n8n vs Make vs Zapier: which fits an Indian business?

The core difference: what you're actually being charged for

This is the single most important thing to understand before comparing headline prices, because the three platforms don't charge for the same unit:

• n8n charges per execution — one execution is one complete run of your entire workflow, from trigger to final step, no matter how many nodes are in between.
• Zapier charges per task — each action that runs (not the trigger) counts as a task. A 5-step Zap with 3 actions uses 3 tasks per run.
• Make charges per operation (credit) — nearly every step counts, including triggers, filters, and routers.

The more steps your workflow has, the more the gap between n8n and the other two widens. A simple 2-step automation costs about the same on any of the three. A 10-step workflow with several conditional branches costs dramatically more on Zapier or Make than on n8n.

2026 pricing snapshot

Prices are billed in USD (n8n and Make list in EUR with a USD equivalent that moves with the exchange rate). Treat these as directional, not exact — all three vendors adjust pricing through the year, and at the time of writing, published third-party sources showed meaningfully different numbers for Zapier's exact plan names and task allowances depending on when they were checked. Confirm current pricing directly on each vendor's pricing page before budgeting.

Which one fits a typical Indian SMB workflow

A concrete example

Take the WhatsApp lead-intake workflow described on our WhatsApp automation page: a message arrives, gets checked against qualification rules, gets a reply, and gets logged in a CRM — roughly 4–5 steps per run.

• On n8n, that's 1 execution per lead. At 500 leads a month, that's 500 executions — comfortably inside even the entry Starter plan.
• On Zapier, that's roughly 3–4 tasks per lead. At 500 leads, that's 1,500–2,000 tasks a month — pushing you into or past the Team tier.
• On Make, that's roughly 4–5 operations per lead. At 500 leads, that's 2,000–2,500 credits — within the Core plan, but leaving less room to add more workflows.

This is a simplified illustration, not a guaranteed cost for your specific setup.

What none of these platforms solve for you

None of the three make architecture decisions for you. Picking the cheapest platform doesn't help if the workflow itself isn't well-designed — with clear rules, sensible error handling, and the right human-approval checkpoints. This is why LukeZigger AI leads every engagement with a written blueprint of the actual workflow before touching any platform.

When none of these are the right first step

If you don't yet have a stable, describable process, no automation platform will fix that — you'll just be paying monthly for something that has to be reconfigured every time your process changes. Map the process first, then automate it.

Common questions

Is n8n harder to use than Zapier?

Its interface is somewhat more technical, since it exposes more of the underlying logic. For a business working with an implementer, this matters less, since the implementer handles that complexity.

Can I switch platforms later if I start on the wrong one?

Yes, though it means rebuilding the workflow logic on the new platform — there's no direct one-click migration between them.

Does self-hosting n8n mean I don't need any technical help?

No — self-hosting removes the license cost but adds responsibility for server setup, updates, and uptime. LukeZigger AI can self-host and manage this for clients who want the lower running cost without taking on the sysadmin work.

Which platform does LukeZigger AI recommend by default?

n8n, for most multi-step Indian SMB workflows — but the right platform is decided per business during the free consultation, not assumed in advance.

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