n8n vs Make vs Zapier: The Real Cost at 5K, 50K and 500K Tasks/Month

Three different billing models — per-task, per-operation, per-execution — that diverge wildly as volume climbs. We map the actual numbers, including the VPS cost of self-hosting n8n, so you can see where the cliff is before your invoice does.

Three billing models, three very different curves

Disclosure: this page contains affiliate links for Make and n8n Cloud. We earn a commission if you sign up through them, at no extra cost to you. Zapier, Automatisch and others are covered editorially with no affiliate relationship. Pricing below is what we verified on vendor pages as of 2026-05-30.

The reason a side-by-side is worth doing is that these three tools don't bill on the same unit, so a number that looks cheap at one volume becomes the expensive option at another.

• Zapier bills per task. A task counts every time a Zap successfully moves data or completes an action. Polling for new data does not count. Overage is billed at 1.25x the base task rate (zapier.com/pricing, 2026-05-30).
• Make bills per operation. Each module action inside a scenario is one credit. A multi-step scenario therefore consumes several operations per run — but each operation is cheap (make.com/en/pricing, 2026-05-30).
• n8n bills per execution. One full workflow run is one execution regardless of how many steps it contains. A 20-node workflow and a 2-node workflow cost the same (n8n.io/pricing, 2026-05-30).

That last distinction is the whole game. If your workflows are step-heavy, n8n's per-execution model is structurally cheaper than Make's per-operation model. If your workflows are mostly single-action, Make's per-op pricing wins on granularity. Zapier's per-task model sits in between on units but is the most expensive in raw price at every tier we checked.

The cost-at-scale table

Use the table at the top of this page as the anchor. A few notes on how to read it honestly:

• Make is the cheapest hosted option at every tier. $9 covers 5K ops (it falls inside the 10K base of the Core plan — the free tier is only 1,000 credits/mo). Roughly $40-45 at 50K, and approximately $338 at 500K — both of those last two are estimates we could not re-confirm on the live slider, so treat them as directional.
• n8n Cloud is mid-priced until it isn't. Pro (EUR 50) includes 10K executions, so it comfortably covers 5K. But Business (EUR 667 / ~$720) only includes 40K — so 50K executions already pushes you into overage or Enterprise. That EUR 667 line is exactly where self-hosting starts to look irresistible (n8n.io/pricing, 2026-05-30).
• Zapier does not flat-publish its per-tier prices. 5K, 50K and 500K are all selectable on the slider, but the exact stickers only appear when you drag it. Our figures are estimates derived from the base plan price plus the 1.25x overage logic. Treat them as order-of-magnitude, and verify on the slider for your exact tier.

Want the no-server option? Start with Make — per-operation billing keeps it the cheapest hosted path across all three volumes.

The n8n self-host VPS math — where the wedge is

This is the line that changes the decision for VPS-comfortable operators. n8n's Community Edition is free software (Sustainable Use License / fair-code) with unmetered executions — you pay only for the server (github.com/n8n-io/n8n, 2026-05-30).

What the server actually needs, per n8n's own docs:

• 5K-50K executions/mo: a 2-vCPU / 4GB instance handles a comfortable load at this range. That's a ~$5 Hetzner CX22 up to a CX41, software $0.
• ~500K executions/mo: a larger box (4 vCPU / 16GB, e.g. Hetzner CX41 ~$17/mo) plus queue mode with PostgreSQL + Redis and multiple workers. SQLite is unsupported for distributed/queue mode (docs.n8n.io/hosting/scaling/queue-mode, 2026-05-30).

So the wedge at 50K executions: n8n Cloud Business is EUR 667 (~$720) for 40K included, versus a single small-to-mid VPS at ~$5-17/mo unmetered. That's a large cost gap in self-host's favor — paid back in roughly 1-3 maintenance hours/month plus the responsibility of running Postgres and Redis yourself.

Real operators report the same shape. One HN user itemized his single Hetzner CPX31 (4 vCPU / 8GB, ~$15/mo) as part of a stack replacing roughly $1,100/mo of SaaS — though the n8n-for-Zapier swap was one $30/mo line of that broader migration, not the whole sum. The savings are real; the trade is that the server, the backups and the upgrades are now yours.

Comfortable on a VPS but don't want to set it up from scratch? n8n Cloud's trial lets you build the workflows first, then decide whether to self-host the same node graph later.

Where each tool actually wins

Make wins when

You want zero server ops, your scenarios are not absurdly step-heavy, and you're under ~500K ops/mo. It is the cheapest hosted option at every tier we verified, and per-operation billing gives you fine-grained cost control.

Zapier wins when

You value the largest app catalog and the gentlest learning curve, and your volume is low enough that price isn't the deciding factor. It is the easiest tool to get a non-technical teammate productive in. It is also the one readers most often leave precisely because per-task pricing punishes growth.

n8n Cloud wins when

You want n8n's per-execution model (great for step-heavy workflows and AI-agent chains) without running infrastructure — and you're below the Business tier ceiling. Above ~40K executions, the economics start pushing you toward self-host.

n8n self-hosted wins when

You can run a $4-20 VPS, you have heavy or growing volume, and ~1-3 maintenance hours/month is cheaper than your SaaS bill. At 50K+ executions this is the runaway cost winner.

What operators say

We pulled these from public Hacker News permalinks. They lean positive on n8n self-host because that's where the cost-conscious crowd congregates; read them as operator sentiment, not a controlled benchmark.

"I self-host n8n and get a ton of mileage out of it. Doesn't cost me a dime."

— monatron, Hacker News, 2025-07-17

"Here is my self-hosted setup (actually ends up being more like ~$1100/month savings, not 2K. I overestimated it!) 1x Hetzner CPX31 VPS: 4 VCPU, 8GB RAM, 160GB DISK (~$15/m)"

— sscarduzio, Hacker News, 2022-07-13

"I can highly recommend n8n. I prefer it over Make.com, Pipedream, Zapier, etc. for automations and AI agent tasks."

— simple10, Hacker News, 2025-05-03

"n8n in my experience using it for 2 years now... it is just a very good product. It's stable. It has a gazillion integrations out of the box and is architectured as a module system so it's easy to create your own."

— hirako2000, Hacker News, 2025-10-09

What we couldn't verify (and you should re-check)

Honest caveats, because the numbers above drive real spend:

• Make's 50K (~$40-45) and 500K (~$338) stickers are estimates. The Core base price ($9 at 10K credits) is confirmed on the pricing page, but exact flat prices at higher credit tiers only appear when you drag the live slider, and a secondary figure for 500K couldn't be re-confirmed on 2026-05-30.
• Zapier's exact 5K/50K/500K prices are slider-only. Our numbers are estimates from base-plan price plus 1.25x overage logic — verify on the slider for your tier.
• n8n Cloud at 50K: Business includes 40K (confirmed). Whether 50K is served by overage or forces an Enterprise upgrade is not flat-stated on the pricing page.
• n8n at 500K executions has no public price — it sits in the custom Enterprise tier, so the only published path at that volume is self-hosting. VPS sizing figures above come from n8n's queue-mode docs plus Hetzner's public list prices, not a load test we ran.

Bottom line: the billing-model contrast (per-task vs per-operation vs per-execution) and the Pro/Business/self-host inflection points are verified. The exact dollar figures at the highest tiers are directional — drag each vendor's slider against your own volume before committing.

What real users say

I self-host n8n and get a ton of mileage out of it. Doesn't cost me a dime.

Here is my self-hosted setup (actually ends up being more like ~$1100/month savings, not 2K. I overestimated it!) 1x Hetzner CPX31 VPS: 4 VCPU, 8GB RAM, 160GB DISK (~$15/m)

I can highly recommend n8n. I prefer it over Make.com, Pipedream, Zapier, etc. for automations and AI agent tasks.

n8n in my experience using it for 2 years now... it is just a very good product. It's stable. It has a gazillion integrations out of the box and is architectured as a module system so it's easy to create your own.

FAQ

Which is cheapest at 50,000 tasks a month?

Self-hosted n8n on a small VPS (~$5-17/mo, executions unmetered) is by far the cheapest if you can run a server. Among hosted-only options, Make's per-operation billing (~$40-45 at this tier, estimated) beats both Zapier and n8n Cloud, whose Business plan (EUR 667 for 40K included) already needs overage at 50K.

Is self-hosting n8n really free?

The software is free — n8n's Community Edition is fair-code with unmetered executions. You still pay for the VPS (~$5-20/mo at these volumes) and for your own time: roughly 1-3 maintenance hours a month, plus running Postgres and Redis yourself once you hit queue mode at high volume.

Why is Zapier's price hard to pin down?

Zapier doesn't flat-publish per-tier prices; you select a task volume on a slider to see the number. It bills per task (each successful action) and charges overage at 1.25x the base rate. Our figures are estimates from the base plan plus that overage logic — check the slider for your exact tier.

What's the difference between a task, an operation and an execution?

A Zapier task is one successful action. A Make operation is one module action inside a scenario, so a multi-step scenario burns several per run. An n8n execution is one full workflow run regardless of step count. That's why step-heavy workflows favor n8n's per-execution model and single-action automations favor Make's per-operation granularity.