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Side-by-side comparison · Automation & Workflows

Composio vs n8n vs Zapier

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Composio

4.2

From $29/mo

Best overall

n8n

4.5

From €20/mo

Zapier

4.2

From From $19.99/mo

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Pick it if: People who already use Claude or ChatGPT every day and want it to act in their business apps, plus developers building agents that need app access.

n8n4.5
Best overallBest value

Pick it if: Teams that want full control of their data and automations, or anyone building AI agents on a budget who doesn't mind getting a bit technical.

Easiest to use

Pick it if: Anyone who's sick of copying data between apps and has never written a line of code.

Overview

AttributeComposion8nZapier
In one linePlug Claude or ChatGPT into 1,500+ apps so it can send the email, not just draft it.Build automations and AI agents on a visual canvas, then host them yourself for free.When something happens in one app, Zapier does the next step in another. No code needed.
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemiumFreemium
Starting price$29/mo€20/moFrom $19.99/mo
Free plan Yes Yes Yes
Works with Claude Code Yes Yes Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeComposion8nZapier
Overall rating4.24.5Winner4.2
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.0
3.5
5.0
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.5
5.0
4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
4.0
4.5
4.0
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.5
5.0
3.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
4.5
4.5

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeComposion8nZapier
Access & platform
Free plan Yes Yes Yes
Mobile app No No–
Desktop app No No No
Browser extension No No Yes
API access Yes Yes Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes Yes Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO Yes Yes Yes
Connects to other apps Yes Yes Yes
Open source or self-hosted No Yes No
AI abilities
Works with your files No Yes Yes
Understands images– Yes–
Makes images No No No
Makes video No No No
Writes code No Yes Yes
Runs agents or automations Yes Yes Yes
Learns your brand or style No No No
Works in many languages No––
Capabilities score6/ 1710/ 179/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeComposion8nZapier
Plans

HobbyOur pick

Free

Individuals connecting their own assistant to their own apps.

Community Edition

Free (self-hosted)

Anyone comfortable running software on a server.

Free

Free

Testing one or two simple automations.

Pro

$29/mo

Teams, or products with real users calling tools.

StarterOur pick

€20/mo billed yearly

A small business that wants n8n hosted for them.

ProfessionalOur pick

From $19.99/mo billed yearly, or $29.99/mo

One person running real automations for a business.

Enterprise

Custom

Companies with security reviews and high volume.

Pro

€50/mo billed yearly

Teams running several business-critical workflows.

Team

From $69/mo billed yearly, or $103.50/mo

A team that shares Zaps and app connections.

Business

€667/mo billed yearly

Larger teams that need SSO and version control, self-hosted.

Enterprise

Custom

Large companies with security and compliance needs.

Enterprise

Custom

Companies that need an SLA and dedicated support.

Which plan to pickIf you are connecting your own Claude or ChatGPT to your own apps, Hobby is all you need. Move to Pro when a team or a product of yours starts using it, so usage keeps running past the free cap instead of pausing until next month.If you have anyone technical on hand, self-host the Community Edition on a small server and pay nothing. Otherwise Starter on the cloud is the right place to begin, and 2,500 executions covers a lot when each run of a long workflow counts as one.Start on Free to confirm your apps connect, then move to Professional on yearly billing. Buy the smallest task tier and let Zapier tell you when you are close to the limit, because it is easy to overestimate how many tasks you need.

Key features

AttributeComposion8nZapier
Standout features
  • 1,500+ app toolkits
  • Works inside your assistant
  • Managed sign-ins
  • Triggers
  • Custom tools and MCP servers
  • Developer platform
  • AI agent nodes
  • Self-host for free
  • Code when you need it
  • Per-execution pricing
  • Thousands of templates
  • MCP support
  • 8,000+ app connections
  • Copilot builder
  • Multi-step Zaps with paths
  • Tables, Interfaces and Chatbots
  • Agents
  • Zap history and replay

Pros and cons

AttributeComposion8nZapier
Pros
  • One connection covers more than 1,500 apps
  • Very generous free plan
  • Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code and Cursor
  • Handles app logins and token refresh for you
  • Usage pricing is cheap compared with per-task tools
  • Free to self-host with no execution limits
  • The best tool here for AI agents and multi-step reasoning
  • Per-execution pricing on cloud is kind to long workflows
  • Huge template library and an active community
  • Code steps and the HTTP node mean you are rarely stuck
  • Fastest to learn of any automation tool here
  • Connects to far more apps than anyone else
  • Copilot builds a working Zap from a plain-English description
  • Reliable, with clear run history when something fails
  • Tables, Interfaces and Chatbots cover simple internal tools
Cons
  • Built for developers first, so the dashboard has jargon
  • Not a workflow builder: no canvas or scheduled runs
  • Some actions in less popular apps are thin
  • Extras like web search and transcription are billed per call
  • Steeper learning curve than Zapier or Make, with JSON everywhere
  • Self-hosting is a real job: updates, backups and security are on you
  • No free cloud plan, only a trial
  • The fair-code licence limits reselling it as a service
  • Business plan is self-hosted only and priced for larger companies
  • Per-task pricing gets expensive fast, and every step counts as a task
  • The free plan is too limited to run anything real
  • Zaps run in a straight line, so branching and loops are clumsier than in Make
  • Each extra product (Tables, Interfaces, Chatbots) has its own limits and costs

Who each one is for

AttributeComposion8nZapier
Best for
  • Letting Claude act in Gmail, Slack and your CRM
  • One connector instead of dozens of MCP servers
  • Giving custom AI agents access to users' apps
  • Covering apps with no official connector
  • AI agents that act on email or chat
  • Self-hosted automation
  • Unlimited runs on your own server
  • Custom code steps when you need them
  • Sending form submissions to spreadsheets
  • New lead alerts in Slack or email
  • Syncing contacts between tools
  • Connecting niche apps nobody else supports
You'll find it used by
  • Founders
  • Ops teams
  • Developers
  • AI power users
  • Developers
  • Ops teams
  • Agencies
  • Technical founders
  • Marketers
  • Solo founders
  • Ops teams
  • Agencies

Questions people ask

Which is better, Composio, n8n or Zapier?

n8n scores highest overall in our ratings (Composio 4.2/5, n8n 4.5/5 and Zapier 4.2/5). Composio is best for Letting Claude act in Gmail, Slack and your CRM and one connector instead of dozens of MCP servers. n8n is best for AI agents that act on email or chat and self-hosted automation. Zapier is best for sending form submissions to spreadsheets and new lead alerts in Slack or email.

Which is cheaper, Composio, n8n or Zapier?

Composio: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $29/mo. n8n: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at €20/mo. Zapier: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at From $19.99/mo.

Which is easier to use, Composio, n8n or Zapier?

Zapier rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Anyone who's sick of copying data between apps and has never written a line of code.

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

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