n8n vs Make: Comparing Workflow Automation Platforms

The short answer

n8n and Make are both workflow automation platforms that connect apps through triggers and actions, but they differ most in how they charge and where they run. n8n charges per workflow execution and can be self-hosted, which suits teams that want data control and are comfortable operating software. Make charges in credits (most actions use one) and is offered as a hosted service, which may suit teams that want to start quickly without running infrastructure. Neither is the right answer for everyone; the sections below set out when each fits and when to choose something else.

For background on the category, see our explainer on what workflow automation is. All plan details below are as listed on 24 October 2026 and may have changed. We did not test either product hands-on.

At a glance

Who each platform is for

n8n's documentation presents two routes: Cloud, which it describes as fully managed and suited to people who want to start quickly or lack technical expertise, and self-hosted, which gives full control over deployment and configuration while you handle setup and maintenance. Make's site and help center describe a hosted product built around scenarios, with a library of app integrations. The vendor positioning is a starting point; the right choice depends on your own constraints, covered in the scenarios below.

Features side by side

Only documented points are compared here.

• Building blocks. n8n describes a workflow as connected nodes that start with a trigger and then run in sequence. Make's help center organizes its content around scenarios, with modules and routes that can carry notes explaining their logic.
• Custom integrations. n8n's documentation says the HTTP Request node is the fallback when no node exists for a service, and that you set up authentication and the API call yourself. Make's integrations page says its HTTP app and other no-code tools can connect to any application or service that provides an API.
• Failure handling. Make's help center describes incomplete executions that store failed runs so they can be resolved automatically or manually. We did not verify an equivalent n8n feature in the pages we read, so we make no comparison.
• Team features. n8n's documentation says features including SSO, environments, projects, external secrets, log streaming, Git version control and workflow and credential sharing require a paid plan or edition.

Pricing model and limits

n8n

n8n's pricing page says pricing is based on monthly workflow executions, regardless of complexity, and that all plans include unlimited users, unlimited active workflows and every integration. As listed on 24 October 2026, with annual billing shown:

• Starter: from 20 euros per month, 2.5K executions per month, n8n Cloud.
• Pro: from 50 euros per month, 10K executions per month, n8n Cloud.
• Business: 667 euros per month, 40K executions per month, listed as available for self-hosted n8n only, with SSO and LDAP, queue mode and Git version control.
• Enterprise: contact sales; cloud or self-hosted.

The page says that if you exceed your quota, workflows continue to run without interruption, and overages are invoiced 45 days after they occur. It also lists a free Community Edition on GitHub, and says Business and Enterprise self-hosted instances need a license key. The page showed some internal inconsistencies for the Pro plan (for example concurrency figures), so confirm plan limits there before deciding.

Make

Make's pricing page says credits are the billing unit and that most actions consume one credit, while some advanced features using Make's AI Provider may use more. Router modules and certain error-handler modules (Rollback, Break, Resume, Commit, Ignore) are listed as consuming no credits. Make's help center adds that credits replaced "operations" as the billing term, and that with custom connections to third-party AI apps you pay the AI provider directly for tokens. The Free plan is listed with 1,000 credits per month; Core, Pro, Teams and Enterprise plans are named on the page. Extra credits are sold in bundles of 1,000 or 10,000 and expire (extra credits after one month on monthly plans, or at year end on annual Pro and Teams). The page also says that when credits run out, scenarios do not continue to run until more are added. Allowances such as data transfer and storage scale with the credit volume; see the page for the figures.

Make's list prices are not quoted here: when we checked on 24 October 2026 the pricing page rendered its plan cards with scripts, so the amounts were not readable as page text, and we do not copy prices from third-party sites. The credit mechanics above are from Make's own pricing page and help centre; for current plan prices open Make's pricing page.

Why the models can produce very different bills (illustrative)

Suppose a hypothetical workflow has five steps and runs 1,000 times a month. Under n8n's execution-based model that is 1,000 executions, because the page says pricing does not depend on complexity. Under Make's model, if each of the five actions consumed one credit, that would be roughly 5,000 credits, though actual consumption depends on the modules used and some are free or heavier. The numbers are invented to illustrate the mechanics; they are not a price comparison.

Ease of use and learning curve

Vendor claims. n8n says Cloud suits people who lack technical expertise to host; Make offers a "Get started" section with guides to learning the basics and building a first scenario.

Editorial assessment, not hands-on. Based only on the documentation structure, Make's hosted model removes server tasks, and n8n's self-hosted route adds them (its docs describe options such as Docker Compose, and queue mode needs Redis and a PostgreSQL-class database for scaling). For custom integrations, both rely on an HTTP-based fallback. Whether either feels easier to build in is something we have not tested and cannot say.

Integrations and compatibility

Make states a library of 3,500+ applications; this is a vendor claim as of our fetch. n8n's documentation describes built-in nodes, community nodes and the HTTP Request node but we did not capture a node count, so no numerical comparison is made. If a specific app matters to you, check each vendor's integration list for it, and check what actions that integration supports, not just that it exists.

Security and compliance claims

These are what the vendors say; SIDAN has not audited or certified anything.

• Make says on its security page: "Along with GDPR adherence, we have completed SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 audits," and that it operates an information security program that is ISO 27001 certified. It describes AES-256 encryption at rest, TLS 1.2 and 1.3 in transit, and infrastructure on Amazon AWS. The page, as we read it, did not state where customer data is physically stored.
• n8n's trust center lists GDPR, SOC 2 Type 2 and SOC 3 under compliance and offers SOC 2, SOC 3 and penetration test reports, plus self-assessment questionnaires for cloud and self-hosted customers. n8n's legal page also says a pre-signed data processing agreement is available to download. The trust center did not describe audit scope or dates.
• Self-hosting lets you keep workflow data on infrastructure you control, but then securing, patching and backing up that infrastructure is your responsibility.

Always read the current reports and agreements yourself, and ask whether they cover the specific plan and region you will use.

Scalability and operations

n8n documents a queue mode in which a main instance places executions on a Redis queue and separate workers run them. It requires Redis and a shared database (PostgreSQL recommended, SQLite not supported for this setup), and you scale by adding workers. Multi-main mode for high availability is listed as an Enterprise self-hosted feature. n8n's Starter and Pro Cloud plans list concurrency and execution duration limits on the pricing page. Make lists usage allowances such as data transfer, storage, webhook queue size and data store limits that scale with credits. Data portability, rate limits against third-party APIs and workflow export were not examined here.

Licensing also matters for self-hosting. n8n's source code license (the Sustainable Use License) permits use for your own internal business purposes but does not allow commercial distribution or provision to others, and files marked as enterprise require a valid enterprise license. If you plan to resell n8n-based services, read the license itself or seek legal advice.

Pros and cons

n8n

• Pro: self-hosting option and execution-based pricing that does not depend on workflow complexity.
• Pro: unlimited users and active workflows on all listed plans.
• Con: self-hosting requires operational skill, and some team features need paid editions.
• Con: the Business edition was listed as self-hosted only on the date checked.

Make

• Pro: hosted service with a stated large integration library and a Free plan.
• Pro: some modules, such as routers and certain error handlers, are listed as costing no credits.
• Con: credits are consumed by most actions, so multi-step scenarios can use credits quickly.
• Con: scenarios stop when credits run out, and credits expire at the end of the term.

Realistic scenarios

1. Solo founder, no technical background, light usage. A hosted service with a free entry plan is likely the lower-friction path: Make's Free plan or an n8n Cloud trial. Compare how many steps your workflows have against each model before paying.
2. Small team with a developer and data-control requirements. n8n's self-hosted route may fit, provided someone is willing to own updates, backups and monitoring. Weigh that effort against the cost of a managed plan.
3. Agency or company with many multi-step workflows and variable volume. Model your expected runs under both pricing models, since long workflows with few runs and short workflows with many runs behave differently. Check which behavior at the limit (continue and invoice, or stop) you can tolerate.

When to choose each

Consider n8n if you want self-hosting, execution-based pricing or the option to run on your own infrastructure. Consider Make if you want a hosted service with a large stated integration library and prefer not to run servers. If you need a particular compliance document, check each vendor's current report rather than relying on the summary above.

When to choose neither

• You only need one or two simple actions inside a tool you already use, in which case its built-in automation features may be enough.
• Your process needs many human approvals within a single business system, where that system's own workflow engine may fit better.
• No integration exists and the target system has no usable API, where robotic process automation (see our explainer) or a custom script may be needed.
• Your data handling rules forbid third-party processors and you cannot operate self-hosted software; a different approach, or no automation, may be appropriate.

Alternatives worth considering

We did not verify specific competitor products for this article, so we name categories rather than products: other no-code integration platforms, tools with built-in automation inside your CRM or project management software, open-source or self-hosted orchestration tools, and custom scripts maintained by a developer. To compare tools of any kind against your own requirements, use the checklist in how to evaluate AI automation tools for a small business. See also our comparison index and tools directory.

How we researched this

This comparison is research-based. On 24 October 2026 an editor opened the official n8n pricing page, n8n documentation (hosting options, queue mode, integrations, workflows), n8n's license text on GitHub, the n8n legal and trust pages, Make's pricing page, Make help center pages and Make's integrations and security pages, and wrote the analysis in original wording. No hands-on testing of either product was done, and learning-curve statements are labelled as editorial assessment. Pricing, limits and compliance statuses change frequently; confirm them on the vendors' pages.

Disclosure

SIDAN may earn commissions from some links elsewhere on the site. None of the links in this article are affiliate links unless labelled, and our recommendations are not influenced by payment.

Official references: n8n pricing, Make pricing and n8n queue mode documentation.