Comparison
Make vs n8n
Make and n8n compared on usage counting, hosting, code, AI features and price, with guidance on which team each suits.
Comparison table
| Detail | Make | n8n |
|---|---|---|
| What a workflow is called | Scenario | Workflow |
| Free option As described on each official pricing page. | Free plan: 1,000 credits per month | Cloud free trial with no card required (1,000 executions during the trial); self-hosted Community Edition on GitHub |
| Paid plans listed | Core, Pro, Teams, Enterprise (Start-up Plan: 50% off Business for eligible companies under 20 employees) | Cloud: Starter (€20/month billed annually), Pro (€50/month billed annually). Self-hosted Business (€667/month billed annually). Enterprise: contact sales |
| How usage is counted This is the biggest practical difference. | Credits: most module actions use 1 credit, so a 10-step scenario run uses about 10 credits | Executions: one run of a workflow counts once, however many steps it has |
| Included usage on the entry paid plan | Not verified for this comparison — credit tiers are chosen in Make's plan selector | Starter: 2,500 executions per month. Pro: 10,000 |
| Hosting | Cloud (managed by Make) | Managed cloud or self-hosted |
| Custom code | Not stated on the pricing page — check Make's documentation | JavaScript or Python anywhere in a workflow |
| Execution time limit | Not stated on the pricing page | Starter: 5 minutes per execution. Pro: 40 minutes |
| Best suited to Our summary, based on the facts above. | Non-developers who build visually and run short scenarios with few steps | Technical teams with long, multi-step workflows, code, or a need to self-host |
Scroll sideways on small screens to see every tool. Italic entries could not be verified on an official page for this review.
Make and n8n are both visual automation builders, and both are popular alternatives to Zapier. The choice usually comes down to one question: how many steps do your workflows have, and how often do they run?
The counting difference, with an example
Say a workflow runs 500 times a month and has 8 steps (read an order, look up the customer, call an AI step, update a sheet, send two messages, and so on).
- On Make, most module actions use one credit each, so that is roughly 500 × 8 = 4,000 credits a month.
- On n8n, each run is one execution, so that is 500 executions a month, well inside the Starter plan’s 2,500.
The longer your workflows are, the more n8n’s counting works in your favor. For short, two- or three-step automations the difference is small, and Make’s free plan may be enough.
When Make is the better fit
- You want a polished visual editor and don’t write code.
- Your scenarios are short, or run a few hundred times a month.
- You prefer a fully managed cloud with nothing to maintain.
When n8n is the better fit
- Your workflows are long, branch a lot, or include AI agents.
- You need custom JavaScript or Python steps.
- You need to self-host for data control. Remember that self-hosting makes you responsible for updates, security and backups.
Check before you commit
Build the same real workflow in both free options and count what one month would use. Prices and limits change, so confirm them on the official pricing pages linked below. For the wider field, including Zapier, Activepieces and Power Automate, read our guide to Zapier alternatives for small businesses.
Official sources
- Make pricing make.com
- Make pricing parameters (Help Center) make.com
- n8n pricing n8n.io