n8n is the open-source workflow automation tool that competes with Zapier and Make. I have been running it for saas.pet's content pipeline for 6 months. Here is my honest take on self-hosting n8n versus paying Zapier, and whether it is worth the hassle.
What n8n does that Zapier cannot
n8n is an open-source workflow automation platform with 400+ built-in integrations. You connect nodes on a visual canvas: when X happens in one app, do Y in another. The killer difference from Zapier: you control where it runs. Self-host on a $5/month VPS or run on n8n Cloud at $20/month. No per-task pricing, no 'you hit your zap limit' emails. For high-volume workflows, the cost difference is dramatic. I run n8n on the same $6/month HK server that hosts my proxy. 12 workflows handle saas.pet's entire content pipeline: daily data fetch from GitHub Trending API, transform JSON, write to data files, trigger build, push to git, notify me on Telegram. The same workflows on Zapier would cost $73.50/month (Professional plan with 2,000 tasks). On n8n, $6/month for the server plus $0 for the software. The self-hosting overhead is real—updates, SSL certs, monitoring—but for 12+ active workflows, the savings are $800+/year. If you only have 2-3 simple zaps, stay on Zapier's free tier. If you have 5+ workflows with volume, n8n pays for the hosting in month 1.
