The verdict in three sentences
A Miami small business stacking 15 home-made automations and watching scenarios break every month is mostly paying for silent failures, not for subscriptions. Make (9 to 30 EUR a month, then billed per operation) and self-hosted n8n (10 to 40 EUR a month of server) remain excellent for simple, low-stakes flows. For the 3 to 5 flows that touch invoicing, customers or payroll, a custom Kolonell build at 3,810 to 6,100 EUR (about 4,100 to 6,600 USD) with monitoring becomes cheaper over three years.
Make, n8n or custom: 2026 costs
Orders of magnitude for a 30 to 80 person services business in 2026. Kolonell lines follow our custom application grid; Make and n8n rates are market estimates.
| Item | Make (cloud) | Self-hosted n8n | Custom Kolonell build |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | In-house or freelancer, 500 to 3,000 EUR | In-house or freelancer, 1,000 to 4,000 EUR | 3,810 to 6,100 EUR (2.5 to 4 M FCFA) |
| Recurring software | 9 to 30 EUR a month, then operation tiers | 10 to 40 EUR a month of server | Hosting 20 to 60 EUR a month |
| Scaling | Cost grows with operations | Limited by the server | Limited by third-party APIs |
| Monitoring | Basic error notifications | Do it yourself | Alerts, log and automatic retry included |
| Versioning and tests | Weak | Possible but rarely done | Versioned code, automated tests |
| Maintenance | Whoever built the scenario | Same, plus server updates | 110 EUR a month (75,000 FCFA, Standard) |
| Key-person dependency | High | Very high | Documented, handover possible |
The common weakness of Make and n8n in small businesses is not the tool, it is the lack of an owner: one employee built the scenarios, leaves, and nobody knows why the CRM stopped receiving leads.
Sorting your 15 automations: volume, criticality, monitoring, 3-year cost
The right answer is rarely "rebuild everything". Rank each flow on four criteria.
| Typical flow | Monthly volume | Criticality | Recommendation | 3-year cost (estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slack alert on a new form | 100 | Low | Make or n8n | 300 to 1,000 EUR |
| Copy attachments to Drive | 500 | Low | Make or n8n | 300 to 1,000 EUR |
| Website lead to CRM with scoring | 400 | Medium | n8n with alerts | 1,500 to 3,000 EUR |
| Signed quote to invoice creation | 150 | High | Custom | Part of a 3,810 to 6,100 EUR project |
| Scheduling and payroll sync | 60 staff | High | Custom | Same |
| Customer invoice reminders | 300 | High | Custom | Same |
| Weekly management report | 4 | Medium | Make or n8n | 300 to 1,000 EUR |
In most small businesses, 10 to 12 of 15 flows are perfectly fine in no-code, and 3 to 5 critical flows justify being grouped into a small custom application, delivered in 5 to 8 weeks.
The cost of a silent failure
An automation that breaks without warning costs more than any subscription. A frequent case: the signed quote to invoice flow stops after an API change, and nobody notices for three weeks. With 150 quotes a month at an average of 2,400 EUR, 100 unissued invoices mean 240,000 EUR of delayed revenue, plus 15 to 25 hours of manual catch-up. Custom code does not prevent API outages, but it flags them within minutes and replays queued messages.
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Laura, owner of a 45-person technical maintenance company in Miami, pays 29 EUR a month for Make plus 320 EUR a month in extra operations, about 4,200 EUR a year. She averages one failure a month, costing 6 hours of catch-up at 40 EUR, or 2,900 EUR a year. Current 3-year cost: (4,200 + 2,900) × 3 = 21,300 EUR. Mixed option: 4 critical flows rebuilt custom for 5,000 EUR, maintenance at 110 EUR a month and hosting at 30 EUR a month, with Make cut back to 29 EUR a month. Over 3 years: 5,000 + (110 + 30 + 29) × 36 = 11,080 EUR, about 10,000 EUR saved.
FAQ
Is n8n free?
The self-hosted community edition is free under its licence, but you need a server at 10 to 40 EUR a month and someone to maintain it. The cloud version starts around 20 to 25 EUR a month.
Can we keep Make for some flows?
Yes, and it is often the best option. We take over only the 3 to 5 critical flows and leave convenience flows on Make or n8n.
How long does migration take?
Allow 5 to 8 weeks for 3 to 5 critical flows, with 1 to 2 weeks of parallel running before the old scenario is switched off.
Who owns the code?
You do. The code is versioned in your repository and documented, so another provider can take over if needed.
How is monitoring handled?
Every flow writes to a log, and an alert goes out by email or Teams after 2 to 3 consecutive failures. Standard maintenance at 75,000 FCFA (110 EUR) a month includes following up on those alerts.
Let's scope your project. Send us the list of your current automations: we will identify the flows worth rebuilding and price the custom work between 2.5 and 4 M FCFA (3,810 to 6,100 EUR) with a 5 to 8 week plan, through our free quote request. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
