Zapier vs n8n
Zapier or n8n? Here is how they compare on price, free plan, platforms and the jobs each does best, from each vendor's own pages.
| Compared on | Visit | Visit |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | No-code tool that connects web apps and runs automated, AI-assisted workflows | Workflow automation and AI agent builder you can self-host or use in the cloud |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | $19.99/mo billed annually (Professional)Zapier pricing | $20/mo billed annually (Starter)n8n pricing |
| What it covers | For 750 tasks/month; price rises with the task tier. | 2,500 workflow executions/month, hosted by n8n. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of the Professional plan for new accounts, no credit card required | Free trial of n8n Cloud with Pro-level features, capped at 1,000 executions, no credit card required; 14-day free trial of the self-hosted Business plan (credit card required) |
| Platforms | Web | Web, Self-hosted, API |
| Integrations (vendor's figure) | 9,000+ apps | 500+ integrations |
| Open source | No | Yes, self-hostable |
| Made by | Zapier, Inc. | n8n |
Choose Zapier if…
- Price matters: its cheapest paid plan is $19.99/mo against $20/mo.
- The job is sending new web-form leads into a CRM and a Slack channel.
- The job is copying email attachments to cloud storage automatically.
Choose n8n if…
- You need to run it on your own servers or want the source code.
- You need an API to build on.
- The job is building an AI agent that answers questions from internal documents.
- The job is automating lead enrichment and CRM updates with custom logic.
Still weighing it up?
If neither is quite right, Zapier and n8n are also compared with their other rivals: Zapier vs Make, Make vs n8n and Zapier vs Microsoft Power Automate.
To see them doing real work, read Save Zoom Cloud Recordings to Google Drive Automatically and 8 Best n8n Alternatives in 2026.
What Zapier does
- Zaps: trigger-and-action workflows across 9,000+ apps
- Multi-step Zaps, webhooks and AI fields on paid plans
- Tables for data storage and Forms for custom forms
- Zapier MCP and SDK for connecting AI tools and code
- Agents and Chatbots sold as add-ons
- Admin controls such as SCIM provisioning and AI guardrails on Enterprise
Watch out for
- Free plan allows only two-step Zaps and 100 tasks a month
- Every Zap step, AI step, code run and connector call draws from one shared monthly task allowance
- Multi-step Zaps, premium apps and webhooks require a paid plan
What n8n does
- Visual workflow canvas with optional JavaScript and Python code steps
- AI agent building with a choice of models
- 500+ integrations plus custom HTTP and API requests
- Self-hosting through the Community Edition or Business and Enterprise licences
- Billing per full workflow execution, not per step
- Unlimited users and workflows on all plans
Watch out for
- No free tier on n8n Cloud; free use means self-hosting the Community Edition
- SSO, Git-based version control and multiple environments require the Business or Enterprise plan
- Cloud plans cap monthly executions (2,500 on Starter, 10,000 on Pro) and concurrent executions
Questions
Is Zapier or n8n cheaper?
On published entry prices, Zapier is cheaper: $19.99/mo billed annually (Professional) for Zapier against $20/mo billed annually (Starter) for n8n. What each plan includes differs, so compare the limits too.
Do Zapier and n8n have free plans?
Both do. Zapier: 100 tasks per month; two-step Zaps only; unlimited Zaps, Tables and Forms. n8n: Self-hosted Community Edition only: free to run on your own server under n8n's Sustainable Use License; there is no free tier on n8n Cloud.