n8n review

Go further, and cost less doing it. Where Zapier is a connector, n8n is closer to a workflow engine: triggers, actions, filters, and branching assembled into complex logic, wired into a Postgres database, cloud file storage, document and PDF generation, and anything with an API. Pricing by workflow execution, not every task inside it, keeps that affordable once volume is real.

Realistically, yes, or at least someone comfortable reading an API doc. The power comes with a real editor, branching, and error handling that expect more of you than no-code tools. Without someone to own it once it's built, you'll get more from the easy tool.

Because of what's moving through the workflow. If client records or anything confidential passes through your automations, "it never leaves our infrastructure" is an answer you can give a nervous client, and no hosted competitor can. That's niche for most businesses and decisive where it applies.

When the bill or the data starts to hurt. Per-task pricing scales with your success, so heavy automation gets expensive just as it becomes load-bearing, and sensitive data moving through someone else's platform eventually raises questions. Either is the signal. Until then, the easier tool is right, and switching early just buys complexity.