n8n vs Zapier: An Engineer's Honest Take

If you’re evaluating automation tools, you’ve probably seen the usual comparisons. “Zapier is easier! n8n is more powerful!”

Here’s what those comparisons miss.

The Real Question

It’s not about which tool is “better.” It’s about which tool fits your constraints:

• Technical capability of your team
• Budget sensitivity
• Data privacy requirements
• Complexity of your workflows

When Zapier Wins

Choose Zapier when:

• You need something working in the next hour
• Your workflows are linear (A → B → C)
• You have budget but not engineering time
• Data stays within well-known SaaS tools

Zapier’s strength is accessibility. A marketing manager can connect HubSpot to Slack without writing a line of code.

When n8n Wins

Choose n8n when:

• You need loops, conditionals, or error handling
• Data privacy matters (self-hosted option)
• You’re doing 10,000+ executions/month
• You have engineers who can maintain it

n8n is what Zapier would be if it were built by engineers, for engineers.

When Neither Wins

Consider custom code when:

• You need sub-second latency
• Your logic is too complex for visual tools
• You’re integrating with internal systems
• Scale requires optimization

The dirty secret of automation tools is that they’re all abstractions. Sometimes you need to drop down a level.

My Recommendation

Start with the simplest tool that solves your problem. That’s usually Zapier. Graduate to n8n when you hit limits. Build custom when you’ve proven the workflow matters.

The most expensive automation is the one that doesn’t ship.