Three automation platforms. All capable. All different. This comparison cuts through the marketing hype and tells you exactly which one fits your situation, based on your budget, technical comfort level, and what you're trying to automate.
| Category | Zapier | Make.com | n8n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Plan | 100 tasks/month | 1,000 ops/month | Self-hosted: unlimited |
| Paid Starting Price | $20/mo (750 tasks) | $9/mo (10,000 ops) | $20/mo (cloud) or free self-host |
| App Integrations | 6,000+ apps | 1,000+ apps | 400+ native + custom |
| Ease of Use | ★★★★★ Easiest | ★★★★☆ Moderate | ★★★☆☆ Technical |
| Visual Builder | Step-by-step list | Visual canvas | Node-based canvas |
| Complex Logic | Basic (paid tiers) | Excellent | Excellent |
| Self-Hosting | No | No | Yes (free) |
| Support Quality | Excellent | Good | Community-based |
| Best For | Beginners, simple automations | Cost-conscious, complex workflows | Developers, advanced users |
Zapier is the automation tool most small business owners have heard of, and for good reason. It pioneered the "if this, then that" approach to app automation and has spent years making it as approachable as possible. Their "Zaps" (automations) are built step-by-step, like following a recipe. Even someone who has never heard of automation can set up their first Zap in about 15 minutes.
The trade-off is price. Zapier's paid plans are significantly more expensive than Make, and the free plan is limited to just 100 tasks per month, which you can burn through quickly if you're automating multiple lead sources.
Pricing: Free (100 tasks/month) → Starter $20/mo (750 tasks) → Professional $49/mo (2,000 tasks)
Best for: Small business owners just starting with automation, anyone who values simplicity over cost, businesses with straightforward linear workflows.
Make.com (rebranded from Integromat in 2022) is what many Zapier users switch to once they outgrow the free plan or want more complex automations. The visual canvas approach, where you drag modules (steps) onto a canvas and connect them like a flowchart, makes multi-step automations much easier to manage than Zapier's list view.
The free plan gives 1,000 operations per month, 10x more than Zapier. And the first paid tier is just $9/month compared to Zapier's $20. For the same money, you get roughly 10x more volume on Make.
Pricing: Free (1,000 ops/month) → Core $9/mo (10,000 ops) → Pro $16/mo (10,000 ops + advanced features)
Best for: Small businesses that have outgrown Zapier's free plan, anyone wanting to automate complex multi-step workflows, cost-conscious owners.
n8n (pronounced "n-eight-n" or "nodemation") is the open-source option. If you have a developer or are technically comfortable, n8n offers capabilities that neither Zapier nor Make can match, including the ability to run it on your own server for free, write custom code inside workflows, and connect to any API without a pre-built integration.
The cloud-hosted version starts at $20/month (same as Zapier) but the self-hosted version is completely free and unlimited. However, self-hosting requires a server and basic technical knowledge, it's not for everyone.
Pricing: Self-hosted: Free (unlimited) → Cloud: $20/mo → Enterprise pricing available
Best for: Business owners with a developer on staff, technically-minded owners comfortable with servers, companies with strict data privacy requirements, AI-heavy workflows.