![Theo [Founder]](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect/uploads/user/profile_picture/05538803-f858-4c87-aeb1-e1c6ca95e8e2/Photo_on_13-3-25_at_12.33__2.jpeg)
Sponsored by
Stop switching apps. Your browser can do it all.
Every tab you open, every copy-paste into ChatGPT, every lost train of thought — that's your browser failing you. Norton Neo fixes it. Built-in AI works directly inside your session. Hover to preview. Search everything from one bar. VPN and ad blocking included, free.
A Website That Works While You Sleep
Most AI builders hand you a good-looking site and call it a day.
Readdy.ai builds you a business. Your site collects leads, takes payments, and answers customer questions 24/7 — through a built-in AI agent that handles inquiries while you're busy running your business.
Design, hosting, SEO, payment, and a tireless AI employee. All in one. $15/month.
⚙️ THE WORKFLOW
The comparison people miss when looking at Zapier vs n8n is not features — it's the unit economics at scale. Zapier sells tasks. n8n (self-hosted) doesn't. That distinction matters more than any UI or integration argument.
Let me put actual numbers on it.
Zapier pricing (2025):
Plan | Monthly | Task limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Free | $0 | 100 tasks/month | Single-step zaps only |
Starter | $19.99 | 750 tasks/month | Multi-step zaps |
Professional | $49 | 2,000 tasks/month | Custom logic |
Team | $103.50 | 50,000 tasks/month | Shared workspace |
A "task" is one action step in a workflow execution. A 4-step zap that runs 500 times a month = 2,000 tasks. You'll hit the Professional ceiling fast.
n8n pricing:
Option | Monthly | Execution limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Cloud (Starter) | $20 | 2,500 executions | Hosted, managed |
Cloud (Pro) | $50 | 10,000 executions | More executions |
Self-hosted (Community) | $0 | Unlimited | You manage the server |
Self-hosted + VPS | ~$6–12 | Unlimited |
The real comparison:
A solo operator running 15 automations, each executing 200× per month with 5 steps each = 15,000 tasks/month on Zapier. That's the Team plan at $103.50/month.
The same 15 workflows on self-hosted n8n on a $6 Contabo VPS = $6/month. The math is not close.
Where the self-hosting cost actually lies:
Initial setup: 2–3 hours to get n8n running on a VPS with Docker Compose and Caddy
Ongoing maintenance: 30–45 minutes/month for updates and occasional debugging
Risk: if your VPS goes down, your automations stop
If your time is worth €150/hour and you spend 3 hours on setup, the break-even point vs the Professional plan is 3 months. After that, pure savings.
When Zapier still makes sense:
You need it running before lunch and you've never touched a terminal
You're using Zapier-exclusive integrations (very rare — n8n has 400+ nodes)
Your company policy prohibits self-hosted infrastructure
You're running fewer than 500 tasks/month and the free tier covers you
For everyone else with moderate automation volume, the economic case for n8n is overwhelming.
🔧 THE STACK MOVE
n8n Cloud — the honest middle ground
If self-hosting sounds like too much overhead, n8n Cloud gives you most of the n8n value without touching a server.
Price: $20/month for 2,500 executions, $50/month for 10,000. No task-based billing — executions are per workflow run, regardless of step count.
The honest tradeoff: n8n Cloud is significantly cheaper than Zapier at equivalent execution volumes, but it introduces a ceiling. If you're running workflows that process large data sets, a single batch run can consume hundreds of executions. Self-hosted has no ceiling. Cloud is the right choice when your execution volume is predictable and moderate. The moment you start building data processing or high-frequency monitoring workflows, the Cloud pricing model will surprise you.
Also worth knowing: n8n Cloud runs on AWS infrastructure and has had a handful of outages in the past 18 months — each under 2 hours, but worth knowing if uptime is critical to your business.
📡 THE SIGNAL
Zapier quietly raised prices again in Q1 2025 — zapier.com/pricing
The Starter plan dropped from 750 to 500 tasks/month at the same price. This is the third pricing restructure in two years. The direction is clear: Zapier is optimising for enterprise contracts, not indie operators. If you're on Zapier for the simplicity, fine. If you're on it for the value, recalculate.
Make (formerly Integromat) vs n8n — make.com
Make is the Zapier alternative most people try before n8n. Operations-based pricing instead of task-based, more generous free tier. Still cloud-only with a ceiling. If you like visual flow builders more than you dislike monthly fees, Make is worth a look before jumping to self-hosted n8n.
The hidden cost of automation lock-in — indiehackers.com
Switching automation tools is painful not because the tools are hard, but because institutional knowledge lives in workflow configurations. Your team knows why that Zap has three filters; your successor won't. Document every automation regardless of platform. This is a habit, not a feature.