Choose Make if you want a visual builder and a much lower monthly bill: Core is $10.59 a month on monthly billing, and you accept a steeper learning curve. Choose n8n if someone on the team is technical: self-hosted it is free, and its cloud plan charges per workflow run, not per step. Stay on Zapier if your automations are few and simple, because no tool is easier.
People rarely leave Zapier because it stopped working. They leave because of the invoice. Professional is $29.99 a month on monthly billing for 750 tasks, the free plan stops at 100 tasks, and every step of every automation counts against the allowance.
Two alternatives deserve a look, and they solve the cost problem in opposite ways: Make by charging less per operation, n8n by charging per workflow run and letting you host it yourself for free.
The picks that stand out
Make
Make's visual builder is powerful and flexible, and it is cheaper than Zapier at volume: Core is $10.59 a month on monthly billing for 10,000 credits, with a free plan of 1,000 credits a month. The learning curve is steeper and less forgiving for beginners, and operations pricing can climb on complex scenarios.
n8n
Self-hosted, n8n is free forever. On its cloud, Starter is €24 a month on monthly billing for 2,500 workflow executions: priced per run, not per step, with unlimited users and workflows on every paid plan. Self-hosting means you own the maintenance and uptime, and its integration catalogue is smaller than Zapier's.
At a glance
| Criterion |  Zapier | Make | n8n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Used mainly for | App connections, task automation | Visual automation, AI steps in flows | Client workflow automation, AI steps in flows |
| Entry price | $29.99/mo · Professional | $10.59/mo · Core | €24.00/mo · Starter |
| Free plan | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Free trial | ✓Yes | ✕No | ✓Yes |
| Works on | Web | Web | Web, Self-hosted, Docker |
| Documented integrations | 7000+ integrations | 1500+ integrations | 400+ integrations, HTTP / webhook, Self-hosted databases |
| Setup | Easy: 20 min | Moderate: 1 hr | Moderate: 1-2 hr |
| Main limitation | Task limits enforce quickly | Steeper learning curve | Self-hosting means you own the maintenance and uptime |
| Our evidence level | Vendor documented | Vendor documented | Vendor documented |
| Try it | Try Zapier ↗ | Try Make ↗ | Try n8n ↗ |
Every cell comes from the tool's record, built from its official documentation and pricing page. The integrations listed are the ones the vendor documents, not tested by us.
Why the Zapier bill grows
Zapier counts tasks: every action step that runs uses one. A five-step automation that runs 200 times a month uses 1,000 tasks, already over Professional's 750. Make counts credits per operation, but at a much lower price per unit. n8n counts whole workflow runs, so the same five-step automation uses 200 executions. The unit you are billed in decides the bill more than the plan name.
What you give up by leaving
Zapier has the largest integration catalogue and is the easiest to learn. Make asks you to think in scenarios and data structures; n8n asks for more technical comfort still. Before moving, list the apps your automations touch and check that each one has a connector in the new tool.
Self-hosting is free, not costless
Running n8n on your own server removes the subscription, but someone now owns updates, backups and the server staying up. For a small business without a technical person, the €24 cloud plan is the honest comparison, not the free self-hosted version.
The same automations at three volumes
Zapier counts tasks, Make counts credits and n8n counts executions: the units are not the same, so test your own workflows.
- A few automations, under 100 tasks a month: Zapier's free plan is enough, and Make's free plan allows up to 1,000 credits.
- Daily automations around 750 tasks a month: Zapier Professional is $239.88 a year on yearly billing; Make Core is $108 a year at 10,000 credits on yearly billing.
- Thousands of runs and someone technical on the team: n8n is free if you host it yourself; n8n Starter in the cloud is 240 € a year for 2,500 executions a month.
When to stay on Zapier
If you run a handful of simple automations that fit in 100 or 750 tasks, the time spent rebuilding them elsewhere costs more than the difference in price. Zapier's ease of use is worth paying for when automation is not your job.
Pricing side by side
| Tool | Verified price | Billing condition | Free | Checked | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zapier | $29.99/mo · Professional | $19.99/month for 750 tasks with yearly billing; $29.99/month with monthly billing | Yes | 25.10.2026 | Visit ↗ |
| Make | $10.59/mo · Core | $10.59/mo billed monthly for 10,000 credits; $9/mo billed annually (save 15% or more) | Yes | 25.10.2026 | Visit ↗ |
| n8n | €24.00/mo · Starter | €24/month billed monthly; €20/month billed annually. The self-hosted community edition stays free | Yes | 25.10.2026 | Visit ↗ |
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest alternative to Zapier?
Self-hosted n8n is free, if you can run a server. Among hosted tools, Make: Core is $10.59 a month on monthly billing, and its free plan includes 1,000 credits a month against Zapier's 100 tasks.
Is Make easier than Zapier?
No. Make is more powerful and cheaper at volume, but its learning curve is steeper. Zapier remains the easiest no-code automation tool we track.
Is n8n really free?
The self-hosted version is free forever. The cloud version starts at €24 a month on monthly billing. Self-hosting moves the cost from a subscription to your time: maintenance, updates and uptime.
Can I import my Zaps into Make or n8n?
We have not tested any migration, so we make no claim about it. Plan to rebuild your automations, starting with the one that costs the most tasks.
Recently at these tools
Make: Make AI Agents get fallback connections and prompt caching. Source ↗
Make: Event subscriptions send signed, real-time platform notifications, with delivery logs. Source ↗
n8n: n8n 2.45: the monday.com node V2 reaches full parity with V1 (39 operations) and becomes the default. Source ↗
n8n: n8n 2.44: Google Vertex AI credentials and a rebuilt command bar (Cmd+K). Source ↗
Read on each vendor's official changelog, not tested by us.