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Zapier vs n8n: Workflow Automation Platforms Compared

Zapier is a hosted, no-code automation service priced per task; n8n is a workflow tool you can run in its cloud or on your own servers, priced per workflow execution. The two models produce very different bills for the same automation, so this comparison starts with how each one charges and then covers hosting, limits and who each suits.

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Who this is for

Operations and business teams automating across SaaS apps, and technical teams that want to self-host or add code to their automations.

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Zapier vs n8n: Workflow Automation Platforms Compared: criteria compared across 2 products
Criterion
Zapier logoZapier
n8n logon8n
Pricing (verified)From each tool's verified plans, with the date SIDAN checked them.Free plan available; paid plans from USD 19.99 per month, billed annuallyChecked October 24, 2026Paid plans from EUR 20 per month, billed annuallyChecked October 24, 2026
Pricing modelPer task (each step counts), tiered by monthly volume; USDPer workflow execution regardless of steps; EUR, annual billing shown
Free planYes: 100 tasks a month, 1 seat, two-step Zaps, 15-minute pollingNo paid-cloud free plan listed; a free self-hosted community edition is available under the Sustainable Use License
Entry paid plan (as listed 24 Oct 2026)Professional 750 tasks: USD 19.99 per month billed annually or USD 29.99 billed monthlyStarter: EUR 20 per month billed annually, 2,500 executions a month
HostingHosted by Zapier only (no self-hosting described)n8n Cloud (Starter, Pro) or self-hosted (Business); Enterprise either
Who runs the infrastructureZapierYou, when self-hosted; n8n for cloud plans
Documented limitationsOverage at 2.5x base on monthly plans and 1.25x on annual plans; prices set in USDBusiness is self-hosted only; SSO, environments and Git versioning not on Starter or Pro; pricing page has some internal inconsistencies for Pro
Integrations named by the vendorOver 9,000 apps stated on the home page; Claude and ChatGPT via MCPBuilt-in nodes (count not stated here because vendor sources disagree); templates; Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Codex via MCP

Strengths, weaknesses and best fit

Zapier

Hosted automation platform that connects thousands of apps and AI models through multi-step workflows (Zaps), with governance tools for larger organizations. Pricing is based on tasks per month.

Strengths

Hosted and no-code; very large app directory stated by the vendor; AI steps, agents and MCP connection; governance tools on higher tiers

Weaknesses

Each step counts as a task; overage billed at a multiple of the base rate; Free plan limited to two-step Zaps and 15-minute polling; hosted only

Best for

Business teams who want the fastest path to connecting many apps without running anything

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n8n

Workflow automation platform that combines a visual canvas with optional custom code and AI agent features. It can run on n8n Cloud or be self-hosted, and its pricing is based on workflow executions rather than steps.

Strengths

One execution per workflow run regardless of steps; cloud or self-hosted; JavaScript and Python inside workflows; AI agent nodes and MCP server

Weaknesses

Not a standard open-source license (Sustainable Use License); Business plan self-hosted only; prices shown as annual-billing EUR; self-hosting means you operate it

Best for

Technical teams that want control over hosting and cost per execution

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Which to choose, by scenario

A non-technical team connecting popular SaaS apps with occasional runs: Zapier's hosted service and large app directory keep setup short; the Free plan (100 tasks a month, two-step Zaps) is enough to test one process.

A workflow with many steps that runs thousands of times: n8n counts one execution per run regardless of steps, while Zapier counts each step as a task, so compare the two models against your own step counts and volumes before deciding.

Data must stay on your own infrastructure, or you want to extend workflows with JavaScript or Python: n8n offers self-hosting (and a free self-hosted community edition under its Sustainable Use License); Zapier is hosted only on the pages checked.

You need governance across a company (SSO, audit logs, shared workspaces): Zapier's Team and Enterprise tiers and n8n's Business and Enterprise tiers both list these; confirm the exact features and the hosting option each requires.

Conclusion

Choose Zapier for breadth of ready-made integrations and a fully managed service; choose n8n when execution-based pricing, self-hosting or code-level control matter more. Neither is cheaper in general: the answer depends on how many steps your workflows have and how often they run.

How we compared

Research-based comparison. Every figure comes from the vendors' official pricing and documentation pages, recorded as plans in the SIDAN Stack catalog with the date checked; the pricing row above is generated from those verified records and shows currency, unit and billing period exactly as published. We have not tested these products hands-on. Vendor claims are attributed; our own assessment is marked as such. Where a page did not state something plainly, the cell says so instead of guessing. Zapier publishes USD prices; n8n publishes EUR prices as annual-billing amounts only. They are not converted.

This comparison is research-based: it is built from the vendors' official pages, documentation and the sources listed below. SIDAN Stack has not tested these products hands-on unless the text says so, and nothing here is scored or ranked. How we research.

Alternatives and related guides

Tutorial

How to Evaluate a Software Free Plan Before You Depend on It

To evaluate a software free plan, first decide whether it is a permanent plan, a time-limited trial or a credit grant; then convert its caps into your expected usage, check seat limits, find out what happens when you exceed a limit, review history retention and export, read the terms of use, map security features to tiers and price the first paid tier. This guide applies those steps to free plans recorded from official pages on 24 October 2026, including Firecrawl, Apify, Zapier, Supabase, Vercel, Notion, GitHub Copilot and Cursor.

· SIDAN Editorial

Sources

  1. Zapier pricingPricing pageZapier plan names, prices, task limits, overage multipliers and USD billingChecked
  2. Zapier homeOfficialApp count claim and MCP, AI agentsChecked
  3. n8n pricingPricing pagen8n plan names, EUR annual prices, execution counts, execution-based wording, hosting per planChecked
  4. n8n GitHub repositorySustainable Use License and community editionChecked
  5. n8n documentationDocumentationCloud vs self-hosted, code nodes, MCP serverChecked

Last verified . Vendors change their products and prices; confirm details on the official pages before buying.