n8n vs Make vs Zapier for a small business
All three connect the apps you already use and run a sequence when something happens. They differ in who owns the result, how the price grows, and what happens when your process turns out to be more complicated than the marketing page assumed.
The short version
| Zapier | Make | n8n | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best at | Simple A → B jobs, set up fast | Visual multi-step flows with branching | Anything with real logic, or private data |
| Priced by | Tasks run | Operations run | Flat, or free if you host it |
| Cost as you grow | Rises with volume, steeply | Rises with volume, more gently | Broadly flat |
| Your data | Their cloud | Their cloud | Their cloud, or your own server |
| If you leave | Rebuild elsewhere | Rebuild elsewhere | Take it with you; it is open source |
When Zapier is the right answer
When the job is genuinely simple, you want it working this afternoon, and the volume is low. Zapier has the largest catalogue of pre-built connections and the gentlest learning curve of the three. If a form submission needs to land in a spreadsheet and send an email, this is not a problem worth over-thinking. The catch arrives later: pricing counts every task, so a workflow that succeeds becomes more expensive precisely because it is being used.
When Make is the right answer
When you want to see the shape of the process on a canvas, and it has real branches — if this, then that, unless the other. Make is generally cheaper than Zapier at volume and more comfortable with multi-step logic. It is still their cloud and their pricing model, but the ceiling is higher before that becomes uncomfortable.
When n8n is the right answer, and why we build on it
When the workflow has real logic in it, when customer or health or financial data should not sit on a third party’s server, or when volume is high enough that per-task pricing starts to hurt. n8n is open source: you can run it on your own infrastructure, and the automation you paid for is a file you own rather than a subscription you rent.
It is the least beginner-friendly of the three, which is the honest trade-off. We build on it because our clients keep what we build — if you ever want to bring the work in-house or hand it to a different firm, it goes with you. See how that shapes what we charge on the pricing page.
How to choose, in one paragraph
If you will run it a few hundred times a month and the logic is simple, start with Zapier and stop reading. If it branches and the volume is real, Make earns its place. If the data is sensitive, the volume is large, or you want to own the thing outright, n8n is worth the steeper start. Choosing wrong is not fatal — but migrating later costs more than choosing carefully now.