n8n vs Zapier: Which Automation Tool Should You Buy?
Pick n8n when you want to pay per completed workflow execution and you may self-host. Pick Zapier when you want a no-code platform billed in tasks — each successful action step consumes tasks from a monthly allowance — and you need Zapier’s connector catalog, multi-step Zaps, and (on Team) shared connections.
- n8n, official page checked November 6, 2026: Starter 20€/month billed annually; Pro 50€/month billed annually; Cloud trial 1,000 executions / 14 days. Official FAQ: Pro-1 = 10,000 executions; Pro-2 = 50,000.
- Zapier, official pricing page checked November 6, 2026: Free $0 / 100 tasks/month (two-step Zaps). Professional from $19.99/month billed annually or $29.99 billed monthly for 750 tasks. Team from $69/month billed annually or $103.50 billed monthly for 2,000 tasks (25 users). Enterprise is custom.
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By Unfair Advantage · Updated November 6, 2026. Related: n8n review · n8n pricing · n8n vs Make.
1. Who should pick which
This is a pairwise decision between execution billing (n8n) and task billing (Zapier).
Choose n8n when…
- A workflow has many action steps and runs often — you do not want each step to multiply the invoice.
- You may self-host, or you want code nodes and arbitrary HTTP as first-class tools.
Choose Zapier when…
- You want a hosted no-code builder with a large connector catalog and (from Professional up) multi-step Zaps, Filters, Paths, and Formatter.
- A published task tier — starting at 750 tasks on Professional — matches how many successful action steps you actually fire.
- You need Team features: 25 users, shared Zaps and app connections, SAML SSO.
UA did not create accounts. Prices come from n8n’s official pricing/docs/FAQ and from Zapier’s official pricing page, checked November 6, 2026.
2. What you are actually buying
| Question | n8n | Zapier |
|---|---|---|
| Billing unit | One execution = one complete workflow run. | Tasks. A successful Zap step (and programmatic calls such as MCP) consume tasks. Triggers, polling, and built-in tools (Filter, Paths, Formatter, Delay, and several others Zapier lists) do not. Failed actions are not counted. |
| Free start | 14-day Cloud trial (1,000 executions). Community edition if you self-host. | Ongoing Free plan: 100 tasks/month, two-step Zaps only, 15-minute polling. 14-day Professional trial, no card. |
| Paid entry | Starter 20€/mo billed annually. | Professional, 750 tasks: $19.99/mo billed annually or $29.99 billed monthly. |
| Team / collaboration | Unlimited users on the Cloud cards we fetched; shared projects 1 on Starter, 3 on Pro. | Team plan: from $69/mo billed annually for 2,000 tasks, 25 users, shared connections, SAML SSO. |
| Going over | Starter/Pro overage described as capped; we did not fetch a public per-execution overage sticker. | Pay-per-task is on by default on paid plans. Overage is 2.5× the base rate on monthly billing, 1.25× on annual. Usage pauses at 3× the task subscription even with pay-per-task on. |
Zapier also publishes a full task-tier table up to 2,000,000 tasks/month (for example Professional at 5,000 tasks is $89/mo billed annually or $133.50 monthly; at 10,000 tasks $129 / $193.50). Annual subscriptions are described as 33% off the monthly rate.
3. Real cost by scenario
Scenario A — 1,000 runs of a Zap/workflow with 1 trigger + 5 successful action steps
n8n: 1,000 executions. That matches the Cloud trial cap and sits under official Pro-1 (10,000 executions).
Zapier: triggers do not count, so 1,000 × 5 = 5,000 tasks. That overflows Professional’s 750-task entry ($19.99 annual / $29.99 monthly) and matches the published 5,000-task Professional row at $89/month billed annually (or $133.50 billed monthly). If pay-per-task stayed on at the 750-task tier instead, overage would bill at the published multiplier and pause at 3×750 = 2,250 tasks — not enough to cover 5,000.
Scenario B — 1,000 runs of a 1-trigger + 1-action Zap
n8n: still 1,000 executions. Zapier: 1,000 tasks, which overflows Free (100) and the 750-task Professional entry, and fits the published 1,500-task Professional row at $39/month billed annually (or $58.50 monthly). Short Zaps narrow the gap; they do not make the units identical.
Scenario C — 100 runs of a 1-trigger + 1-action Zap
n8n: 100 executions (inside the 1,000-execution trial). Zapier: 100 tasks, which is exactly the Free plan’s monthly allowance — and Free is limited to two-step Zaps, which this scenario is.
Scenario D — You must self-host
n8n Community edition has no license fee. Zapier’s public materials describe a hosted SaaS. If self-hosting is the constraint, n8n is the product in this pair.
4. How billing behaves
n8n: count complete runs. Cloud cards we fetched are in euro, billed annually. Watch concurrent executions and max duration as separate caps.
Zapier: pick a plan level (Free / Professional / Team / Enterprise) and a task tier. The monthly task allowance resets each month even on an annual subscription (Enterprise uses an annual task limit instead). Built-in logic tools Zapier lists do not consume tasks; many AI and MCP actions consume more than one — see Zapier’s rate card rather than assuming 1:1.
5. Pitfalls
- Comparing 20€ Starter to $19.99 Professional as if 750 Zapier tasks equalled an n8n execution quota.
- Counting Zapier triggers as tasks (official materials: they do not count).
- Leaving pay-per-task on and assuming the 750-task plan can absorb a 5,000-task month (the pause ceiling is 3×).
- Expecting Free Zapier to run multi-step Zaps — Free is two-step only.
- Inventing n8n’s Starter execution quota.
6. Decision
| If your situation is… | Pick |
|---|---|
| Many action steps, frequent runs, or you may self-host | n8n |
| Hosted no-code, wide catalog, published task tiers | Zapier |
| 1,000 runs of a 5-action Zap | See Scenario A: Zapier is a 5,000-task (about $89 annual) story; n8n is 1,000 executions |
| You actually wanted Make’s credit-per-module SaaS | Wrong pairwise — n8n vs Make |
There is no universal cheaper logo. Multi-step, high-frequency workflows favor n8n’s execution meter. Teams who want Zapier’s catalog and collaboration features should price the matching task tier, not the $19.99 entry row. Neither tool has a promotional button here.
7. FAQ
Is n8n cheaper than Zapier?
It depends on how many successful Zapier action steps each run fires. See scenarios A–C.
Do Zapier Filters and Paths consume tasks?
Official pricing materials: Filter, Paths, Formatter, Delay, and several other built-in tools do not count toward the task allowance.
Do you have affiliate links?
Not for either vendor at the time this page was written.
8. Sources
- n8n official pricing page, docs, and Assistant-credits FAQ (checked November 6, 2026)
- Zapier official pricing page (checked November 6, 2026)