Comparison

n8n vs Make: Which Automation Platform to Pick

Self-hosted flexibility vs managed ease — pick by team, volume and data sensitivity.

1 min readupdated 2026-07-06

/ quick answer

n8n and Make (formerly Integromat) are the two serious contenders for visual AI/data automation in 2026. n8n is open-source and self-hostable; Make is fully managed with a slicker UI and a bigger app catalogue. Self-hosted flexibility vs managed ease — pick by team, volume and data sensitivity.

Choosing between n8n and Make in 2026 comes down to three questions: how technical is your team, how sensitive is your data, and how much volume are you running? Make (formerly Integromat) is a fully managed visual automation platform with 2,000+ native app integrations and a gentler learning curve — non-technical operators pick it up in a day. n8n is open-source, self-hostable, code-friendly and priced per-instance rather than per-operation, which makes it dramatically cheaper at high volume and viable when data cannot leave your infrastructure. Neither is strictly better; most serious teams end up using both. This comparison walks through the real trade-offs so you can pick with confidence.

Overview

Differences

Dimension	Option A	Option B
Hosting	Self-host (Docker/VPS) or n8n Cloud	Fully managed SaaS only
Pricing model	Free self-hosted; Cloud from ~$20/mo	Per-operation, from free tier to enterprise
App catalogue	~500 nodes + universal HTTP node	2,000+ native app integrations
Code flexibility	First-class JS/Python code node	Limited code sandbox (JSON tools)
Data residency	Runs anywhere you deploy it	EU or US regions on Make cloud
Best learning curve	Steeper — devs love it	Gentler — ops teams pick it up in a day

Use Cases

→n8n → sensitive data flows, dev-heavy teams, high-volume cheap execution
→Make → non-technical teams, wide app coverage, fast time-to-first-flow

Recommendation

Default to Make when the team is non-technical or when you need niche app integrations out of the box. Choose n8n when you need self-hosting, code freedom, or predictable flat cost at high volume.

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/ frequently asked

Is n8n really free?

The community edition is free to self-host under the Sustainable Use License. n8n Cloud and the Enterprise edition are paid.

Which has more integrations, n8n or Make?

Make has more native app integrations (2,000+). n8n has ~500 native nodes plus a universal HTTP node that covers any REST API.

Can Make handle sensitive customer data?

Make offers EU or US data regions but still runs as multi-tenant SaaS. For strict data residency, on-prem or air-gapped needs, self-hosted n8n is a safer default.