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n8n vs Zapier
Both tools connect the apps in a go to market stack, but they were built for different hands. Zapier is a no code automation platform with more than 9,000 app integrations, the widest connector catalogue in the category, designed so a revenue or ops person can ship a working trigger and action workflow the same afternoon. Billing is metered in tasks, counted per successful action step, and there is no self hosting option, so data always passes through Zapier's cloud. n8n is source available workflow automation distributed under a fair code licence and offered both as managed cloud and as software you host yourself. It ships over 500 pre built nodes plus a generic HTTP request node, JavaScript and Python code steps anywhere in a flow, and AI agent nodes with multiple model providers, retrieval patterns, human in the loop approvals and MCP support, with cloud plans priced per workflow execution and unlimited users. The real axis of choice is who maintains the automation and where the workflow data is allowed to sit: connector breadth and a gentle editor, or execution based pricing, code steps and your own infrastructure.
Zapier sells reach across the long tail of apps to people who do not write code, while n8n sells control over how a workflow runs and where it runs.
Pick n8n if
- Pick n8n if workflow data and credentials need to stay on your own infrastructure, since the Community edition is free to self host and Business and Enterprise licence keys can be applied to self hosted instances.
- Pick n8n if the team is large but the volume is not, because every cloud plan includes unlimited users and bills by workflow execution rather than by seat.
- Pick n8n if pipelines need JavaScript or Python steps, a generic HTTP node for unlisted APIs, or AI agent nodes with retrieval, human in the loop approvals and MCP support.
- Pick n8n if workflows belong in Git, since version control and environments ship on the Business and Enterprise tiers and workflows export as JSON.
Pick Zapier if
- Pick Zapier if the tools you need to connect sit in the long tail, since it lists more than 9,000 apps against over 500 pre built n8n nodes.
- Pick Zapier if non technical staff will build and own the automations, a strength reviewers credit alongside its template library.
- Pick Zapier if you want to evaluate before committing, since there is a free plan at 100 tasks per month and a 14 day Professional trial with no credit card required.
- Pick Zapier if you want more than automation from one vendor, since Tables, Interfaces, Chatbots, Agents and an MCP server sit alongside Zaps.
n8nZapiern8nZapiern8nYou run, secure and upgrade it. Paid only features such as SSO, projects and workflow sharing are excluded, and the licence restricts offering n8n itself as a service
Full node library and code steps, Runs on your own infrastructure via Docker, Registered Community adds folders and debug features
1 shared project, 5 concurrent executions
2,500 workflow executions per month, Unlimited users, About 2,300 AI credits per month, Forum support
3 shared projects, 20 concurrent executions
10,000 workflow executions per month, Up to about 13,700 AI credits per month, Admin roles, workflow history and 7 day insights
6 shared projects
40,000 workflow executions per month, SSO, SAML and LDAP, Self hosted option and Git version control, 30 day insights
Quoted, contact sales
Custom execution volume, 200 plus concurrent executions, Unlimited shared projects and 365 day insights, External secret store integration, Dedicated support with an SLA and invoice billing
From their published pricing, August 2026. Cloud plans are quoted in euro and billed by workflow execution rather than by seat: Starter 20 euro per month billed annually for 2,500 executions, Pro 50 euro for 10,000, Business 667 euro for 40,000, Enterprise quoted. Monthly billing costs more than the annual rates shown. The self hosted Community edition is free. Check their pricing page.
Zapier100 tasks per month, two step Zaps only, no premium apps, webhooks or paths
Unlimited Zaps at two steps each, Basic AI access and Copilot with daily limits
Priced by task tier from 750 up to 2,000,000 tasks per month, reaching about $3,389 per month on annual billing at the top tier
Multi step Zaps, unlimited premium apps, Webhooks, paths and filters, AI by Zapier and 30 second code runtime, Email and live chat support
25 seats, priced by task tier from 2,000 up to 2,000,000 tasks per month
25 users with shared workflows and folder permissions, SAML SSO and priority support, 6 month audit logs
Quoted, contact sales
Unlimited users and annual task limits, SCIM provisioning and advanced admin controls, Technical account manager, custom data retention, observability API
From their published pricing, August 2026. Professional starts at about $19.99 per month on annual billing, or $29.99 monthly, for 750 tasks, and scales with task volume to about $3,389 per month on annual billing at 2,000,000 tasks. Team starts at about $69 per month on annual billing, or $103.50 monthly. Annual billing is advertised as 33 percent off. Check their pricing page.
n8n pros
- Self hostable, so workflow data and credentials can stay inside your own infrastructure
- Priced per workflow execution with unlimited users on every cloud plan
- JavaScript and Python code steps anywhere in a flow, plus a generic HTTP node for any unlisted API
- AI agent nodes with multiple model providers, retrieval patterns, human in the loop approvals and MCP support
- Large public template library, over 10,000 templates claimed, and a community of more than 200,000 members
n8n cons
- Not OSI open source, the Sustainable Use License restricts offering n8n itself as a service
- The price step from Pro at 50 euro to Business at 667 euro per month is large for teams that outgrow 10,000 executions
- Around 500 pre built nodes, well below the connector counts of the largest no code platforms
- A reviewer reports the depth can overwhelm beginners and that documentation examples can be sparse
Zapier pros
- More than 9,000 app integrations, the widest catalogue in the category
- Non technical staff can ship useful automations in an afternoon, with a large template library to start from
- Escape hatches for edge cases: webhooks, JavaScript and Python code steps, and an API
- Products beyond automation, including Tables, Interfaces, Chatbots, Agents and an MCP server for AI assistants
- Free plan and a 14 day Professional trial with no credit card, so evaluation costs nothing
Zapier cons
- Task based billing scales with every action step, and reviewers report costs ramping quickly at volume
- Webhooks, paths and multi step Zaps require the Professional plan, so the free tier is mostly a demo
- Reviewers report that managing and debugging complex or nested workflows gets difficult
- No self hosting, so data always passes through Zapier's cloud
It depends on volume and headcount rather than a single headline. Self hosting the n8n Community edition is free, and in their published pricing in August 2026 cloud Starter is 20 euro per month billed annually for 2,500 executions, Pro is 50 euro for 10,000 and Business is 667 euro for 40,000, with unlimited users on every plan. In Zapier's published pricing in August 2026, Professional starts at about $19.99 per month on annual billing, or $29.99 monthly, for 750 tasks, and Team starts at about $69 on annual billing, or $103.50 monthly, for 2,000 tasks. The units differ: Zapier counts a task for each successful action step, so a multi step Zap consumes several tasks per run, while n8n counts one execution per workflow run. Check both pricing pages and model your own volume.
Yes, and many teams do. Both expose webhooks and HTTP steps, and n8n documents interoperating with Zapier and similar tools that way. A common split is running heavy multi step data and enrichment pipelines in n8n while leaving long tail app to app connections in Zapier, where the connector catalogue is larger.
Zapier has the wider catalogue at more than 9,000 apps, a linear editor with filters, paths and delays, JavaScript and Python code steps, and extra products including Tables, Interfaces, Chatbots and Agents. n8n has self hosting, code steps anywhere in a flow, agent nodes with multiple model providers and MCP support, unlimited users on every cloud plan, and Git based version control on Business and Enterprise. Zapier offers no self hosting or on premises deployment, and n8n's roughly 500 pre built nodes sit well below the largest connector catalogues.
Reviewers report that it is. A SourceForge reviewer reports that n8n's depth can overwhelm beginners and that documentation examples can be sparse, while Zapier reviewers report building useful automations from templates quickly. The gap narrows as workflows get complex, since Zapier reviewers also report a steep learning curve on multi step logic and conditional paths and difficulty debugging nested workflows.
One of these tools is ours.
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