n8n vs Make: which should you choose for business automation?

n8n vs Make: what is the main difference?

The main difference is what each tool counts. n8n counts one execution as one full workflow run, no matter how many steps it has. Make counts credits: in non-AI apps, one module action is one credit. For a long workflow that runs often, the difference can be several times over; for a workflow with one or two modules, it is small.

The example in the table is a calculation based on both vendors' rules, not a measurement. We assumed that each module runs once per run. Filters, routers, loops and AI modules can change the number of Make credits, so the Make column says "about".

We work with n8n; on Make we go by the vendor's documentation. What n8n does and why we choose it over a ready-made SaaS tool is described on our n8n workflows page.

How much does n8n cost?

n8n Community Edition on your own server is free; n8n Cloud starts at €20 per month billed yearly. The prices below are from the n8n pricing page on 25 October 2026. The page picks the currency by location: in one request it showed euros, in another dollars. Billed yearly, the page promises 17% savings; we did not check the monthly price without the yearly discount this time.

An execution in n8n is one workflow run. The pricing page says you pay per execution regardless of workflow complexity, and if a workflow does not run, you do not pay for it. On the Business plan, extra volume costs €4,000 for 300,000 executions, according to the FAQ section of the page.

The price of one execution on the Starter plan is €20 / 2,500 = €0.008. On Pro it is €50 / 10,000 = €0.005, on Business €667 / 40,000 ≈ €0.017. The Business plan costs more per execution because it adds SSO, LDAP, environments and Git, not more volume for less money. For companies with up to 20 employees, n8n offers a Start-up plan with 50% off the Business plan; ask n8n about the eligibility rules.

How much does Make cost?

Make charges in credits, and the plan price depends on how many credits per month you choose. See the plan prices at make.com/pricing.

What the Make Help Center confirms: the credit replaced the "operation" as the billing unit, and plan prices stayed the same. In non-AI apps one operation is one credit, but some AI modules use more. On the Core plan you can buy up to 300,000 credits per month (larger volumes moved to Pro), on Pro up to 8 million. Extra credits cost 25% more than plan credits, and the smallest purchase is 1,000 credits. On Core and higher plans you can connect your own OpenAI or Anthropic account and pay the provider directly for tokens.

The only Make price we found on the vendor's site is an example in a Help Center article from 6 November 2025: 500,000 credits per month cost USD 338.13 on a monthly subscription. That is about USD 0.00068 per credit. The article does not confirm whether the price is the same in 2026.

You cannot compare the price of one n8n execution and one Make credit directly. One n8n execution equals as many Make credits as there are modules that run in the workflow: for a 10-step workflow, about ten.

Where is the data stored, and what about GDPR?

n8n Cloud data is stored in Frankfurt, Germany; if you self-host n8n, the data is wherever your server is. Make assigns each organization a data zone: US1, US2, EU1 or EU2.

Make's page on AI providers and data zones has a warning: the EU1 or EU2 zone does not guarantee that every request is processed in the EU. Make's AI assistant Maia (OpenAI) is processed in the US even in an EU zone. Some features send data to the US or the UK, and if you connect your own AI provider, the EU guarantee no longer applies. The page does not describe where data is processed for non-AI modules.

Whether a process meets GDPR is decided not by the tool's name but by the personal data that enters the workflow, where the server is, the path the data takes in the AI step and the contracts with suppliers. Before you choose, check both vendors' security and data processing pages. This is not legal advice.

Can you self-host n8n, and what does the license allow?

Yes, you can install n8n Community Edition on your own server for free. The n8n core is distributed under the Sustainable Use License 1.0. Its text allows use for the company's own internal business purposes, as well as for non-commercial or personal use. It may be distributed only free of charge and for non-commercial purposes. Files with ".ee." in the name are under a separate Enterprise license.

For a company this means: if n8n automates your own processes, the license allows it. This license does not allow offering n8n to others as a paid service. This is not legal advice.

Which should you choose: n8n or Make?

If the workflow has many steps, runs often, or it matters to you where data is stored, n8n is usually the better deal. If you need one simple workflow and nobody in the company would maintain a server, Make can fit. The table is our approach, not vendor data, and we write it as people who work with n8n ourselves.

You can also learn Make for free: the EDIC AI Kickstart training lasts four days, one per week, at RTU Riga Business School. It covers analyzing processes and learning to automate them, for example with Make.com. Aid intensity is 100%; ask EDIC when the next group starts. More: AI adoption with state and EU support.

Who sets up n8n and Make automations in Latvia?

learnxMI in Riga sets up n8n automations for companies in Latvia and the Baltics. We work with n8n; on Make we go by the vendor's documentation. We use n8n every day ourselves: when someone fills in the AI audit form, an n8n workflow records the entry and sends a summary, and the AI agent that handles incoming emails in the "Client flow" package also runs on n8n.

A consultant's job is more than drawing a workflow. In our work it happens in five steps: a conversation about how the process runs now, process mapping (what can be automated and what stays with a person), building and testing on real data, launch under human supervision, and handover. Access, settings and documentation stay with you. Which processes we have already automated is shown on the business process automation page.

The price of automation is set individually, because connecting a simple notification and linking a warehouse system to accounting are very different jobs. We name the price and scope before work starts, not in the invoice afterwards. If the workflow has to hold conversations with people, an AI agent is added on top.

What should you ask an n8n consultant before work starts?

These questions are worth asking any contractor, including us. A good answer is specific: where, in whose name, and what happens if something fails.

• On which server and in whose name will the n8n or Make account be? If the account is in the contractor's name, it can be hard to take over when the work ends.
• Will I get the access and a workflow export? In our work, access, settings and documentation stay with the client, and the system can be handed to another contractor.
• Will I see the workflow diagram? We show the client the diagram and logic of the built workflow one on one.
• What happens if a step fails? It is better if the workflow has error handling and retries, and at critical points a person gets an alert, not just the system log.
• Who monitors the workflow after launch? A one-time setup and ongoing monitoring with adjustments are two different jobs at different prices.
• Does the workflow have an AI step, and where does the data go? Make's EU zone does not cover all AI features; with self-hosted n8n the data stays on your server, but the AI provider receives whatever you send to it.
• How many executions or credits per month will my process need? Ask for a calculation: number of steps × number of runs per month.

Sources

• n8n. Pricing: Starter, Pro, Business, Enterprise, Community Edition, executions, Start-up plan, data stored in Frankfurt (25 October 2026)
• n8n. Sustainable Use License 1.0 (LICENSE.md in the GitHub repository) (25 October 2026)
• n8n Docs. Choose how to use n8n: Cloud, self-hosted, Community Edition (25 October 2026)
• Make Help Center. Credits: the credit replaces the operation, 1 operation = 1 credit in non-AI apps (25 October 2026)
• Make Help Center. Adjustments to plans and pricing (6 November 2025): Core and Pro credit limits, extra credits, price example (25 October 2026)
• Make Help Center. AI providers and data zones in Make: zones US1, US2, EU1, EU2 and AI features processed outside the EU (25 October 2026)

Frequently asked questions