n8n vs Zapier
Execution-based billing and self-hosting, or the widest connector catalogue in the market?
This is the defining cost decision in automation. Zapier bills per task, so a ten-step workflow consumes ten tasks every time it runs. n8n bills per execution, so the same workflow costs one. At low volume the difference is noise; at ten thousand runs a month it is the entire budget.
Automation
n8n
Source-available automation with real agent nodes
Composite
85
Dimensions won
4 / 8
- Capability
- 90
- Usability
- 74
- Ecosystem
- 84
- Value
- 94
- Support
- 76
Automation
Zapier
The widest connector catalogue in automation
Composite
82
Dimensions won
3 / 8
- Capability
- 80
- Usability
- 92
- Ecosystem
- 98
- Value
- 58
- Support
- 84
[ 01 ] Dimension by dimension
Where each tool actually pulls ahead.
| Dimension | n8n | Zapier | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billing unit | Per workflow execution regardless of step count | Per task, where each step is a task | n8n |
| Connector count | Roughly 400 native plus generic HTTP | 8,000+ maintained integrations | Zapier |
| Self-hosting | Yes, fair-code licence, free | Not available | n8n |
| Learning curve | Moderate; assumes some technical comfort | Low; genuinely non-technical | Zapier |
| Custom code | JavaScript and Python in any node | Limited code steps on higher tiers | n8n |
| Error handling | Explicit error branches, retries, sub-workflows | Autoreplay and basic error paths | n8n |
| Agent capability | Native agent nodes alongside deterministic steps | Agents that plan across the full app catalogue | Even |
| Time to first workflow | An hour or two | Under ten minutes | Zapier |
[ 02 ] The verdict
n8n wins on economics and control by a margin that is difficult to argue with, provided you have someone comfortable running infrastructure or paying for cloud. Zapier remains correct when you need an obscure integration this afternoon and volume is genuinely low.
Choose n8n if
You run deep multi-step workflows, care about cost at scale, need self-hosting for data residency, or want agent nodes and deterministic steps on one canvas.
Read the n8n reviewChoose Zapier if
Your team is non-technical, your workflows are shallow, and you need coverage of long-tail SaaS apps that nobody else connects to.
Read the Zapier review[ 03 ] Related comparisons