Comparisons / n8n vs Zapier Agents vs Make
Comparison
n8n vs Zapier Agents vs Make
6 AI automation platforms for small business compared by hosting, price model and setup, from BotPickr’s hand-written listings.
How we built this: every row comes from our own listings, which link to each tool’s official site. We have not run benchmarks, so there are no scores or ratings. Nothing here is sponsored.
At a glance
| Tool | Type | Price | Free trial | Setup | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n8n | Automation platform | Free self-host / paid cloud | Yes: free trial, no credit card required | Medium | Tinkerers who want automations they can self-host |
| AI by Zapier | Hosted agent | Free tier / paid | Check vendor | Easy | Non-technical owners who live in SaaS apps |
| Make | Automation platform | Free tier / paid | Check vendor | Medium | Ops people who like seeing the whole flow |
| Activepieces | Open-source automation | Free / open source | Check vendor | Medium | People who want open automations |
| Pipedream | Automation platform | Free tier / paid | Check vendor | Medium | Developers automating quickly |
| Gumloop | Automation platform | Free tier / paid | Check vendor | Easy | Non-devs automating with AI |
“Check vendor” means we have not confirmed a trial on the vendor’s official pages.
Quick picks
- Easiest to set up: AI by Zapier, Gumloop.
- Free or free tier: n8n, AI by Zapier, Make, Activepieces, Pipedream, Gumloop.
Each tool in one paragraph
n8n
Visual workflow builder with AI agent nodes, so you can wire an LLM to email, sheets, CRMs and 1,500+ integrations without writing a backend.
Best for: Tinkerers who want automations they can self-host. Setup: Medium. Official site ↗
AI by Zapier
Add an AI step to a Zap: describe the task in plain English, pick the tools, and it acts across the 9,000+ apps Zapier connects to.
Best for: Non-technical owners who live in SaaS apps. Setup: Easy. Official site ↗
Make
Drag-and-drop scenarios with AI modules for routing, summarizing and replying; good for multi-step back-office flows.
Best for: Ops people who like seeing the whole flow. Setup: Medium. Official site ↗
Activepieces
Open-source Zapier alternative with AI steps and MCP support.
Best for: People who want open automations. Setup: Medium. Official site ↗
Pipedream
Code-friendly workflows and thousands of API integrations, plus MCP servers for agents.
Best for: Developers automating quickly. Setup: Medium. Official site ↗
Gumloop
No-code AI automation canvas for scraping, enrichment and document workflows.
Best for: Non-devs automating with AI. Setup: Easy. Official site ↗
Plan prices from official pages
Copied from each vendor’s own pricing page. Prices change often, so confirm before you buy.
n8n
- Community Edition: Free, self-hosted (Sustainable Use License)
- Starter (cloud): 20 EUR/month billed annually (2.5K workflow executions)
- Pro (cloud): 50 EUR/month billed annually (10K executions)
- Business: 667 EUR/month billed annually (40K executions, self-hosted)
- Enterprise: Custom
Source: official pricing page ↗
Quick answers
Which is better: n8n vs Zapier Agents vs Make?
There is no single winner. Pick by who it is for and how much setup you want; the table above shows each tool's price model, setup effort and best fit, taken from our listings. We have not run benchmarks, so we do not score or rank them.
Are any of these tools sponsored?
No. Every tool on this page is an organic listing. Paid placements on BotPickr are always labelled Sponsored.
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Made an AI bot or agent?
List it on BotPickr for free. Listings are reviewed by hand, written in our own words, and link to your official site.