Make.com, Zapier, and n8n will do the same job, but they count what you use in three different ways, so the same workflow lands in three different usage numbers, and the gap widens with every step and every run. Here is how to do the math for your own volume, from what each vendor publishes, with no invented totals.
Three different billing models
This is what confuses most businesses: each platform counts differently. These are the vendors' own pages, read on 11 October 2026.
- Zapier charges per task. Its pricing page says a task is counted “whenever Zapier successfully completes a unit of work for you”, and that failed actions, triggers and polling do not consume tasks. A workflow with a trigger plus three actions is three tasks per run. (Zapier pricing)
- Make.com charges per credit. Its pricing page says each module action in a scenario “counts as one credit”, and lists the Core plan at $9 a month for 10,000 credits. (Make pricing)
- n8n charges per execution on cloud: “a single run of your entire workflow”, however many steps it has. A standard self-hosted version is available on GitHub. (n8n pricing)
At a glance
- Zapier: per task, one for each successful action. Best at integration breadth and simplicity.
- Make.com: per credit, one for each module action. Best at price-to-performance and visual data work.
- n8n: per whole run on cloud, or on your own server when self-hosted. Best at high volume, control and compliance.
The math at scale
At low volume the difference is small. At high volume it is large, and you can see why from the definitions alone.
Take a workflow with five steps, one trigger and four actions, that runs 100,000 times a month.
- On Zapier the four actions count and the trigger does not: about 400,000 tasks.
- On Make, if each of the five modules counts, about 500,000 credits.
- On n8n each run counts once: 100,000 executions.
Then open each pricing page and find the cheapest plan that covers your number. Price lists change, so we do not freeze a total here. One thing the page we read does show: n8n's cloud plans listed there stop at 10,000 executions a month (Pro), and the 40,000 Business tier is listed as self-hosted only. At 100,000 runs a month that points to self-hosting or a custom quote, which is the real reason volume pushes teams toward n8n.
When each one wins
Zapier wins on simplicity and a large app catalogue. If you are a business with no technical team, want to connect two common tools and do not mind paying for convenience, it is the fast choice. Until volume grows, and then the bill hurts.
Make.com wins on price-to-performance and visual data work. Our default for most small businesses in Israel: low operational overhead, enough power and a sane price.
n8n wins at high volume, full infrastructure control, and cases that require self-hosting for compliance or data privacy. It needs someone who can maintain it. The deeper Make-vs-n8n decision (team, data, code) is in our full comparison.
And custom code wins when the workflow is complex enough that any platform would need clumsy workarounds. Sometimes the genuinely cheapest solution is not a platform at all.
What this means for you
Do not pick a platform based on who marketed to you hardest. Pick based on volume, team and data sensitivity. A business running 500 steps a month and one running 500,000 need completely different answers. And if the workflow is a WhatsApp channel, the platform bill is only half the math; the other half is what the bot itself costs.
We build on all three, no agenda. The tool serves the workflow, not the other way around.
Not sure which platform fits your volume? Book a free intro call and we will do the math together, or see what a full build looks like on the automations page.
Sources
- Zapier pricing, fetched 2026-10-11.
- Make pricing, fetched 2026-10-11.
- n8n pricing, fetched 2026-10-11.