If you are choosing between Make vs Zapier vs n8n for your small business, here is the short answer. Pick Zapier if you want the simplest start this week. Pick Make if you want the best value as your workflows grow. Pick n8n if your volume is high, your data must stay in your control, and someone technical can look after it.
I run my own lead replies on Make's free tier, so this pick comes from real use, not only from pricing pages. The rest of this guide shows the prices, the billing trap, and the maths behind that verdict, so you can check it yourself before you spend anything.
Quick verdict: Zapier for the simplest start. Make for the best value as you grow. n8n for high volume and full control. If you have no budget at all, start with Make's free tier and the lead reply workflow linked below.
Contents
- What is the difference between Make, Zapier and n8n?
- How does each tool charge you, and why does it decide the winner?
- What can you do on the free plans?
- Which one is easiest if you are not technical?
- Which tool fits a lead reply automation?
- What about AI features?
- Which one should you pick?
- Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Make, Zapier and n8n?
All three tools do the same basic job. They connect apps that do not talk to each other, so when something happens in one app, something useful happens in another app without you doing it by hand. The difference is how they charge you, how hard they are to run, and where your data lives.
| Tool | Best for | Billing unit | Where it runs | Learning curve | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zapier | The simplest start | Tasks | In the cloud | Easiest | $0, 100 tasks a month, two step Zaps |
| Make | Best value as you grow | Credits | In the cloud | Visual, in the middle | $0, 1,000 credits a month, 2 scenarios |
| n8n | High volume and full control | Executions | In the cloud or on your own server | Steepest | Free self hosted Community Edition |
Table checked 6 November 2026 on each tool's official pricing page. See the Sources section at the end.
The billing unit is the part most guides rush past, and it is the part that decides your bill. A task, a credit and an execution are not the same thing, so the sticker prices cannot be compared directly. Zapier counts tasks. Make counts credits. n8n counts executions. The next section shows what that means with real numbers.
How does each tool charge you, and why does it decide the winner?
Take one ordinary workflow with 12 steps, and run it 100 times in a month. That is a fair test for a small business: a new lead comes in, the workflow checks the details, drafts a reply, logs it, and tells you about it. Here is what the same 100 runs cost on each tool.
| Tool | What one run uses | 100 runs a month use | What the free plan covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zapier | 11 tasks (the trigger is free, each of the 11 actions counts as one task) | 1,100 tasks | 100 tasks, about 9 runs, then you need a paid plan |
| Make | About 12 credits (most actions cost 1 credit each) | About 1,200 credits | 1,000 credits, just short, so the first paid plan covers it easily |
| n8n | 1 execution (the whole workflow run counts once) | 100 executions | Starter allows 2,500 executions a month, so 100 runs fit many times over |
Figures checked 6 November 2026. Zapier task rules and Make credit rules come from their official pricing and help pages. n8n execution limits come from the n8n pricing page.
That table is the whole story. Zapier charges per step, so a workflow with many steps gets costly fast. Make also charges per step, but its credits cost far less per step. n8n charges per full run, so a long workflow with many steps costs the same as a short one. This is why a 12 step workflow costs 12 units on Zapier and Make, and 1 unit on n8n.
Now the prices, checked on the official pricing pages on 6 November 2026.
| Tool | Free | First paid plan | Next plan up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zapier | $0 a month, 100 tasks | Professional, from $19.99 a month | Team, from $69 a month, 25 users |
| Make | $0 a month, 1,000 credits | Core, from $12 a month billed annually ($16 month to month), 10,000 credits | Pro, from $21 a month billed annually, 10,000 credits |
| n8n | $0, self hosted Community Edition | Starter, 20 euros a month billed annually | Pro, 50 euros a month billed annually |
Prices checked 6 November 2026 on zapier.com/pricing, make.com/en/pricing and n8n.io/pricing. Prices change, so check the official page on the day you buy. Note that n8n prices in euros while Zapier and Make price in dollars.
Two warnings before you pick on price alone. First, Zapier's $19.99 Professional plan is the starting price, and the task amount you get depends on the task tier you pick, from 100 tasks up to 2 million. Pick the tier by counting your steps, not by the headline price. Second, Make's price rises with the credit amount you pick, so check the 10,000 credit tier when you compare. Both tools get cheaper per unit as you use more, and both offer a discount for paying yearly.
What can you do on the free plans?
Start here if your budget is zero. The free plans are not equal, and the gap matters more than the paid prices for a first build.
Zapier Free costs $0 and gives you 100 tasks a month. You can build unlimited Zaps, but only two step ones, and you get Zapier Copilot to help you build. 100 tasks sounds fine until you count steps. A simple two step Zap that runs 50 times in a month already uses the whole allowance. It is a good way to test Zapier, not a way to run your business on it. New accounts also get a free 14 day trial of the Professional plan, with no credit card needed, which is the honest way to test the paid features.
Make Free costs $0 and gives you 1,000 credits a month. You get 2 active scenarios and checks as often as every 15 minutes. Most actions cost 1 credit, so 1,000 credits is real room to run a small workflow. My own lead reply workflow runs on this free tier, and it handles roughly 200 to 300 leads a month at 3 to 5 credits per lead. That is why this guide builds its worked example on Make. The one trap is the trigger: a scenario that checks for new data every 15 minutes burns a credit on every check, even when nothing new arrives. Use a webhook trigger instead, so the scenario only runs when a lead actually arrives.
n8n has no free hosted tier, but its Community Edition is free to self host. You install it on your own server and you pay nothing to n8n. That is a strong deal if you already run a server and someone technical looks after it. If you do not, the hosted Starter plan at 20 euros a month billed annually is the real starting point, and it comes with a free trial and no credit card needed.
The plain read: Make's free tier runs a real workflow. Zapier's free tier lets you test one. n8n's free tier is real too, but only if you can host it yourself.
Which one is easiest if you are not technical?
Zapier is the easiest of the three. You pick a trigger, you pick an action, and Zapier walks you through it. It connects to more than 9,000 apps, so the app you use is almost certainly there, and most setups take minutes. If you have never built an automation before, start here.
Make sits in the middle. You build on a visual canvas, dragging steps into place and drawing lines between them. It takes an evening to learn, and then it feels natural. It is the best pick if you like seeing the whole workflow laid out in front of you, and if your workflows have branches, such as one path for new leads and another for returning customers. Make connects to more than 1,000 apps, which covers the tools most small businesses use.
n8n is the hardest to start with. It is powerful, and its visual builder is clear once you know it, but setup, updates and fixes need more technical care. Self hosting adds a real job: the server, the updates, and the backups are yours. Pick n8n when you have technical help, not as a first tool you learn alone on a weekend.
If you are still weighing the first two, my earlier Make vs Zapier comparison for small business automation goes deeper on that one choice.
Which tool fits a lead reply automation?
This is the automation I would build first in any small business: a new lead comes in, software drafts a personal reply in your tone, and you approve and send it in one tap. The AI drafts. You send. Nothing goes out without a human looking at it first. I built this exact workflow on Make, step by step, in my guide to auto draft replies to new leads with Make on the free tier, and the numbers below come from running it.
The workflow has four jobs: catch the new lead, draft the reply, put the draft in front of you, and log the lead. Here is what the same workflow costs on each tool for 100 leads in a month.
| Tool | Cost for 100 leads a month | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Make | About 300 to 500 credits, inside the 1,000 credit free tier | Use a webhook trigger, not a 15 minute check, or the checks eat the free tier |
| Zapier | About 400 tasks for a 4 step reply flow, past the 100 task free tier, so you need a paid plan | Each step counts, so keep the flow short or the task count climbs |
| n8n | 100 executions, well inside the Starter plan's 2,500 a month | Someone must set it up and keep it running, which is the real cost |
Figures checked 6 November 2026. Make figures come from my own published workflow. Zapier figures follow its task rules on the official pricing page. n8n figures follow its pricing page.
The same logic works the other way too. If your leads mostly arrive by phone, the inbox version is the wrong first build. The phone version of this problem is an AI voice agent that answers calls for a small business, which catches the call instead of letting it ring out. Pick the tool that fits where your leads actually arrive.
What about AI features?
All three tools now offer AI steps. Zapier has Copilot to help you build, AI fields inside workflows, and AI steps that follow the same task based pricing as the rest of the tool. Make offers AI modules through its AI provider, and those steps can cost more credits than an ordinary step. n8n offers AI agents inside workflows, and you only pay when a workflow runs from start to finish.
My advice is the same on all three: use AI only for the steps that need judgement, such as drafting a reply in your tone or sorting a message by what the customer actually asked. Use plain automation for the rest, such as moving data, logging a lead, or sending a fixed message. AI steps cost more on every tool, so a workflow that uses AI for every step is a workflow that costs too much. The free AI tools workflow for social media content follows the same rule: the AI drafts, I decide, and no fact goes out unless a human has checked it.
Which one should you pick?
Match the tool to your situation, not to a review score.
- Pick Zapier if you work alone and want your first automation live this week. It is the simplest to set up, it connects to the most apps, and you can build without learning anything new. Accept that you will pay once your volume grows, because every step costs a task.
- Pick Make if you want the best value as your workflows grow. Its free tier runs a real workflow, its paid plan starts lower than Zapier's, and its visual canvas makes branching workflows easy to follow. This is my default pick for most small businesses.
- Pick n8n if your volume is high, your data must stay in your control, and someone technical can look after it. Paying per full run instead of per step makes long workflows cheap, and self hosting keeps your data on your own server. Do not pick it as a first tool you learn alone.
- Pick none of them yet if you get fewer than a handful of leads a month. At that volume, replying by hand is already fast enough. Spend the time getting more leads first, then automate the replies.
Final verdict: for most small businesses, start with Make. Its free tier runs the lead reply workflow that matters most, its first paid plan costs less than Zapier's, and you only move to n8n when your volume or your data rules demand it. Start with one workflow, run it for two weeks, and only then build a second one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Zapier or Make cheaper for a small business?
Make is cheaper for most small businesses. Its Core plan starts from $12 a month billed annually for 10,000 credits, while Zapier Professional starts from $19.99 a month. But the units are different, so count your own workflow before you decide. A short workflow can be cheap on Zapier, while a long one is almost always cheaper on Make or n8n.
Can I use n8n for free?
Yes. The Community Edition is free to self host on your own server. If you want n8n to host it for you, the Starter plan costs 20 euros a month billed annually, and it comes with a free trial that needs no credit card.
Do I need to know code to use n8n?
No code is needed to build workflows in n8n, but setup and upkeep need more technical care than Zapier or Make. If no one technical looks after it, the hosted plan or Make is the safer pick.
Which tool is best for a first automation?
Make, on its free tier, for the lead reply workflow linked above. It runs about 200 to 300 leads a month without paying anything. If you want the simplest setup and you are happy to pay once volume grows, Zapier is the easier first build.
Do prices change often on these tools?
Yes. All three tools change prices and limits during the year. The prices in this guide were checked on 6 November 2026 on each tool's official pricing page. Check the official page on the day you buy, and never budget from a review article alone.
Written by Amjad Rasool, SEO Expert and Social Media Expert. I help small businesses grow with content systems, local SEO and AI tools.
Sources
- Zapier pricing page, zapier.com/pricing, checked 6 November 2026. Free plan $0 with 100 tasks a month, Professional from $19.99 a month, Team from $69 a month, 9,000+ apps, task rules.
- Make pricing page, make.com/en/pricing, checked 6 November 2026 in the live browser. Free plan 1,000 credits a month, Core $12 a month billed annually ($16 month to month), Pro $21 a month billed annually, credit rules from the Make help pages.
- n8n pricing page, n8n.io/pricing, checked 6 November 2026. Starter 20 euros a month billed annually (24 dollars month to month) with 2,500 workflow executions a month, Pro 50 euros a month billed annually with 10,000 executions a month, free self hosted Community Edition, pay per execution model.
- My own published workflow, auto draft replies to new leads with Make on the free tier, for the 3 to 5 credits per lead figure and the webhook trigger rule.
Related guides
- Make vs Zapier for small business automation
- Your first AI automation: auto draft replies to new leads with Make, free tier, step by step
- AI voice agent for a dental clinic: what it costs and how it answers calls
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