Best Process Automation

Zapier vs n8n

n8n ranks #3 and Zapier #4. Zapier is the easiest tool on this site; n8n costs far less at volume and runs on your own servers.

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Short answer

n8n scores 8.0 and Zapier 8.0: Zapier leads on ease, app count and support, n8n on power, price and governance. A month of 2,000 five-step runs costs €20 on n8n Starter and $129 on Zapier Professional, both billed annually31.

Pick Zapier if
the people building automations are not developers, or an app you need is in Zapier's 9,000+ catalog and nowhere else1.
Pick n8n if
you have developers, run thousands of runs a month, or need self-hosting or EU cloud hosting in Frankfurt35.
Zapier and n8n compared
Zapiern8n
Our score8.08.0
Free optionFree plan: 100 tasks a month, two-step Zaps1Free self-hosted Community edition2
Paid plans from$19.99/mo billed annually, 750 tasks1€20/mo billed annually, 2,500 executions3
Billing unitTasks: one per successful action step4Executions: one per full run3
2,000 five-step runs a month (estimate)$129, billed annually1€20, billed annually3
Self-hostingNo self-hosted edition listed1Yes, on Docker, AWS, Azure or Google Cloud5
Apps9,000+1500+ native6
AI building helpCopilot drafts Zaps on every plan7n8n Assistant helps create, edit and fix workflows8
Security reportsSOC 2 Type II and SOC 39SOC 2 Type 2 and SOC 310

Scores by criterion

Zapier

Score breakdown for Zapier
Ease of use 20%9.0
Power 25%8.0
Integrations 15%9.0
Price and value 20%6.0
Security and governance 10%7.5
Support and ecosystem 10%8.5

n8n

Score breakdown for n8n
Ease of use 20%6.5
Power 25%9.0
Integrations 15%7.5
Price and value 20%8.5
Security and governance 10%9.0
Support and ecosystem 10%7.5

Visit Zapier (opens the Zapier website)Visit n8n (opens the n8n website)

Questions people ask

Is n8n better than Zapier?

n8n ranks #3 and Zapier #4 on this site. n8n fits developers and high volume; Zapier fits non-developers and scores 9.0 on ease against n8n's 6.5711.

Why does n8n cost less than Zapier at volume?

n8n counts one execution per full workflow run, however many steps it has3. Zapier counts a task for each successful action step4, so a five-step workflow uses 4 Zapier tasks a run, or 5 if the trigger counts as Zapier's rates page shows12, and 1 n8n execution.

Does Zapier have a self-hosted version?

No. Zapier stores data on AWS in the United States and lists no self-hosted edition91.

Sources

  1. Zapier. Plans & Pricing | Zapier | Zapier. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  2. n8n GmbH. Compare editions | Deploy | n8n Docs. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  3. n8n GmbH. n8n Plans and Pricing - n8n.io. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  4. Zapier Help Center. How is task usage measured in Zapier?. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  5. n8n GmbH. Host n8n | Deploy | n8n Docs. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  6. n8n GmbH. AI Workflow Automation Platform - n8n. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  7. Zapier Help Center. Use the power of AI to generate Zap workflows. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  8. n8n GmbH. Use n8n Assistant | Build | n8n Docs. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  9. Zapier. Zapier | Secure and Compliant AI Orchestration at Scale. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  10. n8n GmbH. n8n Trust Center. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  11. n8n GmbH. Choose how to use n8n | n8n Docs. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  12. Zapier. Zapier Tasks Explained: Plans, Limits, Zaps, MCP & More | Zapier. Checked 9 Nov 2026.