n8n vs Make: executions vs credits, costed on the same workflow

Executions vs credits: the difference that decides

n8n counts one “execution” per complete workflow run, however many steps it has. Make counts one “credit” per module that runs, trigger included. The longer your automations, the more that difference favors n8n. For one or two short scenarios, Make has a permanent free plan; n8n Cloud has none, only a 14-day free trial.

Two more gaps weigh on the choice. n8n can be installed on your own server; Make cannot. And the two price lists were not recorded in the same currency (euros for n8n, US dollars for Make), so the amounts cannot be compared without an exchange rate. This page is an analysis of both vendors’ public pricing and documentation, recorded on the date shown.

The same workflow on both

Take a lead form on your website. Each entry arrives by webhook (an instant trigger) and sets off four actions: add a row to a spreadsheet, create a contact in the CRM, send an email, post a message in a team chat.

At 1,000 entries a month.

• n8n: 1,000 runs, so 1,000 executions. The number of actions is not part of the math. The Starter plan includes 2,500 executions a month for €24 a month.
• Make: 1,000 × (1 trigger + 4 actions) = 5,000 credits. The free plan (1,000 credits a month) is not enough. Core, at its first tier, includes 10,000 for $16 a month.

At 10,000 entries a month.

• n8n: 10,000 executions, exactly the first tier of the Pro plan (10,000, for €60 a month), with no headroom. The next tier is 50,000.
• Make: 50,000 credits. That takes Core’s 80,000 tier, priced in the table further down.

Monthly volume	n8n	Make
1,000 runs of 4 actions	1,000 executions (Starter)	5,000 credits (Core, 10,000 tier)
1,000 runs of 9 actions	1,000 executions (Starter)	10,000 credits (Core, 10,000 tier, no headroom)
10,000 runs of 4 actions	10,000 executions (Pro, 10,000 tier)	50,000 credits (Core, 80,000 tier)

Read the other way around: Core’s first tier covers 2,000 runs of this scenario; Starter covers 2,500 runs of any length. The cost calculator redoes this math with your own numbers, and the guide to tasks, credits, operations and executions spells out each tool’s rule.

What runs up the meter

On Make, empty polling checks. A trigger uses 1 credit each time it runs, even when it finds no new data. A scenario that polls an app every 15 minutes makes 2,880 checks a month: on its own, that is more than the free plan’s quota. At every 5 minutes, it is 8,640 credits for the trigger alone. A webhook trigger avoids that cost.

On Make again, bundles. An action module uses 1 credit per bundle it processes: if a step returns 20 rows, the next module uses 20 credits. Routers, filters and error handlers use none.

On n8n, scheduled triggers. A Schedule Trigger counts one execution each time it fires: a workflow scheduled every 15 minutes produces 2,880 executions a month, more than Starter’s quota. A webhook counts one execution per incoming request, even with an empty body. Manual executions from the editor, sub-workflows and error workflows do not count.

Past the quota. On Make, scenarios stop until credits are added, and an extra credit costs the credit price of the subscribed plan plus 25%. On n8n, Starter and Pro are “Capped”: according to the tooltip on the pricing page, workflows keep running and these two plans have no overage fees.

Volume tiers on both price lists

n8n volume tiers

Plan	Monthly volume (executions)	Monthly price	Monthly price, billed annually
Starter	2,500	€24	€20
Pro	10,000	€60	€50
Pro	50,000	€144	€120
Business	40,000	€800	€667
Business	50,000	€985	€821
Business	75,000	€1,456	€1,213
Business	100,000	€1,726	€1,438
Business	150,000	€2,189	€1,824
Business	200,000	€2,639	€2,199
Business	300,000	€3,512	€2,927
Business	400,000	€4,381	€3,651
Business	500,000	€5,245	€4,371

In this table, the Business rows belong to a self-hosted-only plan.

Make volume tiers

Plan	Monthly volume (credits)	Monthly price	Monthly price, billed annually
Free	1,000	$0	$0
Core	10,000	$16	$11
Core	20,000	$28	$20
Core	40,000	$46	$37
Core	80,000	$81	$65
Core	150,000	$134	$107
Core	300,000	$236	$189
Pro	10,000	$28	$20
Pro	20,000	$51	$36
Pro	40,000	$84	$67
Pro	80,000	$134	$107
Pro	150,000	$208	$166
Pro	300,000	$348	$278
Pro	500,000	$531	$425
Pro	750,000	$747	$598
Pro	1,000,000	$969	$775
Pro	1,500,000	$1,395	$1,116
Pro	2,000,000	$1,783	$1,426
Pro	2,500,000	$2,201	$1,761
Pro	3,000,000	$2,567	$2,054
Pro	4,000,000	$3,332	$2,666
Pro	5,000,000	$4,081	$3,265
Pro	6,000,000	$4,798	$3,838
Pro	7,000,000	$5,531	$4,425
Pro	8,000,000	$6,227	$4,982
Teams	10,000	$51	$36
Teams	20,000	$94	$66
Teams	40,000	$157	$126
Teams	80,000	$254	$203
Teams	150,000	$394	$315
Teams	300,000	$660	$528
Teams	500,000	$1,009	$807
Teams	750,000	$1,419	$1,135
Teams	1,000,000	$1,813	$1,450
Teams	1,500,000	$2,549	$2,039
Teams	2,000,000	$3,172	$2,538
Teams	2,500,000	$3,894	$3,115
Teams	3,000,000	$4,461	$3,569
Teams	4,000,000	$5,700	$4,560
Teams	5,000,000	$6,902	$5,522
Teams	6,000,000	$8,208	$6,566
Teams	7,000,000	$9,354	$7,483
Teams	8,000,000	$10,652	$8,522

On annual billing, Core credits reset every month; Pro and Teams credits can be used over 12 months. The n8n pricing and Make pricing pages go through each plan.

Self-hosting: n8n only

n8n publishes a free Community edition, with no license key, that you install on your own server. According to the pricing grid, it does not limit users, active workflows or concurrent executions. What is left for you is paying for the server and running it: the vendor recommends Docker and reserves self-hosting for experienced users. Some features are not included, among them SSO, projects and workflow sharing.

n8n does not call itself “open source”: its license, the Sustainable Use License, is what the vendor calls “fair-code.” It allows use for your own internal business purposes, not hosting n8n as a service where your customers build their workflows. Three guides go deeper: n8n Cloud vs self-hosted, is n8n free and open source and self-hosting n8n on a VPS.

For Make, the answer recorded is: No: no self-hosted plan on the pricing page; AWS hosting (EU, North America) for every plan source.

Where your data lives

n8n’s hosted plans store data in the EU, on servers in Frankfurt; when you self-host, data stays wherever you install n8n. On Make, each organization picks a data center in the US or the EU when it is created and cannot change it afterwards. Make adds that an EU data zone does not guarantee that all AI processing stays in the EU: Maia and Make AI Web Search are processed in the United States.

One more point on the n8n side: telemetry can be turned off when you self-host, but not on Cloud.

AI, agents and MCP

Both tools include AI agents and the MCP protocol on every plan. The difference is in how they are counted.

• n8n: the AI Agent node is included on Cloud and in the Community edition. The execution stays the unit; model calls are paid separately, with your own provider keys or with Gateway credits (a prepaid balance, on Starter and Pro).
• Make: “Make AI Agents,” in beta, uses 1 credit per operation, plus token-based credits when the agent goes through Make’s AI provider. With a connection to your own provider, reserved for paid plans, you pay that provider for tokens.

What does not separate them

• The number of integrations. Each vendor’s pages contradict each other: n8n announces “500+ native integrations” on its home page and “2,000+ integrations” on its integrations page; Make shows “3,500+ apps” on its plan cards and “more than 1,000” in its FAQ.
• Maximum run time. Up to 5 minutes on Starter and on Make’s free plan, 40 minutes on Pro and on Make’s paid plans.
• Active workflows. Unlimited on every n8n plan and on Make’s paid plans; Make’s free plan allows 2.

To widen the comparison: n8n vs Zapier, Make vs Zapier and the n8n alternatives.