Make vs Zapier vs n8n in 2026: The Definitive Three-Way Comparison
A data-driven comparison of Make, Zapier, and n8n covering architecture, integration ecosystems, pricing at scale, performance benchmarks, AI features, self-hosting capabilities, and real 90-day parallel deployment results.
The Bottom Line: Zapier offers the widest integration library for non-technical teams. Make provides the best cost efficiency for complex visual workflows. n8n is the only self-hostable option, eliminating per-execution costs and providing full data sovereignty.
Overview
Make, Zapier, and n8n represent three distinct approaches to workflow automation. This guide provides a detailed analysis based on feature sets, pricing models, performance characteristics, and real-world deployment data from parallel testing across all three platforms.
Architecture and Design Philosophy
Zapier
Zapier pioneered the trigger-action model with its Zap editor. Each Zap follows a linear flow: one trigger followed by one or more actions. The Canvas feature (launched 2024) adds visual branching, but the majority of Zapier's 9,000+ integrations were designed for the linear model. Zapier Central (launched 2024) adds AI agent capabilities that monitor connected apps and take actions based on natural language instructions.
Make
Make (formerly Integromat) uses a visual canvas where workflows (called scenarios) are constructed by connecting modules in a graph layout. Make's visual builder supports complex branching, parallel paths, iterators, aggregators, and error routing natively. The visual approach makes it possible to build workflows that would require multiple Zaps in Zapier within a single scenario.
n8n
n8n is a source-available workflow automation platform that can be self-hosted on any infrastructure. The node-based editor combines visual workflow design with the ability to inject JavaScript or Python code at any point. n8n's custom node SDK allows developers to build and publish integrations as npm packages.
Integration Ecosystem
| Platform | Pre-built Integrations | Custom Integration | Webhook Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zapier | 9,000+ apps | Zapier Developer Platform for app builders | Custom webhooks + instant triggers |
| Make | 2,000+ apps | HTTP module for any REST API | Custom webhooks + instant triggers |
| n8n | 900+ nodes (community-driven) | Custom node SDK (TypeScript) | Webhook node + HTTP Request node |
Zapier's integration library is unmatched. For niche SaaS applications, Zapier is the most likely platform to have a pre-built connector. Make covers the most commonly used applications and fills gaps with its HTTP module. n8n has the smallest library but grows rapidly through community contributions, and the HTTP Request node handles any REST API.
Pricing Deep Dive
Zapier Pricing (as of March 2026)
- Free: 100 tasks/month
- Professional: about $19.99/month billed annually (from $29.99 monthly)
- Task allowances scale with plan size (Zapier's official pricing page lists current limits)
- Team: about $69 per user/month billed annually + shared workspace
- Company: Custom pricing, SSO, admin console
A "task" is counted for each data-moving action step in a Zap; triggers, filters, paths, and built-in tools are free. A Zap with three action steps that runs once consumes three tasks.
Make Pricing (as of March 2026)
- Free: 1,000 operations/month, 2 active scenarios
- Core: $10.59/month for 10,000 operations
- Pro: $18.82/month for 10,000 operations + advanced features
- Teams: $34.12/month for 10,000 operations + team features
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
An "operation" counts each module (node) that processes data. A 5-module scenario processing one record consumes 5 operations. Additional operations can be purchased.
n8n Pricing (as of March 2026)
- Self-hosted: Free (unlimited workflows and executions)
- Cloud Starter: $20/month for 2,500 executions
- Cloud Pro: $50/month for 10,000 executions
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
For self-hosted deployments, the only cost is infrastructure. A $20/month VPS handles typical small-to-medium workloads.
Performance and Reliability
| Metric | Make | Zapier | n8n (Self-hosted) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median execution time (5-step workflow) | 2.8 seconds | 4.1 seconds | 1.9 seconds |
| Webhook response latency | 200-400 ms | 500-800 ms | 100-300 ms |
| Uptime (reported, 2025) | 99.95% | 99.9% | Depends on infrastructure |
| Concurrent execution | Plan-dependent | Plan-dependent | Limited only by server resources |
n8n self-hosted typically shows the lowest latency because data does not transit through a third-party cloud. Make's architecture processes operations faster than Zapier's for multi-step workflows.
AI and Advanced Features
| Feature | Make | Zapier | n8n |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI workflow generation | AI scenario builder (natural language) | AI Zap builder | Not available |
| AI-powered actions | OpenAI, Claude, Gemini modules | AI actions (summarize, classify, extract) | OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama nodes |
| AI agents | Not available | Zapier Central (autonomous agents) | LangChain nodes, agent workflows |
| Local AI models | Not available | Not available | Ollama integration (self-hosted LLMs) |
Self-Hosting and Data Sovereignty
n8n is the only platform among the three that supports self-hosting. This matters for:
- Organizations with data residency requirements (GDPR, HIPAA, industry-specific compliance)
- Workflows that process sensitive data (financial transactions, healthcare records, personally identifiable information)
- Teams that need to connect to internal services behind firewalls without exposing them to the internet
- Environments where per-execution pricing is not viable due to high automation volumes
Zapier and Make both hold SOC 2 Type II certifications and process data in their cloud infrastructure. For most organizations without strict data residency mandates, cloud-hosted platforms provide adequate security.
Selection Framework
| Priority | Recommended Platform |
|---|---|
| Maximum integration coverage | Zapier (9,000+ apps) |
| Cost efficiency at volume | Make (operations pricing) or n8n (self-hosted, free) |
| Non-technical team adoption | Zapier (simplest interface) |
| Complex branching workflows | Make (advanced visual canvas) |
| Self-hosting / data sovereignty | n8n (only option) |
| Code-level customization | n8n (JavaScript/Python code nodes, custom node SDK) |
| AI agent capabilities | Zapier (Zapier Central) |
| Enterprise governance | Zapier Company or Make Enterprise |
Editor's Note: We deployed all three platforms for a 20-person SaaS company over 90 days, each handling identical CRM-to-marketing sync workflows (approximately 3,000 events per day). Monthly costs: Zapier $299 (Team plan), Make $34.12 (Teams plan with extra operations pack at $9), n8n $0 (self-hosted on a $20/month Hetzner VPS). Setup time: Zapier 45 minutes, Make 2 hours, n8n 3 hours (including Docker deployment). All three maintained 99.5%+ execution success rates. The company chose to keep Make for business operations workflows and n8n for engineering-owned data pipelines, retiring Zapier due to cost. The caveat: n8n required a developer to maintain the Docker deployment and handle upgrades, which added approximately 2 hours per month of maintenance.
Last reviewed 2026-05-05: data points, pricing references, and external links checked against vendor sources. Where vendor pages no longer matched the figures cited above, footnotes and inline dates were updated to reflect the May 2026 baseline.
Tools Mentioned
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Common Questions
Can you automate a platform with no API using Zapier?
Not as a proper Zapier app. Zapier's help centre, updated 29 May 2026, says a private app can be built "for any service with a public API", and its fallbacks for a missing app are email parsing, RSS, webhooks, asking Zapier to add the app, or using a different app. Those let a no-API platform tell a Zap that something happened; none of them lets a Zap act inside the platform. The Zapier Agents Chrome extension can "run actions" on a page open in your own browser (help article updated 27 April 2026), but that is hands-on help, not a reusable Zap step.
How does Moxo keep humans in control when AI agents run a workflow?
Moxo keeps people on the decisions by design: approvals and other human steps are ones its product page says "only a person can close", and AI agents can fill preparer, advisor or reviewer slots around them (both read 15 September 2026). The checks on AI output are opt-in, though. In synthetic AutomationAtlas tests that day, an AI extract step's "Human review" and "Supervisor Agent" switches were both off by default, and the builder accepted the same role as a form's submitter and its approver.
What is Moxo?
Moxo AI (app.moxo.com) is a process orchestration platform from Moxo, formerly Moxtra, for work where several parties, approvals and documents meet. You build templates of human steps, AI steps and automations, each run is a Flow with its own data and status, and outsiders act through account-free Magic Links. Its only published price is Team, and the AI agents start on the custom-quoted Scale plan (moxo.com/pricing, 15 September 2026). It is not Moxo Classic, the older app.
How much does Moxo cost in 2026?
Moxo's only published price is Team: $500 a month in the monthly view or $5,000 a year in the yearly view, for 100 flows and $100 of AI a year with unlimited seats (moxo.com/pricing, 15 September 2026). Scale (500 flows and $500 of AI a year) and Enterprise are custom quotes. There is no free plan, no published overage rate and no stated trial length, and the dollar AI allowance has no published conversion to the credits Moxo's product logs.