Zapier and Make vs self-hosted n8n: what each costs at 2,500, 10,000 and 50,000 runs a month

Short answer

Zapier bills tasks, Make bills credits, and n8n counts executions, so the same workflow is measured three different ways. On paper a self-hosted n8n server is a flat monthly fee whatever the run count, but you pay for it with your own time, backups, and updates. Zapier and Make run the hosting and the maintenance for you, and that is part of what their price pays for.

This page prices one workflow at three volumes. It is not a ranking, and it does not compare features. n8n Cloud against self-hosting is on n8n Cloud vs self-hosted, and the n8n-only cost tables are on what n8n costs by executions.

Three billing units: a Zapier task, a Make credit, an n8n execution

Zapier: tasks

“A task is any successful action that runs in Zapier. Only successful actions count toward your task usage.”

Trigger steps never use tasks, and polls never use tasks. Filter and Paths, Formatter, Delay, and Looping steps do not count either. Zapier's own example: a Gmail trigger, a Dropbox upload, and a Slack message use 2 tasks per run. “If your Zap runs ten times, it will use 20 tasks.” Source: how is task usage measured in Zapier (updated Aug 21, 2026), checked Oct 19, 2026.

Make: credits and operations

“As of August 27, credits are the billing unit in Make. Each action your scenario performs consumes a certain number of credits - most actions consume 1 credit, while some advanced features leveraging Make's AI Provider may use more.”

Make's help pages describe the work in operations. “Non-AI apps: 1 operation equals 1 credit.” (credits). “An operation is a single module run to process data or check for new data.” A trigger module runs once per check, “only run once to check for or retrieve data, regardless of the number of bundles returned” (operations). That is the bundle multiplier: each bundle the trigger returns runs each later module once, so five items in one run use five times the credits of every module after the trigger. Router and error-handler modules use no credits. The pricing page adds: “Your scenario can perform anywhere from two credits to thousands of credits in a single run.” (Make pricing).

A polling or scheduled trigger uses credits on every check, whether it finds data or not. Make's scheduling help, for the trigger module alone: “Running every 5 minutes = 288 credits per day ... Running every hour = 24 credits per day, or 720 credits per month” (schedule your scenario). Checked Oct 19, 2026.

n8n: executions

“An execution is a single run of a workflow.”

“Paid plans, whether cloud or self-hosted, have an execution limit quota. Only production executions count towards this quota.” A polling trigger counts only when it finds new data. A webhook counts one execution per inbound request. Manual, sub-workflow, and error-workflow executions do not count (understand executions).

Self-hosted without a paid plan, there is no n8n execution bill at all. “Community edition: the free edition. This is what n8n runs without a license key.” and “You can stick with the free Community edition indefinitely” (Community edition features). The server is the bill. Checked Oct 19, 2026.

Worked example: one five-step workflow

The assumptions, stated so you can swap in your own:

• One workflow: 1 trigger plus 4 action steps.
• One item per run, so no bundle multiplier in Make.
• No AI steps and no Code steps.
• An instant (webhook) trigger, so Make has no scheduled check runs.
• No filters, paths, or routers.

Per run, that is 4 Zapier tasks (the trigger uses none), 5 Make credits (the trigger module counted as 1 operation, plus 1 per action), and 1 n8n execution. The Make figure uses the Operations page's general trigger rule. A webhook-specific figure was not read, so that one credit is listed under what we could not confirm.

Why Professional and Core: they are the smallest plans with enough units for a multi-step workflow at these volumes. Zapier Free is $0 with 100 tasks a month and two-step Zaps only; multi-step Zaps need Professional. Make Free is $0 with 1,000 credits a month and a 15-minute minimum interval between runs. Make Core and Zapier Professional are not feature-identical. This page compares the unit allowance only.

A cheaper combination may exist: a smaller tier plus Zapier pay-per-task billing, or a smaller Make tier plus extra credits. Zapier's base per-task rate and Make's extra-credit pack price are not published, so that combination is not computed here. Zapier's toggle reads “Pay yearly (Save 33%)”. Make's annual cards show “Save 25%”. Both prices are shown per month.

What the example costs at 2,500 runs a month

The server rows are examples to test, not a claim that a plan handles 2,500 runs. Size the box on how much RAM and CPU n8n needs.

What the example costs at 10,000 runs a month

The server rows are examples to test, not a claim that a plan handles 10,000 runs. Size the box on how much RAM and CPU n8n needs.

What the example costs at 50,000 runs a month

At 50,000 runs a month, self-hosting is a queue-mode question before it is a server price. The server rows are purchasable examples, not a capacity claim. Size the box on how much RAM and CPU n8n needs and the 50,000 cost table.

Costs a price table does not show

Self-hosted n8n

• Your time. Install, updates, monitoring, restore tests, and the incident when something breaks. The formula is your hours per month × your rate. This site has no measured hours and no hourly rate, so it claims neither.
• Backups. Yours to run and to test, including the encryption key. A host snapshot is not that backup. See n8n backups.
• Updates and patching. Yours, on your schedule. See how to update n8n safely.
• Setup. A domain, HTTPS, and a reverse proxy so webhook URLs work. See n8n setup problems.
• Server sizing. A run count does not pick a server. Concurrency, payload, and workflow shape do. See how much RAM and CPU n8n needs.
• Renewal. The tables use the renewal price, not the first term. Domain, backups, and time as their own lines are on what n8n costs by executions.

Zapier and Make

• AI and Code steps. AI by Zapier depends on the model tier. Code by Zapier is 1 task per run on the standard runtime and more on the extended runtime. Zapier MCP is 2 tasks per tool call (task usage). In Make, some advanced features using Make's AI Provider may use more than 1 credit (Make pricing).
• Going over the allowance. Zapier moves to pay-per-task billing: “Your pay-per-task rate depends on your plan and billing cycle—check your billing settings for the exact rate.” The overage is 2.5x the base rate on monthly billing or 1.25x on annual, and stops at 3x the task subscription. Make sells extra credits in “bundles of 1,000 or 10,000 at the fixed price defined in your subscription”. Out of credits, Make scenarios stop until credits are added.
• Make check runs. A scheduled or polling trigger uses credits on every check, found data or not. The example above uses an instant trigger, so it has none. Every hour is 720 credits a month for the trigger alone.
• Allowances do not roll over. Zapier's self-serve task allowance resets monthly, even on an annual subscription. Make credits expire at the end of the term.
• More items per run. In Make, each bundle runs each later module once. A run that returns ten items runs every module after the trigger ten times, so those modules use ten times the credits of the one-item example.
• Taxes. Not stated on the Zapier or Make pricing pages read. Prices here are as listed.

What we could not confirm

These stay blank. They are not guessed, and they are not zero.

• Zapier pay-per-task base rate: — / not published. It depends on the plan and billing cycle and is shown in your billing settings.
• Make extra-credit pack price: — / not published. It is defined in your subscription, not on the pricing page.
• Zapier Enterprise and Make Enterprise prices: — / not published (custom).
• Taxes and VAT for Zapier and Make: — / not published. Not stated on the pricing pages read.
• Whether a Make instant (webhook) trigger run counts exactly one credit: — / not confirmed. The Operations page states the general trigger rule (1 operation per check or retrieve). No webhook-specific figure was read.
• AI step costs on Zapier, Make, and n8n: — / not published as a fixed figure. They vary by model and tokens.
• A paid self-hosted n8n licence: — / not in the dataset. It is only needed for paid features and is not inside the server prices above.

FAQ

What is the difference between a Zapier task, a Make credit, and an n8n execution?

Zapier: "A task is any successful action that runs in Zapier. Only successful actions count toward your task usage." Trigger steps and polls never use tasks. Make: most actions consume 1 credit, and for non-AI apps 1 operation equals 1 credit. An operation is a single module run to process data or check for new data, and each bundle runs each later module once. n8n: "An execution is a single run of a workflow." Paid n8n plans, cloud or self-hosted, have an execution quota. The self-hosted Community edition has no n8n execution bill. Sources checked Oct 19, 2026.

How many tasks, credits, or executions does a five-step workflow use?

With one trigger and four actions, one item per run, no AI steps, no filters, and an instant trigger, one run is 4 Zapier tasks (the trigger uses none), 5 Make credits (the trigger module counted as 1 operation), and 1 n8n execution. At 2,500 runs: 10,000 Zapier tasks (Zapier Professional 10,000 tasks at $129/mo billed yearly · $193.50/mo billed monthly); 12,500 Make credits (Make Core 20,000 credits at $21/mo billed yearly · $28/mo billed monthly). At 10,000 runs: 40,000 Zapier tasks (Zapier Professional 50,000 tasks at $289/mo billed yearly · $433.50/mo billed monthly); 50,000 Make credits (Make Core 80,000 credits at $72/mo billed yearly · $97/mo billed monthly). At 50,000 runs: 200,000 Zapier tasks (Zapier Professional 200,000 tasks at $769/mo billed yearly · $1,149/mo billed monthly); 250,000 Make credits (Make Core 300,000 credits at $237/mo billed yearly · $321/mo billed monthly). Checked Oct 19, 2026. A cheaper mix of a smaller plan plus pay-per-task or extra credits may exist, but those prices are not published, so it is not computed.

Is self-hosted n8n cheaper than Zapier or Make?

This page does not rank them. On a price table, self-hosted n8n is a server at its renewal price whatever the run count, for example DigitalOcean Basic Droplet 512 MiB: $4/mo at renewal; DigitalOcean Basic Droplet 1 GiB: $6/mo at renewal; Vultr Cloud Compute 1 GB (Regular): $5/mo at renewal; Linode (Akamai) Nanode 1GB: $5/mo at renewal; Sliplane Starter: €9/mo at renewal; Hostinger KVM 1: $11.99/mo at renewal; OVHcloud VPS-1 (2027): renewal not verified; netcup VPS Lite 1 G12.5s: renewal not verified; Hostinger KVM 2: $14.99/mo at renewal; Hostinger KVM 4: $28.99/mo at renewal; Contabo Cloud VPS 4: renewal not published (host prices checked Oct 19, 2026). That table does not include your time (your hours per month times your rate; this site claims neither), backups including the encryption key, updates, or setup. Zapier and Make run the hosting and maintenance for you. Put your own hours next to the table before you compare.

Do polling triggers use tasks, credits, or executions?

Zapier: polls never use tasks. Make: a polling trigger uses credits on each check; Make's scheduling help says "Running every 5 minutes = 288 credits per day ... Running every hour = 24 credits per day, or 720 credits per month" for the trigger module alone. Make Free has a 15-minute minimum interval between runs. n8n: a polling trigger counts an execution only when it finds new data. Checked Oct 19, 2026.

What happens when I go over my Zapier tasks or Make credits?

Zapier moves to pay-per-task billing. "Your pay-per-task rate depends on your plan and billing cycle—check your billing settings for the exact rate." The overage is 2.5x the base rate on monthly billing or 1.25x on annual, and stops at 3x the task subscription. The base per-task rate is — / not published. Make sells extra credits in bundles of 1,000 or 10,000 at the fixed price defined in your subscription; the pack price is — / not published. Out of credits, Make scenarios stop until credits are added. Checked Oct 19, 2026.

Sources

• Zapier pricing (zapier.com): Professional tiers, both billing toggles, Free, pay-per-task billing. Checked Oct 19, 2026.
• How is task usage measured in Zapier (help.zapier.com): task counting and the Gmail, Dropbox, and Slack example (article updated Aug 21, 2026). Checked Oct 19, 2026.
• Make pricing (make.com): Core tiers, both billing toggles, Free, credits, extra credits. Checked Oct 19, 2026.
• Make help: credits (help.make.com): operations and credits for non-AI apps. Checked Oct 19, 2026.
• Make help: operations (help.make.com): what an operation is, trigger modules, and bundles. Checked Oct 19, 2026.
• Make help: schedule your scenario (help.make.com): credits used by scheduled check runs. Checked Oct 19, 2026.
• n8n: understand executions (docs.n8n.io): what an execution is, the paid-plan quota, polling and webhooks. Checked Oct 19, 2026.
• n8n: Community edition features (docs.n8n.io): the free Community edition. Checked Oct 19, 2026.