All three promise the same thing: connecting applications. The difference is how deep you can go and what you pay once volume grows.
01. Zapier
The widest app catalogue and the easiest interface. A non-technical user can build a flow in half an hour. In exchange, handling nested data structures is hard and per-execution cost rises quickly with volume.
02. Make
The strongest visual scenario designer. Branching and looping logic is more flexible than Zapier's and pricing is more economical. In complex scenarios the visual canvas can lose readability.
03. n8n
The option where you can write code, install on your own server, and where cost doesn't grow with execution count. In return, installation, updates and monitoring are your responsibility. For firms with a technical team, total cost is lowest here.
04. Cost Breakdown
For a team running a few hundred executions a month there's no meaningful difference between the three. At tens of thousands a month, the gap between self-hosted n8n and cloud alternatives becomes several times over.
05. Data Ownership
For flows carrying personal data under data protection law, where the data passes matters. In Zapier and Make it flows through the vendor's cloud; with self-hosted n8n it never leaves your network.
06. Decision Rule
No technical team and low volume: Zapier. Medium complexity and budget sensitivity: Make. Technical team, high volume or sensitive data: n8n.