Workflow-Automatisierung: Zapier vs Make vs n8n vs Custom
Every B2B company hits the same inflection point: manual processes that worked at 10 customers don't work at 1,000. Someone gets assigned to "automate that thing" and discovers a landscape of platforms ranging from Zapier's simplicity to custom code's unlimited flexibility.
The choice matters more than most teams realize. The wrong platform locks you into limitations you'll discover 6 months in. The right platform scales with your complexity while keeping maintenance manageable.
Here's the comparison you need, based on actual usage — not marketing pages.
The Automation Landscape in 2026
Four approaches dominate B2B workflow automation, each serving a different profile:
Zapier — the gateway drug. Easiest to learn, largest app library, most limited in complexity. Best for non-technical teams automating simple workflows.
Make (formerly Integromat) — the visual power tool. More complex than Zapier, significantly more capable. Supports branching, error handling, and data transformation that Zapier can't touch.
n8n — the self-hosted Swiss army knife. Open-source, self-hosted (or cloud), with code nodes for custom logic. Best for technical teams that want control without building from scratch.
Custom code — unlimited capability, unlimited maintenance. Node.js, Python, or Go services that do exactly what you need. Best when no platform can handle the requirement.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Zapier | Make | n8n | Custom Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of use | ★★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★ | ★★ |
| App integrations | 7,000+ | 1,800+ | 400+ (+ HTTP) | Unlimited (via API) |
| Branching/conditionals | Basic (Paths) | Advanced (Routers) | Advanced + code | Unlimited |
| Loops and iteration | Limited | Full support | Full support | Unlimited |
| Error handling | Basic (retry, stop) | Advanced (error routes) | Advanced (error workflows) | Unlimited |
| Data transformation | Formatters only | Full JSON/array transform | Code nodes + built-in | Unlimited |
| Custom code | No | Yes (JS modules) | Yes (JS/Python nodes) | N/A |
| Webhooks | Receive only | Send and receive | Send and receive | Unlimited |
| API requests | Via Webhooks by Zapier | HTTP module (full control) | HTTP module (full control) | Unlimited |
| Scheduling | 1-15 min intervals | 1 min minimum | Cron expressions | Unlimited |
| Self-hosting | No | No | Yes (Docker/K8s) | Yes |
| Data residency | US/EU (limited) | EU | Your infrastructure | Your infrastructure |
The Complexity Ceiling
This is the most important comparison and the hardest to quantify. Every platform has a point where workflows become too complex to build or maintain reliably.
Zapier's ceiling: Hit with multi-step workflows that need conditional branching, data aggregation, or error recovery. A workflow that processes a webhook, validates the data, queries two APIs, merges the results, and routes to different actions based on conditions — that's past Zapier's comfortable zone.
Make's ceiling: Hit when workflows need persistent state, complex retry logic with backoff, or transaction-like atomicity (either all steps succeed or all roll back). Make's visual builder becomes unwieldy past 30-40 nodes.
n8n's ceiling: Rarely hit because code nodes extend it indefinitely. The practical ceiling is team skill — n8n requires someone comfortable with JSON manipulation and basic JavaScript. The ceiling is operational: self-hosted n8n needs monitoring, updates, and infrastructure management.
Custom code's ceiling: There isn't one, functionally. The ceiling is maintenance cost and team capacity.
Pricing at Scale
This is where the comparison gets uncomfortable. Platform pricing seems cheap at low volume and becomes expensive fast.
Monthly Cost by Usage
| Monthly Tasks | Zapier | Make | n8n Cloud | n8n Self-Hosted | Custom |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 750 | $0 (Free) | $0 (Free) | $0 (Free) | $0 + infra | N/A |
| 2,000 | $20 | $9 | $20 | $5 (server) | N/A |
| 10,000 | $69 | $16 | $50 | $5 | $50-$100 (server) |
| 50,000 | $299 | $29 | $120 | $10 | $50-$100 |
| 100,000 | $599 | $99 | $250 | $20 | $50-$100 |
| 500,000 | $1,499 | $299 | Custom | $30 | $50-$200 |
| 1,000,000+ | $2,999+ | $599+ | Custom | $50 | $50-$200 |
The pattern is clear: Zapier is 3-10x more expensive than Make at every volume tier. n8n self-hosted is essentially free beyond server costs. Custom code has a fixed infrastructure cost regardless of volume but high development and maintenance costs.
Total Cost of Ownership (3 Years)
For a company running 100,000 tasks/month:
| Platform | Annual Platform Cost | Setup/Migration | Maintenance | 3-Year TCO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zapier | $7,188 | $2,000 | $2,000/yr | $28,564 |
| Make | $1,188 | $3,000 | $3,000/yr | $15,564 |
| n8n Cloud | $3,000 | $4,000 | $3,000/yr | $22,000 |
| n8n Self-Hosted | $240 | $5,000 | $5,000/yr | $20,720 |
| Custom Code | $1,200 | $30,000 | $15,000/yr | $76,200 |
Make wins on total cost at most volume tiers. Custom code is 3-5x more expensive — but it handles workflows that platforms can't. n8n self-hosted is cheapest in platform fees but requires operational investment.
When to Use Each Platform
Use Zapier When:
- Your team is non-technical (marketing, sales, customer success)
- Workflows are simple (trigger → 1-3 actions)
- Volume is low (under 10,000 tasks/month)
- You need to prototype quickly before building something proper
- The app you need is only available on Zapier
Zapier is the best prototyping tool. Build the workflow in Zapier to validate the logic, then rebuild in Make or custom code when it needs to scale.
Use Make When:
- Workflows involve branching, iteration, or data transformation
- You need visual workflow design with more power than Zapier
- Volume is moderate to high (10,000-500,000 tasks/month)
- Budget matters (Make is the best value per task)
- Your team can handle medium complexity (not developers, but technically comfortable)
Make is the sweet spot for most B2B marketing ops teams. It handles 90% of automation needs at a fraction of Zapier's cost.
Use n8n When:
- Data must stay on your infrastructure (compliance, security)
- You need code nodes for custom logic within visual workflows
- You have a technical team comfortable with self-hosting
- You want unlimited execution without per-task pricing
- You're building internal tools or ops automation
n8n is the developer's choice. If your team can maintain a Docker container, n8n provides platform-level convenience with custom-code-level flexibility.
Use Custom Code When:
- Platform complexity ceiling is hit
- Sub-second latency is required
- Transaction-like atomicity is necessary (all-or-nothing processing)
- Data sensitivity or compliance requires full control
- The workflow is core to your business and worth the integration investment
Custom code is for workflows where failure has serious business consequences and no platform provides sufficient control.
Migration Between Platforms
Migration is inevitable. Most companies start on Zapier, outgrow it, and move to Make or n8n. Plan for it.
Migration Checklist
- Inventory all active workflows. Export from the current platform. Document trigger, actions, and business logic for each.
- Prioritize by impact. Migrate business-critical workflows first. Low-volume, low-impact workflows can stay on the old platform temporarily.
- Rebuild, don't translate. Each platform has different design patterns. Recreating a Zapier workflow in Make by copying the exact structure misses Make's more powerful features. Redesign the workflow for the new platform.
- Run in parallel. Keep the old workflow active while the new one is validated. Disable the old workflow only after 2 weeks of confirmed parallel operation.
- Test edge cases. The most common migration failure: edge cases that worked accidentally in the old platform and fail explicitly in the new one.
Timeline: 2-4 weeks for 10-20 workflows. 4-8 weeks for 50+ workflows.
FAQ
Can we use multiple platforms simultaneously? Yes, and many companies do. Zapier for simple workflows that non-technical teams manage. Make or n8n for complex workflows that ops teams build. Custom code for mission-critical integrations. The key is clear ownership — every workflow has one owner and one platform.
Is n8n self-hosted reliable for production? Yes, with investment. Run it on a dedicated server with monitoring, automated backups, and update scheduling. The n8n community and documentation are mature. Treat it like any production service — not a side project on a spare server.
How do we handle automation security? All platforms store credentials (API keys, OAuth tokens) that provide access to critical systems. Audit connected accounts quarterly. Use scoped API keys with minimum necessary permissions. Enable platform-level 2FA. For n8n self-hosted, encrypt the credential database.
What happens if a platform goes down? Zapier and Make have good uptime (99.9%+), but outages happen. For critical workflows, implement monitoring that alerts you when expected events don't arrive. For ultra-critical workflows, build redundancy — a custom webhook receiver that caches events during platform outages and replays them on recovery.
The right automation platform saves hours per week and compounds over time. The wrong one becomes a maintenance burden that consumes more time than it saves. Match the platform to your team's technical capability, your workflow complexity, and your growth trajectory. Empirium designs and implements automation architectures that scale — from simple CRM integrations to complex multi-system workflows. Let's talk.