Side-by-side comparison
| n8n | Make | Zapier | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Cloud, or self-hosted on your own server | Vendor cloud | Vendor cloud |
| How usage is counted | Per workflow execution (cloud); self-hosted community edition has no execution fees | Per operation, meaning every module step | Per task, meaning every action step |
| Ease of use | Moderate; friendlier to technical users | Visual canvas; moderate | Easiest to start |
| Integrations | Hundreds built in, plus any API via HTTP and code | A large library of apps | The largest library, thousands of apps |
| Custom code | JavaScript and Python nodes | Limited functions; custom apps | Code steps in JavaScript or Python |
| AI features | AI agent and LLM nodes, vector stores | AI modules and agents | AI steps and Zapier Agents |
| Data location | Wherever you host it, including an Indian cloud region | Vendor's data centres (EU or US) | Vendor's data centres (US) |
| Best for | High volume, sensitive data, complex logic | Visual multi-step flows on a budget | Quick wins across many SaaS apps |
Why the pricing model matters more than the price
List prices change often, so compare how each tool counts usage. Take a ten-step workflow that runs once per new lead. In n8n cloud that is one execution. In Make it is roughly ten operations, one per module. In Zapier it is about nine tasks, because the trigger is free and each action counts. At a few hundred leads a month the difference is small; at tens of thousands of runs a month it decides your bill. Self-hosted n8n replaces per-run fees with the cost of a server and someone to maintain it.
Also check plan limits that bite small businesses: how often polling triggers run, how long execution history is kept, and whether premium apps cost extra.
Data control and the DPDP Act
If your workflows move customer phone numbers, health information or financial data, think about where that data is processed and stored. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 puts obligations on how Indian businesses handle personal data. Self-hosting n8n on a server in an Indian cloud region keeps the workflow data under your control, which is a common reason clinics, lenders and CA firms choose it. Make and Zapier are mature, secure platforms, but your data passes through their infrastructure abroad, so check their data processing terms.
Typical workflows for Indian SMEs
| Workflow | What it does | Good fit |
|---|---|---|
| IndiaMART or JustDial lead to CRM | New enquiry creates a CRM lead and sends a WhatsApp reply | Any of the three |
| Razorpay payment to Tally | Payment received creates the entry and sends a receipt | n8n or Make |
| Invoice email to accounts | AI reads the PDF, extracts fields, files it and flags exceptions | n8n (data control) or Make |
| Google Form to WhatsApp | Form response is saved to Sheets and triggers a WhatsApp follow-up | Zapier or Make |
| Shopify COD confirmation | New COD order triggers a WhatsApp or AI call confirmation | Make or n8n |
| Daily MIS | Pulls numbers from several tools and emails a summary at 9 AM | n8n |
Adding AI to workflow automation
AI workflow automation means placing a language model inside the flow to do what rules cannot: read a free-text email and decide which team it belongs to, pull fields out of a scanned invoice, draft a reply for approval or summarise a call. All three tools can call Claude or OpenAI models. Keep a person in the loop for anything that moves money or goes to a customer, log every AI decision, and send low-confidence cases to a review queue.
How to decide
- Count the runs: estimate monthly executions and steps per workflow before comparing prices.
- Classify the data: if it is sensitive personal or financial data, lean towards self-hosted n8n.
- Check the apps: confirm every app you use has a working connector, or an API you can call.
- Name the owner: Zapier suits non-technical owners; n8n rewards someone comfortable with logic and APIs.
- Plan for failure: every workflow needs error alerts, retries and a named person who gets notified.
- Document it: a workflow nobody understands becomes a risk the day its builder leaves.
When to bring in help
Simple two-step zaps are easy to build yourself. Bring in a partner when workflows touch money, customer data or several systems at once, or when you want AI steps that must be accurate. Silvane builds and documents n8n, Make and Zapier workflows and hands them over so your team can edit them. Builds start from ₹50,000 as a fixed quote after a ₹199 discovery call for founding members (normally ₹15,000). See AI workflow automation and pricing.