Workflow automation

Workflow automation tools compared

Zapier, Make and n8n count usage in completely different ways. Here is what each plan costs and how it is billed.

Prices checked October 14, 2026 By Credence Intel Research

Photo: Alvaro Reyes / Unsplash

Make

Visual scenario builder, billed per credit (most actions use 1 credit)

Paid plans from$12/mo

Core, billed annually

Free planCheaper billed annually (Make states no fixed percentage)

Free plan: 1,000 credits a month, visual builder, routers and filters

Good fit: Step-heavy automations on a budget: Core is $12 a month (annual) for 10,000 credits, and most actions use one credit.

See all 5 plans and prices

Prices per month in US dollars, excluding tax, read on Make's pricing page on October 14, 2026. "–" means the vendor does not show that billing option. Vendor pricing page
Plan	Billed annually	Billed monthly
Free per account / month	$0	$0
Core per month at 10,000 credits	$12	$16
Pro per month at 10,000 credits	$21	$28
Teams per month at 10,000 credits	$38	$51
Enterprise custom	Custom	–

Router and error-handler modules do not use credits (vendor)
Extra credits can be bought in bundles of 1,000 or 10,000 (vendor)

n8n

Workflow automation billed per run, free to self-host or run in n8n Cloud

Paid plans from€20/mo

Starter, billed annually

Free planSave 17% billed annually

Free plan: No free cloud plan shown on the page; the self-hosted Community Edition is free ('A standard, self-hosted version of n8n is available on GitHub'). You pay for your own server.

Good fit: Teams running long, multi-step workflows, since n8n bills one execution per workflow run, with a free self-hosted Community Edition and cloud plans from €20/mo (annual).

See all 6 plans and prices

Prices per month in euros, excluding tax, read on n8n's pricing page on October 14, 2026. "–" means the vendor does not show that billing option. Vendor pricing page
Plan	Billed annually	Billed monthly
Community Edition self-hosted, free software	€0	€0
Starter per month (cloud)	€20	€24
Pro (10K) per month (cloud)	€50	€60
Pro (50K) per month (cloud); €1,450 per year billed annually	–	€145
Business per month (self-hosted only)	€667	€800
Enterprise custom	Custom	–

Start-up Plan: 50% off Business for companies with fewer than 20 employees and less than €5M total funding, for one year (or longer if still eligible) (vendor)

Zapier

Automation across 9,000+ apps, billed per task (each successful action)

Paid plans from$19.99/mo

Professional, billed annually

Free plan14-day trial, no card33% off billed annually

Free plan: 100 tasks/mo; unlimited Zap workflows/Tables/Forms; two-step Zap workflows; 1 seat; 15-minute polling

Good fit: Teams that want the largest app catalogue (9,000+ apps) and can accept per-task billing that starts at $19.99/mo (annual) for 750 tasks.

See all 4 plans and prices

Prices per month in US dollars, excluding tax, read on Zapier's pricing page on October 14, 2026. "–" means the vendor does not show that billing option. Vendor pricing page
Plan	Billed annually	Billed monthly
Free per account / month	$0	$0
Professional per month at 750 tasks/mo (price rises with task tier)	$19.99	$29.99
Team per month at 2,000 tasks/mo (price rises with task tier)	$69	$103.50
Enterprise custom	Custom	–

9,000+ app integrations (vendor)
15% discount for non-profits (excluding pay-per-task charges) (vendor)
Triggers, Filter, Paths and Formatter steps do not use tasks; only successful actions count (vendor)

Listed A–Z by default. We do not rank tools we have not tested, and no vendor can pay for position. Starting price is the cheapest paid plan per month, using annual billing where the vendor offers it.

Quick comparison

Prices read on each vendor's pricing page on October 14, 2026. Excludes tax.
Tool	Paid from (per month)	Free plan	Free trial	Link
Make	$12 Core, annual	Yes	–	Visit
n8n	€20 Starter, annual	Yes	–	Visit
Zapier	$19.99 Professional, annual	Yes	14 days, no card	Visit

The billing unit is the real price

	Zapier	Make	n8n
You pay for	Tasks: each successful action step. Triggers, filters, paths and formatter steps do not use tasks.	Credits: most actions use 1 credit. Router and error-handler modules use none.	Executions: one per workflow run, however many steps it has.
Free option	100 tasks a month, two-step Zaps	1,000 credits a month	Community Edition, free to self-host (you pay for the server)
Cheapest paid plan	Professional $19.99/mo (annual) for 750 tasks	Core $12/mo (annual) for 10,000 credits	Starter €20/mo (annual) for 2,500 executions

A workflow with one trigger and three actions uses 3 Zapier tasks, about 4 Make credits, or 1 n8n execution per run. That is why the cheapest headline price is not always the cheapest bill. See the full cost comparison at three volumes →

Common questions

Do Zapier filters use tasks?

No. Zapier’s help centre says triggers, Filter, Paths and Formatter steps do not use tasks; only successful action steps count.

Is n8n really free?

The self-hosted Community Edition is free software, but you run and pay for your own server. n8n Cloud starts at €20 a month on annual billing (€24 monthly) for 2,500 executions.

Is there a startup discount?

n8n’s Start-up Plan gives 50% off Business for companies with fewer than 20 employees and less than €5M in total funding. Zapier lists a 15% discount for non-profits. Make says non-profits can contact it for details.