Comparison
Make.com vs Zapier vs n8n for Australian businesses
A three-way comparison from a consultancy that deploys all three in production. AUD pricing, data residency, integration depth, and the decision criteria that actually matter for AU SMBs and mid-market businesses.
Last updated 12 May 2026
TL;DR
For most AU SMBs with SaaS-heavy stacks, Make.com is the best starting point — best visual editor, broadest integration library, AU-region data residency. For simpler workflows where non-technical staff need to maintain them, Zapier is acceptable. For data residency requirements, complex business logic, or future-proofing against vendor lock-in, n8n (self-hosted in AU or via n8n Cloud) wins.
Quick Decision
If you're...
| You are... | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| AU SMB with HubSpot + Xero + Slack (typical SaaS stack) | Make.com | Best visual editor, all integrations present, AU data residency available, moderate pricing. |
| Solo operator wanting one or two simple automations | Zapier (Starter plan) | Simplest tool, easiest to maintain, broadest integrations. Won't outgrow it at this scale. |
| Accounting firm or law firm processing sensitive client data | n8n (self-hosted in AU) | Data residency under your control. Client confidentiality requirements demand infrastructure-level isolation. |
| Healthcare practice or NDIS service provider | n8n (self-hosted) | Health information and beneficiary data have strict AU privacy requirements. Self-hosted gives audit-friendly control. |
| Tech-forward startup wanting to avoid vendor lock-in | n8n (Cloud or self-hosted) | Open-source-friendly, code escape hatches, portable workflows. Easier to migrate or change tools later. |
| Mid-market company (50-200 staff) running 20+ active workflows | Make.com (Pro or Teams tier) | Strong visual editor for the team, mature feature set, good AU support. Self-hosting becomes a real ops job at this scale. |
| Ecommerce business with Shopify + Klaviyo + Cin7 | Make.com | Strongest integration depth for ecommerce stack specifically. Klaviyo + Shopify workflows are well-supported. |
| Trade business with ServiceM8 + Xero | Make.com or n8n | Make for ease, n8n if you want full control. Both have ServiceM8 integration; trades are split roughly 60/40 between them. |
Feature Matrix
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | Make.com | Zapier | n8n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting monthly cost (AUD) | AU$13.70 | AU$30 | AU$0 self-hosted / AU$30 cloud |
| Typical production cost (AU SMB) | AU$70-200/mo | AU$50-200/mo | AU$20-100/mo (self-hosted) |
| AU data residency | ✓ Enterprise + select tiers | ✓ Enterprise tier only | ✓ Full control (self-hosted) |
| Number of integrations | ~1,500 apps | ~7,000 apps | ~400 native + JS/HTTP for anything |
| Visual editor quality | Strong (best of the three) | Good (simplest) | Adequate |
| Complex branching support | ✓ Strong | Limited | ✓ Strong + code escape |
| Error handling sophistication | ✓ Built-in retry + alerts | Basic | ✓ Configurable + code |
| AI / LLM integration | ✓ Native OpenAI + Anthropic + many | ✓ Native + community | ✓ Native + custom HTTP |
| MCP integration | ✓ Available | Limited (early) | ✓ Strong (open-source) |
| Self-hosting | ✗ SaaS only | ✗ SaaS only | ✓ Open-source self-hostable |
| Operational complexity | Low (managed) | Lowest (managed) | High (self-hosted) / Low (cloud) |
| Code escape hatch | JS modules + HTTP | Code modules | ✓ Full code modules (JS/Python) |
| Vendor lock-in risk | Medium (proprietary) | Medium (proprietary) | Low (open-source) |
| Non-technical maintainability | Good | Best | Moderate |
| Best fit team size | SMB + lower mid-market | Solo to small team | All — but ops burden varies |
When Each Wins
What each option is best at
Make.com (formerly Integromat)
Strong visual editor + broad integration library. The most-used workflow automation platform for AU SMBs in 2026.
When it wins
- SaaS-heavy business with HubSpot, Salesforce, Xero, Shopify, etc.
- You want a strong visual editor that handles complex branching
- You need AU-region data residency without self-hosting
- Budget is moderate (AU$50-300/month)
- Workflows are complex enough to outgrow Zapier's simplicity
Make's visual editor handles complex branching, conditional logic, and multi-step transformations better than Zapier's linear pattern. The integration library covers ~1,500 apps including all major AU business platforms. For most AU SMB and lower mid-market businesses, Make is the right default starting point — strong enough for production workflows without the operational burden of self-hosting.
AU$13.70/month (Core plan, 10k operations) up to AU$455+/month (Enterprise). Most production AU SMB deployments land at AU$70-200/month. Pricing as of May 2026.
Zapier
The simplest workflow automation tool. Strong for linear, low-complexity workflows.
When it wins
- Simple workflows where non-technical staff will maintain them
- You need the broadest possible integration library (~7,000+ apps)
- You don't need complex branching or conditional logic
- Brand recognition matters (CFO knows what Zapier is)
- You want the most polished UX
Zapier is the most accessible workflow automation tool — the simplest UX, the largest integration library, and the most polished onboarding. The trade-off is limited capability for complex workflows: it handles linear workflows excellently and struggles when branching, error handling, or multi-step transformations get serious. For straightforward use cases, Zapier is the right answer.
AU$30-50/month (Starter / Professional) up to AU$600+/month (Team / Company). Costs scale with task volume; complex workflows can become expensive fast. AU data residency requires Enterprise tier. As of May 2026.
n8n (self-hosted or cloud)
Self-hostable, open-source-friendly, code-capable. The 'serious' workflow automation choice.
When it wins
- Data residency is critical and you want full control
- Workflows involve sensitive data (healthcare, legal, financial)
- You expect complex business logic that needs code escape hatches
- Budget sensitivity at high workflow volumes (n8n self-hosted is much cheaper at scale)
- Future-proofing against SaaS vendor lock-in
- Your team can manage infrastructure or you have a consultancy that can
n8n is the workflow automation tool to pick when the constraints matter — data residency, vendor independence, complex business logic, or sustainable economics at scale. The trade-off is operational overhead: self-hosting requires ongoing maintenance, even n8n Cloud is less polished than Make or Zapier. For consultancies, regulated industries, and businesses with complex needs, n8n is increasingly the right answer.
Self-hosted: only your AWS/GCP/Azure compute costs (~AU$20-100/month typical). n8n Cloud: AU$30-660/month depending on tier. AU data residency via self-hosting in AU regions. As of May 2026.
Beneath The Surface
The deeper differences nobody talks about
Cost economics flip at workflow volume. For 1-3 simple workflows, Zapier is cheapest. For 5-20 production workflows with branching, Make is most cost-effective. For 30+ workflows or high task volume, n8n self-hosted has dramatically better economics because you're paying for compute, not per-task. The pricing comparison can mislead at low volume.
Data residency isn't binary. "AU data residency" on Make and Zapier means data is processed in AU regions during the workflow execution — but the API keys, OAuth tokens, and metadata might still be stored in US regions depending on tier. n8n self-hosted gives full control over everything, including secret storage. For genuinely sensitive workloads (healthcare, legal, financial), this distinction matters.
AI integration is no longer a differentiator at the basic level. All three platforms have native OpenAI, Anthropic, and other LLM integration. The actual differentiation is in MCP (Model Context Protocol) support and agent-orchestration patterns, where n8n's open-source architecture is increasingly ahead — community-built MCP servers and agent patterns appear in n8n weeks before they appear in Make or Zapier.
The "no-code" promise has limits in all three. Production workflows in any of these tools end up requiring SOME code — JavaScript modules in Make, code steps in Zapier, native code support in n8n. Teams that expect to never write code outgrow no-code tools faster than they expect. n8n is most honest about this: its UX assumes you'll occasionally need code, and provides it well.
Vendor lock-in matters for long-horizon workflows. Workflows built entirely in Zapier or Make are difficult to migrate elsewhere — the platform IS the format. n8n's workflow definitions are portable JSON that you can version-control and migrate. For workflows you expect to keep for 3+ years, this is a real consideration.
Our Recommendation
What we'd actually pick
For most AU SMB businesses with SaaS-heavy stacks, start with Make.com. Best visual editor, broadest relevant integration library, AU data residency available, moderate pricing. Most production AU SMB deployments we've shipped use Make as the primary orchestration layer.
For simpler use cases where non-technical staff need to maintain workflows themselves, Zapier is the right answer. The UX is materially more accessible than Make or n8n, and the integration library is the broadest in the industry. Don't pick Zapier for complex workflows — but don't avoid it for simple ones either.
For data residency requirements, regulated industries, or workflows where you expect complex business logic, n8n self-hosted in AU is increasingly the right answer. The operational overhead is real but manageable with the right consultancy. The economics get dramatically better at scale. And the vendor independence story matters for long-horizon investments.
For mid-market and larger businesses, we frequently use multiple tools for different workflows — Make for SaaS-heavy orchestration, n8n self-hosted for sensitive data workflows, sometimes Zapier for simple workflows where non-technical staff need autonomy. Right tool for the right job beats one-size-fits-all.
Methodology
Pricing verified May 2026 from the public pricing pages of Make.com, Zapier, and n8n. Feature comparison based on production deployments at Riverstone Labs across all three platforms (24+ active client deployments). We are not affiliated with any of the three platforms and receive no commission. This is our honest assessment from deployment experience.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can we use multiple platforms at the same time?
Yes, and we frequently do for mid-market clients. The right pattern is: pick a primary platform for the bulk of workflows, then use a secondary platform where it's clearly better-suited for specific use cases. The wrong pattern is splitting workflows arbitrarily across platforms — that creates maintenance overhead without compensating value. We help map workflows to platforms during Diagnose.
Is n8n self-hosting really that much cheaper at scale?
Yes, materially. A business running 20+ active workflows on Make typically pays AU$200-500/month for the platform alone. The same workflows on n8n self-hosted run on roughly AU$30-80/month of AWS or GCP compute. The crossover point where n8n self-hosted becomes cheaper than Make is around 8-12 active workflows. The catch is self-hosting needs ongoing operational maintenance — for businesses without internal devops capability, the operational cost can offset the platform savings. n8n Cloud avoids that but loses some of the economic advantage.
Does Make / Zapier / n8n support MCP-based agent workflows?
All three have MCP support to varying degrees. n8n is furthest along — its open-source nature means community-built MCP integrations appear quickly, and the native architecture handles tool-calling agents well. Make has integrated MCP support in 2025 with strong fit for production workflows. Zapier's MCP support is the newest and most basic. For serious agent-based work, n8n is the strongest choice; for simpler agent-augmented workflows, all three work.
What about other tools like Pipedream, Activepieces, or Workato?
Pipedream is closer to a code-first developer-targeted alternative — strong for engineering teams, less accessible for non-technical staff. Activepieces is similar to n8n (open-source, self-hostable) but less mature; we'd pick n8n over Activepieces in 2026. Workato is enterprise-grade with strong governance — overkill and overpriced for most AU SMB / mid-market businesses. For the AU SMB-to-mid-market market, Make / Zapier / n8n cover almost everyone's needs.
How much do we save by self-hosting n8n vs using paid cloud workflow tools?
At 5 active workflows: maybe AU$50-100/month saved. At 15 active workflows: AU$200-400/month saved. At 30+ workflows: AU$500-1,500/month saved. But you have to net out the operational cost of self-hosting (monitoring, updates, backups, security) which is typically 4-8 hours/month of technical time. For most SMBs, the breakeven is at roughly 10-15 active workflows.
Will the AI in these workflows hallucinate or break things?
AI workflow components can hallucinate, which is why we architect with structured human review gates for any consequential action. AI drafts content; AI categorises items; AI suggests routing — but humans approve before send / commit on anything customer-facing or financially material. All three platforms support this pattern. We design every workflow with explicit safety boundaries.
Further Reading
Related comparisons and insights
Service
AI Workflow Automation Service
The function pillar covering how we deploy these tools for AU businesses.
Behind the Scenes
The Hidden Cost of 'No-Code' AI
When drag-and-drop workflow automation becomes a dead end — and what to do about it.
Industry Trends
MCP Changed Everything
How Model Context Protocol is reshaping the workflow automation landscape.
Want help picking the right platform for your stack?
Free 30-minute Diagnose call. We'll look at your current systems, the workflows you want to automate, and your data sensitivity profile — and tell you upfront which of these three (or which combination) is the right fit.
Book a Diagnose call