n8n / Make / Zapier Builds

The honest answer is "it depends" — so here are the actual numbers it depends on. Tool costs, one-off build costs, and the maintenance line nobody quotes, with a real production pipeline's economics.

The short version: Zapier for speed and simple glue, Make for complex visual scenarios and better volume pricing. The long version is where the money is.

Zapier gets you started in minutes. n8n runs a 12,000-document-a-day pipeline for server pocket change. The question is which side of that spectrum your business is on.

I build in both weekly. The right choice depends on volume, who maintains it, and how badly a silent failure hurts — here’s the actual decision table.