n8n or Make: which automation platform to choose

A lead fills in the form on your website at 10:15 pm. The next day someone enters it into the CRM by hand. The welcome email goes out three days later, if it goes out at all. Meanwhile the contact has already heard back from someone else.

It isn’t a lack of will. It’s a process that doesn’t hold up. Automation platforms exist for exactly this: connecting applications, moving data and triggering actions without every step going through a person.

For a small or medium business the two most cited names are Make and n8n. They’re not interchangeable: philosophy, costs and data implications differ.

In short

Make is a no-code cloud platform: “when X happens in A, do Y in B”. It’s intuitive, has a huge number of ready-made integrations and needs no technical skills for linear flows. Make runs the servers.

n8n is an open-source automation platform (fair-code licence). You can use it in n8n’s cloud or install it on your own server, in Italy or elsewhere in Europe. The visual editor is similar, but more flexible: code in nodes, custom webhooks, branching logic, direct connection to APIs and AI models.

The question isn’t which is better in absolute terms, but which is better for your data, your team and your budget.

Quick comparison

Criterion	n8n	Make
Model	Open source, cloud or on your server	Cloud only
Learning curve	Medium, more options	Low, great for starting
Data control	High if installed on your server	Medium, depends on plan and apps
Complex logic	Very good: branches, code, loops, AI	Good up to mid-size flows
Ready-made integrations	Hundreds, growing	Over a thousand
Cost at high volume	Predictable: you pay for the server	Grows with operations
Platform lock-in	Low	Medium to high

Data and GDPR

For a European business the choice is also about who processes personal data, and where.

Make is based in Europe and lets you choose the EU region. With a data processing agreement signed and the account set up properly, the basics are covered. Two points remain: data also passes through the connected applications, each of which must appear in your privacy notice and records of processing; and every operation that touches a contact’s name, email or phone number is processing of personal data.

n8n installed on a server in Europe keeps workflow data under your direct control. Useful for professional practices, healthcare, legal, and clients who ask where their data ends up. You decide how long to keep logs, and you don’t pay per operation.

Careful: “on your own server” doesn’t mean “compliant by default”. You still need to update your privacy notice and records, sign agreements with suppliers, and protect the instance with HTTPS, authentication, backups and updates.

AI in workflows

If you send an AI model the text of an email with a client’s name and request, you’re processing personal data with a supplier, often outside the EU. To do it properly: use suppliers with adequate agreements and, where possible, no data retention; anonymise when you can; document the purpose; for sensitive data, consider models hosted in Europe.

Indicative costs

Prices change often: these are orders of magnitude to get your bearings, to be checked against current price lists.

Make is billed by operations, that is, every step of every flow. There’s a limited free plan; paid plans start at a few tens of euros a month and grow with volume. With flows that run often, the cost rises linearly.

n8n on your own server costs what the server costs: roughly a few tens of euros a month, with unlimited executions within the machine’s limits. n8n’s cloud has monthly plans. The hidden cost is time: installation, updates, security. Without in-house skills, factor in support from a partner.

Typical use cases

1. Website leads to the CRM. Website form, request classified, contact created in the CRM, a relevant welcome email.
2. PDF invoices. Dedicated inbox, amount, VAT number and due date read, a draft in your accounts software to approve.
3. E-commerce orders. New order, stock updated, the person shipping alerted, an email to the client with tracking.
4. Bookings and reminders. Calendar, reminders the day before and a few hours before, recovery of missed appointments.
5. Content. New blog post, social drafts, a heads-up to the team.

When to choose Make

• you want to start in a few days, without managing servers;
• flows are linear: one event, a few actions, done;
• the people running them work in marketing or operations, not development;
• volumes are low or medium.

When to choose n8n

• you want your data in Europe, under your control;
• flows have branches, code, custom APIs or AI;
• you expect volumes to grow and don’t want pay-per-use costs;
• you want to own your flows: export them, version them;
• you have a technical partner looking after the infrastructure.

How we work

We use n8n for our own work too: website forms, incoming requests, integrations with CRMs and AI models. We recommend it when control and flexibility matter more than speed on day one. Make is still a good choice for quick prototypes and simple flows.

The method is always the same: we map where time and requests get lost, design the flow with the data it touches and human control where needed, test it, document it. And the automations stay yours.

If you want to work out which route makes sense for you, or whether automating makes sense at all, let’s talk.