n8n vs Make vs Zapier for Business Automation: Real 2026 Costs from Amsterdam

The verdict in three sentences

For a 40-person services company automating 25 processes at 50,000 runs a month, Zapier remains the simplest but most expensive, Make gives the best power-to-price ratio, and self-hosted n8n becomes the cheapest over 3 years once you exceed 20,000 monthly runs. The real cost is not the subscription but building and maintaining the scenarios, which accounts for 60 to 80% of the total budget. Beyond 200,000 runs a month or business-critical logic, custom development becomes the rational choice, a pattern we see from Amsterdam to Lyon.

2026 subscriptions: what you really pay

The three tools bill on different units: tasks on Zapier, operations on Make, workflow executions on n8n. A run with 6 steps consumes 5 to 6 Zapier tasks, 6 Make operations, but a single n8n execution.

These are 2026 orders of magnitude from public price lists, before 15 to 20% annual discounts.

Total 3-year cost for 25 processes

The subscription only tells part of the story. Add the initial build, maintenance (APIs change, scenarios break) and, for n8n, server administration.

At stable volume, Make wins. If your volume is set to double, self-hosted n8n becomes clearly the cheapest, because its cost no longer depends on run count.

GDPR, hosting and the final choice

If your workflows process customer data, CVs or HR data, hosting matters. Zapier processes data in the United States under the Data Privacy Framework, which is legally sufficient but worries some enterprise clients. Make offers an EU region. Self-hosted n8n with a European host (Hetzner, OVHcloud, Scaleway) keeps everything under your control and simplifies your records of processing.

Rule of thumb: Zapier to start fast under 10,000 tasks, Make for an autonomous SMB without a developer, self-hosted n8n as soon as a provider or technical profile can administer it, and custom code when a process becomes core to the business (invoicing, pricing, critical ERP sync).

Mini case study

Sophie, head of operations at a 40-person services firm in Lyon, automates 25 processes: customer reminders, file creation, CRM and invoicing sync, weekly reporting. On Zapier, her 50,000 six-step runs mean about 300,000 tasks a month, beyond standard plans: she would need a custom quote. On Make, the 200 USD monthly plan is enough. With self-hosted n8n on a 40 EUR monthly server, plus 14,000 EUR of build work, she would pay about 5,000 EUR more than Make over 3 years at constant volume; the gap shrinks to 500 EUR if volume doubles, and n8n pulls ahead beyond that. She picks Make, with a plan to switch to n8n at 100,000 runs. The 25 processes free 120 hours a month, about 3,600 EUR of staff time monthly at 30 EUR per hour.

FAQ

Can you migrate from Zapier to n8n without rebuilding?

No, there is no direct export: each workflow is rebuilt. Allow 300 to 600 EUR per process depending on complexity, often recovered in 6 to 12 months of saved subscription.

Is n8n really free?

The self-hosted community edition is free for internal use. You pay for the server, 20 to 60 EUR a month, and admin time, about 2 hours a month.

Which tool for an SMB without a developer?

Make or Zapier. Make takes 2 to 3 days to learn, Zapier half a day, but Make costs 40 to 60% less at equal volume.

When should you switch to custom development?

Beyond 200,000 runs a month, or when a workflow carries critical business logic with more than 30 steps. A microservice costs 3,000 to 10,000 EUR but has no per-run cost.

Are these tools GDPR compliant?

Yes, all offer a DPA. For sensitive data, prefer EU hosting: Make's European region or n8n on an EU server.

Let's scope your project. We map your processes, pick the right tool for your volume and build your workflows, indicative budget 8,000 to 20,000 EUR for 25 processes, delivered in 4 to 8 weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.