n8n: The Free Automation Tool That Does Everything Zapier Does

Back in May 2024, I wrote about 5 Zapier automations that save hours every week. Those workflows still work great. But here's the thing: if you're running more than a few of them, Zapier gets expensive fast.

So let me introduce you to n8n (pronounced "n-eight-n"). It's an open-source automation tool that does basically everything Zapier does. The difference? n8n charges per workflow execution, not per task. That single change in pricing model can cut your automation bill by 80-90%.

Let me show you how the math works, and then we'll rebuild those same Zapier automations in n8n.

The Pricing Difference That Actually Matters

Here's the thing most people don't realize about Zapier until they get the bill: every step in your automation counts as a "task."

So that workflow I showed you—form submission goes to spreadsheet, then sends you a Slack notification? That's 2 tasks per form submission. If you get 50 leads a week, that's 400 tasks a month from just one automation.

Zapier's free plan gives you 100 tasks/month. You'd blow through that in less than a week. Their Professional plan is $29.99/month for 750 tasks. Still not enough for most real usage.

n8n flips this completely. A workflow with 10 steps costs the same as a workflow with 2 steps—it's one "execution" either way.

Let me make this concrete with a real example.

The Math: A 10-Step Workflow at Scale

Say you're running an e-commerce store. Every new order triggers a workflow that:

1. Updates your CRM
2. Adds customer to an email segment
3. Sends a Slack notification to your team
4. Logs the sale in a spreadsheet
5. Creates a shipping task
6. Checks inventory
7. Updates your dashboard
8. Sends a confirmation email
9. Tags the customer based on purchase amount
10. Triggers a review request sequence

That's 10 steps. Pretty standard for a real business workflow.

Now let's say you get 2,000 orders a month. Here's what that costs on each platform:

Zapier: 10 steps × 2,000 orders = 20,000 tasks/month
You'd need their $250+/month plan. And if you go over? Overages are charged at 1.25x the normal rate. Surprise bills are fun.

n8n Cloud: 2,000 executions/month
Their Starter plan is $24/month for 2,500 executions. You're covered.

n8n Self-Hosted: Unlimited executions
VPS hosting runs about $5-20/month. That's it. Run as many workflows as your server can handle.

The Tradeoff: Integrations

Okay, I'm not going to pretend n8n is better at everything. It's not.

Zapier has 8,000+ integrations. They connect to basically every business app that exists, including weird niche ones you've never heard of.

n8n has 400+. That covers most of what small businesses actually use—Google Workspace, Slack, Stripe, Notion, Airtable, HubSpot, all the big ones. But if you need to connect to some obscure industry-specific tool, Zapier probably has it and n8n probably doesn't.

The good news: n8n lets you make HTTP requests to any API. So if an app has an API (most do), you can connect it even without a pre-built integration. It just takes more work.

Your Two Options: Cloud or Self-Hosted

n8n gives you two ways to run it:

Option 1: n8n Cloud ($24-60/month)

This is the "just works" option. You sign up, you build workflows, they run. n8n handles the servers, updates, and uptime. Starter is $24/month for 2,500 executions. Pro is $60/month for 10,000.

Compare that to Zapier's $29.99/month for just 750 tasks, and n8n Cloud is already cheaper for most use cases.

Option 2: Self-Hosted (Free + ~$5-20/month hosting)

n8n's Community Edition is completely free. You just need somewhere to run it.

The catch: you're managing a server. That means handling updates, backups, and occasionally troubleshooting when something breaks at 2am. If that sentence made you cringe, stick with the cloud version.

But if you're comfortable with basic server stuff (or willing to learn), here's what you're looking at:

• DigitalOcean droplet: $5-12/month
• Hetzner VPS: ~$5/month
• Railway: ~$5-14/month depending on usage

That's it. Unlimited automations for the cost of one Chipotle burrito a month.

Those 5 Zapier Automations, Rebuilt in n8n

Remember the automations from my earlier post? Let's rebuild them in n8n. Same results, different (usually cheaper) tool.

1. Form Submission to Spreadsheet + Notification

In n8n:

1. Add a "Webhook" trigger (or use the form-specific node if you're using Typeform/Google Forms)
2. Connect a "Google Sheets" node to add a row
3. Connect a "Slack" node to send a message

Cost on Zapier: 2 tasks per submission. 50 leads/week = 400 tasks/month.
Cost on n8n: 50 executions/week = 200 executions/month. Well under any plan limit.

2. Payment Received to Onboarding Email

In n8n:

1. "Stripe" trigger for new payments
2. "Gmail" node to send welcome email
3. "Google Sheets" node to log the client
4. "Todoist" or "Asana" node to create a task

Cost on Zapier: 3 tasks per payment. 20 new clients/month = 60 tasks. Sounds fine until you add your other automations.
Cost on n8n: 20 executions. Barely a rounding error.

3. Calendar Booking to Follow-Up Sequence

In n8n:

1. "Calendly" trigger for new bookings
2. "Gmail" node for immediate prep email
3. "Wait" node for timing (n8n has built-in delays)
4. "Gmail" node for day-before reminder

Cost on Zapier: 2-3 tasks per booking depending on how you structure delays.
Cost on n8n: 1 execution, even with the wait step built in.

4. Social Media Cross-Posting

In n8n:

1. "RSS" or platform trigger for new content
2. "Function" node to format for each platform (optional)
3. Parallel nodes for Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

Cost on Zapier: 3 tasks per post (one per platform). Post 20 times/month = 60 tasks.
Cost on n8n: 20 executions total, even though each one hits 3 platforms.

5. Invoice Tracking + Late Payment Reminders

In n8n:

1. "QuickBooks" trigger for new invoices
2. "Google Sheets" node to log invoice
3. Separate workflow: "Schedule" trigger (every Monday)
4. "Google Sheets" node to read overdue invoices
5. "Gmail" node to send reminders

Cost on Zapier: 2 tasks per invoice + 2+ tasks per reminder check.
Cost on n8n: 1 execution per invoice, 1 execution per weekly check.

When to Stick with Zapier

Look, I'm not saying everyone should switch. Zapier is genuinely easier to use. If you're not technical and just want things to work without thinking about it, Zapier's polish is worth paying for.

Stick with Zapier if:

• You're running simple, low-volume automations
• You need a specific integration n8n doesn't have
• You don't want to learn a new tool
• Your time is worth more than the cost difference

Consider n8n if:

• Your Zapier bill is climbing past $50-100/month
• You're running multi-step workflows at any volume
• You want to self-host for privacy or control
• You're comfortable with a slightly steeper learning curve

Getting Started with n8n

For the cloud version: Head to n8n.io, sign up, and start building. They have a free trial so you can test before paying.

For self-hosting: The easiest path is a one-click deploy on Railway or DigitalOcean. If you want to set it up manually, their documentation is solid.

Either way, n8n has a template library similar to Zapier's. Search for your use case, import the workflow, connect your accounts. Not quite as point-and-click as Zapier, but not rocket science either.

The Bottom Line

If you're running a few simple automations, Zapier is fine. But if your workflows have grown—more steps, more volume, more complexity—you're probably overpaying.

n8n does the same job at a fraction of the cost. The software is free and open source. The cloud version is cheaper than Zapier. And the self-hosted version costs less than a streaming subscription.

I've moved most of my own automations to n8n. Same workflows, same results, way less money going to task-based billing every month.

Need Help Making the Switch?

If you've got Zapier workflows you want to migrate, or you're trying to figure out whether n8n makes sense for your specific situation—let's talk. I've helped a bunch of clients move their automations to n8n and can tell you pretty quickly whether it's worth it for your use case.

Sometimes the answer is "stay on Zapier." Sometimes it's "n8n Cloud." Sometimes it's "self-host and save hundreds a year." Depends on what you're running and how technical you want to get.