- Zapier if you want the easiest tool with the most apps and your volumes are modest.
- Make if you want more control over logic and lower costs as volume grows.
- n8n if you have someone technical and want the lowest cost at volume, or need to keep data on your own servers.
- Power Automate if you live in Microsoft 365 and most of the work is in Outlook, SharePoint, Teams and Excel.
- Custom code when volume, complexity, data sensitivity or reliability outgrow all of the above.
What each one costs in 2026
List prices in US dollars or euros before VAT, checked in October 2026. Yearly billing is cheaper on all of them.
| Tool | Free option | Paid entry price | What you pay for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zapier | 100 tasks a month, two-step workflows | Professional $19.99 a month yearly ($29.99 monthly) for 750 tasks. Team $69 ($103.50) for 2,000 tasks and up to 25 users. | Tasks: each successful action step |
| Make | 1,000 credits a month | Core $9, Pro $16, Teams $29 a month yearly for 10,000 credits ($10.59, $18.82, $34.12 monthly) | Credits: each module that runs, including triggers that check for new data |
| n8n | Community Edition, self-hosted, unlimited | Cloud Starter €20 a month yearly (€24 monthly) for 2,500 executions. Pro €50 (€60) for 10,000. | Executions: one whole workflow run, however many steps |
| Power Automate | Standard connectors in Microsoft 365 business plans | Premium $15 a user a month yearly. Unattended bots $150 a bot a month. | Users and bots, not runs |
Why the counting matters more than the price
The headline prices hide the real difference: what each tool charges you for. Take a workflow that receives a web form, looks up the customer in your CRM, creates a deal, adds a row to a sheet and posts in Teams. That is one trigger and four actions.
- Zapier counts 4 tasks per run. The trigger is free, as are filters and formatting steps.
- Make counts about 5 credits per run, because the trigger module counts too. A trigger that checks for new data every five minutes burns credits even when there is nothing new, roughly 8,640 a month on its own.
- n8n counts 1 execution per run, whether the workflow has 2 steps or 40.
- Power Automate doesn't count runs at all on Premium, within generous platform limits. You pay per person who builds and runs flows.
The same workflow at two volumes
| 20 enquiries a day (600 runs a month) | 300 orders a day (9,000 runs a month) | |
|---|---|---|
| Usage | 2,400 Zapier tasks, about 3,000 Make credits, 600 n8n executions | 36,000 Zapier tasks, about 45,000 Make credits, 9,000 n8n executions |
| Zapier | About $60 a month (the $49 tier for 2,000 tasks plus overage) | A few hundred dollars a month. For scale, 100,000 tasks is $489 a month yearly |
| Make | $9 a month (Core) | Tens of dollars a month on a larger credit pack |
| n8n | €20 a month (Starter), or a few pounds self-hosted | €50 a month (Pro), or a few pounds self-hosted |
| Power Automate | Included if standard connectors are enough, otherwise $15 a user | Same: priced by user, not by volume |
At low volume the price difference barely matters, so pick on ease of use. At higher volume it can be the difference between $50 and several hundred dollars a month for the same job.
Costs that catch people out
- Zapier overage and loops. Going over your tasks switches you to pay-per-task at a higher rate unless you turn it off. Looping over 50 line items runs every action 50 times.
- Make polling. Scheduled triggers use credits every time they check. Use instant triggers (webhooks) where the app supports them.
- AI steps. All of these tools now charge extra for built-in AI steps, usually in credits. Calling a model through your own API key is often cheaper.
- Self-hosting n8n. The software is free but the work isn't. Someone has to apply updates, back it up, secure it and fix it when it falls over.
- Power Automate licensing. One premium connector in a flow can mean everyone who uses it needs a Premium licence. Check before you build.
- Nobody owning it. The biggest cost of all is an automation built by someone who has left, that breaks quietly and that nobody understands.
When custom code is worth it
No-code tools are the right answer for most small business automation. Custom code earns its place when one or more of these is true:
- Volume. Tens of thousands of runs a day, where per-task pricing gets silly.
- Complex logic. Lots of rules, exceptions and calculations that are hard to test in a visual builder.
- Sensitive data. You need everything to stay in your own cloud account, with your own logging and access controls.
- Reliability. The process is critical, so it needs proper tests, version control, monitoring and alerts.
- No connector exists, or the one that exists doesn't do what you need.
- It is your edge. If the workflow is how you beat competitors, own it outright.
The trade-off is a higher upfront cost and needing a developer for changes. For a sense of scale, our single-workflow builds start at £6,500 and hosting typically costs a few pounds a month in your own account.
How to choose
| If this sounds like you | Start with |
|---|---|
| A few simple workflows, non-technical team, lots of different apps | Zapier |
| Growing volumes, some branching logic, budget-conscious | Make |
| Someone technical in-house, high volumes or data that must stay with you | n8n |
| Everything happens in Outlook, SharePoint, Teams and Excel | Power Automate |
| High volume, critical process, complex rules or sensitive data | Custom build |
It is also fine to mix them. A common pattern is Zapier or Make for quick wins across many apps, with one or two critical workflows built properly in code.
Not sure which fits?
We work with all of these and don't sell licences for any of them, so we'll recommend whatever is cheapest to run and easiest for your team to own. See how we approach automation and AI, or read what AI automation costs a small business.
Questions
Is Make cheaper than Zapier?
Usually, yes, especially as volume grows. Make's paid plans start at $9 a month billed yearly for 10,000 credits, while Zapier starts at $19.99 for 750 tasks. They count differently, though, so compare them on your own workflow.
Is n8n really free?
The self-hosted Community Edition is free to run for your own business, with no limit on workflows or executions. You pay for the server, which can be a few pounds a month, and someone has to keep it updated, backed up and secure.
Is Power Automate included with Microsoft 365?
Microsoft 365 business plans include Power Automate with standard connectors. Premium connectors, desktop automation and more AI credits need Power Automate Premium at $15 a user a month billed yearly.
Can we move from Zapier to Make or n8n later?
Yes, but workflows have to be rebuilt by hand, so budget a few hours for each one. Keep workflows simple and documented to make a move cheaper.
Where is our data processed?
It varies. Make offers EU hosting, n8n Cloud runs in Frankfurt, and self-hosted n8n runs wherever you put it. Check each provider's data processing terms against your own obligations, especially for personal data.
Sources
- Latenode, Zapier pricing in 2026 (read from zapier.com, September 2026)
- Zapier, What is a task in Zapier
- Latenode, Make.com pricing in 2026 (read from make.com, September 2026)
- Hackceleration, How much does Make cost
- Sliplane, n8n pricing in 2026
- Automation Atlas, n8n self-hosted vs cloud pricing
- Microsoft, Power Automate pricing
- Zapier, Power Automate pricing
Prices were checked on 31 October 2026. They are list prices before VAT and change often, so check each vendor's pricing page before you commit.