n8n vs Zapier (2026): Pricing, Hosting, License and When to Pick Each

The n8n vs Zapier choice comes down to billing and hosting. Zapier is a hosted no-code tool that bills per task, one successful action step. n8n bills per workflow execution, one full run however many steps it has, and can be self-hosted free as the Community edition. Zapier is quicker to learn; n8n is cheaper for long, busy workflows.

n8n vs Zapier in 2026: the comparison table

The table lines up the dimensions that actually decide between Zapier and n8n. Prices and limits were read from zapier.com/pricing and n8n.io/pricing as of September 2026.

How does Zapier count tasks, and how does n8n count executions?

A Zapier task is one successful action step, and an n8n execution is one complete run of a workflow. That unit decides the monthly bill more than the list price does. The full Zapier counting rules, with Zapier's own examples, are in what Zapier is and how tasks work.

• Zapier never charges for the trigger, including polling checks, and does not charge for Filter, Paths, Formatter, Delay or Looping steps, or for a step that errors.
• Zapier charges one task per successful action, so a Zap with four actions uses four tasks on every run that passes its filter.
• n8n prices on monthly workflow executions "regardless of complexity": a 4-node workflow and a 40-node workflow each cost one execution per run.
• n8n counts runs that find nothing new as well. Its pricing page estimates a workflow scheduled every 5 minutes at about 8,600 to 8,900 executions a month.

A worked example makes the gap concrete. Take an order workflow with a filter and four actions: create the invoice, update the CRM, email the customer, post to Slack. At 2,000 orders a month, Zapier uses 8,000 tasks, four times the 2,000 included in Team. n8n uses 2,000 executions, inside the 10,000 included in Pro. Reverse the shape and the answer flips: a one-action check on a 5-minute schedule that rarely finds new data costs Zapier almost nothing, because polling is free, while n8n logs roughly 8,700 executions a month for it.

What do Zapier and n8n cost as of September 2026?

Zapier plans start at $19.99 a month and n8n Cloud plans at 20€ a month, both billed annually. These are the published plans on each vendor's pricing page as of September 2026; n8n lists its cloud prices in euros.

Past the limit, the two behave differently. On a Zapier paid plan with pay-per-task billing, Zaps keep running and the extra tasks are billed; with it turned off, Zaps pause until the next usage period. Zapier says yearly billing saves 33% against monthly, and n8n says 17%.

The Community edition has no subscription, but it is not free to run. You pay for the server plus someone's time to set it up, back it up and apply updates, which is a real cost even when it never appears on an invoice. Compare total cost at your real volume: Zapier's tasks against n8n's executions or server-plus-maintenance. I walk through that recurring-versus-owned trade-off in how much business automation costs, and what a build with me costs is on the pricing page.

Self-hosted or cloud: hosting, license and where the data lives

This section is a technical description of hosting and licensing, not legal or compliance advice.

n8n can run on your own infrastructure, on-premises or in a private cloud, using Docker Compose, npm or a one-line setup script, according to the n8n hosting docs. Without a license key it runs as the free Community edition; adding a Business or Enterprise key unlocks those editions on the same installation. When n8n is self-hosted, the workflow data and execution logs sit in infrastructure you operate. Zapier has no equivalent: every plan from Free to Enterprise runs on Zapier's cloud, and Enterprise adds options such as custom data retention and advanced deployment.

The license is the part most comparisons skip. n8n describes itself as fair-code, not open source. Most of its code is under the Sustainable Use License, which permits use "for your own internal business purposes or for non-commercial or personal use" and allows distribution only free of charge for non-commercial purposes; source files with .ee. in the name are under the n8n Enterprise License. Running n8n to automate your own company is the use the license describes. If the plan is to resell n8n, embed it in a product or host it for clients, read the license and n8n's license FAQ before building on it.

Code steps, error handling and what breaks in production

Both tools let you drop into code, but n8n goes further. Code by Zapier runs JavaScript or Python with a runtime cap of 1 second per step on Free and 30 seconds on Professional and Team, and each run of the step uses a task; Code by Zapier explained covers when it is worth it. n8n's plan comparison lists JavaScript and Python code steps, custom HTTP and GraphQL requests and cURL import, and marks bash scripts and custom nodes as available when self-hosted.

Error handling is where a quiet failure becomes a lost lead. In n8n you set an error workflow in Workflow Settings; it must start with the Error Trigger node, runs whenever an execution fails, and one error workflow can serve many workflows, for example to send a Slack or email alert. Zapier lists Autoreplay, customized error settings and custom error notifications in its plan comparison, and a failed step never uses a task. In both tools the alert only helps if someone reads it.

When to pick Zapier, when to pick n8n

Pick by who will build and maintain the automations and by the shape of the workflows, not by the list price alone.

• Zapier if nobody on the team is technical, the workflows are simple to medium, and the task volume stays inside a plan you are comfortable paying for.
• Zapier if you depend on a niche SaaS app: 9,000+ apps means it probably has a ready connector.
• n8n Cloud if your workflows have many steps per run, branch heavily or need code, and you do not want to run a server.
• Self-hosted n8n if volume is high, workflow data must stay on your own infrastructure, and someone can own the server and its updates.
• A custom build if automation is core to how the business runs, has to read and write your own database or internal app, or must be mission-critical in ways generic tools cannot guarantee.

A common path is to start on Zapier to prove a workflow quickly, move to n8n once the task count or the logic starts to hurt, and go custom only when automation becomes a central, differentiated part of the business. Moving means rebuilding each workflow on the new tool, not importing it. If n8n is new to you, start with n8n for beginners; if Make is also on the shortlist, see n8n vs Make vs Zapier. The connective tissue under all three is APIs, explained in what is an API, and the wider build-versus-assemble question is in low-code vs no-code.

If you want a straight answer on which tool fits your workflows, or whether you have outgrown both, book a call or use the contact form.

Sources

• Zapier - Plans and pricing
• n8n - Plans and pricing
• n8n Docs - License (Sustainable Use License and fair-code)