Feature lists won't settle this one; both platforms can build almost any workflow. The decision comes down to two things: how each one bills, and whether you're willing to self-host. Use the Quick answer, cost table (1k / 10k / 50k) and 3-year TCO above — then read the billing caveats below.
The billing unit is the whole game
- Make bills in credits — standard module runs generally consume one credit, while some Make AI features use variable credits. A 15-module standard scenario that runs 1,000 times is roughly 15,000 credits.
- n8n bills per execution — one full workflow run counts once, whether it has 5 nodes or 50.
That means workflow shape matters. A multi-module workflow can consume many Make credits per run while n8n Cloud generally bills one workflow execution. AI modules and retries can change actual usage; measure both before choosing.
Simple, short scenarios flip it: Make's free and low tiers are generous when workflows are 2–4 modules, and its per-operation price is tiny at small scale.
Self-hosting: n8n's trump card
n8n's Community Edition is source-available and free with unlimited executions on your own server — a $5/month VPS runs serious automation loads. Make has no equivalent. If your team can run Docker, Cloud TCO above is the ceiling, not the floor: self-host drops execution fees to $0. That's also the honest caveat: self-hosting means you own updates, backups and uptime. The cost table shows n8n Cloud so SaaS quotes stay comparable to Make.
AI workflows
n8n treats AI agents as first-class citizens: native LangChain agent nodes, vector stores, RAG pipelines, and a template library where 67% of new templates already use AI nodes. Make has AI modules and an assistant, but agentic patterns (tool-calling loops, multi-agent handoffs) fit n8n's model more naturally. Most of the ready-made AI agent templates you'll find — including ours — ship as n8n JSON.
Hidden costs and limits
- n8n Cloud caps active workflows on lower tiers (5 on Starter) — automation-heavy teams hit that before they hit execution limits.
- Make credits can rise when scenarios include iterators, retries or variable-credit AI modules; model a worst-case month in the automation cost calculator.
- n8n's learning curve is real: expressions, JSON wrangling and node debugging. Make's UI is friendlier for marketers.
When to choose neither
Two apps, one trigger, no logic — Zapier's free tier or a native integration does it with less friction (see Zapier vs Make). Enterprise governance needs (SSO, audit logs, SOC2 reporting) point to Workato instead.
Choose n8n if workflows are complex or AI-driven, someone on the team is technical, or you want the self-hosted free option in your back pocket. Choose Make if visual simplicity for non-developers matters more and your scenarios stay short.
If the real pain is slow lead response (not tool price), model incremental gross profit with the lead recovery ROI calculator before you buy more seats.
Pricing sources
- n8n pricing — verified 2026-07-01
- Make pricing — verified 2026-06-12
Originally published on StackPick — verified SaaS pricing, cost calculators and tool comparisons. Free n8n templates: github.com/marcelobm33/stackpick-n8n-templates
Top comments (0)