n8n, Make and Zapier all let you connect apps and automate steps without building everything from scratch. They overlap a lot, so the choice usually comes down to a few practical questions.
Zapier
The easiest to start with and the largest app library. A good fit for simple, linear automations that non-technical team members will maintain. Costs grow with the number of tasks, so high-volume workflows can become expensive.
Make
A visual canvas that handles branching, loops and data transformation well, usually at a lower price per operation than Zapier. A good middle ground for teams that need more logic without writing code.
n8n
The most flexible of the three. It can be self-hosted, supports custom code inside workflows and has strong AI and agent features. A good fit for complex or high-volume workflows, or when data must stay on your own servers.
Questions to ask
- How many runs per month will this workflow have?
- Does the data need to stay on your own infrastructure?
- Who will fix it when something changes?
- Does it need AI steps, custom code or complex branching?
Whichever you choose, add error alerts and keep simple documentation. A workflow that fails silently costs more than one that was never built.