Estimated monthly cost comparison — not just the headline price
Prices change often — confirm on the vendor's site before buying. Report incorrect pricing →
Quick Take
Make has the lower estimated monthly cost (~88%)
Based on advertised price plus documented recurring fees, not your exact usage.
Best for Make
Visual automation platform with operation-based pricing. 40-60% cheaper than Zapier for complex, hig
Best for n8n
Open-source workflow automation with self-hosted and cloud options. Free to self-host but server cos
Visual automation platform with operation-based pricing. 40-60% cheaper than Zap...
Advertised
$10.59
/month
Estimated monthly cost
$35.59
/month (illustrative)
Data Transfer Overage
Charged per MB of data transferred beyond plan limits. Heavy file/image automations hit this fast....
Scenario Complexity Multiplier
Complex scenarios with many modules consume more operations per run than simple ones. Router modules...
$9/mo annual
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission
Open-source workflow automation with self-hosted and cloud options. Free to self...
Advertised
$24
/month
Estimated monthly cost
$300
/month (illustrative)
Self-Hosted Server Costs
Community Edition is free but requires infrastructure: VPS ($20-100/mo for adequate CPU/RAM), Postgr...
Execution Limits on Cloud
Cloud Starter: 2,500 executions/mo. Pro: 10,000. A single workflow running every 5 minutes = 8,640 e...
No Support on Community
Self-hosted Community Edition has no official support — only community forums and GitHub issues. Pro...
DevOps Maintenance Overhead
Self-hosted requires: updates, security patches, monitoring, backup management, and scaling. Budget ...
$20/mo annual
$50/mo annual
$100/mo annual
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission
Make advertises $10.59/mo. n8n advertises $24/mo.
Make has 2 documented hidden fees. n8n has 4.
Make confidence: 82%. n8n confidence: 74%.
| Metric | Make | n8n | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advertised Price | $10.59/mo | $24/mo | Make |
| Estimated Monthly Cost | $35.59/mo | $300/mo | Make |
| Recurring Extra Fees | +$25/mo | +$276/mo | Make |
| One-Time Costs | $0 | $0 | — |
| # Documented Fees | 2 | 4 | — |
| Pricing Tiers | 3 | 4 | — |
| Affiliate Program | 30% recurring for 12 months | 20% recurring for 12 months | — |
Try the tool that fits your needs. Both offer free trials or free tiers.
From $10.59/mo
✓ ~88% lower estimated monthly costAffiliate link — we may earn a commission
Make advertises $10.59/mo and n8n advertises $24/mo. Make has 2 documented extra fees (recurring: +$25/mo), while n8n has 4 (recurring: +$276/mo). On these illustrative assumptions, Make has the lower estimated monthly cost (about 88% less). Your real cost depends on seats and usage — use the calculator for your numbers.
Make has 2 documented extra fees: Data Transfer Overage, Scenario Complexity Multiplier. Recurring fees add roughly $25/mo on top of the $10.59/mo advertised price.
n8n has 4 documented extra fees: Self-Hosted Server Costs, Execution Limits on Cloud, No Support on Community, DevOps Maintenance Overhead. Recurring fees add roughly $276/mo on top of the $24/mo advertised price.
Choose Make if: Visual automation platform with operation-based pricing. 40-60% cheaper than Zapier for complex, hig. Choose n8n if: Open-source workflow automation with self-hosted and cloud options. Free to self-host but server cos. The right choice depends on your team size, usage volume, and which features you need most.
This comparison is compiled from public vendor pricing pages and documentation. It uses illustrative assumptions (see "Cost Comparison Summary"), not your exact seats or usage, and vendor prices change often. Confirm current prices on each vendor's site, and use our calculator with your own usage for a closer estimate. Spotted an error? Email hello@trulycritic.com.
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