• n8n counts one execution each time a workflow runs, however many steps it has.
• Make usually uses one credit per step (read, search, create, update). Routers and error handlers use none, and AI modules use credits based on how much text they process.
• Zapier counts one task per successful step. Triggers, filters and formatting steps don't count.

An example: a ten-step workflow that runs a thousand times a month is 1,000 executions on n8n, which fits the €20-a-month Starter plan. On Make, the same runs use about 10,000 credits, which is what the Core plan includes. On Zapier they come to about 10,000 tasks, far beyond the 750 in the Pro plan; Zapier charges $89 a month on annual billing for 5,000 tasks alone.

For short workflows that run rarely, the difference is small. For long workflows that run often, it decides the cost.

Where your data lives

• n8n Cloud stores data in the EU, in Frankfurt. Self-hosted, n8n keeps data wherever you install it, which is the main reason some businesses choose it.
• Make lets you choose the region, EU or US, when you create the organisation. The region can't be changed afterwards, so choose it deliberately.
• Zapier runs in its own cloud, with no self-hosted option.

Whichever tool you use, customer messages and documents are personal data: they should pass only through the steps that need them, under data processing agreements with each provider.

AI steps

All three can send text to an AI model (Claude, GPT) and use the answer in later steps. The differences:

• n8n has nodes for AI agents and for connecting models, databases and tools, and you use your own model API key, so you pay the model provider directly at its prices.
• Make has AI modules that use a variable number of credits, based on the tokens, files or pages processed.
• Zapier has "AI by Zapier" steps that draw from your task allowance, and agents as a separate add-on.

n8n's licence in brief

n8n isn't open source in the strict sense; it uses its own Sustainable Use License. It allows use for your own business, including building and maintaining workflows for clients. It doesn't allow reselling n8n as a hosted service where your clients build their own workflows. For a business automating its own work, the licence isn't an issue.

Which one to choose

• Make, if your workflows are simple to medium, between well-known apps, and you want to edit them yourself, visually.
• n8n, if workflows are long, run often, include AI steps or data has to stay on your own server.
• Zapier, if you need a quick link between two popular apps and volume is low.
• Custom code, if volume is very high, the logic is complex or the automation is part of an app.

The total cost, including the build and the AI model, is explained in how much does AI automation cost. Agencies in Romania that build on n8n, compared: best n8n agencies in Romania.

Our AI automation page explains how we work: n8n or Make for simple workflows and custom code for complex or high-volume ones, chosen by volume, cost and how often the workflow changes.