Zapier vs n8n
Plans, free access, limits and intended use side by side, taken from each vendor’s own pages. No score and no winner: the facts show where the two differ.
Change tools
One event in one app, an action in another.
Build workflows in managed Cloud or on your own infrastructure.
- Free access
- Zapier: Free access
- n8n: Free access
- Paid from
- Zapier: USD 19.99 per month
- n8n: EUR 20 per month
- Plans listed
- Zapier: 4
- n8n: 6
- Public API
- Zapier: Yes
- n8n: Yes
Where Zapier and n8n differ
- Pricing checkPrices confirmed for Zapier; pricing review due for n8n.
- PlansZapier lists 4 plans and n8n lists 6.
Head to head
Each value from the tool’s profile and the vendor’s own pages
| Zapier | Fact | n8n |
|---|---|---|
| Access and price | ||
| Free access availableFree | Free accessSame | Free access availableCommunity · Free software |
| USD 19.99 per monthProfessional · billed yearly · USD 29.99 billed monthly; 750 tasks | Lowest listed paid plan | EUR 20 per monthStarter Cloud · billed annually |
| Free plan; paid Professional, Team and Enterprise | Pricing model | Free self-hosted Community; paid Cloud |
| 4 | Plans listedDiffers | 6 |
| Yes | Public APISame | Yes |
| Not required | Card to startSame | Not required |
| No | Open sourceSame | No |
| What it is for | ||
| Connecting web apps without code | Built for | Self-hostable workflow and AI-agent automation |
| Automation | CategorySame | Automation |
| Platforms |
|
| Works with | Not listed |
| How current | ||
| Profile sources checked | ||
| Prices confirmed · Oct 24, 2026 | Pricing checkDiffers | Pricing review due · Sep 24, 2026 |
Official source check for both tools. No hands-on testing and no score: “Differs” marks a documented difference, not a better tool.
Plans and prices
Zapier
Prices confirmed · Oct 24, 2026- FreeFree
- ProfessionalUSD 19.99 per monthbilled yearly · USD 29.99 billed monthly; 750 tasks
- TeamUSD 69 per monthbilled yearly · USD 103.50 billed monthly; 2,000 tasks
- EnterpriseContact for pricing
n8n
Pricing review due · Sep 24, 2026- CommunityFree software
- Cloud trial14-day trial
- Starter CloudEUR 20 per monthbilled annually
- Pro CloudEUR 50 per monthbilled annually
- Business self-hostedEUR 667 per monthbilled annually
Show 1 more plan
- EnterpriseContact provider
Strengths and limits
Zapier
Strengths
- Unlimited Zaps on every plan: Even Free lets you build as many Zaps, tables and forms as you want.
- Many steps cost nothing: Triggers, Filter, Paths, Formatter and Delay steps do not use tasks.
- Failed actions are not billed: Actions that error or halt do not count toward task usage.
Limits to plan around
- Task cost depends on step type: AI steps and Zapier MCP tool calls use more than one task each, so counting visible steps can underestimate usage.
- Free Zaps are two steps only: Free allows one trigger and one action; multi-step Zaps need a paid plan.
- Price rises with task volume: Paid prices are quoted for entry task tiers, and larger tiers cost more.
n8n
Strengths
- Same product on Cloud or your servers: Managed n8n Cloud and a deployment on your own infrastructure run the same underlying product.
- Ongoing Community option: Self-hosted Community can be used without a software subscription; the cost is the hosting and the time to run it.
- No seat pricing: Every plan, Starter included, allows unlimited users, workflows and integrations, so adding colleagues does not change the price.
Limits to plan around
- Self-hosting is your job: You provide the servers, updates and restores yourself; if nobody on the team can restore the installation or trace failed runs, Cloud is the safer start.
- Cloud trial is temporary: If you don't upgrade, the 1,000-execution trial expires after 14 days and its workspace is removed; workflows can still be downloaded for 90 days after the trial ends.
- Governance costs extra: SSO, environments, shared projects and Git version control need a paid plan or edition, even on your own server.
See both products
Start from your task, not from a winner.
We have written up this pair: the documented differences, a worked cost example and which one fits which job.
n8n vs Zapier: One Execution per Run or One Task per ActionChange this pair
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Audio & voice
Automation
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Images & design
Presentations
Research & sources
Video & editing
Website builders
Writing & content
Comparing tools from different categories is fine, and often useful — a writing assistant and a research tool solve different halves of the same job. The table will show you exactly where they diverge.
Questions about comparing tools
How does the comparison work?
Add two tools to the comparison tray from any tool card, then open this page. The table pulls each tool's verified plan details, platforms, strengths and limits from its profile, so both columns carry the same kind of evidence, with a separate source-check date for each tool.
Do you declare a winner?
No. The table sets two tools against each other on documented facts, not on a score. Which one wins depends on your task, your budget and your usage volume — three things we cannot see from here.
Why are some cells empty or marked unverified?
Because we could not confirm that detail on the vendor's own pages. Rather than filling the gap with a figure from elsewhere, we mark it and say why on the tool's profile.
Can I compare more than two tools?
Not at once. Two columns keep the differences readable and force a real decision. Remove either selected tool to replace it, or clear both to start a new pair.
Every figure in the table above comes from the linked profile, where the source and the verification date are listed. Browse all tools or read the editorial policy.