1v1 Pricing Showdown
n8n vs Workato
Side-by-side pricing breakdown for Workflow Automation (iPaaS) decision-makers
Prices in USD, verified from the United States. Regional pricing may vary.
When choosing between n8n and Workato for your workflow automation (ipaas) stack, the right answer depends on three things: your budget, the specific features you actually use day-to-day, and your tolerance for renewal-price increases. Below we lay out the prices each vendor advertises today (verified against their live pricing pages), the plan limits that decide whether they'll fit your team, and the features that differ between them.
n8n starts at $22/mo; Workato starts at custom pricing. The cheaper headline price isn't always the cheaper total cost — renewal pricing, per-user fees, and overage charges can shift the math. Use the plan-by-plan tables below to model your actual spend.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| open source fair code | Community self-hosted — Sustainable Use License | — |
| execution based pricing | Only charges when workflow completes start to finish — unique | — |
| 1100 plus nodes | Integration nodes + community-contributed | — |
| unlimited users | All paid plans | — |
| unlimited workflows | All paid plans | — |
| ai workflow builder | Starter 50 credits / Pro 150 / Business + Enterprise | — |
| concurrent executions | 5 Starter / 20 Pro / Custom Business+ | — |
| shared projects | 1 Starter / 3 Pro / 6 Business / Unlimited Enterprise | — |
| sso saml ldap | Business+ | — |
| self hosted option | Business+ cloud plans get self-host option | — |
| git version control | Business+ | — |
| insights retention | 7 days Pro / 30 days Business / 365 days Enterprise | — |
| 184000 plus github stars | Community Edition popularity | — |
| pricing in eur | Starter €20 ≈ $22 / Pro €50 ≈ $55 / Business €667 ≈ $730 USD | — |
| recipes not zaps | — | Workato terminology for workflows |
| 1000 plus connectors | — | Enterprise SaaS + databases + APIs + custom |
| ipaas platform | — | Integration Platform as a Service category |
| api management | — | Separate product offering |
| embedded integrations | — | Embed Workato-powered integrations in customer-facing products |
| workbot | — | Slack/Teams chatbots for workflow automation |
| automation hq | — | Central governance dashboard |
| machine learning | — | Smart recipes with ML-powered data enrichment |
| enterprise security | — | SOC 2 Type II + HIPAA + GDPR |
| connector sdk | — | Build custom connectors |
| predictable pricing commitment | — | Workato's pricing philosophy |
Affiliate links — you pay the same price
Dive Deeper
About the workflow automation (ipaas) category
Workflow automation / iPaaS tooling in 2026 has three pricing philosophies. 'Per-task volume' (Zapier $19.99-custom/month): pay for task executions (each step in a workflow counts as a task), simplest mental model, category-dominant for SMB. 'Per-operation credit' (Make €9-29/month, ~$10-32 USD): more economical than Zapier per-task for workflows with many steps, distinguishes 'Core' (API access) from 'Pro' (priority) from 'Teams' (shared). 'Per-execution workflow' (n8n €20-667/month, ~$22-730 USD): unique — charges only when workflows complete end-to-end regardless of steps, most economical for complex multi-step workflows. 'Enterprise iPaaS' (Workato $10K-200K+/year, Tray.ai custom): enterprise integration platforms with dedicated workspaces, advanced governance, embedded partner integrations. Zapier dominates SMB (3,000+ integrations, 30M+ users). Make (formerly Integromat, rebranded 2021) is category challenger with aggressive pricing. n8n is the open-source fair-code-licensed alternative — can self-host Community edition free forever. Workato is enterprise-first with predictable pricing commitment. Tray.ai (rebranded from tray.io in 2023-2024) targets enterprise integration + embedded partner workflows. The 2024-2026 shift: AI-powered workflow building (Zapier Copilot, Make AI assistant, n8n AI Workflow Builder), AI agents (Zapier Agents $0-33/month) replacing simple automations, and natural-language workflow generation. Integration breadth still matters: Zapier 3,000+ apps, Make 3,000+ apps, n8n 1,100+ nodes + community.
How to choose between workflow automation (ipaas) options
First: SMB or enterprise? SMB (1-10 person team, moderate workflow complexity): Zapier Free (100 tasks/mo) or Professional $19.99/month annual for multi-step Zaps. Make Free (1,000 credits/mo) or Core $9/month for more economical multi-step. n8n Community (self-hosted free) for technical teams. Mid-market (10-100 person team): Zapier Team $69/month annual + 25 users, Make Teams $29/month + team management, n8n Pro €50/month (~$55 USD). Enterprise: Workato $10K-200K+/year, Tray.ai custom (typical $2,500-20,000+/month), Zapier Enterprise custom, Make Enterprise custom, n8n Business €667/month (~$730 USD) or Enterprise custom. Second: task vs operation vs execution pricing? Zapier's per-task model: each step = 1 task. A 5-step Zap running 100 times/month = 500 tasks. On Free (100 tasks), hits limit after 20 runs. Make's per-operation model: 1 operation per module. 5-step scenario running 100 times = 500 operations on 10,000 credits — covers 2,000 runs. n8n's per-execution: only charges when workflow completes, regardless of steps. 5-step workflow running 100 times = 100 executions. For multi-step heavy workflows, n8n is 2-10x cheaper than Zapier. Third: open-source optionality? n8n Community (fair-code license) is self-hostable and genuinely free forever. 184,000+ GitHub stars. Critical escape hatch vs Zapier/Make/Workato proprietary platforms. Fourth: AI workflow building? Zapier Copilot + Agents (up to $33/month Pro) for Zapier-native AI. Make AI assistant. n8n AI Workflow Builder (50-150 credits depending on tier) generates workflows from natural language descriptions. Fifth: enterprise embedded integrations? Tray.ai Enterprise 'Embedded Bundle' specifically targets SaaS companies embedding Tray-powered integrations in their products. Workato also has embedded program. Sixth: multi-step workflow complexity? Simple (1-2 steps): Zapier Free sufficient. Medium (3-10 steps): Make Pro ($16/month) or n8n Starter. Complex (10+ steps with branching, loops, error handling): n8n Pro or Business is dramatically cheaper than Zapier for same workflow volume.
Building Your Business Stack?
Decision-makers comparing tools often need more than one category. Here are related comparisons:
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does n8n or Workato offer a free plan?
- n8n offers a free plan.
- Which is better, n8n or Workato?
- n8n scores 9/10 compared to Workato's 8.4/10 in our analysis. n8n ranks higher on features and value, but Workato may suit specific use cases — see the feature comparison above.
- Are there other workflow automation (ipaas) alternatives besides n8n and Workato?
- Yes. Our [Workflow Automation (iPaaS) pricing comparison](/pricing/workflow-automation/) page covers all major providers with daily-verified prices. You can also see the [cheapest workflow automation (ipaas)](/pricing/workflow-automation/cheapest/) for budget-focused options.