n8n / Make / Zapier automation · Lesson 1
Which platform to choose
The main criteria: flexibility, price, self-hosting, access to LLMs.
In brief
- n8n — the most flexible, can be self-hosted, has code nodes. For technical teams.
- Make — the friendliest UI, an intuitive visual flow. For non-technical teams.
- Zapier — the widest range of out-of-the-box integrations, but expensive at volume.
Selection criteria
- Who will maintain it. Technical people — n8n. Marketers / ops without code — Make.
- Budget. Self-hosted n8n is free (infrastructure only). Zapier is expensive at large volumes.
- Privacy. Self-hosted n8n — data doesn't leave for the provider.
- Scenario complexity. n8n scales more easily to complex cases; Zapier — to simple ones.
Don't choose by brand
Good teams sometimes use a combination: n8n for heavy pipelines + Zapier for simple "when X — do Y" in marketing.
Practical exercise
What to do after this lesson
Describe 3 of your automations. Decide which platform each would live on best and why.
Ready-to-use prompt
Template for this lesson
Copy and adapt to your context. Text in angle brackets should be replaced.
Help me choose an automation platform. Scenarios: <…> Team: <…> Budget: <…> Privacy: <…> Operation volume: <…> Give a recommendation: n8n / Make / Zapier / a combination.
Common mistakes
What people get wrong
- Picking Zapier "out of habit" and overpaying.
- Picking n8n, but the team can't handle maintenance.
- Doing everything in one tool when a combination is cheaper.
Pro tips
What works but no one documents
- Self-hosted n8n pays off at 10k+ operations a month.
- Make is great where marketers want to edit it themselves.
- Zapier for simple scenarios and integrations that aren't in the others.
When to use
Any recurring automation.
When not to use
A one-off task — it's easier to do by hand.
Квиз — 2 вопроса
1.Self-hosted n8n pays off when:
2.Make is best suited when:
Отвечено: 0 из 2