Zapier, Make or n8n vs custom automation: cost at 1k to 100k runs

For a few thousand runs a month, a no-code tool is almost always cheaper than a custom build, because the subscription is small and nobody has to maintain code. The balance shifts as volume and step count grow, because Zapier and Make bill per step while n8n bills per workflow run, and a custom automation has a mostly fixed cost. Below, I price the same workflow at 1,000, 10,000 and 100,000 runs a month and give you a formula for the custom side.

How does each tool count usage?

This is the part that changes the maths most, so check it before comparing sticker prices.

Zapier counts tasks. A task is an action step that runs in another app. Triggers, Filters, Paths and Formatter steps do not count. Zapier’s blog also lists AI steps separately: 1 task on the default model, 3 on Advanced AI, 5 on Premium AI.
Make counts credits. Make says “most actions consume 1 credit, while some advanced features leveraging Make’s AI Provider may use more.” Router and error handler modules do not use credits.
n8n counts executions. “An execution is a single run of your entire workflow.” Ten steps or two steps, it is still one execution.

So a workflow with a trigger and four actions is 4 Zapier tasks, roughly 5 Make credits (if every module costs one) and 1 n8n execution per run.

What do the plans cost as of November 2026?

Prices below are from each vendor’s own pages as of November 2026. Zapier is in USD, n8n in euros, billed annually.

Tool and plan	Price	Included usage
Zapier Free	$0	100 tasks/month
Zapier Pro	from $19.99/month annual, $29.99 monthly	750 tasks, scales to 2,000,000
Zapier Team	from $69/month annual, $103.50 monthly	2,000 tasks, 25 users
Make Free	$0	1,000 credits/month
Make Core	from $9/month	10,000 credits
Make Pro	from $16/month	10,000 credits
Make Teams	from $29/month	10,000 credits
n8n Starter (cloud)	20 EUR/month annual	2.5K executions
n8n Pro (cloud)	50 EUR/month annual	10K executions
n8n Business	667 EUR/month annual	40K executions, self-hosted only
n8n Community Edition	no licence fee	self-hosted, you pay for servers

Some Zapier tiers worth knowing, Pro plan, annual billing: 5,000 tasks is $89, 50,000 tasks is $289, 400,000 tasks is $1,269. Over your limit, Zapier bills extra tasks at 1.25x on annual plans and 2.5x on monthly ones, and stops at 3x your subscription.

I could not read Make’s prices above the 10,000-credit tier from its public pages, so I do not quote them. Use the plan selector on Make’s pricing page for your volume.

What does the same workflow cost at 1k, 10k and 100k runs?

Assume a trigger plus four actions per run, no AI steps, and annual billing.

Runs/month	Zapier tasks (4 per run)	Zapier Pro	Make credits (about 5 per run)	n8n cloud
1,000	4,000 (5,000 tier)	$89	about 5,000, fits the 10k tier, Core from $9	Starter, 20 EUR
10,000	40,000 (50,000 tier)	$289	about 50,000, check selector	Pro, 50 EUR (exactly at the 10K cap)
100,000	400,000	$1,269	about 500,000, check selector	above Business’s 40K, Enterprise or self-host

Two things stand out. Zapier’s cost tracks steps, so a longer workflow multiplies it. n8n’s cost tracks runs, so a longer workflow costs the same, but it has a hard ceiling on cloud plans. At 100,000 runs a month you are either talking to n8n sales or self-hosting the Community Edition.

Can I self-host n8n for free?

The Community Edition has no licence fee, but the Sustainable Use License has limits. n8n’s license FAQ says you can use it to run your own business, and you can charge clients for building and maintaining workflows as long as they cannot create or edit them. You cannot host n8n as a service where your clients build workflows. Unclear cases go to license@n8n.io. Self-hosting also means you own servers, backups, upgrades and monitoring, which is real work.

How do I price a custom automation?

Custom code has no per-run subscription, but it has costs the tools hide. Use these variables:

B: one-off build cost
N: months you expect to use it before a rewrite (24 is a sane default)
H: hosting per month
M: maintenance per month (fixes, API changes, monitoring, your time or someone else’s)
V: runs per month
u: per-run variable cost (email or SMS sends, LLM calls, third-party API fees)

Monthly cost = B / N + H + M + V x u

Compare that with the tool column for the same V. For a made-up example only: B = 3,000, N = 24, H = 20, M = 100 gives 125 + 20 + 100 = 245 a month before per-run costs. Against the Zapier figures above, that loses at 1,000 runs ($89), roughly ties at 10,000 ($289) and wins clearly at 100,000 ($1,269). Replace every number with your own quotes before drawing any conclusion.

The M term is the one people leave out. If you set it to zero you are assuming nothing ever breaks.

When does the no-code tool win?

Plainly, in these cases:

Low volume. Under a few thousand runs a month, the subscription is tens of dollars. A custom build will not pay itself back.
Standard connectors. If every step is a popular app with a ready-made integration, you are paying for work already done.
Someone non-technical owns the workflow. If the person who will change it next month is not a developer, a visual editor is a feature.
The process is still changing. Do not freeze a process in code before you know what it is.
You do not want a maintenance relationship. A vendor patches the integrations for you.

Custom starts to win when volume is high, steps per run are many, logic is awkward for a visual editor, or data should not pass through a third party.

FAQ

Is n8n really cheaper than Zapier?

Per run on a many-step workflow, usually yes, because n8n counts one execution however many steps run. Zapier counts each action. The catch is n8n’s execution caps on cloud plans and the work of self-hosting.

Does Zapier charge for filters and triggers?

No. Zapier says triggers, Filters, Paths and Formatter do not count as tasks, only actions that run in another app.

How many Make credits does a step use?

Most actions use 1 credit, and AI features may use more. Router and error handler modules use none.

Where do I check current prices?

On each vendor’s pricing page, because plans and tiers change. The figures here are as of November 2026.