CentriWebn8n vs Zapier comes down to two things: how each one bills you and who will look after it. Zapier charges per task, which is each successful action step, and runs entirely in its own cloud, so an owner or office manager can usually build and fix it. n8n charges per execution, which is one full run of a workflow however many steps it has, and can run on your own server, which suits long or high-volume workflows when someone technical is on hand.
A disclosure first: CentriWeb builds most client automations in n8n, so weigh our view with that in mind. Every figure below comes from the vendors’ own pages as at November 2026. Check their page for current prices. Our three-way comparison of Zapier, Make and n8n covers the basics. This article goes further into billing, limits and upkeep for the two tools on their own.
n8n vs Zapier at a glance
| Zapier | n8n | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Hosted automation tool connecting 9,000+ apps | Low-code workflow tool, hosted by n8n or self-hosted |
| How it charges | Tasks: each successful action step | Executions: each full run of a workflow (cloud and paid plans) |
| Who maintains it | A confident owner or office manager | Someone comfortable with data and the odd line of code, plus server upkeep if self-hosted |
| Where data sits | AWS servers in the United States | EU (Frankfurt) on n8n Cloud, or wherever you host it |
| Who it suits | Short flows between popular apps, owner-run | Long, branching or high-volume flows, or data kept in a chosen country |
How Zapier counts tasks, in detail
Zapier’s pricing page says a task is counted whenever Zapier successfully completes a unit of work for you. Failed actions are not counted. The detail matters more than the headline:
- Free steps. Triggers and polling for new data do not count. Nor do Zapier’s built-in tools: Formatter, Paths, Filter, Delay, Looping, Sub-Zap, Digest, Storage, Tables and Forms. A Zap full of filters and formatting costs less than its length suggests.
- Loops. The Looping step itself is free, but the actions that run inside it are still successful action steps. A loop that creates 30 line items is likely to use tasks for each one, so test it and check your task history.
- Code. Code steps include a runtime allowance per step (30 seconds on Pro and Team). Beyond that, runtime is rounded up to 30-second blocks and each block uses a task.
- AI and MCP. Programmatic calls count too. The page lists one Zapier MCP tool call at two tasks.
What happens when you run out
On Pro, Team and Enterprise, going over your limit switches you to pay-per-task billing if it is turned on. Extra tasks cost 1.25 times the base rate on annual plans and 2.5 times on monthly plans, and usage stops at three times your subscription until the next cycle. With pay-per-task off, your Zaps stop at the limit. Task allowances reset monthly even on annual billing.
That is a real design choice for a small business: either your automations stop on a busy month, or the bill rises. Decide which you prefer before it happens.
Zapier plans as at November 2026
- Free: 100 tasks a month, two-step Zaps only, 15 minute polling.
- Pro: from US$19.99 a month billed annually (US$29.99 monthly) for 750 tasks, multi-step Zaps, premium apps, webhooks, 2 minute polling.
- Team: from US$69 a month billed annually (US$103.50 monthly) for 2,000 tasks, 25 seats, SAML single sign-on, 1 minute polling.
- Enterprise: custom, through Zapier’s sales team.
How n8n counts executions, in detail
n8n’s pricing page says an execution is a single run of your entire workflow, no matter how many steps it has or how much data it processes. A workflow that loops through 30 line items, calls an AI model and updates three systems is still one execution.
As at November 2026 the page lists, in euros and billed annually:
- Starter: €20 a month, 2,500 executions, 5 concurrent executions, 7 days of logs, hosted by n8n.
- Pro: €50 a month, 10,000 executions, 30 days of logs, hosted by n8n.
- Business: €667 a month, 40,000 executions, self-hosted, with single sign-on, multiple environments and Git version control. The page says companies with fewer than 20 employees can apply for 50% off this plan.
- Enterprise: custom, cloud or self-hosted.
- Community edition: free to self-host.
The page says overage fees are capped on Starter and Pro, and that on Business your workflows keep running if you go over, with possible overage charges. Monthly prices are not shown, and euro pricing means the Australian dollar cost moves with the exchange rate. Our guide to n8n pricing works through the plans in more depth.
A worked example with both billing units
Take a quote follow-up workflow for a trade business. When a quote is marked sent in the job software, it waits three days, checks whether the quote was accepted, and if not, sends an SMS, creates a task for the estimator and logs a note in the CRM. Say 200 quotes a month.
- Zapier: the trigger, Delay and Filter are free. The status lookup, SMS, task and note are four counted actions. Up to 800 tasks a month, fewer if some quotes were already accepted and the Zap stops at the filter.
- n8n: 200 executions a month, whatever happens inside each run.
At this size both fit their entry paid plans. The gap widens as workflows grow. Add a loop over each quote’s line items, or an AI step that drafts a personal message, and the Zapier task count rises with every action, while n8n still counts one execution per quote. Count your own steps and runs, then compare against each vendor’s current plans.
What Zapier does well
- Speed to a working automation. Plain steps, a long list of ready-made app connections and no server to think about.
- Owner-maintainable. Most people can fix a broken Zap after an afternoon of practice.
- Generous free steps. Filters, formatting, paths, delays and its own tables do not use tasks.
- Team features on a mid plan. The Team plan includes 25 seats and single sign-on.
What n8n does well
- Long workflows cost the same per run. Twenty steps cost the same execution as two.
- Code when you need it. The Code node runs JavaScript or Python, and n8n describes itself as low-code: build without code, add it when needed.
- A choice of where it runs. Cloud plans store data in Frankfurt. A self-hosted instance can run in an Australian data centre.
- Self-hosting rights. The licence FAQ allows use for internal business purposes and lets someone build and maintain workflows on their own instance for clients, as long as clients do not access the instance directly. It does not allow hosting n8n as a service for others to build their own workflows.
Upkeep: the cost that is not on either pricing page
Zapier carries the hosting. You carry the logic: when an app renames a field, someone has to notice and fix the Zap. Zapier’s data privacy page says it keeps up to 69 days of Zap history before its monthly deletion, which gives you a window to investigate failures.
n8n Cloud carries the hosting too, with log retention set by plan. Self-hosting moves the server onto you: updates, backups, security patches and monitoring. The n8n hosting docs point to Docker Compose or a one-line setup in place of the older npm install, which leaves you managing Node.js versions yourself. Git version control and separate test and live environments come only on the Business and Enterprise plans.
Whichever you pick, automations break when the apps around them change. Our guide to why automations break covers how to catch failures early.
When a built and looked-after system fits better
A self-serve tool is a good fit when one person has the time and interest to own it. It gets harder when automations touch quotes, invoices and customer messages across several systems, and nobody in the business wants to be the one who fixes them at 7am. That is when it can make sense to have the workflows built, monitored and kept up to date for you, which is what our automation service does.
It does not suit everyone. If you run a handful of short Zaps a few hundred times a month, if you or a staff member enjoy building them, or if a standard Zapier or n8n Cloud plan covers what you need, stay self-serve and spend the money elsewhere.