Three Platforms, Very Different Trade-offs
If you've started looking into automating parts of your business, you've probably come across three names: Zapier, Make (formerly Integromat), and n8n. All three let you connect apps and build automated workflows without writing code from scratch. Each is designed differently, and each plan needs checking against your own workload.
This comparison is for Australian business owners who want to know what to test before choosing. It covers what to check for cost, learning effort, integrations, execution limits and data handling, and when each platform may suit a workflow.
Compare the requirements of your workflow
| Requirement | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Connections | Required triggers, actions, permissions and supported data fields. |
| Usage | What the plan meters (Zapier tasks, Make credits or n8n executions) and how retries, failures and AI steps count. |
| Operation | Who monitors failures, updates credentials and maintains the workflow logic. A cloud plan maintains the platform, not your workflow. |
| Data handling | Where each service processes data, and the relevant retention and access controls. |
| Change | How the team tests, reviews and releases an update. |
Model the cost of your actual workload
Build a representative workflow and write down its monthly pattern: normal completed runs, the eligible actions or modules each run uses, failures and replays, model calls, data storage and the operator time needed to look after it. This is a proposed test specification, not a benchmark we have run. Then check how each current plan charges for that pattern, because the three products meter different things.
Zapier counts tasks. Broadly, each successful action step counts, and replayed actions and actions on error paths can count too, with exceptions set out in its help centre. A workflow with many action steps per run uses more tasks than a short one at the same run count. Make bills in credits. Many standard module operations use one credit each, while some AI and advanced features use different or variable amounts, so a credit total and an operation count aren't always the same number. n8n prices around workflow executions, where one execution is one run of the workflow; plan allowances, hosting and connected-service charges such as model usage still apply.
Include hosting where relevant, connected-service usage, monitoring and the person responsible for maintenance. A low subscription price does not establish a low total operating cost.
Recheck current vendor pricing at the time of the decision. Do not convert an old USD price into AUD and present it as a current quote.
Ease of use: what to test on each platform
Zapier
Zapier builds a workflow as a trigger followed by actions, described in plain language. It also documents branching with Paths, per-item steps with Looping by Zapier and custom error handling, each with its own stated limits. Test the logic your workflow needs against those limits and your plan.
A short workflow between two supported apps is a simple case to test: "When a new row appears in Google Sheets, send a Slack message." Check how your plan counts usage for that workflow, including tests and retries.
Make
Make uses a visual canvas for arranging modules and connections. Test a representative workflow to assess the learning effort, data flow, branching and error handling needed by your team.
Make may suit teams who prefer to see a workflow laid out as a diagram. For failure handling, Make documents incomplete executions. The option is off by default and is turned on in each scenario’s settings. When a run hits an error, Make stores the unfinished run so it can be retried automatically (for supported error types only), resolved manually or deleted. How many can be stored depends on your usage allowance. Build the same representative workflow you would test elsewhere and check how its errors are handled.
n8n
n8n provides a visual workflow builder with options for custom logic and connections. Verify the supported code languages, nodes, execution environment and permissions in the selected version and deployment before relying on a particular capability.
n8n documents two deployment options. With n8n Cloud, n8n handles hosting, updates and maintenance. With self-hosting, you provide and manage the infrastructure and control the configuration. Features and limits differ by plan or edition, and n8n names its pricing page as the definitive list. Decide who will own maintenance, then assess the technical work needed to build and support the required logic and connections. If you self-host, check that the Sustainable Use License, or the edition you choose, covers your intended use; this guide doesn't reach a legal conclusion on that.
Integrations: Breadth vs Depth
For Zapier, check the specific connector and action your workflow needs in the current plan. The total number of listed apps does not establish that the required data and permissions are supported.
For Make, test the available modules and the fields they expose against a representative record. Confirm plan limits and error handling before comparing it with another platform.
For n8n, check the supported nodes, any custom requests required and the maintenance responsibility. An API’s existence does not guarantee access, permission or support for the action you need.
Map the complete data path
Deployment location is one part of the picture. Connected CRMs, model providers, email services, logs and backups may process information elsewhere.
Review the proposed configuration, provider terms, access controls and retention rules against your business requirements. Hosting a workflow server in Australia does not by itself guarantee Australian data residency for the whole workflow.
Test capacity and failure handling
Check the limits in the selected plan and in every connected API. Include retries, bursts, concurrent work and scheduled jobs when testing capacity.
Agree how delayed, failed and duplicate events are surfaced. Operational capacity must be demonstrated with the actual workflow; it cannot be inferred from a generic server specification.
When to Choose Each Platform
Choose Zapier if:
- The apps and actions your workflow needs are supported, and a test build behaves as required
- The required workflow can be maintained by your team after a representative build and handover.
- The current plan and metering suit your measured workload, including tests and retries.
- The actual processing locations, terms, access and retention controls meet your requirements.
Choose Make if:
- The branching and error handling you need work in a representative test build
- Its current usage pricing suits your measured workload better than the alternatives you tested
- Someone on the team, or a partner, can maintain the workflow after handover
- The selected region and complete data path meet the requirements confirmed by your business.
Choose n8n if:
- Your workflow needs custom logic or connections, and a test build in the selected version and deployment supports them
- The selected licence, hosting and usage model fits your tested workload and operating budget.
- You can verify the required controls across hosting, connected services, logs and backups.
- You have technical resources (in-house or via a partner like SynergAI) to manage the setup
Why SynergAI Uses n8n
SynergAI uses n8n in its own automation work. That is a working preference: we haven't run a controlled comparison of the three products, so treat this section as a selection framework. These are the requirements we assess before proposing n8n for a client workflow:
First, data control. The actual deployment must account for processing locations, provider terms, access, retention, logs and backups. Hosting the workflow server in Australia alone does not establish the location of all data processing.
Second, capacity. Check the selected plan, licence, server resources and connected API limits. Test concurrency, retries and failure handling; self-hosting does not remove every execution constraint.
Third, workflow fit. Record integration may need mapping, matching rules and exception handling. Confirm the supported nodes or requests and the maintenance responsibility before selecting a platform.
Keep a working setup when it meets the requirements. Compare each candidate with the same representative workflow, total operating cost and handover needs. The automation cost guide shows how to put build, running and review costs into one payback calculation.
The Bottom Line
There is no single best platform for every workflow. Compare the supported actions, current plan, complete data path and maintenance requirements. Australian data handling depends on the actual deployment and connected services, not the product name.
Run the test specification above on each shortlisted platform, price it under each metering model and name the person who will maintain it. That gives you a comparison based on your own workload.
Chris Nicolaou
Founder, SynergAI. Building connected workflows and AI workspaces.
About Chris ↗