n8n vs Make

Both tools automate workflows without writing code. Both connect to hundreds of apps. The difference is less about features and more about who's using them.

Make (formerly Integromat)

Make has a visual canvas where you drag modules and connect them with lines. It's beginner-friendly. Non-technical people pick it up in a day.

Good for: Marketing teams, small businesses, people who want to automate and never think about it again.

Pricing: Free tier with 1,000 operations/month. Gets expensive fast if you're running heavy automations.

n8n

n8n is open-source and self-hostable. The interface is more complex, but the power is significantly higher. You can write JavaScript inside nodes, handle complex branching, and run it on your own server for near-zero cost.

Good for: Technical founders, developers, teams that need flexibility.

Pricing: Free if self-hosted. Cloud plan starts at $20/month.

The real difference

Make assumes you want to set it and forget it. n8n assumes you want control.

If you're building AI workflows — connecting GPT to your CRM, running sentiment analysis on emails, building an AI assistant that actually does things — n8n wins because you can handle edge cases that Make's rigid node system can't.

If you want to sync Google Sheets to Notion without touching settings ever again, Make is perfect.

My recommendation

Start with Make if you're non-technical. Switch to n8n when you hit a wall — and you will hit one.