GILD verdict
Choose n8n when workflows run long or loop over many items, data must stay on your infrastructure, or your team writes code.
Choose Make when you want a hosted platform and builders who never touch a server. Price your three busiest workflows on both before deciding.
Long or looping workflows cost less on n8n, which bills one execution per workflow run whatever its length. Make bills a credit per module operation. Short scenarios cost little on either. Make runs only as a hosted service, and n8n can also run on your own infrastructure. Both are visual platforms with branching, error handling, and AI agents.
Choosing between n8n and Make
Choose n8n if
- Your workflows have many steps or loop over many items, where per-run billing stays flat as steps grow.
- Data must stay on your own servers: the Community edition self-hosts for free, for internal use.
- Your team writes JavaScript or Python in workflows, or needs Git-backed environments on Business or Enterprise.
Choose Make if
- You want a hosted platform with no servers to run, and short scenarios where per-operation credits stay small.
- You want hosted data zones in the US or the EU, chosen per organization.
- Your builders prefer Make's scenario designer and its error handlers, such as Rollback and Resume, without writing code.
Side by side
| Dimension | n8n | Make |
|---|---|---|
| Billing unitChecked against each vendor's pricing and help pages on Oct 12, 2026. | One execution per production workflow run, whatever the number of steps; manual runs, sub-workflows, error workflows, and polls that return nothing do not count | Credits: 1 credit per module operation for non-AI apps, and token-based credits for Make's AI Provider; error handler modules and the Router use no credits |
| Entry plansList prices in each vendor's currency: n8n in euros, Make in US dollars. | Cloud: Starter €20 a month for 2,500 executions and Pro €50 a month for 10,000, billed annually (€24 and €60 billed monthly); Enterprise by quote. Self-hosted: Community edition free; Business €667 a month billed annually for 40,000 executions; Enterprise by quote | A Free plan with 1,000 credits a month. For US buyers, Core, Pro, and Teams from US$12, US$21, and US$38 a month billed annually for 10,000 credits. Core scales to 300,000 credits a month and Pro to 8 million; Enterprise by quote |
| Going over the plan | Cloud plans move up a tier; self-hosted Business overage is €4,000 per extra 300,000 executions, and workflows keep running | Extra credits in units of 1,000, at 25% more than plan credits, valid until the end of the billing cycle |
| Where it runs | n8n Cloud in Frankfurt, or self-hosted on your own infrastructure with Docker, Docker Compose, or Kubernetes | Hosted only, in US or EU data zones; Enterprise runs on a dedicated server in your region, and an on-premise agent reaches local systems over HTTP |
| Error handling | An error workflow per workflow, started by the Error Trigger, plus the Stop And Error node to fail a run on purpose | Skip, Retry, Resume, Commit, and Rollback error handlers; incomplete executions retried automatically on rate limit, connection, and timeout errors |
| Versioning | Workflow history (1 day on Starter, 5 days on Pro, 365 or more on Enterprise); Git source control and environments on Business and Enterprise | Saved scenario versions with descriptions, kept for 60 days, and recovery of unsaved changes |
| Code | JavaScript and Python Code nodes on every plan; custom nodes on self-hosted instances | The Make Code app runs JavaScript or Python on paid plans at 2 credits per second of execution; custom JavaScript functions on Enterprise |
| AI agents | AI Agent node with connected tools, MCP Server Trigger and MCP Client, human approval for tool calls, the Guardrails node, and evaluations; the standalone Agents builder is in early release | Make AI Agent (New), in open beta since February 2, 2026, with modules, scenarios, MCP server tools, and other agents as tools |
| Model billing | Your own provider keys, or prepaid Gateway credits on Cloud Starter and Pro | Make's AI Provider on all plans, billed in token-based credits, or your own provider connection on paid plans |
What practitioners report, side by side
Each product's figures come from its own practitioners, for the group you pick.
Overall signal
All users rate n8n +10, 10 points above Make at 0. Most of the gap is in praise, with 28 of n8n's 73 sources positive against 15 of Make's 49. n8n has 21 negative and Make 14.
The score counts the authors from all users that take a side, one vote each with their latest view, and is how far positive votes lead negative ones, per 100 votes, so Make's 0 rests on votes split 14 positive, 20 mixed and 14 negative. Each of n8n's authors wrote one source here, so each source is one vote.
A lead of a fifth of the votes reads positive and a lead of half strong positive, with the same lines below zero. The dots show each source, positive, mixed, negative. Run a pilot on one live workflow to measure failed runs and the time spent fixing them.
Footprint on the AI Knowledge Work stack
They differ on one of 7 layers. On Enterprise search, n8n supports it and Make touches it. Coverage is each product's placement on this stack, as its product page shows it. Core is a job the product owns; Supports and Touches are jobs it helps with. Coverage says nothing about how well a product does them.
| Layer | n8n | Make |
|---|---|---|
| Find | ||
| Enterprise search | Supports | Touches |
The 6 layers where they match
| Layer | n8n | Make |
|---|---|---|
| Assist | ||
| AI assistant | Touches | Touches |
| Find | ||
| Web research | Touches | Touches |
| Create | ||
| Documents | Touches | Touches |
| Meeting notes | Touches | Touches |
| Analyze | ||
| Data analysis | Touches | Touches |
| Automate | ||
| Automation | Core | Core |
What practitioners praise
Among all users, n8n alone has five praise themes that reach 5 sources from 3 authors. AI agent workflows and Self-hosting & data control lead, at 14 of 21 and 12 of 14. Make alone has three praise themes that reach 5 sources from 3 authors. Logic without code and App coverage lead, at 8 of 11 and 3 of 6.
| Praised for | n8n | Make |
|---|---|---|
| AI agent workflows | 14 of 21 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Self-hosting & data control | 12 of 14 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Cost at volume | 12 of 15 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Code & flexibility | 9 of 16 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Visual building & debugging | 6 of 7 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Logic without code | Not a theme in its sources | 8 of 11 |
| App coverage | Not a theme in its sources | 3 of 6 |
| AI agents & MCP | Not a theme in its sources | 1 of 5 |
Each count is the sources that praise a theme, or raise it as a concern, out of those that discuss it. A row pairs the two products when both carry a theme under the same or an equivalent name.
A count ending in "so far" has under 5 sources from 3 authors among all users. "Not a theme in its sources" means GILD found no theme of that name in that product's sources.
What practitioners raise as concerns
n8n's sources raise Learning curve more often than Make's. It is raised in 6 of the 8 n8n sources that discuss it, against 4 of 8 for Make. n8n alone has five concern themes that reach 5 sources from 3 authors. Failed & silent runs and License & paid tiers lead, at 13 of 15 and 12 of 13. Credit metering and Run failures reach 5 sources from 3 authors only for Make, at 14 of 14 and 5 of 7. n8n needs a pilot on the same workflows before you choose on either.
| Raised as a concern | n8n | Make |
|---|---|---|
| Learning curve | 6 of 8 | 4 of 8 |
| Failed & silent runs | 13 of 15 | Not a theme in its sources |
| License & paid tiers | 12 of 13 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Maintainability at scale | 10 of 12 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Self-hosting upkeep | 10 of 14 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Feature Gaps | 7 of 7 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Credit metering | Not a theme in its sources | 14 of 14 |
| Run failures | Not a theme in its sources | 5 of 7 |
22 sources
- n8n pricing
- n8n docs: Understand executions
- n8n docs: Host n8n
- n8n docs: Compare editions
- n8n docs: Handle errors gracefully
- n8n docs: Use source control and environments
- n8n docs: AI Agent node
- n8n docs: Human-in-the-loop for tools
- n8n docs: Build and manage agents
- n8n docs: Gateway credits
- Make pricing
- Make Help Center: Credits
- Make Help Center: Adjustments to plans and pricing (Nov 6, 2025)
- Make Help Center: Extra credits
- Make Help Center: Error handlers
- Make Help Center: Automatic retry of incomplete executions
- Make Help Center: Scenario version control
- Make Help Center: Custom functions
- Make Help Center: On-premise agent
- Make Help Center: Upgrade to the Enterprise plan
- Make Help Center: AI providers and data zones in Make
- Make Help Center: Introduction to Make AI Agent (New)