Q1 2026 Automation Pricing Snapshot
| Tool | Free Tier | First Paid | Changed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zapier | 100 tasks/mo, 2-step | Professional $29.99/mo (750 tasks) | No |
| Make | 1,000 ops/mo, 2 scenarios | Core $10.59/mo (10,000 ops) | No |
| n8n | Unlimited (self-hosted) | Starter $20/mo (2,500 executions) | No |
| Bardeen | 100 credits/mo | Starter $99/mo (15K credits/yr) | Yes — major increase |
Bardeen: From Budget Tool to Enterprise Pricing
Bardeen's pricing story is the most dramatic in Q1 2026. The Starter plan is now $99/month (15,000 credits/year). Teams is $500/month (120,000 credits/year). Enterprise is $1,500/month (500,000+ credits/year). The free tier remains at 100 credits/month for basic automations.
The context: At $99/month, Bardeen costs more than Zapier Professional ($29.99/month, 750 tasks) and Make Pro ($18.82/month, 10,000 ops) combined. Both Zapier and Make run without a browser, connect to more apps, and offer broader automation capabilities.
When Bardeen still makes sense: Browser-native scraping (LinkedIn profiles, web research), Chrome-based form filling, and automations that require interacting with websites that have no API. These are things Zapier and Make cannot do. But for standard app-to-app automation, Bardeen at $99/month is significantly overpriced.
What to do: If you are a Bardeen user for standard automations (Slack notifications, CRM updates, email sequences), migrate to Zapier Free or Make Core. Save the $99/month. If you specifically need browser scraping, evaluate whether the frequency justifies the cost.
Zapier: Stable but Watch the Volume Trap
Zapier's pricing has not changed in Q1 2026: Free (100 tasks/month), Professional ($29.99/month, 750 tasks), Team ($103.50/month, 2,000 tasks). But the task-counting model continues to catch teams off guard.
The reminder: Zapier counts each step in a multi-step Zap as a separate task. A 5-step Zap running once uses 5 tasks. On the Professional plan (750 tasks/month), a 5-step Zap can only run 150 times per month. That is about 5 times per day.
What to watch: If you are approaching the 750-task limit on Professional, compare the cost of upgrading to Team ($103.50/month for 2,000 tasks) vs switching to Make Core ($10.59/month for 10,000 operations). Make gives you roughly 13x the volume per dollar.
Make: Still the Best Value in Automation
Make pricing remains unchanged: Free (1,000 ops/month, 2 scenarios), Core ($10.59/month, 10,000 ops), Pro ($18.82/month, 10,000 ops + custom functions), Teams ($34.12/month, 10,000 ops + team features).
At $10.59/month for 10,000 operations with unlimited scenarios, Make Core remains the best value in automation. The gap between Make and Zapier has not changed — Make is 3x cheaper for comparable volume — but Make's steeper learning curve continues to keep non-technical users on Zapier.
n8n: The Self-Hosted Wild Card
n8n pricing is stable: Community self-hosted (free, unlimited), Starter cloud ($20/month, 2,500 executions), Pro cloud ($50/month, 10,000 executions). The self-hosted option remains the only truly free unlimited automation platform.
n8n's self-hosted community edition requires Docker and server management. The real cost is your time: plan for 2–4 hours of initial setup and 1–2 hours/month of maintenance. If your time is worth $50/hour, that is $100/month in implicit cost — comparable to Zapier Professional.
The Cost Comparison That Matters
| Scenario | Zapier | Make | n8n Cloud | Bardeen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light use (<100/mo) | $0 | $0 | $0* | $0 |
| Medium (750/mo) | $29.99 | $10.59 | $20 | $99 |
| High (5,000/mo) | $103.50 | $10.59 | $50 | $500 |
*n8n self-hosted is $0 but requires server costs ($5–$20/month) and maintenance time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Bardeen's price increase so dramatically?
Bardeen shifted from a growth-stage pricing model (cheap to acquire users) to a revenue-optimization model. The browser-based automation niche has few direct competitors, giving Bardeen pricing power with existing users who depend on its scraping capabilities.
Should I switch from Zapier to Make to save money?
If you are on Zapier Professional ($29.99/month) and comfortable with visual workflow builders, yes. Make Core ($10.59/month) gives you 10,000 operations vs 750 tasks. The learning curve is 4–8 hours. If your team is non-technical, the simplicity premium of Zapier may be worth the extra cost.
Will Zapier raise prices in 2026?
Zapier has historically tightened free tiers rather than raising paid prices. The current 100 tasks/month free tier is already down from historical levels. Expect potential free tier changes before paid tier price increases.
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