Choosing your automation platform often comes down to one big question: What’s the real cost of n8n vs Make? A quick glance at their pricing pages can be confusing because they don’t use the same language. Make (formerly Integromat) charges per operation, while n8n charges per workflow execution. This fundamental difference is the key to understanding the long-term value of each platform. This guide will demystify these pricing models, walk you through a practical cost breakdown with a real-world example, and explore the game-changing advantage of n8n’s self-hosting option, so you can confidently decide which tool fits your budget and scaling needs.
The Core Difference: Executions vs. Operations
Let’s be honest, this is the part that trips everyone up. You can’t compare these platforms apples-to-apples without understanding this distinction. It’s like comparing cell phone plans where one charges per minute and the other offers unlimited unlimited calls. They seem similar, but the usage costs can diverge dramatically.
Think of it this way: Imagine you’re building a car from a kit.
- Make’s Operations: Make charges you for every single action you take. You pay for attaching the wheel, tightening a bolt, installing the seat, and connecting the battery. Every step has a cost.
- n8n’s Executions: n8n charges you just once for building the entire car. It doesn’t matter if it was a simple go-kart with 10 steps or a complex sports car with 100 steps. One finished car equals one charge.
What is a Make Operation?
In Make, nearly every module that runs in your scenario consumes at least one operation. If your workflow has a trigger, then reads a spreadsheet, then updates a CRM, and finally sends a Slack message, that’s four modules. Every time that workflow runs, it will consume four operations. If your workflow has branches or loops, that number can skyrocket.
What is an n8n Execution?
In n8n, a workflow running from its trigger to its final node counts as one execution. That same four-step workflow? Just one execution. A much more complex workflow with 50 steps, data transformation, and conditional logic? Still just one execution. This model simplifies cost forecasting, especially for complex, multi-step processes.
Let’s Run the Numbers: A Real-World Pricing Scenario
Okay, theory is great, but let’s see how this plays out with a common business automation. Imagine you want to automate your new lead follow-up process.
The Workflow:
- Trigger: A new lead fills out a form on your website (e.g., Typeform).
- Enrich: The lead’s email is sent to an enrichment service (like Clearbit) to get company data.
- Qualify: A Router checks if the company has more than 50 employees.
- Path A (Large Company): The lead is added to your CRM (e.g., HubSpot) and a Slack notification is sent to the sales team.
- Path B (Small Company): The lead is added to an email marketing sequence (e.g., Mailchimp).
This is a fairly standard workflow. Let’s say you get 2,000 new leads per month.
Calculating the Cost on Make
Each run will involve at least 4 modules (Trigger -> Enrich -> Router -> Action). So, the math is:
- 2,000 leads/month * 4 operations/lead = 8,000 operations/month
Looking at Make’s pricing, the Core plan at $9/month includes 10,000 operations. Perfect. This workflow fits comfortably, and Make appears to be the cheaper option. But what happens when you want to add more steps, like saving the data to a Google Sheet for backup? That’s another operation per run, bumping you to 10,000 operations, right at the plan’s limit.
Calculating the Cost on n8n (Cloud)
With n8n, the calculation is much simpler. It doesn’t matter how many steps are in the workflow.
- 2,000 leads/month = 2,000 executions/month
Looking at n8n’s cloud pricing, the Starter plan at €20/month (around $22 USD) includes 2,500 executions. This also fits perfectly. In this specific scenario, n8n’s cloud plan is more expensive than Make’s entry-level plan. But this isn’t the whole story.
The Game Changer: n8n’s Self-Hosting and Scalability
Now, here’s where the comparison gets really interesting and where, in my experience, n8n pulls ahead for serious users and businesses.
The Self-Hosted Superpower
n8n is source-available, which means you can download it and run it on your own server. What does this mean for pricing? Instead of paying n8n a monthly fee based on usage, you only pay for the server rental. You can get a capable server from providers like DigitalOcean or Hetzner for as little as $5-10 per month.
For that small server fee, you can run a nearly unlimited number of executions. 2,000? 20,000? 2 million? The cost remains the same, constrained only by your server’s processing power. This is an absolutely incredible value proposition for anyone running high-volume or mission-critical automations.
Of course, there’s a trade-off: you need to be comfortable with the technical side of setting it up and maintaining it. But for developers or agencies, it’s a no-brainer.
Cost at Scale: A Quick Comparison
Let’s revisit our lead follow-up workflow, but now it’s more complex (20 steps) and you’re scaling up to 10,000 leads/month.
| Platform | Calculation | Estimated Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Make | 10,000 leads * 20 ops = 200,000 ops | ~$250+ (Requires a high-tier plan) |
| n8n Cloud | 10,000 leads = 10,000 executions | ~$85 (Pro plan at €80/mo) |
| n8n Self-Hosted | 10,000 executions | ~$10-20 (For a capable server) |
As you can see, as complexity and volume increase, Make’s operation-based model becomes significantly more expensive. n8n’s execution-based model, especially the self-hosted option, provides predictable and dramatically lower costs at scale.
So, Which Platform is Right for Your Wallet?
There’s no single right answer, but here’s my expert guidance based on who I see succeeding with each tool.
Choose Make if…
- You’re a non-technical user who wants the most polished, user-friendly experience to start.
- Your automations are simple, with very few steps.
- You have low and predictable monthly volume.
- You want to avoid any and all technical setup and just pay for convenience.
Choose n8n if…
- You are a developer, technically savvy, or willing to learn a little.
- You build complex, multi-step workflows and don’t want to be penalized for it.
- You anticipate your automation volume will grow and need a cost-effective scaling path.
- You are building an agency or a productized service where controlling operational costs is critical to your profitability.
- You require maximum control over your data and workflows by hosting it yourself.
Ultimately, the n8n vs Make pricing debate is less about which is “cheaper” and more about which model aligns with your technical skills and business ambition. Make offers an easy on-ramp, but n8n provides a long-term, scalable, and powerful highway for those ready to take control of their automation stack.
