n8n vs Make: executions against credits
n8n and Make both connect apps with a visual builder, but they charge for different things. n8n counts one execution per workflow run, however many steps it has, and sells n8n Cloud as Starter, Pro and Enterprise next to a free self-hosted Community edition. Make counts a credit for each module that runs and sells Free, Core, Pro, Teams and Enterprise on its own cloud.
Reviewed against 29 sources. Prices, models, policies and terms change, so check the linked pages before you buy, build, publish or trade.
The short answer
Workflow length settles the price. At 10,000 runs a month n8n Pro is €50 (about $56) billed annually at any step count, and Make Core costs about the same once each run uses 8 credits: less below that, more above. Choose n8n for long workflows or your own server, and Make for short scenarios, a free hosted plan and the larger app catalogue.
Choose n8n if
- Your workflows run more than about 8 steps. 10,000 runs of a 15-module Make scenario need 150,000 credits, $99 a month on Core billed annually; n8n Pro stays at €50.
- It has to run on your own server. The Community edition is free to self-host; Make lists AWS hosting on every plan.
- You poll for new data often. n8n does not count a poll that finds nothing; Make counts 1 operation per check.
Choose Make if
- Your scenarios are short. 10,000 runs of a 2-module scenario use 20,000 credits: $16 a month on Core billed annually.
- You want a hosted plan that stays free: 1,000 credits a month at $0. n8n Cloud offers a 14-day trial.
- The app you need is only in the bigger catalogue: Make lists 3,500+ apps, n8n 2,368 integrations.
The facts, side by side
Each row shows the date it was checked and numbered links to the pages it was read from.
marks the side the facts favour on that row. Rows without one are a draw or a matter of fit.
Swipe the table sideways to see Make.
| Compared | n8nCloud or self-hosted | MakeCloud only |
|---|---|---|
| Billing unit11617 | Execution: one run of a whole workflow, with unlimited steps | Credit: 1 per operation by default, and each module run is an operation. A 5-module run that handles one item uses 5 credits. |
| Runs that are not counted21417 | Advantage: Manual test runs, sub-workflow runs, error workflow runs and polls that find no new data | Router modules and error handler modules. A trigger uses 1 operation each time it checks for data. |
| Where it runs114 | Advantage: n8n Cloud, with data stored in Frankfurt, Germany, or self-hosted on your own server | Make's cloud only: AWS in the EU or North America on every plan |
| Self-hosting licence651423 | Advantage: Community edition: free under the Sustainable Use License for internal business, personal and non-commercial use. n8n does not call it open source. | No self-hosted version is documented. Enterprise adds an on-premise agent so scenarios can reach apps on your local network. |
| Integrations listed1015 | 2,368 in the integrations directory, which counts trigger and core nodes | Advantage: 3,500+ apps |
| Services not in the catalogue11014 | HTTP Request node and custom API requests on every plan. Custom nodes on self-hosted only. | Custom apps on every plan, for any service with a public API |
| Code steps114 | Advantage: JavaScript and Python code steps on every plan, Community edition included | Make Code app: JavaScript or Python at 2 credits per second of run time, not on Free. Custom functions are Enterprise only. |
| Error handling tools982021 | Per node: Retry On Fail, and On Error set to stop, continue, or continue with an error output. Per workflow: an error workflow that runs when an execution fails. | Five error handlers on a module: Skip, Retry, Resume, Commit and Rollback. Failed runs can be stored as incomplete executions, a setting that is off by default. |
| Automatic retries922 | Retry On Fail reruns a failed node until it succeeds | Rate limit, connection and timeout errors: up to 8 retries on a backoff schedule, the last one 7 hours 51 minutes after the run. Retry handler default: 3 attempts, 15 minutes apart. |
| At the monthly limit31418 | Cloud Starter and Pro: each new execution fails at once with "Execution limit reached" and is not queued. The count resets at the start of the calendar month. | Scenarios stop until credits are added, and incoming webhooks queue. Extra credits cost 25% more than plan credits. |
| Longest single run114 | Cloud: 5 minutes on Starter, 40 minutes on Pro and Enterprise. Self-hosted: configurable. | 5 minutes on Free, 40 minutes on every paid plan |
| Run history kept114 | Starter: 7 days or 2,500 saved executions, whichever comes first. Pro: 30 days or 25,000. | Free: 7 days. Core, Pro and Teams: 30 days. Enterprise: 60 days. |
Where each one is stronger
n8n Cloud or self-hosted
One price at any workflow length
A 30-step workflow that runs 10,000 times uses 10,000 executions: €50 a month on Pro billed annually. A Make scenario where 30 modules each run once uses 300,000 credits, $182.16 a month on Core billed annually. 11614
Free to run on your own server
The Community edition has no licence fee and includes code steps, error workflows and queue mode. SSO, projects, workflow sharing and Git version control start on the self-hosted Business plan: €667 a month billed annually for 40,000 executions. 51
Idle polls and error runs are not billed
n8n counts a polling trigger only when it finds new data, and since 1 September 2026 error workflow runs are left out of the quota. Make counts 1 operation per trigger check: 2,880 in a 30-day month for a scenario scheduled every 15 minutes. 21217
Make Cloud only
Cheaper when scenarios are short
10,000 runs of a 2-module scenario need 20,000 credits, $16 a month on Core billed annually, where n8n Pro is €50, about $56 at the European Central Bank rate of 12 October 2026. 14129
A hosted plan that stays free
Make Free gives 1,000 credits a month, 2 active scenarios and a 15-minute minimum interval for $0. n8n Cloud has a 14-day trial capped at 1,000 executions, then deletes the workspace unless you upgrade. 1414
Failed runs are stored and retried
With incomplete executions switched on, Make keeps a failed run, retries rate limit, connection and timeout errors up to 8 times on a backoff schedule, and lets you fix and resume the rest by hand. Error handlers use no operations. 212220
Which to pick, by job
A 12-step lead workflow that runs 10,000 times a month
A 2-step job that runs 10,000 times a month
Customer data that has to stay on servers you control
A first automation with no budget and no server
An unreliable API where no record may be lost
What it costs
n8n lists euros and Make lists US dollars, each read from the vendor's pricing page; annual plans are shown per month. Dollar figures in brackets use the European Central Bank reference rate of 12 October 2026: 1 euro to 1.1181 US dollars. Make runs are priced at 1 credit per module, each running once; a module that handles several items uses a credit for each.
marks the side the facts favour on that row. Rows without one are a draw or a matter of fit.
Swipe the table sideways to see Make.
| Compared | n8nCloud or self-hosted | MakeCloud only |
|---|---|---|
| Free option14514 | No free Cloud plan. 14-day trial with 1,000 executions, no card needed. Self-hosted Community edition: free. | Free: $0 for 1,000 credits a month, 2 active scenarios, 15-minute minimum interval |
| Entry paid plan114 | Starter: €24 a month, or €20 billed annually, for 2,500 executions | Core: $10.59 a month, or $9 billed annually, for 10,000 credits |
| Next plan up114 | Pro: €60 a month, or €50 billed annually, for 10,000 executions. 50,000 executions: €120 billed annually. | Pro: $18.82 a month, or $16 billed annually, for 10,000 credits. Teams: $34.12, or $29. |
| 10,000 runs, 2 modules each11429 | Pro, 10,000 executions: €50 billed annually (about $56) or €60 monthly (about $67) | Advantage: 20,000 credits on Core: $16 billed annually or $18.82 monthly |
| 10,000 runs, 4 modules each114 | Same Pro plan: €50 or €60 | Advantage: 40,000 credits on Core: $29 billed annually or $34.12 monthly |
| 10,000 runs, 8 modules each114 | Same Pro plan: €50 or €60 | 80,000 credits on Core: $55 billed annually or $64.71 monthly |
| 10,000 runs, 15 modules each114 | Advantage: Same Pro plan: €50 or €60 | 150,000 credits on Core: $99 billed annually or $116.47 monthly |
| Going over the allowance311418 | Cloud Starter and Pro: executions fail until the month resets or you upgrade. Business: €4,000 for each extra 300,000 executions. | Extra credits in blocks of 1,000 or 10,000 at your plan rate plus 25%. Auto-purchase buys 10,000 at a time. |
| Unused allowance31419 | The execution count resets at the start of each calendar month, whatever your billing date | Credits expire at the end of the term. Annual Pro and Teams plans get the year of credits up front; Core resets monthly. |
| Self-hosted with paid features114 | Advantage: Business: €800 a month, or €667 billed annually, for 40,000 executions, with SSO, 6 shared projects and Git version control | No self-hosted plan listed |
What changed recently
Make added event subscriptions on Teams and Enterprise: signed notifications for events such as a failed scenario run. 25
Make removed cycles, so every scenario run now completes one cycle. 26
n8n launched agents in preview. One turn with an agent counts as one execution. 12
n8n Cloud added Gateway credits, a prepaid balance for AI models that needs no provider account. 12
n8n stopped counting error workflow runs towards the execution quota on every plan. 12
Make's AI Provider began charging separate input and output token rates on its Small, Medium and Large models. 27
Make set extra credits at 25% above the plan rate and capped Core at 300,000 credits a month. 28
Questions people ask
What is the difference between an n8n execution and a Make credit?
An n8n execution is one complete run of a workflow; a Make credit pays for one module run inside a scenario. n8n charges the same for a 3-step and a 30-step workflow. In Make, 1 operation equals 1 credit by default, so a 5-module scenario that handles one item uses 5 credits. If its trigger returns 10 items it uses 41: 1 for the trigger and 10 for each later module. 11617
Is n8n cheaper than Make?
n8n is cheaper once each run uses more than about 8 Make credits, and Make is cheaper below that. For 10,000 runs a month, n8n Pro is €50 billed annually (about $56) at any length. Make Core billed annually is $16 for 2 modules a run, $29 for 4, $55 for 8 and $99 for 15. The self-hosted n8n Community edition has no licence fee, only your server cost. 114295
Can you self-host n8n or Make for free?
n8n yes, Make no. The n8n Community edition is free under the Sustainable Use License, which covers internal business use and client work where the client cannot build or edit workflows. n8n's 3.0 notes say self-hosting then requires Docker. Make's plan table lists AWS hosting on every plan. One sentence on its pricing page mentions a self-hosted Community Edition, but it links to no download or documentation, so plan on Make being cloud only. 671314
How do n8n and Make handle a failed step?
Both retry a failed step, and Make can also store the unfinished run and resume it from the module that failed. In n8n each node has Retry On Fail and an On Error setting, and a workflow can name an error workflow that runs when an execution fails. In Make you attach an error handler to a module: Skip, Retry, Resume, Commit or Rollback. Storing incomplete executions is off by default. 98202122
Does n8n or Make have more integrations?
Make lists more: 3,500+ apps against 2,368 entries in n8n's directory, a count that includes trigger and core nodes. Search both directories for the exact app you need. For anything missing, n8n has an HTTP Request node on every plan, and Make lets you build a custom app for any service with a public API. 1510114
How are AI agents billed on n8n and Make?
On n8n one turn with an agent counts as one execution; you pay for the model with your own provider key or, on Cloud Starter and Pro, prepaid Gateway credits. On Make an agent run uses 1 credit per operation, plus credits for tokens on Make's AI Provider: its Large tier gives 3,616 input or 452 output tokens per credit. Paid Make plans can connect their own provider key instead. Agents are in preview on n8n and in beta on Make. 1211241614
Sources
Each page was read on the date beside it. The links open the current version, which may have changed since.
- 1n8n: plans and pricing
- 2n8n Docs: understand executions
- 3n8n Help Center: execution limit FAQ
- 4n8n Docs: try free then choose a plan
- 5n8n Docs: compare editions
- 6n8n Docs: Community license
- 7n8n Docs: license FAQ
- 8n8n Docs: handle errors gracefully
- 9n8n Docs: work with nodes
- 10n8n: integrations directory
- 11n8n Docs: Gateway credits
- 12n8n Docs: changelog
- 13n8n Docs: v3.0 breaking changes
- 14Make: pricing
- 15Make: integrations
- 16Make Help Center: credits
- 17Make Help Center: operations
- 18Make Help Center: extra credits
- 19Make Help Center: monthly and annual subscriptions
- 20Make Help Center: overview of error handling
- 21Make Help Center: incomplete executions
- 22Make Help Center: automatic retry of incomplete executions
- 23Make Help Center: on-premise agent
- 24Make Help Center: credit usage for AI agents
- 25Make Help Center: introducing event subscriptions
- 26Make Help Center: cycles removal on October 1, 2026
- 27Make Help Center: updated AI Provider token pricing
- 28Make Help Center: adjustments to plans and pricing
- 29European Central Bank: euro foreign exchange reference rates
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