n8n vs Zapier vs Make: choosing an automation tool for a small business

Automation tools connect the apps a business already uses, so a new enquiry lands in the CRM and the right person is told without anyone copying data by hand. n8n, Zapier and Make are three of the best-known options, and all three now offer AI features. They differ in where they run, how they count usage and how much technical skill they expect. This guide compares them for a UK small business, using each vendor's documentation and guidance from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). It is general information, not legal advice.

Where does each tool run?

This is the biggest difference between the three, and it affects cost, effort and data protection.

• Zapier is a cloud service. Its data privacy overview says Zapier hosts data in AWS servers located in the United States, including the data it processes on behalf of customers, and that it does not offer an option to store data only within the EU.
• Make is also a cloud service. Each organisation has a data zone setting (US1, US2, EU1 or EU2), which affects where your data is processed.
• n8n offers both. n8n Cloud is fully managed by n8n. You can also self-host n8n on your own infrastructure, for example with Docker, Docker Compose, npm or a cloud provider such as AWS, Azure or Google Cloud.

Self-hosting gives you full control over the environment, but n8n's documentation is clear that you must then provide and manage the infrastructure, and that maintenance becomes your responsibility: updates, SSL, backups and monitoring.

Is n8n open source?

Not in the usual sense. n8n describes itself as "fair-code" and distributes its software under its own Sustainable Use License, with some enterprise files under a separate n8n Enterprise License. The source code is visible, and you can self-host it, but the licence limits how it may be used: you may use or modify the software only for your own internal business purposes or for non-commercial or personal use.

For a business automating its own work, that is rarely a problem. If you plan to build n8n into something you sell to others, read the licence and talk to n8n first.

How is usage counted?

All three tools charge by usage, but they count it differently. Plan limits and prices change often, so check each vendor's pricing page; what matters here is the unit being counted.

• Zapier counts tasks. A task is a successful action step in a Zap. Trigger steps, Filter and Paths steps, actions that error and some built-in tools such as Formatter and Delay do not count. Some products use more: AI by Zapier depends on the model tier you choose, and Zapier MCP counts two tasks per successful tool call. Zapier Agents use a separate activity quota.
• Make counts credits. Credits replaced operations as Make's billing unit. An operation is a single module run; a module that sends five emails uses five operations, while a trigger module uses one operation per check, however many items it returns. For non-AI apps, one operation equals one credit. Some AI features use a varying number of credits based on tokens and other factors.
• n8n counts executions. An execution is a single run of a workflow. On paid plans, cloud or self-hosted, only production executions count towards the quota: runs started automatically by triggers, schedules or polling, not manual test runs.

The counting method can matter more than the headline plan: a ten-step workflow uses very different amounts of tasks, credits and executions. Sketch your three busiest workflows and work out what each would use on each tool.

How many apps do they connect to?

Zapier says it connects with more than 9,000 apps, which is the widest catalogue of the three. Make divides its apps into verified apps, community apps built by partners and power users, and custom apps built by users; some verified apps are available only on paid plans. n8n's GitHub page lists more than 1,500 integrations.

Catalogue size is only part of the picture. Check that the specific triggers and actions you need exist, such as "update a deal in the CRM". When a connector is missing, all three can call an app's API with an HTTP or webhook step, and n8n also lets you add JavaScript or Python code.

What AI features do they offer?

Each tool now lets you add language models and AI agents to workflows:

• n8n lets you build AI workflows that connect LLM providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, with tools, memory and MCP servers. You can require a person to approve an AI agent's tool call before it runs, which is useful for actions such as sending messages or deleting records.
• Zapier offers AI by Zapier steps inside Zaps, Zapier Agents and Zapier MCP, which lets AI assistants use Zapier actions.
• Make offers Make AI Agents, which combine a model, a system prompt, knowledge files and tools such as modules, scenarios and MCP tools. Make notes that the EU data zones do not guarantee that every AI request stays in the EU: its Maia assistant and OpenAI models through Make's AI provider are processed in the US whichever zone you choose.

Common AI automation use cases for small businesses include sorting incoming email, drafting replies for a person to check, pulling details out of invoices and summarising call notes. Start where a mistake is easy to spot, and keep a person in the loop for anything sent to customers.

What does UK GDPR mean for your choice?

If your workflows handle personal data, the automation provider usually acts as your processor. Zapier describes customers as the controller of the content in their Zaps and itself as the processor. n8n says it is a processor for n8n Cloud, but neither controller nor processor for self-hosted instances, because it does not manage your data there.

The ICO's guidance lists minimum terms for a processor contract, including processing only on your documented instructions, appropriate security, rules on sub-processors and end-of-contract provisions. Zapier and n8n both publish a data processing agreement and a sub-processor list.

Sending personal data to, or making it accessible to, a separate organisation outside the UK can be a restricted transfer. The ICO says every restricted transfer needs UK adequacy regulations, an appropriate safeguard such as the International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) or the Addendum with a transfer risk assessment, or an exception. All EEA countries have UK adequacy. The United States has partial adequacy, covering only transfers under the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework; Zapier says it has certified under that UK Extension.

A checklist for UK businesses:

• list which workflows touch personal data, and which apps and AI models each one sends it to;
• check where each provider processes data, including AI features that may route elsewhere;
• confirm the transfer mechanism for each provider outside the UK;
• keep only the data you need, and set how long run histories are kept.

Self-hosting n8n on a UK or EEA server can reduce transfers, but you are then responsible for security, and any AI model or app your workflow calls is still a separate recipient.

Which one should you choose?

• Choose Zapier for the largest app catalogue, a gentle learning curve and no servers, if you are comfortable with US hosting under its data processing terms.
• Choose Make if your workflows have many branches or data transformations, you like a visual canvas and you want an EU data zone.
• Choose n8n if you want the option to self-host, need custom code, or run multi-step workflows where counting whole runs suits you, and you have the skills to look after it.

Whichever you pick, keep your first workflows simple and documented. If you'd like help, see our AI automation services, or our CRM development work if your workflows centre on customer records.

Sources

• n8n Docs: Choose how to use n8n
• n8n Docs: Install options
• n8n Docs: Understand executions
• n8n Docs: Integrate AI
• n8n Docs: Human-in-the-loop for tools
• n8n Docs: Privacy
• n8n on GitHub: README
• n8n on GitHub: LICENSE (Sustainable Use License)
• Zapier Help: How is task usage measured in Zapier?
• Zapier: Data Privacy Overview
• Make Help: Credits
• Make Help: Operations
• Make Help: Introduction to Make apps
• Make Help: Introduction to AI agents
• Make Help: AI providers and data zones in Make
• ICO: A brief guide to international transfers
• ICO: Is the restricted transfer covered by adequacy regulations?
• ICO: What needs to be included in the contract?