Workflow automation pricing: credits, tasks and executions
A plan's headline number means something different on every platform. Convert your workflow into the vendor's unit first.
Three meters
| Measure | Make | n8n | Zapier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit | credit | execution | task |
| What costs one | a module run (operation); modules run once per item; a trigger costs one per check | one run of the whole workflow, whatever its steps or items | one successful action step |
| Triggers | a credit per check, however many bundles it returns (for an instant trigger the calculator counts one credit per run: its assumption, not a rule stated on the pages read) | not counted separately; a polling trigger counts only when it finds new data, a schedule trigger on every firing | free, polling included |
| Free steps | router and error-handler modules (Make's pricing FAQ) | all steps inside a run | filters, paths, formatter, delay and looping steps |
Two special cases the table cannot hold: Make's AI features can use more than one credit per operation (they follow separate rules on its credits page), and on Zapier's task usage rates page Lead Router costs 5 tasks per lead, MCP 2 tasks per tool call, an AI by Zapier step 1, 3 or 5 tasks depending on the model tier, and extended Code runtime 1 task per 30 seconds beyond the plan allowance. The calculator does not model these. One wrinkle: Zapier's task usage rates page describes a standard step as “trigger and action steps … 1 task per step”, yet its worked example on the same page counts the trigger as 0 tasks, and its help article says trigger steps use no tasks. This guide follows the example and the help article.
Each platform's plans and facts are on its product page: Make, n8n Cloud and Zapier. For one workload counted on Make and n8n, see Make vs n8n pricing for one workload.
Worked example: one workflow, three counts
A workflow with an instant trigger (counted as one credit per run on Make: an assumption), 4 action steps, run 1,000 times a month is 5,000 credits on Make (1,000 trigger runs plus 4,000 action runs), 1,000 executions on n8n and 4,000 tasks on Zapier (the trigger is free). The three numbers are not comparable with each other; only the prices of the plans they land on are.
Five workloads, both billing bases
| Workload | Shape | Make | n8n | Zapier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small: new-lead alerts | 300 runs × 2 actions, instant trigger | 900 credits · annual: Free plan, 1,000 credits · monthly: Free plan, 1,000 credits | 300 executions · annual: Cloud Starter, 2,500 executions, €20/mo · monthly: Cloud Starter, 2,500 executions, €24/mo | 600 tasks · annual: Professional, 750 tasks, $19.99/mo · monthly: Professional, 750 tasks, $29.99/mo |
| Idle polling: a 1-minute check | 200 runs × 3 actions, poll every 1 min | 43,800 credits · annual: Core, 80,000 credits, $55/mo · monthly: Core, 80,000 credits, $64.71/mo | 200 executions · annual: Cloud Starter, 2,500 executions, €20/mo · monthly: Cloud Starter, 2,500 executions, €24/mo | 600 tasks · annual: Team, 2,000 tasks, $69/mo · monthly: Team, 2,000 tasks, $103.50/mo |
| Growing: order sync | 4,000 runs × 6 actions, poll every 5 min | 32,640 credits · annual: Core, 40,000 credits, $29/mo · monthly: Core, 40,000 credits, $34.12/mo | 4,000 executions · annual: Cloud Pro, 10,000 executions, €50/mo · monthly: Cloud Pro, 10,000 executions, €60/mo | 24,000 tasks · annual: Professional, 50,000 tasks, $289/mo · monthly: Professional, 50,000 tasks, $433.50/mo |
| Bulk: nightly catalogue sync | 30 runs × 4 actions × 200 items, instant trigger | 24,030 credits · annual: Core, 40,000 credits, $29/mo · monthly: Core, 40,000 credits, $34.12/mo | 30 executions · annual: Cloud Starter, 2,500 executions, €20/mo · monthly: Cloud Starter, 2,500 executions, €24/mo | 24,000 tasks · annual: Professional, 50,000 tasks, $289/mo · monthly: Professional, 50,000 tasks, $433.50/mo |
| Heavy: event pipeline | 60,000 runs × 5 actions, instant trigger | 360,000 credits · annual: Pro, 500,000 credits, $410.27/mo · monthly: Pro, 500,000 credits, $482.67/mo | 60,000 executions · annual: Business (self-hosted licence), 75,000 executions, €1,213/mo · monthly: Business (self-hosted licence), 75,000 executions, €1,456/mo | 300,000 tasks · annual: Professional, 300,000 tasks, $1,069/mo · monthly: Professional, 300,000 tasks, $1,599/mo |
Reading the table: the polling workload shows what a one-minute check costs on Make (credits) and which Zapier plan a one-minute check requires: Zapier's Professional plan checks no faster than every 2 minutes, so the plan size bought there (2,000 tasks) is set by the check interval, not by the 600 tasks the workflow uses. The bulk workload shows loops; the heavy one shows n8n moving from Cloud (up to 50,000 executions) to the self-hosted Business licence. On the paid plans read, the monthly-billing price is higher than the annual-billing equivalent of the same plan; the two bases are never compared with each other.
Open each workload in the calculator to see every step:
- Small: new-lead alerts: annual billing · monthly billing
- Idle polling: a 1-minute check: annual billing · monthly billing
- Growing: order sync: annual billing · monthly billing
- Bulk: nightly catalogue sync: annual billing · monthly billing
- Heavy: event pipeline: annual billing · monthly billing
Make
Visual automation platform for building multi-step scenarios across apps and AI.
Free plan
Verified — An editor checked this value against the official source on the date shown.
The billing-basis trap
Every plan above has two prices. Make, n8n and Zapier each publish a monthly-billing price and an annual-billing price (shown as a per-month equivalent, with a 12-month commitment). The annual figure is the lower, headline one. Compare Make's annual price with Zapier's monthly price and you have compared two different commitments. This site always shows the basis, shows both when the vendor publishes both, and never mixes them.
| Plan | Annual billing, per month | Monthly billing, per month |
|---|---|---|
| Make Core, 10,000 credits | $9 | $10.59 |
| n8n Cloud Starter, 2,500 executions | €20 | €24 |
| Zapier Professional, 750 tasks | $19.99 | $29.99 |
What happens when you run out
- Zapier: when a plan's tasks run out, Zaps stop running; with pay-per-task billing on, extra tasks are billed up to 3× the plan's task limit in total (a 750-task plan tops out at 2,250) and then stop. Zapier's help says the rate depends on your plan and billing cycle; this guide found no per-task price on the pages it read.
- n8n (Business plan, self-hosted): per n8n's FAQ, workflows keep running if you exceed your quota, but overage charges may apply if you do not upgrade, and its sales team reaches out as you near the quota; the page does not state an overage price. No Cloud overage price is published for Starter or Pro.
- Make: scenarios stop running until credits are added; incoming webhooks are queued (up to the plan's webhook queue) and processed once scenarios resume, and polling scenarios search for records since their last successful run. You can upgrade, buy extra credits in bundles of 1,000 or 10,000 at the fixed price of your subscription, or turn on auto-purchase of 10,000 credits (Core, Pro and Teams). Unused credits expire at the end of the term (Make's pricing FAQ).
What this guide does not cover
- Tax. The pricing pages read do not say how VAT or other tax is applied; check at checkout.
- Enterprise and Make Teams. Enterprise plans are custom-priced, and Make Teams (the same credit sizes as Pro at a higher price, with team features) is not priced here.
- AI modules and extended runtimes. Make's AI modules, and Zapier's Lead Router (5 tasks per lead), MCP tool calls (2 tasks), AI by Zapier (1, 3 or 5 tasks per step by model tier) and extended Code runtime (1 task per 30 seconds beyond the allowance), can use more than one credit or task; none of this is modelled, and Zapier says its rates may change.
- What counts as an execution on n8n. n8n's documentation says only production executions count toward the quota: a sub-workflow run is not counted separately (only the parent counts), and manual test runs, error-workflow runs and polls that find no data do not count. This guide does not model sub-workflows.
- Rollover. Make says unused credits expire at the end of the term; Zapier's pages read do not say whether unused tasks roll over.
- Self-hosting. The n8n Community edition's licence terms and the cost of running your own server are covered in the guide on self-hosting economics, not here.
- Overage. No Zapier per-task price and no n8n Cloud overage price was found, so no overage is priced.
Frequently asked questions
- Does counting whole runs make n8n the cheaper choice?
That depends on the workflow, and this page does not rank the three. n8n's number grows with runs, while Make's and Zapier's also grow with steps and items per run. A workflow with one step and few runs can fit a free or entry plan on any of the three. Count your own workflow in each unit, then compare the prices of the plans it lands on, one billing basis and one currency at a time.
- Does a polling trigger cost money?
On Make, yes: a polling trigger costs one operation (one credit) per check, however many bundles it returns. On Zapier, polling triggers never use tasks. On n8n, a workflow that runs on a schedule runs (and counts) every interval; a trigger that finds nothing does not start a run.
- Why do the three results use different currencies?
On the pages as they appeared to us, Make and Zapier showed US dollars and n8n showed euros; vendors may show other currencies by country (Zapier has a currency selector). We do not convert, and we do not rank across currencies.
Sources
Nikita Latyshev is the founder of LATYNEX Labs, an independent publication about business software and infrastructure. LATYNEX Labs is published by Latynex Trade OÜ, Estonia. How the site checks facts, handles sponsorship and earns money is described on its methodology, editorial policy and affiliate disclosure pages.