n8n vs Make vs Zapier: Which Automation Platform for Your Business?

Choosing the right automation platform is one of the most consequential technology decisions a growing business can make. Pick wrong, and you are stuck with vendor lock-in, escalating costs, or a tool that cannot handle your requirements. Pick right, and you unlock efficiency gains that compound for years.

After building hundreds of automation workflows across all three platforms, we have developed strong opinions about when each one shines and when it falls short. This is our honest, no-fluff comparison of n8n, Make (formerly Integromat), and Zapier in 2026.

The Quick Verdict

If you want the short answer before we dive into details:

Now let us break down why.

Platform Overview

Zapier: The Market Leader

Zapier is the most well-known automation platform, and for good reason. It pioneered the concept of connecting apps without code when it launched in 2011. Today it offers 7,000+ app integrations and a simple trigger-action model that anyone can understand.

Best for: Non-technical users who need simple, linear automations between popular apps.

Make (formerly Integromat): The Visual Builder

Make rebranded from Integromat in 2022 and has grown into a serious competitor. Its visual workflow builder is more flexible than Zapier's linear model, allowing branching, looping, and complex logic. It typically costs 50-80% less than Zapier for equivalent workflows.

Best for: Teams that need complex multi-step workflows at a reasonable price point.

n8n: The Open-Source Powerhouse

n8n is the newest of the three, launched in 2019 as an open-source workflow automation tool. What sets it apart is the ability to self-host (keeping all data on your own infrastructure), write custom code within workflows, and build AI agent systems natively.

Best for: Technical teams, privacy-conscious businesses, and anyone building AI-powered workflows.

Feature Comparison

Workflow Complexity

Zapier uses a linear, step-by-step model. Each Zap has one trigger and one or more actions that run in sequence. You can add branching with Paths, but the mental model stays linear. This makes it easy to learn but limits what you can build.

Make uses a visual canvas where you drag and connect modules. This unlocks branching, merging, iterating over arrays, and error-handling paths. You can build legitimately complex workflows that would be impossible in Zapier.

n8n also uses a visual canvas, but goes further. You can:

• Write custom JavaScript or Python within any node
• Build sub-workflows that call other workflows
• Create AI agent workflows with memory, tools, and reasoning
• Use conditional logic, loops, and merge nodes freely
• Execute workflows on a schedule, webhook trigger, or manual call

Verdict: n8n offers the most flexibility, Make is a strong middle ground, and Zapier is best for simple use cases.

Integrations and App Support

Zapier wins on raw integration count, but that number is misleading. Most businesses use 10-20 apps. What matters is whether your specific apps are supported and how deep the integration goes.

Make offers fewer native integrations but its HTTP module lets you connect to any API with a visual interface. n8n has the fewest native integrations but compensates with community-contributed nodes and the ability to write custom integration code directly in your workflow.

Verdict: Zapier for breadth. n8n for depth and customization.

Pricing

This is where the differences get stark.

Zapier Pricing (2026)

• Free: 100 tasks/month, 5 Zaps
• Starter: $19.99/month for 750 tasks
• Professional: $49/month for 2,000 tasks
• Team: $69/month per user for 2,000 tasks
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

A "task" in Zapier is each action step that runs. A 5-step Zap that runs once counts as 5 tasks. This adds up quickly.

Make Pricing (2026)

• Free: 1,000 operations/month
• Core: $9/month for 10,000 operations
• Pro: $16/month for 10,000 operations (+ advanced features)
• Teams: $29/month for 10,000 operations (+ team features)
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

Make measures in "operations," which are roughly equivalent to tasks but priced much lower. For the same workflow complexity, Make typically costs 3-5x less than Zapier.

n8n Pricing (2026)

• Self-hosted: Free (unlimited workflows, unlimited executions)
• Cloud Starter: $24/month for 2,500 executions
• Cloud Pro: $60/month for 10,000 executions
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

The self-hosted option is the game-changer. If you have the technical ability (or an agency like us to set it up), you pay zero platform fees regardless of volume. Your only costs are hosting (typically EUR 20-50/month for a cloud server) and your time.

Verdict: n8n self-hosted is the clear winner on price. Make is the best value among cloud-only options. Zapier is the most expensive, especially at scale.

Data Privacy and GDPR Compliance

This is increasingly important for European businesses, especially with the EU AI Act coming into full effect.

Zapier processes all data through US-based servers. They offer a Data Residency feature for enterprise plans, but for most users your data transits through the US. GDPR compliance requires a Data Processing Agreement, which Zapier provides.

Make has data centers in the US and EU. You can choose your region, which helps with GDPR. They also offer a dedicated environment for enterprise clients. Better than Zapier for EU compliance, but your data still sits on third-party infrastructure.

n8n self-hosted keeps everything on your own servers. Your data never leaves your infrastructure. You control encryption, access, and retention policies. For businesses in regulated industries (healthcare, finance, legal) or those that simply take data privacy seriously, this is a massive advantage.

n8n Cloud also offers EU hosting for those who want managed infrastructure with European data residency.

Verdict: n8n self-hosted is unmatched for data privacy. For cloud-only users, Make with EU data residency is the strongest option.

AI and LLM Integration

This is where the landscape has shifted dramatically since 2024.

Zapier has added AI features through its "AI Actions" and ChatGPT integration. You can trigger Zaps from ChatGPT and use AI to transform data within workflows. Useful for basic AI use cases, but limited in how you can orchestrate complex AI behavior.

Make added AI modules for OpenAI, Anthropic, and other providers. You can call LLMs within your workflows, parse responses, and chain multiple AI calls together. It works well for structured AI tasks like content generation, data extraction, and classification.

n8n has gone furthest on AI. It offers:

• Native AI agent nodes with memory and tool-calling
• Built-in support for OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, Mistral, and local models
• Vector store integrations (Pinecone, Qdrant, Supabase)
• RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) workflows out of the box
• LangChain integration for advanced agent architectures
• Sub-agent orchestration for multi-step reasoning

If you are building AI-powered automation, n8n is the clear leader. The ability to self-host also means your AI workflows process sensitive data without it leaving your infrastructure.

Verdict: n8n is the best platform for AI automation by a significant margin.

Real-World Comparison: Invoice Processing

To make this concrete, let us compare how you would build an AI-powered invoice processing workflow on each platform.

The requirement: Receive invoices via email, extract key fields (vendor, amount, date, line items) using AI, validate against purchase orders, and post to the accounting system.

On Zapier

1. Email trigger (Gmail/Outlook)
2. Zapier AI to extract text from attachment
3. OpenAI action to parse invoice fields
4. Lookup step to match purchase order
5. Conditional path for match/no match
6. Post to QuickBooks/Xero

Limitations: Linear flow makes error handling clunky. AI extraction is basic. No way to handle multi-page invoices well. Costs add up at 6+ tasks per invoice.

On Make

1. Email trigger with attachment download
2. Document parsing module
3. OpenAI module for field extraction with structured output
4. Data store lookup for purchase order matching
5. Router for match/mismatch/exception paths
6. Accounting system module

Better: Visual branching, better error handling, cheaper per execution. But the AI extraction still relies on basic API calls without agent-level reasoning.

On n8n

1. Email trigger with attachment handling
2. PDF parsing node
3. AI agent node with structured output schema
4. Custom validation logic (JavaScript node)
5. Database lookup for purchase order matching
6. Conditional routing with retry logic
7. Accounting system integration
8. Error notification workflow (sub-workflow)

Best: The AI agent can reason about ambiguous invoices, ask for clarification, and improve over time. Self-hosted means invoice data never leaves your servers. Custom code nodes handle edge cases that would break simpler platforms.

Who Should Choose What

Our Recommendation for Dutch and EU Businesses

For businesses in the Netherlands and the broader EU, we consistently recommend n8n as the foundation for automation. Here is why:

The main barrier to n8n is the initial setup and the learning curve. That is where working with an experienced partner pays for itself. We set up self-hosted n8n environments, build the first workflows, and train your team to maintain and extend them independently.

Getting Started

If you are currently using Zapier or Make and considering a switch, here is the path we recommend:

1. Audit your current automations. List every workflow, what it does, and what it costs.
2. Identify the high-value targets. Which workflows would benefit most from n8n's capabilities? Usually the ones that are either the most expensive or the most limited.
3. Start with a pilot. Migrate 2-3 workflows to n8n and measure the results before committing to a full migration.
4. Build team capability. Invest in training so your team can build and maintain n8n workflows independently.

Thinking about migrating to n8n or building your first automation workflow? Get in touch for a free workflow audit, or explore our automation services to see how we can help.