McKinsey Global Institute's 2017 automation research found that about 60% of occupations have at least 30% of their activities that could be automated with the technology of the time. For Australian SMBs the practical question is not whether to automate but which platform to standardise on. Three names come up in every conversation, n8n, Make and Zapier.
We build with all three for clients across Perth and nationally. They are not interchangeable.
Quick answer
- n8n wins for Australian SMBs that need data residency, AI agent workflows or volume above 10,000 monthly operations. Self hostable on a Sydney VPS for predictable cost.
- Make sits in the middle, polished, reliable, EU hosted, per operation pricing that scales linearly. Best for moderate volume workflows where you want managed infrastructure.
- Zapier is best for non technical staff connecting tools that the others do not yet integrate. Easiest UI, broadest integration catalogue, most expensive at scale.
- Default for new Australian SMB engagements: n8n self hosted on a Sydney VPS for the heavy lifting, Zapier for staff facing pieces.
Quick comparison
| n8n | Make | Zapier | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free self-hosted, paid cloud | Per-operation (executions) | Per-task (per action) |
| Visual editor | Node-based, technical | Node-based, polished | Step-based, simplest |
| Self-hosted option | Yes (open source / fair-code) | No | No |
| AU data residency | Yes (your VPS, Sydney AWS) | EU only on cloud | Limited |
| AI / LLM nodes | Native, mature | Native | Via partner integrations |
| Code blocks (JS / Python) | Yes, native | JS only, limited | Code by Zapier (paid plan) |
| Integrations | ~500 | ~1,800 | ~7,000+ |
| Free tier | Self-hosted unlimited | 1,000 ops/month | 100 tasks/month |
| Pricing at 50,000 ops/month | ~AU$30 self-hosted VPS | ~AU$60-90 (Pro tier) | ~AU$300+ (Professional) |
| Best for | Dev-aware teams, sovereignty | Power users, reliability | Non-technical staff, breadth |
What they have in common
All three connect SaaS tools (CRM, accounting, email, project management, AI services) into automated workflows. All three handle the boring parts (auth, retries, scheduling, error handling) so you write workflows instead of integration code. All three have a free tier you can build a real workflow on.
They differ on pricing model, hosting, AI features, and how technical your team needs to be.
n8n
n8n is the most technical of the three and the most flexible. It is source available under the n8n Sustainable Use License, which is not an open source licence in the usual OSI sense, and it also has a paid cloud product. Workflows are node based and the platform supports JavaScript, Python and HTTP requests as first class nodes alongside the visual integrations.
Where n8n shines
Self hosting n8n on a Sydney VPS keeps the n8n instance and its own execution data in Australia. Any CRM, AI service or other app the workflow calls can still send data elsewhere, so map each connection. For Australian businesses subject to the Privacy Act 1988, this matters. n8n also has the most mature AI node ecosystem of the three, with native LangChain agents, vector store nodes, structured output parsers and the Model Context Protocol. The cost model also dominates at scale because self hosting is unlimited operations on a fixed monthly VPS bill.
Where n8n bites
Self hosting requires somebody who can run a Docker container, set up Postgres backups and rotate credentials. We host n8n for clients who want the data residency without the operational overhead.
Read more on our Automation page.
Make (formerly Integromat)
Make sits in the middle, more polished than n8n and less expensive than Zapier at scale. The visual editor is the best of the three for building complex multi-branch workflows, with native error handling, conditional routing and array iteration that come close to writing code without writing code.
Where Make shines
Make is reliable, polished and well documented. Make's pricing is per operation (each step in a workflow), which scales linearly and is predictable. The AI ecosystem is strong, with OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral and many model integrations as first class nodes.
Where Make bites
Make is cloud only, with no self hosted option. Make runs scenarios in regional zones such as the EU and the US, and none of them is in Australia, so personal information is processed outside Australia. For Australian businesses that need Sydney region residency on personal information, Make is harder to defend. Make also surprises new users with operation counts. A single "fetch and process 100 records" workflow can consume 100 operations on the input side plus more for any branching.
Zapier
Zapier is the most beginner friendly and has the broadest integration catalogue. If a SaaS tool has an API, there is probably a Zapier integration. The step based editor (rather than node based) is the easiest of the three for non technical staff to read.
Where Zapier shines
Zapier is best at connecting tools that the more technical platforms do not yet integrate, onboarding non technical staff, and single purpose workflows where the integration matters more than the orchestration logic.
Where Zapier bites
Cost is the catch. Zapier's per task pricing scales aggressively. A workflow that polls 100 records hourly is doable on n8n for a fixed VPS cost and on Make for moderate operations. On Zapier, the same workflow can land an SMB on the Professional or Team plan within weeks. AI features are still partner integration based, behind n8n and Make in maturity.
Which one for an Australian SMB?
| Situation | Choose |
|---|---|
| You have somebody dev-aware, want data residency, want AI/agent workflows | n8n (we host if needed) |
| You want polish and reliability, do not need self-hosting | Make |
| Your staff are non-technical, you only need 5-10 simple workflows | Zapier |
| Mixed team, mixed workloads | n8n + Zapier (n8n for the heavy lifting, Zapier for the staff-facing pieces) |
Three quick decision rules:
- Volume. Above 10,000 monthly operations, n8n self hosted is dramatically cheaper than the others. Below 1,000, the free tier on Make or Zapier is fine.
- Data residency. If your business handles personal information under the Privacy Act and your in house policy says Australian data stays in Australia, n8n self hosted is the cleanest answer.
- AI. If the workflow involves AI agents, vector search, or structured outputs from a language model, n8n is the most capable platform today.
What we do
VibeZero builds automation for Australian SMBs across all three platforms. Our default for new engagements is n8n self hosted on a Sydney VPS, with Make for clients who want managed infrastructure and Zapier for staff facing pieces where ease of edit matters more than cost.
If you are not sure which to start with, we offer an AI Readiness Audit that maps your workflows against the platform that fits your team and budget. Vendor neutral, no reseller margin, fixed price.