n8n vs Zapier: per-run executions against per-step tasks, self-hosting and moving your Zaps

n8n vs Zapier: executions against tasks

n8n Cloud Pro is $60 a month for 10,000 executions and Zapier Professional is $193.50 for 10,000 tasks, both billed monthly and read on October 30, 2026, but n8n counts a whole run once and Zapier counts every successful action. The n8n dollar figures are from its own US customer price list.

An execution is a single run of the entire workflow, whatever its steps or data. The worked workflow here starts with a form response and runs three actions: a spreadsheet row, a CRM contact and a team message. One run is 1 execution on n8n and 3 tasks on Zapier.

Prices at 2,500 and 10,000 a month

n8n Cloud Starter covers 2,500 executions at $24 a month, or $20 a month billed annually ($240 for the year). Pro covers 10,000 executions at $60 a month, or $50 a month billed annually ($600 for the year). Zapier Professional is $58.50 for 1,500 tasks and $73.50 for 2,000, billed monthly. For n8n above 10,000 executions, read the price on n8n's own pricing page.

The Try Pabbly Connect button on this page leads to Pabbly's plans page, where the Pabbly Connect plans in this table start with a Free plan.

Self-hosting n8n and its license

n8n Community Edition is free, runs without a license key and includes almost the complete n8n feature set, but not projects, sharing, SSO or Git version control. Its license limits use to your own internal business purposes or non-commercial or personal use, and n8n's guidance for self-hosting is to have infrastructure and technical resources. The software is free; you pay for your own server.

A scheduled workflow counts every run: one that runs every 5 minutes is about 8,600 to 8,900 executions a month, per n8n's pricing page. On Pabbly Connect a schedule is a trigger, which is free, and only the action steps it runs count as tasks.

Moving Zaps to n8n or another tool

Moving existing Zaps, Zapier's word for workflows, raises three questions: which of your apps the new tool lists, how each workflow is rebuilt and what your monthly count would cost.

1. Count what ran in Zap history, before you cancel: Zap history is assured for only 60 days of run data. n8n counts runs, while Zapier and Pabbly Connect count action steps; how Zapier counts tasks shows the task side.
2. Search each Zap's apps in the new tool's directory: n8n cites 2,000+ integrations and Pabbly Connect cites 2,000+, units each vendor defines for itself.
3. Rebuild each workflow by hand; Pabbly's pages show no Zap import tool.
4. Keep the Zapier plan until the rebuilt workflows match, because a Zapier downgrade takes effect at the end of the billing cycle.

Who should pick n8n, Zapier or Pabbly Connect

• n8n for long workflows, where one run counts once however many steps it has, and for a team with a server to run Community Edition.
• Zapier when an app you need is listed only there; its new accounts get a 14-day Professional trial with no card.
• Pabbly Connect for many short workflows without running a server: Unlimited is $79 a month, billed monthly, under fair-use terms for one business with a 100,000-task starting balance, and Pabbly Connect vs n8n sets the two side by side.

As a third option, Pabbly Connect lets you start on a Free plan with 100 tasks. To price six tools against Zapier, see Zapier alternatives.