Make vs n8n (2026): Which Automation Tool Wins?
People pit these two against each other, but they optimize for opposite buyers. Make (formerly Integromat) is a polished, cloud-hosted visual automation platform — you wire up scenarios on a drag-and-drop canvas with routers, iterators, and aggregators, and there’s nothing to host or maintain. n8n is a source-available, self-hostable automation tool built for technical users — it has a visual node canvas too, but you can also drop in custom JavaScript or Python, run it on your own server, and build agentic AI workflows. Make optimizes for ease and speed in the cloud; n8n optimizes for control, code, and self-hosting. Name which of those you actually need and the choice gets easy.
The One-Sentence Answer
Use Make if you want the fastest way to build automations visually in the cloud with nothing to host; use n8n if you want to self-host, write code, or build deep AI-agent workflows and don’t mind the technical overhead.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Make | n8n | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Cloud-hosted visual automation platform | Source-available, self-hostable automation tool |
| Core job | Fast visual scenarios, no infrastructure | Flexible, code-and-agent-friendly workflows |
| Billing unit | Credit (formerly “operations”) | Execution (one full run, any number of steps) |
| Entry paid price (2026) | ~$9/mo (10,000 credits) | ~€24/mo cloud, or free self-hosted |
| Free tier | 1,000 credits/mo, 2 active scenarios | Unlimited (self-host); paid for cloud |
| Integrations | 3,000+ | ~400–500 native (plus HTTP/code for the rest) |
| Self-host? | No | Yes (Community Edition) |
| Custom code | Limited (Make Code) | Yes — JavaScript and Python |
| AI agents | Make AI Agents (shipped Feb 2026, all plans) | AI Agent node + 70+ AI nodes (n8n 2.0) |
| Learning curve | Medium | Steepest (technical) |
| Best fit | Non-developers, cloud-only, complex visual logic | Developers, data sovereignty, code, deep AI agents |
When to Use Make
- You’re not a developer and never want to run a server
- You want a polished visual canvas with routers, iterators, and aggregators for complex branching
- You want to ship a working scenario in an afternoon without reading much documentation
- You need a broad native catalog — Make connects to 3,000+ apps
- Your budget is tight and you’re happy on the cloud: Make’s credit pricing is cheaper per unit than Zapier
Make’s bet is that most people want power without operations work. You get sophisticated visual logic that would be awkward in a simpler tool, but everything runs in Make’s cloud, so there’s nothing to update, monitor, or back up. Make shipped Make AI Agents in February 2026 across all plans, adding reusable agents that can act across its app catalog, though much of the AI still runs as steps inside a designed scenario. For the full price breakdown, see Make.com pricing.
When to Use n8n
- You can run a server, or want to for cost and data-sovereignty reasons
- You want to drop custom JavaScript or Python into workflows for logic a no-code tool can’t handle
- You run high volume and want the cheapest cost curve — n8n bills by execution, not per step
- You want true AI-agent workflows: tool calling, memory, and iterative reasoning
- You’re technical enough to handle webhooks, API auth, and (if self-hosting) ops work
n8n is the developer’s pick. Its billing unit is the execution — one full workflow run regardless of how many steps it contains — so a 10-step workflow is one execution, not ten of anything. Self-hosted Community Edition is free software with unlimited executions; you pay only for the server. Its AI story is the deepest here: n8n 2.0 added a true AI Agent node running LangChain tool agents with memory and ReAct-style loops across Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, Mistral, and Ollama, plus vector stores like Pinecone, Qdrant, and Supabase. One clarification people get wrong: n8n is fair-code, not OSI open source — source-available and free to self-host for internal use, but you can’t resell it as a SaaS. For strictly open-licensed options, see free open source n8n alternatives.
The Line That Actually Decides It: Will You Host and Code?
Strip away the feature lists and the decision comes down to one question: are you willing to run infrastructure and write a little code?
If the answer is no — you want to open a browser, drag boxes, and never think about servers, updates, or Python — Make is built for exactly you. Its cloud model and visual canvas remove the two things that trip up non-developers. You trade some flexibility and pay per credit, but you never touch a terminal.
If the answer is yes — you can spin up a VPS, or you want your data on your own hardware, or you need custom code and real agent loops — n8n rewards that. Self-hosting makes it the cheapest option at volume and gives you control Make can’t. The cost is real labor: a maintained production deploy means updates, monitoring, backups, and security, not just the $3–7/mo VPS bill. If your time is scarce, Make’s per-credit price can be cheaper than the hours n8n’s ops work would eat.
One thing both share: you are still the builder. Make and n8n organize and run the plumbing, but you design the triggers, wire the nodes, handle the errors, and maintain it when an API changes. That’s the right model for deterministic work — “when a payment succeeds, add a row, send a templated email.” If you’d rather delegate the outcome than build and maintain the workflow, an AI assistant like Carly does the task from plain-English instructions across 200+ integrations, instead of asking you to wire the flow yourself.
Quick Reference
| Your situation… | Pick… |
|---|---|
| I’m not a developer and don’t want to host anything | Make |
| I want a polished visual canvas, fast | Make |
| I need the broadest native app catalog of the two | Make |
| I want to self-host for cost or data control | n8n |
| I want to write JavaScript or Python in my workflows | n8n |
| I need deep AI-agent loops with memory and tool calling | n8n |
| I run high volume and want the cheapest cost curve | n8n |
FAQ
Is n8n cheaper than Make? At volume and self-hosted, usually yes — n8n’s Community Edition has unlimited executions and you pay only for the server. But n8n bills by execution while Make bills by credit, so the comparison isn’t apples-to-apples, and n8n’s self-hosting adds real maintenance labor. For low-to-moderate cloud use with no ops overhead, Make’s ~$9/mo Core plan is often the cheaper total once you value your time.
Is Make easier than n8n? Generally, yes. Make is cloud-only with a polished drag-and-drop canvas aimed at non-developers, so there’s no server to run and no code required. n8n’s canvas is approachable, but you’ll hit webhooks, API authentication, and — if self-hosting — actual server operations. n8n rewards technical users; Make is friendlier to everyone else.
Which has better AI agents, Make or n8n? n8n has the deeper AI-agent support: its AI Agent node runs true agent loops with tool calling, memory, and iterative reasoning across multiple model providers. Make shipped Make AI Agents in February 2026 across all plans, but its AI more often runs as a step inside a designed scenario than as a self-directing loop. If deep agentic behavior is the goal and you’re technical, n8n leads.
What if I want the work actually done, not just wired up? Both tools assume you build and maintain the automation. If you’d rather describe the outcome in plain English and have it handled — especially for email- and calendar-centric work that needs judgment — an assistant like Carly does the task for you instead of asking you to design the flow. AI agents start at $35/month.
Related: n8n vs Zapier · Zapier vs Make vs n8n · n8n alternatives · free open source n8n alternatives · best AI workflow automation tools
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