Make vs n8n
Make bills in credits, roughly one per module action, while n8n bills one execution per workflow run however many steps it has. Make is a Prague-based visual builder that is part of Celonis. n8n is a Berlin vendor with a self-hostable Community Edition.
Sebastiaan SmitsFounderVendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
Choose Make ifyou want a visual canvas for branching scenarios, your volumes are moderate, and you are fine with credits being spent per action.
Choose n8n ifyou run long multi-step flows, want unlimited users and workflows on every plan, or want the option to host it yourself.
Make and n8n side by side
| Make | n8n | |
|---|---|---|
| Our workflow automation software rank | #4 of 12 | #1 of 12 |
| Established in | Czechia | Germany |
| List price, 5 November 2026 | Free (1,000 credits a month); Core, Pro and Teams billed monthly or annually, amounts not readable on the page we read; Enterprise quoted | Starter EUR 20, Pro EUR 50, Business EUR 667 per month billed annually; Enterprise custom; no free cloud plan, trial offered |
| Free tier | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | Yes |
| Built for | Operations teams building visible, branching automations at moderate volume | Teams automating between systems that already expose a usable API |
| Not for | High-volume record synchronisation between core systems | Processes that depend on legacy desktop or terminal screens |
Both are reviewed in full in our workflow automation software ranking: Make and n8n.
Where they differ
Make 0 · n8n 4 · open 1- 01
What the meter counts
Make spends credits per module action, with most actions costing 1 and Router and error handler modules costing none. n8n counts one execution per workflow run, whatever the number of steps. A long flow with many steps is therefore cheaper to reason about on n8n.
Edge: n8n
- 02
Published prices
n8n lists Starter at EUR 20, Pro at EUR 50 and Business at EUR 667 per month on annual billing. Make names Core, Pro and Teams plans and says annual payment is cheaper, but the page text we read gave no amounts. Make's free plan has 1,000 credits a month.
Edge: n8n
- 03
When the allowance runs out
On Make, scenarios stop when credits run out, unused credits expire at term end, and extra bundles expire after one month on monthly plans. n8n's cloud plans have execution limits too, plus a 5 minute execution cap on Starter and 40 minutes on Pro. Neither is open-ended.
Depends on the buyer
- 04
Hosting and licence
Make is a hosted service only, as far as the pages we read show. n8n has a Community Edition on GitHub, under the Sustainable Use Licence with .ee. files needing an enterprise licence. Business is self-hosted only for now. Self-hosting means you run upgrades and failures yourself.
Edge: n8n
- 05
Ownership and base
Make is headquartered in Prague, Czechia, and describes itself as part of Celonis; its footer names Celonis, Inc. n8n GmbH is registered at an address in Berlin, Germany, with no parent named on the pages we read.
Edge: n8n
When neither fits
If you need a tool for desktop applications with no API, neither fits, as n8n works through systems that expose one. Activepieces and Zapier are other options in our category.
Make or n8n: questions
3 answersDoes n8n charge per step like Make?
No. n8n's pricing page says it is based on monthly workflow executions regardless of complexity. Make uses credits, where most module actions cost 1.
Can I run Make on my own server?
The Make pages we read describe a hosted service only. n8n offers a self-hosted Community Edition on GitHub.
How much does Make cost?
Make's free plan includes 1,000 credits per month. The paid plan amounts were not readable in the page text we retrieved, so check its pricing page.
Sources
Checked 5 November 2026- Make pricing page: credits per action, free plan size, plan names, expiry and stop rules, Celonis footer.
- Make about page: Prague headquarters and part of Celonis.
- n8n pricing page: execution-based billing, EUR plan prices, duration caps, Business self-hosted only, trials.
- n8n repository licence: Sustainable Use Licence and .ee. files under an enterprise licence.
- n8n imprint: n8n GmbH in Berlin, Germany.