About and methodology

Who runs this

AutomationCost is built by Andriy, an automation freelancer in Berlin who builds Zapier, Make and n8n workflows and CRM integrations for clients. It's independent and no vendor pays for rankings.

How usage is counted

Zapier: tasks. Every successful action step uses 1 task. Triggers, polling and built-in tools (Filter, Paths, Formatter, Delay, Looping) are free. If a filter stops a run, later steps use no tasks. The Free plan only allows 2-step Zaps with no filters. AI and Code steps can use more than 1 task (rate card).

Make: credits. Every module action uses 1 credit, and some AI features use more. Routers and error handlers are free. A polling or scheduled trigger uses 1 credit on every check, even when it finds nothing, so we count about 43,200 ÷ interval checks per month. Webhook triggers use 1 credit per event.

n8n: executions. One full workflow run is 1 execution, however many nodes it has. Manual test runs, sub-workflows and error workflows don't count.

Self-hosted n8n. The Community Edition is free with unlimited executions, so you pay for a server. Our default is the €6.49/mo Hetzner "Regular Performance" starting price (excl. VAT, source). Your own maintenance time isn't priced.

We use a 30-day month. We show annual-billing prices first and monthly prices where the vendor publishes them, and we always pick the cheapest tier that covers your usage. We don't price overage or pay-per-task.

Sources and known gaps

• Zapier: zapier.com/pricing, all tiers (checked 2026-10-23).
• n8n: n8n.io/pricing (checked 2026-10-23). Starter has 2,500 executions (€20 annual / €24 monthly). Pro has 10k (€50 / €60) or 50k (€120.83 / €145). Business is €667/mo and self-hosted only.
• Make: make.com/en/pricing. The page loads prices dynamically and they vary by country. The 10k-credit price ($9 Core) is confirmed on Make's own comparison. Higher tiers come from a third-party read of Make's price data and still need checking. US visitors see higher prices ($12 Core).