n8n vs Make: Honest Cost Comparison for Solo Builders (2026)
Choosing between n8n and Make (formerly Integromat) is the single most common decision facing anyone building no-code automations in 2026. Both are powerful. Both have passionate communities. But the pricing models are completely different — and picking wrong can cost you hundreds of dollars a month at scale.
We ran the same five real-world workflows on both platforms for 30 days. Here’s what we found.
The Setup: 5 Real Workflows We Tested
We built the same automations on both platforms:
- Form-to-CRM sync (200 runs/month) — Typeform → Google Sheets → email notification
- Invoice generator (50 runs/month) — Airtable → template fill → Gmail attachment
- Social media cross-post (120 runs/month) — RSS → OpenAI summary → Buffer → Slack log
- Customer feedback loop (300 runs/month) — Webhook → sentiment analysis → Trello card
- Inventory alert (500 runs/month) — Shopify webhook → condition check → SMS via Twilio
Total monthly volume: 1,170 workflow runs
Pricing: The Numbers That Matter
n8n Pricing
| Plan | Monthly Cost | Executions | Key Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted | ~$5 (VPS) | Unlimited | You manage the server |
| Cloud Starter | €20/month | 5,000 | 5 active workflows |
| Cloud Pro | €50/month | 20,000 | Unlimited workflows |
Our cost: $5/month (self-hosted on a Hetzner VPS)
The killer feature: n8n charges per execution (one complete workflow run), not per step. A 10-step workflow counts as 1 execution.
Make Pricing
| Plan | Monthly Cost | Operations | Key Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1,000 | No custom variables |
| Core | $9/month | 10,000 | 1 active scenario |
| Pro | $16/month | 20,000 | Unlimited scenarios |
Our cost: $16/month (Pro plan — needed multiple active scenarios)
Make charges per operation — each step in a workflow counts as one operation. Our 5-step social media workflow counted as 5 operations every single run.
The Real Cost at Scale
Here’s where it gets interesting. Using our 1,170 runs/month:
| Platform | Plan Used | Monthly Cost | Operations/Executions Used |
|---|---|---|---|
| n8n (self-hosted) | Self-host | $5 | 1,170 executions |
| n8n (cloud) | Starter | €20 | 1,170 / 5,000 (23%) |
| Make | Pro | $16 | ~5,850 operations / 20,000 (29%) |
At our volume, self-hosted n8n wins by a mile. But scale up to 10,000 runs/month, and:
| Platform | 1,000 runs/mo | 5,000 runs/mo | 20,000 runs/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| n8n self-host | $5 | $5 | ~$10 (bigger VPS) |
| n8n Cloud | €20 | €50 | €120 |
| Make | $9-16 | $34 | $160+ |
Hidden Costs Nobody Talks About
n8n Hidden Costs
- Self-hosting isn’t free in time. You need to know Docker basics, handle updates, and monitor uptime. If your VPS goes down at 2 AM, you’re on call.
- Cloud plans have tight workflow limits. Starter only gives you 5 active workflows. Hit that wall fast.
- The learning curve is real. n8n’s JavaScript-based nodes mean you can do anything — but you’ll need to learn some code.
Make Hidden Costs
- Operations multiply fast. A single workflow with routers and iterators can burn through operations at 3-5x what you expected.
- Scenario limits on Core plan. Only 1 active scenario on the $9 plan means you can’t run scheduled and triggered workflows simultaneously without upgrading.
- Data transfer caps. Make limits data passed between modules. Hit the cap and your workflow silently fails (we learned this the hard way).
Which Should You Choose?
Choose n8n if you:
- Are comfortable with Docker and basic server management
- Run complex, multi-step workflows (n8n’s per-execution billing saves you money)
- Need AI/LLM chaining (n8n’s AI nodes are significantly better)
- Want to keep costs predictable as you scale
Choose Make if you:
- Want a visual builder with zero code
- Run simple, linear automations (fewer steps = fewer operations)
- Need wide app integrations without writing custom API calls
- Don’t want to manage infrastructure
Our Take
For solo builders and small teams, self-hosted n8n is the best value — if you can handle the initial setup. The cost savings compound dramatically as your workflows grow.
Make is the better choice for non-technical users who just want things to work. The $16/month Pro plan is fair for what you get, and the visual builder is genuinely excellent.
Either way, don’t pay Zapier prices unless you absolutely need their app catalog. We’ll cover that comparison next.
Have you used n8n or Make? Let us know which workflows you’ve built and what you’re paying.