Free · No signup · Updated June 2026

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that's actually cheapest.

Real pricing for n8n, Make, Pipedream, Zapier and more — matched to your real usage, not marketing pages. Answer a few quick questions, get your pick in 30 seconds.

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Same 5,000 runs/mo: $8 on n8n $124 on Zapier that's a $1,392/yr gap
Tracking live prices for every major automation tool verified June 2026 · re-checked weekly
Every plan priced from the vendor's official pricing — cloud, VPS & self-host · free, no signup

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Pick any 2–4 tools and see pricing, limits, features, and plans side by side. Or browse all plans at once.

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Pricing & Limits

Full table of runs limits, workflow caps, execution timeouts, and log history for every tool. Filterable.

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Enter your volume, minutes saved and hourly rate — get net savings, return on cost and break-even. Tool costs from official pricing.

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Pricing guides by tool
n8nn8n Pricing MakeMake Pricing PipedreamPipedream Pricing ZapierZapier Pricing ActivepiecesActivepieces Pricing AutomatischAutomatisch Pricing Node-REDNode-RED Pricing

Frequently asked questions

Self-hosted n8n costs ~$8/mo (server only) with unlimited runs — cheaper than any Make plan for high volumes. On cloud, Make Core at $10.59/mo gives 10,000 runs while n8n Cloud Starter at $24/mo gives only 2,500 runs, making Make cheaper for cloud users under 10k runs/month. Compare n8n vs Make →
Yes, significantly. n8n self-hosted costs ~$8/mo with unlimited runs. Zapier's Professional plan at $19.99/mo (billed annually) includes just 750 tasks. Even n8n Cloud at $24/mo includes 2,500 runs — over 3x more for the same money. Compare n8n vs Zapier →
n8n Cloud starts at $24/mo (Starter: 2,500 runs) and $60/mo (Pro: 10,000 runs) — all cloud plans include unlimited workflows. Self-hosted n8n costs only your server (~$8/mo on a basic VPS) with no runs or workflow limits. Full n8n pricing breakdown →
Make offers a free plan with 1,000 runs/month. Paid Core plans start at $10.59/mo (10,000 runs) and scale by volume — there's no pay-as-you-go, you just move up a tier as you grow. Make is the most affordable cloud option for mid-volume automation. Full Make pricing breakdown →
Make has the most generous free plan at 1,000 runs/month (2 active scenarios). Zapier and Pipedream free tiers are limited to 100 runs/month. n8n, Activepieces, and Automatisch are free when self-hosted with no limits. See all free plan limits →
Pipedream Basic at $45/mo ($29 billed annually) includes 2,000 credits, while 2,000 tasks on Zapier need the $73.50/mo Professional plan ($49 annually) — Pipedream wins on price. But Zapier has 9,000+ integrations vs Pipedream's 3,000+, so the right choice depends on which integrations you need. Compare Pipedream vs Zapier →
No. Make and Zapier are cloud-only. If you need self-hosting for GDPR compliance or cost control, consider n8n (Sustainable Use license), Activepieces (MIT license), Automatisch (AGPL), or Node-RED (Apache 2.0).
Self-hosting n8n on a VPS (e.g., Oracle Free Tier, Hetzner ~$4/mo, or DigitalOcean ~$6/mo) gives you unlimited runs and workflows for almost nothing. The n8n community edition is free — you only pay for the server. n8n self-hosted vs cloud cost →

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