Side-by-side comparison · Automation & Workflows
n8n vs Power Automate 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.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
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.
Pick it if: Offices that already run on Microsoft 365 and want approvals, email handling and file admin to happen on their own.
Pick it if: Anyone who's sick of copying data between apps and has never written a line of code.
Overview
| Attribute | n8n | Power Automate | Zapier |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Build automations and AI agents on a visual canvas, then host them yourself for free. | Microsoft's automation tool: links Outlook, Teams, Excel and more so busywork runs itself. | When something happens in one app, Zapier does the next step in another. No code needed. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | €20/mo | Included in most business plans | From $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.
| Attribute | n8n | Power Automate | Zapier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.5Winner | 3.8 | 4.2 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 3.5 | 3.0 | 5.0 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 5.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | n8n | Power Automate | Zapier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | No | Yes | – |
| Desktop app | No | Yes | No |
| Browser extension | No | Yes | 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 | Yes | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | Yes | – | – |
| Makes images | No | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | Yes | No | Yes |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | No | No | No |
| Works in many languages | – | Yes | – |
| Capabilities score | 10/ 17 | 11/ 17 | 9/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | n8n | Power Automate | Zapier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Community Edition Free (self-hosted) Anyone comfortable running software on a server. | Included with Microsoft 365 Included in most business plans Offices that only need flows between Microsoft apps. | Free Free Testing one or two simple automations. |
StarterOur pick €20/mo billed yearly A small business that wants n8n hosted for them. | PremiumOur pick $15 per user/mo, billed yearly People who need flows that reach apps outside Microsoft. | ProfessionalOur pick From $19.99/mo billed yearly, or $29.99/mo One person running real automations for a business. | |
Pro €50/mo billed yearly Teams running several business-critical workflows. | Process $150 per bot/mo, billed yearly Businesses running one key process all day without a person watching. | 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. | Hosted Process $215 per bot/mo, billed yearly Teams that want the bot on a virtual machine Microsoft manages. | Enterprise Custom Large companies with security and compliance needs. | |
Enterprise Custom Companies that need an SLA and dedicated support. | |||
| Which plan to pick | 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 with what your Microsoft 365 plan already gives you. Most small offices never need more. Buy Premium only for the people whose flows need an app outside Microsoft's standard list. Process and Hosted Process are for bigger companies running bots around the clock. Prices vary by country. | 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
| Attribute | n8n | Power Automate | Zapier |
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Pros and cons
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | n8n | Power Automate | Zapier |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, n8n, Power Automate or Zapier?
n8n scores highest overall in our ratings (n8n 4.5/5, Power Automate 3.8/5 and Zapier 4.2/5). n8n is best for AI agents that act on email or chat and self-hosted automation. Power Automate is best for approvals that run through Teams or Outlook and filing email attachments into OneDrive or SharePoint. Zapier is best for sending form submissions to spreadsheets and new lead alerts in Slack or email.
Which is cheaper, n8n, Power Automate or Zapier?
n8n: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at €20/mo. Power Automate: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at Included in most business plans. Zapier: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at From $19.99/mo.
Which is easier to use, n8n, Power Automate 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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