# Zapier Alternatives for Small Business Source: https://nerix.ai/blog/zapier-alternatives Zapier alternatives compared for small teams: Make, n8n and built-in automations. Prices, free plan limits and which one suits which kind of work. The nerix team Published November 1, 2026 4 min read Comparisons and alternatives zapier In this guide ## Key takeaways - Zapier is the easiest start and the widest in apps. - Make is the visual option with a free plan of 1,000 credits. - n8n is the choice for teams that want to host it themselves. - Built-in automations cover work that stays in one tool. The best Zapier alternatives for a small business are Make for a visual builder at lower cost, n8n if you want to self-host and have someone technical, and the automations built into the work tool you already use. Zapier remains the easiest to start with and has the widest list of app connections, so the question is rarely "is Zapier bad". It is "what happens to my bill and my control when I run more". This comparison covers what each costs, where each falls short and who each suits. Prices were read from each vendor's own page on 1 November 2026. Plans change often, so open the page before you decide: [Zapier](https://zapier.com/pricing), [Make](https://www.make.com/en/pricing), [n8n](https://n8n.io/pricing/). ## Why people look beyond Zapier Three reasons come up again and again. **Cost grows with use.** Zapier bills by task, and each action step in a Zap counts. A workflow with five steps run 200 times a month uses far more tasks than the number of runs suggests. Free is limited to 100 tasks a month. **Free plan limits.** Zapier's free plan allows two-step Zaps only, so a trigger and one action. It checks for new events every 15 minutes, so it is not instant. **Control.** Zapier is a hosted service. Teams with strict data rules or technical staff sometimes want to run the tool on their own server. ## The options at a glance | Tool | Best for | Free plan | Paid from | Watch out for | | Zapier | Fast start, most apps | 100 tasks a month, two-step only | About 20 dollars a month for 750 tasks, billed yearly | Cost climbs with steps | | Make | Visual flows with branches | 1,000 credits a month | Sources disagree on small plans, check the page | Credits and operations take learning | | n8n | Technical teams, self-hosting | Self-hosted community edition | 20 euros a month for 2,500 executions on cloud, billed yearly | You run and secure it yourself | | nerix Automations | Work inside nerix | See pricing | Part of a plan, AI steps spend credits | Early access, mostly acts inside nerix | ## Zapier **Good at:** being the default. It connects thousands of apps, the editor is plain, and templates exist for common jobs. The page lists a free plan, a Pro plan from about 20 dollars a month (750 tasks, billed yearly), and a Team plan from 69 dollars a month (2,000 tasks, billed yearly). **Falls short:** price at volume, and the free plan's two-step limit. Task counting rewards simple workflows and punishes long ones. ## Make **Good at:** a visual canvas where you can see branches, filters and loops, which suits flows that are not a straight line. The free plan gives 1,000 credits a month. **Falls short:** it takes longer to learn than Zapier. We could not read paid plan prices on Make's own page in a form we could quote with confidence, and third party sites disagreed, so check Make's pricing page for the current figure. Also read how it counts credits before you compare costs. ## n8n **Good at:** control. A standard self-hosted version is available on GitHub, and cloud plans start at 20 euros a month (billed yearly) for 2,500 workflow executions. Counting whole executions rather than each step helps long workflows. **Falls short:** it suits people comfortable with servers, updates and backups. The pricing page does not state the licence terms of the self-hosted edition in a way we could quote, so read the licence in the repository if that matters to you. The hosted Business plan is listed with waiting list limits. ## Built-in automations Many work tools now include their own rules, so you do not need a separate connector for jobs that live inside them. In nerix, [Automations](https://nerix.ai/product/automations) run on a schedule, around a date found in your data or when something happens such as a meeting ending, a task becoming overdue or everyone having signed. **Good at:** work that stays inside one workspace, such as weekly task lists, overdue reminders, follow ups after meetings and contract renewal alerts. Anything that reaches other people waits for your yes, a test run shows what each step would do, and there are credit caps and a history. **Falls short:** this is early access. It is not a general connector between thousands of outside apps, and it is not meant to be one. If your process starts in a shop system and ends in an accounting tool nerix does not connect to, use Zapier, Make or n8n for that. Try it on your own work. nerix writes the first draft, answers from your documents with the page each sentence came from, and keeps the team's work in one place. Start on the free plan. Start free ## How to choose Ask four questions. - **Where does the work live?** If it moves between many separate apps, you need a connector service. If it stays in one workspace, use that workspace's own rules first. - **How many steps and how often?** Multiply steps by runs per month and compare to each plan's limit. This is the number that decides the bill. - **Who maintains it?** A visual tool in Make or Zapier needs no developer. n8n self-hosted does. - **What goes wrong if it misfires?** Prefer a tool with a test mode, an approval step for outward messages and a log. A sensible small business path: begin on a free plan with one routine, watch it for a month, and only pay once you know the volume. Our guide to [what to automate first](https://nerix.ai/blog/what-to-automate-first-in-a-small-business) lists ten routines that suit that first month. ## The short version Zapier is the easiest start and the widest in apps. Make is the visual option with a free plan of 1,000 credits. n8n is the choice for teams that want to host it themselves. Built-in automations cover work that stays in one tool. Count steps times runs before you compare prices, and confirm every figure on the vendor's page, since these change. ## Questions people ask Is there a free alternative to Zapier? Make has a free plan with 1,000 credits a month and n8n offers a self-hosted community edition. Zapier itself has a free plan of 100 tasks a month with two-step Zaps only. Free plans change, so check each page. Why do people leave Zapier? The usual reasons are cost as task volume grows, wanting branches and loops in a visual builder, or wanting to host the tool themselves. Others find that a tool built into the apps they already use is simpler. Which is cheaper, Zapier or Make? For the same volume Make has usually been the cheaper of the two, but prices and the meaning of a task or credit differ and both change. Count the steps in your own workflow and compare on current pricing pages. n/ About the author The nerix team The nerix team writes these guides in plain words for small teams, with templates you can fill in and use today. 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