Workflow automation 2026: Zapier, Make, n8n

The three automation platforms in 2026 differ mainly in what they bill for: Zapier counts every action, Make gives substantially more operations for the same money, and n8n bills a whole workflow execution and can run on your own server. That, rather than the feature set, drives your invoice at volume.

Below: the selection criteria, a side-by-side table and honest pros and cons for each.

How do you choose the right one in four steps?

1. 1

   Count runs, not workflows

   Cost depends on monthly runs, not on how many automations you configured.

2. 2

   Count the steps per workflow

   Under per-action billing, a ten-step workflow costs ten times a one-step one.

3. 3

   Check your integrations exist

   The cheapest platform is useless if the connector you need isn't there.

4. 4

   Assess technical capacity

   Self-hosting saves money and spends time. Price both.

Which criteria matter?

Look at four things: the billing unit, whether your integrations exist, the complexity the platform can carry, and the technical capacity required. Fifth: what happens to your workflows if you decide to move.

How do the three compare?

The score is our editorial 0–10 rating, not a vendor ranking. It weighs total cost at realistic volumes and the technical capacity required.

Entry prices are the vendors’ own published rates, checked in August 2026: Zapier Professional starts at $19.99/mo on annual billing ($29.99 billed monthly) for 750 tasks Zapier pricing page, August 2026 , Make Core at $9/mo for 10,000 credits Make pricing page, August 2026 , and n8n Starter at €20/mo billed annually, alongside a free self-hosted Community Edition n8n pricing page, August 2026 . Note that n8n prices in euros, not dollars. Vendors change pricing without notice — check the current page before you commit.

Who is each one for?

Zapier — when you need a specific integration and don’t want to learn a tool. Downside: the per-action model means a ten-step workflow consumes ten units per run, making it the most expensive of the three at volume.

Make — the middle ground: substantially more operations for the same spend and the best data handling. Downside: a smaller catalogue and a visual editor that takes acclimatising to.

n8n — cheapest at volume thanks to per-execution billing plus self-hosting. Downside: self-hosting needs technical capacity, and «free» here means «plus a server and your time».

So which should you pick?

Count two numbers: how many steps in your typical workflow and how many times a month it runs. Few runs and a rare integration needed — Zapier. Complex data scenarios — Make. Many runs and technical capacity available — n8n. At volume the gap is measured in multiples, not percentages.