Guide · switching
Switching from Zapier to n8n — when the rebuild is worth it
You already have a Zapier book. This page is whether rebuilding it as n8n workflows is worth the work, and whether that move is n8n Cloud or n8n self-host. Totals are not published yet. A score is not a reason to rebuild every Zap. This page does not add new scores.
Use this page if the book is already Zapier
Use
Use this page if…
You are on Zapier and weighing n8n. You want when the rebuild is worth it, Cloud kept apart from self-host, what to expect for credentials, triggers, and webhooks, and the period when both stay on. The next step after a yes is Parallel-run one job before you switch.
Skip
Skip if…
You only want the unit dictionary — Tasks vs credits vs executions. You only want to stay — When Zapier is still the right pick. The job is a canvas plus a credit meter — When Make is the right pick or Switching from Zapier to Make. The book is already Make — Switching from Make to n8n. The book is already Make and the move is Zapier — Switching from Make to Zapier. The book is already n8n and the move is Zapier — Switching from n8n to Zapier. You only want the hosted editor — When n8n Cloud is the right pick. You only want the box — When n8n self-host is worth it. You want the fresh compare and you do not have a Zapier book — n8n vs Zapier. You want the full trio pick — Which automation tool for small teams. This page does not rank products.
A use-or-skip check for a Zapier book moving toward n8n. Cloud and self-host stay separate.
- You already run Zaps and you are weighing a move to n8n.
- You need Cloud and self-host kept apart, and what a login and a webhook do not carry.
Parallel-run one jobWhen n8n Cloud is the right pick
Read more
What this page tells you. When a team already on Zapier should rebuild that book on n8n, with Cloud and self-host kept apart, what a Zap, a login, and a webhook do not become, and how the meter changes from tasks to executions. Companion to n8n vs Zapier, When n8n Cloud is the right pick, When n8n self-host is worth it, When Zapier is still the right pick, What does not migrate, and Parallel-run one job before you switch. This page does not reprint those reads. It does not invent a monthly dollar. It publishes no annual savings. It does not add new scores.
GuideSome scores not shown yetVendor pages accessed 2026-09-30Live scorecard
This page is a Zapier book, not a second compare
The question is whether the Zaps you already run are worth rebuilding as n8n workflows, and which n8n that is. It is not a fresh pick between n8n and Zapier — that is n8n vs Zapier. It is not the dictionary of tasks, credits, and executions. It is not the Make rebuild — Switching from Zapier to Make. It is not the n8n Cloud rebuild onto Make — Switching from n8n Cloud to Make. It is not the Make book moving to n8n — Switching from Make to n8n. It is not the Make book moving to Zapier — Switching from Make to Zapier. It is not the n8n book moving to Zapier — Switching from n8n to Zapier. It is not the four-question trio pick for a team that does not already have a Zapier book. Criterion scores are not a reason to rebuild every Zap this week. This page does not add new scores. It is not a second ranking.
If the Zaps still write the right rows and the people who own them will not redraw nodes, stay. Honest cases: When Zapier is still the right pick. If the job is a canvas plus a credit meter, the choose-Make read is When Make is the right pick. If the move is the hosted editor, read When n8n Cloud is the right pick. If the move is owning the box, read When n8n self-host is worth it.
When the rebuild is worth it
Worth the rebuild means operator time, not a cheaper bill. Count the same job in Zapier tasks and n8n executions before you treat a switch as savings. Tasks vs credits vs executions · Zapier pricing explained · n8n pricing explained. This page does not claim you will save.
Cloud
Someone will rebuild on n8n Cloud
Cloud is the hosted editor. n8n runs the box. You count executions. If someone on the team will redraw the Zap — the trigger, then each later step — and keep that Zap on until the writes match, the Cloud rebuild can be worth it. That is not the self-host read. The choose-Cloud page is When n8n Cloud is the right pick.
Self-host
Someone will own the box
Self-host is a different move. You run the instance. The choose-how page treats Business as a self-hosted license, not a Cloud seat on the trial / Starter / Pro / Enterprise list. The choose-how page’s free Cloud option is a trial, not an ongoing free plan. If nobody will own uptime, backups, and upgrades, do not pick self-host. The ops read is When n8n self-host is worth it.
Stay
Stay on Zapier when the Zap still fits
Zapier’s pricing page says Zapier connects 9,000+ apps. n8n’s pricing page says all plans include every integration. It does not publish a directory count on the view we read, so this page does not invent one. If the job depends on an app only Zapier lists, and nobody will maintain an HTTP step, stay. Honest cases: When Zapier is still the right pick.
Not yet
Do not rebuild for a bill you have not counted
One task is not one execution. If you cannot name the job in both units, do not switch because one run sounds smaller. A login, a Zap-history file, or a webhook URL also does not travel. What else sticks is on What does not migrate. This page does not reprint that list.
Source: Zapier — pricing · n8n — pricing · n8n — choose how to use n8n · Zapier — how task usage is measured · n8n — understand executions · accessed 2026-09-30
What a Zap becomes on n8n
Expect a rebuild, not a file drop. Zapier’s import and export article (updated 29 May 2026) says import and export only support JSON. You download Zap workflows from Settings, then Security and data. After a Zapier import you turn the Zaps on and test app connections. Imported Zaps land in a folder named Imported Zap workflows plus the date. Unless you are the account owner or super admin, you can only export Zaps you own. The article lists Free, Professional, and Team. The title also names Team or Enterprise. Import is not available during a free Zapier trial. That path moves Zaps between Zapier accounts. It does not create an n8n workflow.
n8n saves workflows in JSON. From the editor menu you can Download the current workflow, Import from File, or Import from URL. That path moves a workflow inside n8n. Exported workflow JSON includes credential names and IDs. HTTP Request nodes may contain authentication headers when imported from cURL. Remove or anonymize that before you share the file. None of it reads a Zapier JSON file.
n8n packages are a different n8n-to-n8n file. A package is a .n8np archive, in Preview, available from n8n 2.27.0. You export it with the n8n CLI or API, not from the editor. It can carry workflows, folders, and projects. A credential file in the package holds ID, name, and type only. Credential secrets never travel. On import, n8n matches a credential that already exists on the target instance, or creates an empty placeholder for you to fill in. Executions and execution history do not travel. n8n says a package is not a full backup. That placeholder is on another n8n instance. It is not a Zap.
So the expectation is: one Zap becomes one workflow you build. The trigger becomes the first node. Each later action becomes another node. Fields are mapped again. Do not assume a Zap path or filter lands as the same node.
A Cloud trial download is the same limit in the other direction. If you do not upgrade by the end of the trial, n8n deletes the workspace. You have 90 days to download workflows. That file is n8n JSON. It is not a Zapier import, and it is not a finished move.
Source: Zapier — import and export Zap workflows · n8n — export and import · n8n — packages · n8n — try free then choose a plan · accessed 2026-09-30
Credentials do not travel
Zapier’s connection export does not fill an n8n credential. The export is a CSV of metadata: connection id, app, title, owner email, status, and similar fields. The article says the export never includes credentials, API keys, or other sensitive authentication data. The page lists Enterprise under available plans, and the before-you-begin note says the account owner on any plan, or a super admin on Team or Enterprise, can start it. Either way, the file is an audit list. It is not an n8n credential.
On n8n you create the credential on that instance. Names and IDs in an exported workflow JSON are not secrets. A package credential file holds ID, name, and type only. Credential secrets never travel. The empty placeholder, when import creates one, is on the target n8n instance. It is not a filled Zapier connection. HTTP Request nodes can still carry authentication headers if the workflow was imported from cURL — clean those before you share the file, and do not paste a Zapier secret into a node as if the export had carried it.
Plan the overlap around that fact. Name who will create each n8n credential and who still owns the Zapier connection until the Zap is off. A Zap that still runs is not an n8n credential.
Source: Zapier — export app connections · n8n — export and import · n8n — packages · accessed 2026-09-30
Triggers and webhooks get a new URL
A Zap trigger does not become an n8n trigger by file. Recreate it on the workflow. If senders POST to a Zapier webhook URL, that URL does not move. Point those senders at the new n8n production URL before you rely on the new job. Do not leave both URLs writing the same row. A schedule is set again on n8n. The Zapier export does not carry a live sender over, and an n8n JSON file does not read the Zapier URL.
The rest of what sticks — history, proprietary apps, permissions, leftover quota — is on What does not migrate. This page does not reprint that list.
Source: Zapier — import and export Zap workflows · n8n — export and import · accessed 2026-09-30
Run both before you turn the Zap off
The parallel-run period is one critical job, not the whole account. Keep that Zap on. Rebuild it as one workflow. Create the n8n credentials. If the job has a webhook, re-point the sender for the window you are comparing, and do not let both copies write the same live row. Compare the writes for the same trigger window — the row, the message, and what happens when a required field is missing. Then turn that Zap off. Leave the Zap intact until the workflow has handled a real run, so you can turn the workflow off and leave the Zap on if the writes do not match.
A manual click in the n8n editor is not that proof. Only production executions count toward the quota: runs started by triggers, schedules, or polling. Manual executions do not count. Compare a production window, not only an editor test.
Do not move every Zap on the same day. Zapier and n8n do not publish a required number of days for that overlap. This page does not invent a required number of days. The checklist — which job, what to compare, how to go back — is Parallel-run one job before you switch.
Zap history does not shorten that period. Zapier can export up to 5,000 Zap runs at a time, as CSV or JSON, emailed to the Zapier account (article updated 29 May 2026). That file is history. It is not an n8n workflow, and it does not become execution history. n8n packages do not carry executions or execution history. That list stays on the tool where it ran.
Source: Zapier — export your Zap history · n8n — understand executions · n8n — packages · accessed 2026-09-30
How the meter changes
A task is any successful action that runs in Zapier. Only successful actions count (help article updated 21 August 2026). An execution is a single run of a workflow. Pricing is based on monthly workflow executions. The docs page says only production executions count toward the quota. Step count does not add a second execution. One task is not one execution. Leftover Zapier tasks do not become n8n executions.
Name the same job in both units before you treat a switch as a smaller bill. The dictionary is Tasks vs credits vs executions. The Zapier plan-and-task map is Zapier pricing explained. The n8n plan-and-execution map is n8n pricing explained. This page does not claim you will save. It publishes no annual savings. It does not invent a monthly dollar.
Source: Zapier — how task usage is measured · n8n — understand executions · n8n — pricing · accessed 2026-09-30
Plan names and meters (dated)
Official list pages only: Zapier — pricing · n8n — pricing · n8n — try free then choose a plan · n8n — choose how to use n8n, accessed 2026-09-30. This table names the plan and the meter. Monthly and annual dollar bills are an em dash. Zapier’s page does publish dollars. n8n’s pricing page does publish euro amounts. This page does not reprint them. It does not claim you will save. It publishes no annual savings.
Swipe sideways on a narrow screen.
| Plan | Meter | What the list page names | Monthly | Annual | Date checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zapier Free | Tasks | 100 tasks/mo. Two-step Zaps. 15 min polling. | — | — | 2026-09-30 |
| Zapier Professional | Tasks | Multi-step Zaps. Filters and paths. | — | — | 2026-09-30 |
| Zapier Team | Tasks | Shared app connections. Shared Zaps and folders. | — | — | 2026-09-30 |
| Zapier Enterprise | Tasks | Custom plan arranged with Zapier Sales. Not a fixed public tier on the page we read. | — | — | 2026-09-30 |
| n8n Cloud trial | Executions | 14 days. Pro plan features. Limit of 1,000 executions. 5 concurrent executions. 180-second timeout. 1 team project. No credit card for the Cloud trial. | — | — | 2026-09-30 |
| n8n Cloud Starter | Executions | Individuals and small projects. 1 shared project. 5 concurrent executions. Pricing data on the page lists 2,500 workflow executions on this tier. | — | — | 2026-09-30 |
| n8n Cloud Pro | Executions | Everything in Starter, plus up to 50 concurrent executions and 3 shared projects. The next tier lists 10,000 workflow executions. Higher tiers exist and are not copied here. | — | — | 2026-09-30 |
| n8n Cloud Enterprise | Executions | Custom number of workflow executions. 200+ concurrent executions. | — | — | 2026-09-30 |
| n8n self-host | Separate from Cloud | Not a Cloud seat. You provide the hosting. The choose-how page treats Business as a self-hosted license, not a Cloud seat on the trial / Starter / Pro / Enterprise list. Scored separately. Self-hosted is a separate lane. | — | — | 2026-09-30 |
Zapier Free, Professional, and Team are the self-serve plan levels on zapier.com/pricing. Enterprise is arranged with Zapier Sales. Higher Zapier task tiers exist on that page and are not copied here. The n8n pricing page also lists a Business card. The choose-how page treats Business as a self-hosted license, not a Cloud seat on the trial / Starter / Pro / Enterprise list. The self-host row above is that separate job. The choose-how page’s free Cloud option is a trial, not an ongoing free plan. Higher n8n execution tiers exist on the pricing page and are not copied here.
Scoring status
Scoring status
The live card is Make vs n8n vs Zapier. Totals are not published yet. This page does not add new scores.
Rules: How scoring works.
If the real answer is Make
Make
If the job is a canvas plus a credit meter, do not force n8n. The rebuild read is Switching from Zapier to Make. The choose-Make read is When Make is the right pick.
Official
n8n and Zapier
This page does not add an n8n or Zapier partner link. Plan pages stay in Sources. · no affiliate ID · not a partner mark
Sources
Primary vendor pages. Access date for every citation on this page: 2026-09-30. Plan names stay as published. Dollar bills stay off this page.
- Zapier — import and export Zap workflows · accessed 2026-09-30
- Zapier — export app connections · accessed 2026-09-30
- Zapier — export your Zap history · accessed 2026-09-30
- Zapier — how task usage is measured · accessed 2026-09-30
- Zapier — pricing · accessed 2026-09-30
- n8n — export and import · accessed 2026-09-30
- n8n — packages · accessed 2026-09-30
- n8n — understand executions · accessed 2026-09-30
- n8n — try free then choose a plan · accessed 2026-09-30
- n8n — choose how to use n8n · accessed 2026-09-30
- n8n — pricing · accessed 2026-09-30
FAQ
When is switching from Zapier to n8n worth the rebuild?
When someone will redraw each Zap as an n8n workflow, you have already chosen Cloud or self-host as separate jobs, and you can keep that Zap on while one workflow is rebuilt and compared. It is not worth it when nobody will redraw the nodes, the app is only on Zapier, you need Zap history inside n8n, a webhook URL has to keep firing unchanged, or the only argument is a cheaper bill you have not counted in tasks versus executions. This page does not claim a savings figure.
Can I import a Zap into n8n?
No. Zapier export is Zapier JSON, for another Zapier account, from Settings, then Security and data. n8n export and import are n8n workflow JSON, and n8n packages (.n8np) move workflows between n8n instances and are in Preview. Those files are not interchangeable. There is no one-click Zap-to-workflow import. Rebuild the trigger and the later nodes, then map the fields again.
Do Zapier logins or API keys move to n8n?
No. Zapier’s app-connection export never includes credentials, API keys, or other sensitive authentication data. It is metadata only. Exported n8n workflow JSON includes credential names and IDs, not the secrets. An n8n package credential file holds ID, name, and type only — credential secrets never travel. Recreate each credential on the n8n instance.
Do webhook URLs and triggers keep firing after the move?
No. A Zap trigger does not become an n8n trigger by file. If senders POST to a Zapier webhook URL, that URL does not move. Point those senders at the new n8n production URL, and do not leave both URLs writing the same row. Set schedules again on n8n. What else sticks is on What does not migrate.
How long should Zapier and n8n both stay on?
Long enough to compare one critical job on the same trigger window: the Zap stays on, the workflow is rebuilt, the writes match, then that Zap turns off. The vendors do not publish a required number of days. This page does not invent one. Do not move every Zap on the same day. Manual editor runs do not count toward the n8n execution quota, so the proof is a production window. The checklist is Parallel-run one job before you switch.
Is one Zapier task one n8n execution?
No. A Zapier task is any successful action that runs in Zapier. Only successful actions count. An n8n execution is a single run of a workflow. Only production executions count toward the quota. Step count does not add a second execution. Leftover Zapier tasks do not become n8n executions. The dictionary is Tasks vs credits vs executions.
Is n8n Cloud the same move as n8n self-host?
No. n8n Cloud is the hosted editor. n8n self-host means you run the instance. The choose-how page treats Business as a self-hosted license, not a Cloud seat on the trial, Starter, Pro, and Enterprise list. The choose-how page’s free Cloud option is a trial, not an ongoing free plan. Use When n8n Cloud is the right pick or When n8n self-host is worth it. This page does not mix those jobs.
When should we stay on Zapier or pick Make instead?
Stay on Zapier when the Zaps still write the right rows, nobody will redraw the nodes, or the app is only in Zapier’s catalog. That read is When Zapier is still the right pick. Pick Make when the job is a canvas plus a credit meter. That read is When Make is the right pick, and the rebuild is Switching from Zapier to Make. This page does not claim a savings figure.
Does this page publish a monthly bill?
No. It names plan names and meters only. Monthly and annual dollar cells are an em dash. Zapier’s pricing page lists Free, Professional, Team, and Enterprise. n8n Cloud plan names on the pages we read are trial, Starter, Pro, and Enterprise. Self-host is a separate row, not a Cloud seat. This page does not copy dollar bills and publishes no annual savings.
Does this guide score Make, n8n or Zapier?
No. Totals are not published yet.
Affiliate disclosure
Make Partner (pc=stackscorecard) is live elsewhere on the site and is not the primary call here. n8n and Zapier have no Stack affiliate on this page — no invented IDs. Rankings are not sold. Policy: Affiliate disclosure · Disclosures.