Comparison
n8n vs Zapier
n8n: Workflow and AI agent automation, open source and self-hostable. Zapier: Automate your work by connecting 7,000+ apps, now with AI agents.
| n8n | Zapier | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.5 | 4.4 |
| Price | Freemium Self-hosted free (Community). Cloud from €24/month (2,500 executions). | Freemium Free plan with 100 tasks/month. Professional from $19.99/month (annual). |
| Free plan | ||
| API available | ||
| Open source | ||
| In Spanish | ||
| No watermark | — | — |
| Platforms | Web · Linux · Windows · Mac | Web |
n8n or Zapier?
Zapier has 7,000 integrations and works without any coding, but it charges per task executed and gets expensive fast at scale. n8n is open source: self-host it and it is free and unlimited, it charges per full execution rather than per step, and its AI nodes have made it the standard for building agents. In exchange, it demands more technical skill.
Choose n8n if…
You are technical, want zero cost by self-hosting, or you are going to build AI agents.
Choose Zapier if…
You do not want to touch servers, need unusual integrations, or want something running in ten minutes.
n8n
- Free and unlimited if you host it yourself (open source Community edition)
- Charges per workflow execution, not per step: far cheaper at scale
- Native AI nodes for building agents with any LLM
- Steeper learning curve than Zapier
- Self-hosting requires technical knowledge and a server
Zapier
- The largest integration catalogue on the market (7,000+ apps)
- Copilot builds automations from a natural language description
- Useful free plan to get started (100 tasks and unlimited 2-step Zaps)
- Gets expensive quickly at scale: you pay per task executed
- AI agents and chatbots are separate paid add-ons
The differences that actually matter
You can host one on your own server
n8n is open source and can be installed on your own infrastructure, which means the data flowing through your workflows never leaves it. For automations touching EU customer information, that settles the legal side in one move. Zapier is a service and offers no such option.
Integration catalogue
Zapier connects with thousands of apps, far more than any alternative, and that is its decisive advantage: if you use an uncommon tool, Zapier is probably the only one that supports it. n8n has fewer connectors but lets you call any API, which fills the gap if you can read documentation.
How volume is billed
Zapier charges per task run, and real consumption always exceeds the estimate because flows fire more often than you think. Self-hosted n8n costs whatever your server costs, regardless of how many times it runs. At high volume the difference is enormous.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to code to use n8n?
For simple flows with existing connectors, no: you chain blocks together. For calling an API without a connector or transforming data along the way, it helps considerably. Zapier lowers that barrier further in exchange for less flexibility.
Which suits a company in Spain?
If your automations move personal data, self-hosted n8n avoids transfers to third parties and simplifies compliance. If volume is low and what you move is not sensitive, Zapier saves the cost of maintaining a server, which is money too.