Make is a cloud-only, visual automation platform that is fastest to launch and ideal for teams that want polished workflows without managing servers. n8n is a source-available, developer-friendly tool that can be self-hosted for full data control and predictable costs at high volume. For most DACH agencies, the right choice comes down to three factors: who manages the infrastructure, how many operations you run per month, and how strict your data-residency requirements are.
Quick verdict: which one should you pick?
Choose Make
if you want the shortest path to working automations, prefer a managed cloud service, and your team is non-technical. It excels at marketing, sales, and admin workflows where polish and speed matter more than infrastructure control.
Choose n8n
if you need self-hosting for GDPR or data-residency reasons, run high-volume workflows where per-operation pricing gets expensive, or want to embed custom code and connect to internal systems. It rewards teams with at least some technical capacity.
Many of the firms we work with at Mindflows end up using both: Make for client-facing marketing flows and n8n (self-hosted in the EU) for sensitive data processing and high-volume jobs.
What each tool actually is
Make (formerly Integromat) is a fully managed, cloud-based automation platform with a visual scenario builder. You connect apps via pre-built modules, and Make charges by "operations" — each step that runs counts. There is nothing to host or maintain.
n8n is a workflow automation tool that is source-available (under the Sustainable Use License). You can use n8n Cloud (managed) or self-host it on your own server or in your own EU data center. Pricing on n8n Cloud is based on workflow executions, not per-step operations — a single execution can run 50 nodes and still count as one. This billing difference is the single biggest cost driver between the two.
Pricing compared (the part that matters most)
The pricing models are fundamentally different, so headline prices can mislead you.
Make: pay per operation
Make counts every module step. A scenario with 10 steps that runs 1,000 times per month = 10,000 operations. Indicative plans (2026):
- Free: 1,000 operations/month
- Core: ~€9/month for 10,000 operations
- Pro / Teams: scale up to hundreds of thousands of operations
This is excellent for low-to-medium volume. Costs grow with total steps executed, so complex multi-step flows at high frequency can become expensive.
n8n: pay per execution (or self-host for flat cost)
- n8n Cloud Starter: ~€20/month for ~2,500 executions
- Self-hosted: the software is free; you pay only for the server (a €10–€40/month VPS handles substantial volume)
Because an execution can contain dozens of steps, n8n is dramatically cheaper for complex, high-frequency workflows. A 30-step flow run 5,000 times is 5,000 executions in n8n but 150,000 operations in Make.
Rule of thumb: below ~10,000 operations/month, Make is cheap and convenient. Above that — especially with multi-step flows — self-hosted n8n usually wins on cost.
Hosting and data residency (critical for DACH)
For German and EU professional-services firms, data residency is often a compliance requirement, not a preference.
Make
Make runs on its own cloud (EU and US regions available, but you don't control the infrastructure). Data passes through Make's servers.
n8n
n8n can be self-hosted on a German or EU server (e.g., Hetzner in Nuremberg/Falkenstein), meaning client data never leaves infrastructure you control. This makes GDPR documentation, Auftragsverarbeitung (AVV/DPA) handling, and audits considerably simpler.
For a real estate agency processing buyer financial data, or a law/tax firm handling client documents, self-hosted n8n is frequently the more defensible architecture.
Ease of use and learning curve
Make is the more approachable tool. Its scenario builder is visual and forgiving, error messages are clear, and the module library is well-documented. A marketing coordinator can build a usable Lead-to-CRM flow in an afternoon.
n8n is more powerful but steeper. It assumes comfort with concepts like JSON, expressions, and occasionally HTTP requests. Self-hosting adds DevOps overhead (updates, backups, SSL, monitoring). The payoff is flexibility: you can run JavaScript or Python inside a node, build custom logic, and connect to anything with an API.
| Factor | Make | n8n |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time to first workflow | Minutes | Minutes (Cloud) / Hours (self-host) |
| Non-technical friendliness | High | Medium |
| Custom code support | Limited | Native (JS/Python) |
| Self-hosting | No | Yes |
| Data residency control | Partial | Full (self-host) |
Integrations and AI capabilities
Make offers 1,500+ pre-built app integrations with deep, maintained modules — strong for mainstream SaaS (HubSpot, Salesforce, Google Workspace, Meta, Slack, Notion).
n8n ships 400+ integrations plus a universal HTTP Request node, so it can connect to any REST API even without a dedicated integration. n8n has invested heavily in AI/LLM workflows — native nodes for OpenAI, vector stores, and agent-style automations make it strong for building AI-powered internal tools.
For AI-driven automations (document summarization, lead qualification with LLMs, RAG over a property or client database), n8n's AI nodes and self-hosting combination is particularly compelling for privacy-conscious EU firms.
Real-world scenarios for our audience
Real estate agency
- New lead from a portal (ImmoScout/website) → CRM + auto-reply + agent notification — Make handles this cleanly with low volume. Start here.
- Sync 500 listings nightly across portals, enrich with AI descriptions, push to a client portal — high-volume, multi-step — self-hosted n8n is far cheaper and keeps property/owner data in the EU.
Marketing agency
- Meta/Google lead ads → CRM → Slack → email sequence — Make's polished modules and reliability make client reporting easy. Per-client scenarios are simple to duplicate.
- Pulling ad spend from 20 client accounts, processing, generating AI report drafts — the operation count explodes in Make; n8n's per-execution billing controls cost.
Professional services (legal, tax, consulting)
- Client intake forms → document generation → secure storage — self-hosted n8n keeps confidential data on EU infrastructure, simplifying compliance.
- Lightweight internal notifications and reminders — Make is perfectly adequate and faster to deploy.
Reliability, maintenance, and support
Make handles uptime, scaling, and maintenance for you, with paid support tiers. You trade control for convenience.
n8n Cloud offers the same managed convenience with execution-based billing. Self-hosted n8n puts uptime, updates, and backups on you (or your agency partner). This is real work — budget for it or have someone like Mindflows manage it.
Decision framework
Ask these four questions in order:
- 01
Does client data need to stay on EU/your infrastructure?
If yes → lean n8n self-hosted.
- 02
Do you have technical capacity (in-house or partner)?
If no → lean Make.
- 03
Will you exceed ~10,000 operations/month with multi-step flows?
If yes → n8n is usually cheaper.
- 04
Do you need it live this week with minimal effort?
If yes → start with Make.
There is no universal winner. The honest answer for most agencies: prototype in Make to validate the workflow, then migrate cost-sensitive or data-sensitive flows to self-hosted n8n once volume and requirements are clear.
Getting started
If you're unsure, run a two-week pilot: build your highest-value workflow in Make first to confirm the logic and stakeholders are happy, then estimate monthly operations. If the numbers or compliance requirements point to n8n, migrate. Mindflows builds and hosts both Make and EU-based n8n automations for real estate, marketing, and professional-services firms across the DACH region — including the GDPR documentation and ongoing maintenance that self-hosting requires.