Bardeen vs Make vs n8n

Bardeen, Make, and n8n each tackle automation from a different starting point: Bardeen focuses on browser-based tasks through an AI-assisted extension, Make…

Bardeen

Freemium · From Free (paid plans from ~$10/month)

Best for: Sales, marketing, and ops professionals automating repetitive browser tasks like data entry, scraping, and prospecting.

Make

Freemium · From Free (paid plans from $9/month)

Best for: Teams that need a powerful visual, flowchart-based builder for complex, multi-branch automations across 3,000-plus apps without writing code.

n8n

Freemium · From Free (self-hosted); Cloud from EUR20/month billed annually

Best for: Developers and technical teams who want self-hosting, custom code nodes, and AI agent building inside their automations.

At a Glance

 BardeenMaken8n
Primary categoryAutomationAutomationAutomation
RatingNot documentedNot documentedNot documented
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemiumFreemium
Starting priceFree (paid plans from ~$10/month)Free (paid plans from $9/month)Free (self-hosted); Cloud from EUR20/month billed annually
Free planYesYesNot documented
Free trialNot documentedNot documentedNot documented
PlatformsWebNot documentedWeb
Team collaborationNot documentedNot documentedNot documented
AI featuresYesNot documentedYes
Public APIYesYesYes

Standout Differences

Browser-first automation, not general workflow building

Bardeen runs as a browser extension scoped to web-page tasks like scraping and CRM entry, a narrower focus than the server-side, multi-app scenarios Make and n8n are built for.

Bardeen

Visual branching logic at scale

Make's routers, filters, and more than 3,000 app connectors give it flowchart-style power for complex, multi-path scenarios that Bardeen's playbook model does not attempt to match.

Make

Self-hosted and code-first

n8n is the only one of the three offering a free, self-hostable Community Edition with unlimited executions and native JavaScript or Python code nodes for advanced logic.

n8n

Both Make and n8n are building AI orchestration into workflows

Make supports AI agent orchestration and large language model calls inside scenarios, and n8n has native AI agent building, positioning both as more than pure business-process automation tools.

Make, n8n

Feature-by-Feature

Automation Building

FeatureBardeenMaken8n
Browser-based web scraping and playbooksAvailableUnavailableLimited
Custom JavaScript or Python code stepsLimitedLimitedAvailable
Visual flowchart-style branching logicLimitedAvailableAvailable
AI agent orchestration within workflowsAvailableAvailableAvailable

Deployment and Scale

FeatureBardeenMaken8n
Self-hosting optionUnavailableUnavailableAvailable
App integration breadth (3,000-plus documented)LimitedAvailableAvailable
Usable free planAvailableAvailableAvailable

Pricing Compared

Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.

Bardeen

Basic — $10/month monthly
Premium — $50/month or $480/year monthly
Enterprise — Custom annual

Make

Free — $0/month Monthly
Core — $9/month Monthly (10,000 operations)
Pro — $16/month Monthly (10,000 operations)
Teams — $29/month Monthly (10,000 operations)
Enterprise — Custom Contact sales

n8n

Community Edition (self-hosted) — Free N/A
Starter — EUR20/month (annual billing) Monthly or annual
Pro — EUR50/month (annual billing) Monthly or annual
Business — EUR667/month (annual billing) Monthly or annual
Enterprise — Custom Annual

Pros & Cons

Bardeen

Pros

  • No-code workflow builder accessible to non-technical users
  • AI-generated automations from natural-language prompts
  • Free plan available to start automating simple tasks
  • Wide range of pre-built templates for common sales/marketing workflows

Cons

  • Free tier is limited by monthly automation credits
  • Primarily browser-extension based, limiting automation to web-accessible tasks
  • Complex, multi-step automations may still require some workflow-building learning curve

Make

Pros

  • Powerful visual, flowchart-based workflow builder handles complex branching logic
  • Connects to over 3,000 apps and APIs
  • Generally more affordable at scale than Zapier for comparable usage
  • Detailed data inspection at every step makes debugging easier
  • Backed by Celonis, providing enterprise-grade stability and continued investment

Cons

  • Steeper learning curve than simpler linear automation tools
  • Credit/operation-based pricing can be difficult to predict for complex scenarios
  • Free plan is limited to two active scenarios
  • Some advanced features require Pro or Teams tier
  • Enterprise pricing requires contacting sales rather than transparent self-serve pricing

n8n

Pros

  • Free, unlimited-execution self-hosted option for technical teams
  • Combines no-code visual building with full custom code flexibility
  • Execution-based (not per-step) pricing can be more cost-effective at scale
  • Strong and growing focus on AI agent workflows
  • Backed by significant venture funding and rapid company growth

Cons

  • Source-available fair-code license, not fully OSI-approved open source
  • Self-hosting requires technical setup and maintenance
  • Business and Enterprise tiers can be expensive for larger-scale usage
  • Steeper learning curve than simpler no-code tools like Zapier for non-technical users
  • Concurrent execution limits on lower tiers can constrain heavy workloads

Use Cases

Choose Bardeen: Sales, marketing, and ops professionals automating repetitive browser tasks like data entry, scraping, and prospecting.
Choose Make: Teams that need a powerful visual, flowchart-based builder for complex, multi-branch automations across 3,000-plus apps without writing code.
Choose n8n: Developers and technical teams who want self-hosting, custom code nodes, and AI agent building inside their automations.

Bardeen

  • Sales prospecting and lead generation — Automating data extraction and CRM entry for sales pipelines.
  • Recruiting and research automation — Scraping candidate or company data from web sources for research.

Make

  • Marketing and sales workflow automation — Marketing and sales teams use Make to sync leads between CRMs, email tools, and spreadsheets automatically without manual data entry.
  • Business process automation for SMBs — Small business owners use Make to automate repetitive administrative tasks like invoicing, notifications, and data syncing across tools.
  • Enterprise process integration — Enterprise IT and operations teams use Make's Enterprise tier to connect internal systems and orchestrate mission-critical automated processes at scale.

n8n

  • Business process automation — Teams automate multi-step processes connecting CRMs, spreadsheets, and communication tools.
  • AI agent workflows — Developers build AI agents that combine language models with tool calls and business data.
  • Self-hosted integration platform — Technical teams self-host n8n for full data control and unlimited executions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is easiest to learn, Bardeen, Make, or n8n?

Bardeen is generally the fastest to pick up since its Playbooks run directly in the browser with minimal setup. Make's flowchart-style scenario builder has a steeper learning curve than simple linear tools, and n8n's learning curve is steepest for non-technical users, especially when using its custom code nodes.

Can I self-host Bardeen, Make, or n8n?

Only n8n offers a free, self-hostable Community Edition with unlimited workflow executions. Bardeen and Make are both cloud-hosted services without a self-hosting option in the provided data.

Which tool connects to the most apps?

Make lists more than 3,000 app and API integrations, the largest documented count among the three. n8n also maintains a large library of pre-built integration nodes, while Bardeen's integrations are concentrated around common sales and marketing tools like Google Sheets, Notion, HubSpot, and Salesforce.

Do Bardeen, Make, and n8n support AI agents?

Bardeen AI can generate automations from natural-language prompts, Make supports AI agent orchestration and large language model calls within scenarios, and n8n has native support for building AI agents that call models and tools as part of a workflow.

Which is the most affordable option?

Make's Core plan starts at 9 dollars per month for 10,000 operations, Bardeen's Basic plan starts at 10 dollars per month for 100 credits, and n8n's Cloud Starter plan starts at 20 euros per month, though n8n's self-hosted Community Edition is free with unlimited executions.

Read the full Bardeen review · Read the full Make review · Read the full n8n review