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VETTED AUTHORITY

Data report

Automation Platform Pricing Snapshot 2026

What five standard automation workloads cost on Zapier, Make and n8n, computed from verified official prices. Downloadable CSV, embeddable chart and full method.

By Vetted Authority · Published · Original analysis of official prices; no product was tested hands-on.

Key finding

Where both prices were verifiable, Make cost less than Zapier on 4 of 4 standard workloads, up to 10.8x less. n8n, priced in euros, covered four of the five on its entry Starter plan because it bills a whole run as one execution.

Last updated · Last verified

Findings

  1. Solo lead capture: Make's free plan covers it; n8n needs Starter.
  2. Small-business starter stack: Zapier costs 7.4x Make; n8n needs Starter.
  3. Long multi-step process: Zapier costs 10.8x Make; n8n needs Starter.
  4. High-volume simple sync: Make's price is not verifiable at this volume; n8n needs Pro.
  5. Multi-client operations: Zapier costs 10.8x Make; n8n needs Starter.

Every sentence above is generated from the table below at build time. When a vendor changes its prices and the Price Index is updated, the findings, chart and CSV change with it.

Chart

Automation Platform Pricing Snapshot 2026

Per month, billed annually. Bars share one US-dollar scale; n8n prices are in euros and are shown as numbers, not converted.

  • Zapier (USD)
  • Make (USD)
  • n8n (EUR, number only)

  1. W1 · Solo lead capture

    Zapier
    $19.99/mo
    Make
    Free

    n8n: €20/mo (Starter)

  2. W2 · Small-business starter stack

    Zapier
    $89/mo
    Make
    $12/mo

    n8n: €20/mo (Starter)

  3. W3 · Long multi-step process

    Zapier
    $129/mo
    Make
    $12/mo

    n8n: €20/mo (Starter)

  4. W4 · High-volume simple sync

    Zapier
    $129/mo
    Make
    Not verifiable

    n8n: €50/mo (Pro)

  5. W5 · Multi-client operations

    Zapier
    $129/mo
    Make
    $12/mo

    n8n: €20/mo (Starter)

Embed this chart

Free to use with credit. Paste this where you want the chart; it updates when prices change and links back to this report.

The data

Monthly cost of five standard automation workloads, billed annually, in each vendor's own currency
W1 · Solo lead capture1 workflow × 100 runs × 2 steps after the trigger$19.99/moProfessional · 200 tasksFreeFree · 300 credits€20/moStarter · 100 executions
W2 · Small-business starter stack5 workflows × 200 runs × 3 steps after the trigger$89/moProfessional · 3,000 tasks$12/moCore · 4,000 credits€20/moStarter · 1,000 executions
W3 · Long multi-step process2 workflows × 250 runs × 12 steps after the trigger$129/moProfessional · 6,000 tasks$12/moCore · 6,500 credits€20/moStarter · 500 executions
W4 · High-volume simple sync3 workflows × 2,000 runs × 1 step after the trigger$129/moProfessional · 6,000 tasksNot verifiable12,000 credits€50/moPro · 6,000 executions
W5 · Multi-client operations6 workflows × 300 runs × 4 steps after the trigger$129/moProfessional · 7,200 tasks$12/moCore · 9,000 credits€20/moStarter · 1,800 executions

Per month, billed annually, in the currency each vendor publishes; never converted. “Not verifiable” means the Price Index holds no price for that volume, so we show none. Prices last verified .

Download the data as CSV · one row per workload and vendor, with plan, units, price, source URL and verification date

The five standard workloads

W1 · Solo lead capture
A web form lead is added to a CRM and the owner gets a notification. 1 × 100 runs × 2 steps
W2 · Small-business starter stack
Five everyday workflows (leads, invoices, onboarding, reviews, reminders), 200 runs each. 5 × 200 runs × 3 steps
W3 · Long multi-step process
Two order-processing workflows with 12 steps after the trigger, 250 runs each. 2 × 250 runs × 12 steps
W4 · High-volume simple sync
Three one-step syncs between two apps, 2,000 runs each. 3 × 2,000 runs × 1 step
W5 · Multi-client operations
Six client workflows with four steps after the trigger, 300 runs each. 6 × 300 runs × 4 steps

These are illustrative shapes chosen to show how each billing unit reacts to volume and step count, not averages measured from real customers. Every workload assumes one user and no premium apps.

Methodology

Each workload is described once (workflows × runs × steps after the trigger) and translated into each vendor's own billing unit with the same published mapping our cost comparison calculator uses:

  • Zapier: action steps per run (the trigger is free) (tasks)

    Each successful action step uses 1 task. Trigger steps never use tasks, and neither do Filter or Paths steps or built-in tools such as Formatter and Delay.

  • Make: action modules per run + 1 for the trigger (credits)

    Each module run is one operation, and for non-AI apps 1 operation uses 1 credit. The trigger runs once per scenario run; each later module runs once per bundle it processes. Routers and error handlers use none.

  • n8n: 1 per workflow run, whatever the step count (executions)

    One execution is one full run of a workflow, however many steps it has or however much data it processes.

The engine then walks each vendor's plans from cheapest to most expensive and picks the first plan whose allowance and limits fit. Prices are per month on annual billing, the only term all three publish (n8n's euro page lists annual prices only). Amounts stay in the vendor's currency and are never converted, so n8n's euro figures are never ranked against dollar figures.

Limits: a price the Price Index does not hold stays “Not verifiable”. Make's page shows prices at its default 10,000-credit setting; higher credit tiers sit behind a selector we have not recorded. n8n shows US-dollar prices to US visitors; we record the euro page. Polling triggers, bundles per run, AI steps, taxes and overage can all change a real bill.

Sources

Cite as: Vetted Authority, “Automation Platform Pricing Snapshot 2026”, prices verified Oct 17, 2026.