TL;DR: n8n Community is $0 software if you self-host. Make and Zapier publish free starter packs plus paid credit/task sliders. Workato publishes a $0 Free grant (50,000 one-time credits) and self-serve Pro from $75/month for 2,500 recurring credits. Tray.ai is quote-led. Order follows public $0 / published price first, quote-led last.
iPaaS (integration platform as a service) connects apps, moves data, and runs multi-step workflows without a custom middleware stack. It is not a full ERP, and it is not a single-app Zap that never leaves one vendorβs ecosystemβthough the same products now sell AI steps and agent tooling on top of connectors.
Every entry uses the same fields: published pricing, free plan or trial, core focus, and the main limitation. The order below is not a quality ranking. Public $0 / published price first, quote-led last.
iPaaS software compared at a glance
| Provider | Published pricing | Billable unit | Best for | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n8n Community (self-hosted) | $0 software on the official Community edition; you pay only hosting. Cloud Starter from 20β¬/mo billed annually for 2,500 executions. | Workflow execution (cloud) or infra (self-host) | Technical teams that want code nodes and self-host control | Visit β |
| Make | Free: $0 with 1,000 credits/mo and 2 active scenarios. At 10,000 credits/mo, annual cards show Core $9, Pro $16, Teams $29 per month equivalent (monthly toggle higher). Enterprise quote. | Credits / operations | Visual scenario builders who want a public credit ladder | Visit β |
| Zapier | Free plan documented (Tables, Interfaces, MCP included). Paid Professional/Team packs sold via the official task-tier slider; Enterprise contact for pricing. | Tasks (AI/code rates can multiply) | Business users connecting 9,000+ apps without owning infra | Visit β |
| Workato (self-serve) | Official docs: Free = 50,000 one-time credits at $0. Pro published rows from $75/mo (2,500 credits) through $1,275/mo (50,000 credits). Enterprise editions are quote-led. | Workato credits | Teams that outgrow consumer iPaaS and want documented credit math | Visit β |
| Tray.ai | Official commercial path is quote-led (Pro / Team / Enterprise). Task-based usage; no durable public starter dollar amount on the marketing price page. | Tasks (quote) | Mid-market / enterprise automation and embedded iPaaS programs | Visit β |
Official n8n, Make, Zapier, Workato docs and Tray commercial pages were reviewed on 1 October 2026. Confirm live slider values, euro/dollar display, and credit definitions before you buy.
A βtask,β βcredit,β and βexecutionβ are not the same unit. Model a real workflow, then compare bills.
How iPaaS is bought in 2026
Self-serve buyers start on free or low-tier credit packs and grow usage. Platform teams buy editions plus usage when they need SSO, environments, and on-prem agents. The commercial fork is step-priced consumer automation versus execution-priced or credit-priced enterprise iPaaS. Quote-led suites appear when embedded connectors or agent platforms sit on the same contract.
The 5 providers in detail
1. n8n
Best for: Teams that will self-host Community for $0 software cost, or buy Cloud and pay per workflow execution rather than per step.
| Published pricing | Community edition $0 (self-hosted). Cloud Starter 20β¬/mo billed annually (2,500 executions). Pro 50β¬/mo billed annually (10,000). Business 667β¬/mo billed annually (40,000, self-hosted option). Enterprise contact. |
| Free plan / trial | Community is free software; Cloud trial documented on n8n docs |
| Core focus | Fair-code workflows, code nodes, self-host or Cloud |
| Main limitation | Self-host means you own upgrades, secrets, and uptime |
- Official pricing page bills Cloud on monthly workflow executions with unlimited steps per run.
- Startup plan advertises 50% off Business for qualifying companies under 20 employees.
- Community is not the same SKU as paid Cloud governance (SSO, insights retention, concurrency).
2. Make
Best for: Operators who want a visual scenario builder and a public credit slider they can screenshot into a budget.
| Published pricing | Free $0 / 1,000 credits / 2 active scenarios. At the 10,000-credit rung with annual billing: Core $9, Pro $16, Teams $29 per month equivalent. Monthly toggle is higher (about $10.59 / $18.82 / $34.12 at that rung on recent official reads). Enterprise custom. |
| Free plan / trial | Free plan with no advertised time limit |
| Core focus | Visual scenarios, routers, large app catalog |
| Main limitation | Credits scale with modules and AI/code runtime; Free scheduling is coarse |
- Official page lets you slide monthly credits from 10k into the millions; price is not one number.
- Plan names change file size, log retention, and team controls more than the base credit pack.
- Enterprise adds custom functions, overage protection, and security extras by quote.
3. Zapier
Best for: Business users who need the widest public connector catalog and will accept task-based billing including AI multipliers.
| Published pricing | Official page is a task-volume slider plus Enterprise βcontact for pricing.β Free plan is documented in Zapier plan updates (Tables, Interfaces, MCP included). Paid Professional/Team rates appear in the live calculator. |
| Free plan / trial | Free plan exists; paid plans can move to pay-as-you-go after the task cap |
| Core focus | No-code Zaps across 9,000+ apps, plus Tables, Forms, MCP |
| Main limitation | AI model tiers and MCP tool calls consume extra tasks |
- Zapier help (updated 2026) prices AI steps by model tier (Standard 1x, Advanced 3x, Premium 5x).
- MCP tool calls use two tasks from the plan quota per official FAQ.
- Nonprofit discount of 15% on paid plans (excluding pay-per-task) is stated on the pricing FAQ.
4. Workato
Best for: Teams that want documented self-serve credit rows before they graduate to edition + usage enterprise contracts.
| Published pricing | Free: $0 with 50,000 one-time credits. Pro official table: $75/mo (2,500 credits), $100/mo (3,500), $275/mo (10,000), $780/mo (30,000), $1,275/mo (50,000). Enterprise editions quoted separately. |
| Free plan / trial | Free self-serve account with a one-time credit grant |
| Core focus | Enterprise automation, API platform, AI/Genie actions measured in credits |
| Main limitation | Pro credits do not roll over; pre-2024 customers may still be on a legacy model |
- Self-service docs and workato.com/free both describe the 50k Free grant and Pro credit ladder.
- Credits cover tasks, API calls, rows, and Genie actionsβask for a usage estimate on your jobs.
- On-prem agents and extra concurrency are add-ons on enterprise paper, not the $75 row.
View Workato self-service pricing β
5. Tray.ai
Best for: Organizations that want a sales-scoped automation and agent platform and will run a procurement process.
| Published pricing | Quote-led Pro / Team / Enterprise. No durable public starter price on the current commercial site. |
| Free plan / trial | Sales-assisted trial common; no perpetual public free tier advertised |
| Core focus | Low-code automation, 700+ connectors, Merlin/agent and embedded use cases |
| Main limitation | You cannot complete an apples-to-apples list-price model from the marketing page alone |
- Usage is task-based across integration, automation, MCP, and agent steps per Tray docs.
- Workspace count and insights retention are the public differentiators between named tiers.
- Compare a scoped quote against Make/Zapier/Workato credit math at the same monthly job volume.
Kurums Match: which iPaaS fits?
$0 software, you run the server β n8n Community.
Public credit slider, visual builder β Make Free then Core/Pro/Teams.
Widest app catalog, task slider β Zapier Free then Professional/Team.
Documented enterprise-style credits, self-serve β Workato Free/Pro.
Embedded / agent platform via sales β Tray.ai quote.
Buying tip: Price one production workflow end to end. Count every module, AI call, and retry. A cheaper base plan with expensive AI multipliers can beat a higher list price that bills one execution for the whole graph.
How this comparison was put together
Official n8n, Make, Zapier, Workato documentation and Tray commercial pages were checked on 1 October 2026. Slider-only prices are labeled as such. No quality ranking badges are applied.
FAQ
Is n8n Cloud the same as Community?
No. Community is free self-hosted software. Cloud is a hosted SKU priced on executions and plan features.
Does Make still charge per operation?
Make now markets credits. Treat each module and AI/code second as billable unless the live docs exclude it.
Why is Zapierβs dollar amount not a single cell?
The official page is a task-tier slider. AI model tier and MCP change how many tasks one run consumes.
Can Workato Free run production forever?
Free is a one-time 50,000-credit grant, not a monthly refill. Pro is the recurring self-serve path.
Related: Best AI Workflow Automation 2026 Β· Best RPA Software 2026 Β· Best Low-Code Platforms 2026
Last updated: 1 October 2026. Packaging changes; always verify with the vendor before purchase.
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