an automation backbone your agents can edit.
The saving here is modest. The real reason to move is control: n8n's official MCP server lets an AI agent search, run, create and edit your workflows directly, and you're billed per run instead of per step. It becomes the backbone your agents work on.
~$2.9k / yr
illustrative saving
Heavy Zapier user at ~10k tasks/month vs n8n Cloud Pro, list prices
n8n vs Zapier
| n8n | Zapier | |
|---|---|---|
| Price at ~10k/mo | Cloud Pro €50/mo for 10k workflow runs · or self-host | Professional ~$300/mo at 10k tasks |
| What counts | One execution = the whole workflow | One task = each action step |
| AI / MCP access | Official MCP: Claude can search, run, create and edit workflows | MCP in beta; each call bills 2 tasks |
| Integrations | Fewer native nodes; anything with an API via HTTP | 9,000+ apps |
| Licence | Sustainable Use License: one instance per client is fine | Proprietary SaaS |
| Example: heavy user / yr* | ~$700 | ~$3,600 |
*Illustrative list-price maths, checked October 2026, mostly from public pricing pages and third-party trackers. Not a client result, and before our fees. Prices change often: we confirm against your real invoices in the audit.
Move if…
- You're above ~2k Zapier tasks a month and climbing
- AI agents are already burning Zapier tasks
- Nobody on the team owns or understands the Zaps anymore
Stay if…
- Your Zaps touch niche apps that n8n has no node for (or we bridge those via Zapier MCP)
- You're a light user on a cheap tier: the saving isn't worth the move
- No one, internal or us on retainer, will own patching and credentials
If any of these fit, we'll tell you so in the audit.
Low-risk, in three steps.
- 01
Inventory your Zaps
We list every Zap, its task usage and what it touches, then flag what's dead, what's duplicated and what's worth rebuilding.
- 02
One n8n instance for you
Your own instance (cloud or self-hosted, in your accounts). Claude rebuilds core workflows through n8n's MCP server, versioned and documented.
- 03
Run in parallel, then cut over
Old and new run side by side for one to two weeks. Every credential gets re-authorised, then Zapier gets switched off.
The honest part
This is a small licence saving, not a headline one. We recommend it when you want agents to own your automations, not to save a few hundred dollars a month.
15 minutes.
your real numbers.
Send us the tools you pay for. We'll come back with what to move, what to keep and what to switch off, using your invoices, not list prices.
Other migration plays