n8n vs Zapier Agents
A side-by-side comparison of capabilities, autonomy, integrations, and pricing to help you choose.
Short answer: choose n8n if you want fair-code workflow automation with built-in ai agent nodes, self-hostable (Supervised agent, freemium); choose Zapier Agents if you want ai teammates that do work across thousands of apps using zap actions as tools (Supervised agent, freemium).
| n8n | Zapier Agents | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Fair-code workflow automation with built-in AI agent nodes, self-hostable | AI teammates that do work across thousands of apps using Zap actions as tools |
| Type | platform | product-with-agents |
| Autonomy | Supervised agent | Supervised agent |
| Pricing | freemium · Self-hosted free; Cloud Starter EUR 20/mo | freemium · Agents add-on reportedly from ~$50/mo; core Zapier from $29.99/mo |
| Best for | developers, smb, mid-market, enterprise | smb, mid-market, enterprise |
| Deployment | saas, self-hosted, on-prem, api | saas, api |
| Modalities | text, code, api, email | text, browser, api |
| Models | model-agnostic, gpt, claude, open-source | model-agnostic, gpt, claude |
| Protocols | mcp, function-calling, rest-api | rest-api, function-calling |
| Integrations | OpenAI, Anthropic, Slack, Google Sheets, Postgres, HTTP/REST | Google Drive, Notion, Slack, Asana, HubSpot, Gmail |
| Capabilities | 4 documented | 4 documented |
n8n
- +Genuinely flexible: visual no-code builder plus inline JavaScript/Python and HTTP-to-any-API
- +Self-hostable community edition is free with unlimited executions, giving full data control
- +Strong native AI: agent nodes, MCP support, model-agnostic LLM connections built into workflows
- -Not truly open source: the Sustainable Use License restricts commercial use such as reselling n8n as a service
- -Execution-based cloud pricing can balloon for high-frequency workflows
Zapier Agents
- +Calls Zap actions as tools across thousands of connected apps, reusing Zapier's huge integration ecosystem
- +Plain-language agent building with Copilot and templates makes setup approachable for non-developers
- +Activity dashboard, versioning, and chat give clear oversight and the ability to correct agents mid-task
- -Not fully autonomous: oversight and human correction are built into the workflow by design
- -Agents add-on pricing stacks on top of core Zapier plans, and costs scale with usage
Which should you choose?
n8n is fair-code workflow automation with built-in ai agent nodes, self-hostable, best for developers, smb, mid-market, enterprise. Zapier Agents is ai teammates that do work across thousands of apps using zap actions as tools, best for smb, mid-market, enterprise. The right choice depends on the autonomy level you want, your existing integrations, and your budget, all compared above.
This comparison is generated from the sourced n8n and Zapier Agents profiles. Open either profile to review its evidence and last-reviewed date.