n8n vs Zapier vs Make: Which Automation Tool for a UK SME?

For most UK SMEs: pick Zapier if you want the quickest set-up and your workflows are simple, Make if you want visual, multi-step workflows at a lower price per step and EU hosting, and n8n if you have high volumes, need control over where data lives, or want complex logic and AI steps without paying per step. All three can do the job for a typical small business. The differences show up in how they charge, where data is processed and how much technical skill they need.

We build mostly on n8n, so treat this as a practitioner’s view with that bias declared. We still recommend Zapier or Make when they fit better, and the rules below explain when.

How do n8n, Zapier and Make charge?

This is the difference that matters most once you have more than a handful of automations, because each tool counts usage differently.

• Zapier charges by tasks. A task is counted each time a Zap successfully completes an action step. Triggers and Zapier’s built-in tools such as Filter, Formatter, Paths and Delay do not count. Plans are Free, Professional, Team and Enterprise, and the free plan is limited to 100 tasks a month and two-step Zaps.
• Make charges by credits. Most actions use one credit and some AI features use more. The free plan includes 1,000 credits a month, with Core, Pro, Teams and Enterprise above it.
• n8n cloud plans charge by workflow executions: one run of a whole workflow counts once, however many steps it has. Every plan includes unlimited users and workflows, according to n8n’s pricing page. The self-hosted Community Edition has no licence fee.

A worked example shows why this matters. Say a lead-handling workflow has eight action steps and runs 1,500 times a month.

Tool	What gets counted	Monthly usage
Zapier	Each successful action step	About 12,000 tasks
Make	Each module run, mostly 1 credit each	12,000 or more credits
n8n cloud	Each workflow run	1,500 executions
n8n self-hosted	Nothing (you pay for the server)	Server cost only

Exact plan prices change often, so check each vendor’s pricing page against your own numbers. The pattern holds: the more steps per workflow, the more n8n’s execution-based model works in your favour.

Where is your data hosted?

For UK organisations handling personal data, hosting location affects your UK GDPR paperwork.

• Zapier hosts customer data on AWS in the United States and does not offer an EU-only option, according to its data privacy FAQ. It certifies to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and its UK Extension, which UK organisations can rely on for transfers to certified US companies.
• Make lets you choose a US or EU data centre for each organisation. The choice is made when the organisation is created and, as Make’s help centre states, it cannot be changed afterwards. Make also notes that some AI features may send requests to the US whichever region you pick.
• n8n cloud plans store data in the EU, on servers in Frankfurt. Self-hosted n8n stores data wherever you run it, which can be a UK data centre or your own infrastructure.

None of this makes Zapier unusable for UK businesses. It means you record the transfer, check the vendor’s data processing terms and avoid sending more personal data through the workflow than it needs. Our AI automation for membership teams post covers the data rules we apply to every workflow.

How hard is each tool to use?

Zapier is the easiest. It has the largest library of app connections, sensible defaults and a builder a non-technical manager can learn in an afternoon. The cost of that simplicity is less control over branching logic and error handling, and per-task billing that climbs quickly.

Make has a visual canvas where you see the whole workflow as connected modules. It handles loops, routers and data transformation well. Most people find the learning curve steeper than Zapier’s but manageable.

n8n looks similar to Make on the canvas but expects more technical comfort. You can write JavaScript or Python inside a workflow, call any API directly and build AI agents with tools and memory. Self-hosting adds server work: updates, backups, monitoring and security. If nobody on your team will own that, use n8n cloud or have a supplier maintain it.

What about AI steps?

All three now offer AI features, so the question is how much control you need.

• Zapier and Make offer AI steps and agents inside the platform, which is the fastest way to add a classification or a drafted reply.
• n8n lets you choose the model provider per step and connect your own API keys, so you can pick a model for cost, accuracy or data location and see exactly what is sent.

For a single “summarise this email” step, any of them will do. For a workflow that reads documents, decides what to do and acts in several systems, n8n’s flexibility usually wins.

Can an agency build on n8n for us?

Yes, and the licence matters here. n8n’s Sustainable Use License allows a supplier to build and maintain workflows for clients, and to install n8n on a client’s own server. It does not allow a supplier to host n8n as a service where clients build their own workflows. The cleanest arrangement is n8n running in your account, on your server or n8n cloud plan, with the supplier as a user you can remove.

Which should a UK SME choose?

Use these rules:

1. Fewer than ten simple workflows between popular apps, and no one technical: Zapier.
2. Multi-step workflows, a modest budget, and a preference for EU hosting: Make.
3. High volumes, many steps per workflow, AI steps, or data that must stay on infrastructure you control: n8n, self-hosted or cloud.
4. Already on one and it works: stay, until the monthly bill or a missing feature gives you a reason to move.

Whichever you pick, keep a register of every automation: what triggers it, what it touches, who owns it and how to switch it off. That one document saves more trouble than the choice of tool. For ideas on what to automate first, see how to automate 70% of your business tasks with AI tools and our explainer on marketing automation.

Where we fit

We build automations on n8n by default, and on Zapier or Make where a client already uses them, always in accounts the client owns. Our AI integrations page explains how we scope a first workflow, and what an AI automation agency does covers how a project runs.