Automation tools connect your apps so a form submission can create a CRM contact, a Slack message and a spreadsheet row. The three names you will meet first are Zapier, Make and n8n. They charge for usage in different ways, which matters more than the headline price.

Figures come from each vendor's pricing pages, checked October 20, 2026. This is research-based, not a hands-on test of reliability. Some paid per-tier prices are not shown on the pages we could read, and we flag those.

The short answer

Tool Billing unit Free tier Paid from
Zapier Tasks (successful actions) 100 tasks/month From $19.99/month (750 tasks)
Make Credits (mostly 1 per action) 1,000 credits/month Core shown as $9/month on a comparison page
n8n Workflow executions Self-hosted Community Edition on GitHub From €20/month (2,500 executions), billed annually

Zapier

Zapier

Easiest to start

Very large app library, charged per successful action.

Free
100 tasks/month, two-step Zaps
Professional
From $19.99/month (750 tasks)
Team
From $69/month, 25 seats

Zapier pricing

Zapier defines a task as an action your Zap successfully completes. Filters, Paths and Formatter steps do not count toward the limit. Professional and Team prices are "from" figures tied to a task tier, and the per-tier prices were not shown on the pages we read.

What works

  • Simple for beginners
  • Filters and Paths do not use tasks

What to watch

  • Costs climb with every extra task tier
  • Free plan is limited to two-step Zaps

Make

Make

Best value per action

Visual builder, billed in credits.

Free
1,000 credits/month
Core
$9/month (per Make's comparison page)
Credit use
Most actions cost 1 credit

Make pricing

Make's pricing page names Free, Core, Pro, Teams and Enterprise but did not show prices in the version we read. A Make comparison page lists Core at $9/month, Pro at $16 and Team at $29, each starting at 10,000 credits, though that page also contradicts itself on Zapier's price. Treat Make's figures as indicative and check the live page. Router and error-handler modules use no credits.

What works

  • Generous free credits
  • Visual scenario builder

What to watch

  • Prices were inconsistent across pages we read
  • Credit counting takes practice

n8n

n8n

Best for technical users

Counts whole workflow executions, with a self-hosted option.

Starter
€20/month, 2,500 executions (billed annually)
Pro
€50/month, 10,000 executions
Self-hosted
Community Edition on GitHub

n8n pricing

n8n counts one execution per workflow run, however many steps it has. The page lists unlimited workflows and users on each cloud plan and says a standard self-hosted version is available on GitHub. It did not state whether self-hosting is free, so read the licence. Prices are in euros.

What works

  • Execution-based billing suits long workflows
  • Self-hosting option

What to watch

  • Monthly price not shown, only annual
  • Needs technical comfort

Which one should you choose?

  • Choose Zapier if you want the lowest learning curve and your automations are short.
  • Choose Make if you want lots of steps per run and a visual canvas.
  • Choose n8n if you can self-host or run workflows with many steps.

For a worked comparison of how each counts a typical month, read Zapier vs Make: how pricing works.

How we compared

We read pricing pages on October 20, 2026. We did not build the same workflow in each tool.

Frequently asked questions

Which has the best free tier?

Make gives the most units (1,000 credits), Zapier gives 100 tasks, and n8n's free option is self-hosting.

Can I move between them?

Not directly. Workflows are rebuilt by hand.

Sources