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n8n or Zapier Agents: which automation platform for a European team?

n8n is a Berlin-built workflow engine with AI agent nodes, sold per execution on EU-hosted cloud or free to self-host. Zapier Agents are AI agents on top of Zapier's 8,000-plus app connections, sold in 'activities' on top of Zapier's task-based plans. The deciding question is EU hosting and control versus the widest app catalogue and the least setup.

Checked 26 August 2026

n8n vs Zapier Agents at a glance

n8n vs Zapier Agents at a glance
	n8n	Zapier Agents
Who it is for	Technical teams and IT that want automation they can host and extend	Non-technical teams that want agents across many SaaS apps fast
What you get	Visual workflow builder, AI agent nodes, code nodes, 400+ integrations, self-host option	Agents with triggers, knowledge sources, web browsing, plus classic Zaps across 8,000+ apps
Price	Cloud Starter €20, Pro €50 per month; Business €667 per month annual; Enterprise custom; Community edition free	Free $0; Professional from $19.99 per month annual ($29.99 monthly); Team from $69 annual ($103.50 monthly) for 25 users; Enterprise custom
Free plan or trial	Free cloud trial, no card; free self-hosted Community edition	Free plan: 100 tasks and 400 agent activities a month
EU hosting	Yes. Cloud data in Frankfurt, Germany; self-host anywhere	No EU residency published. Data hosted on AWS in the US; EU-US Data Privacy Framework certified (third-party, verify)
Team features	Unlimited users on all cloud plans; SSO, SAML, LDAP on Business	1 user on Free and Pro; 25 users on Team; unlimited on Enterprise
Build your own agents	Yes, AI agent nodes with your own model keys	Yes, Zapier Agents in plain language
What is metered	Workflow executions: 2,500 / 10,000 / 40,000 a month; one execution is one full run	Two meters: Zap tasks (100 / 750+ / 2,000+ a month) and agent activities (400 Free, 1,500 Pro, shared pool on Team). One activity is a trigger, a knowledge answer, an action, a web browse, a web search or a Chrome message

Pick n8n if…

Your data must stay in the EU. n8n Cloud is in Frankfurt and self-hosting keeps it in your own data centre.
You want one meter you can reason about: one run is one execution, however many steps.
You have a developer and want deep control: code nodes, your own model keys, self-hosting.

Pick Zapier Agents if…

Nobody on the team codes and you want an agent running across your SaaS apps this afternoon.
You need an app that n8n does not connect to. Zapier's catalogue is the widest available.
You are already on a Zapier plan and want to try agents on the included activities first.

Where each one falls short

n8n

The learning curve is the top G2 drawback; error handling and data mapping often need JavaScript.
No permanent free cloud plan, and SSO and advanced roles only from Business at €667 a month. Self-hosting means you run Docker, SSL and updates.

Zapier Agents

Agent activities are a separate quota from tasks and are shared across the whole Team account, so one heavy user can drain everyone's allowance. Research-heavy instructions use many activities per run.
No EU data residency is published; data is hosted in the US. Zapier also states it does not support HIPAA-protected data.

n8n or Zapier Agents: the verdict

n8n wins for a European team with a developer that needs EU hosting and predictable per-run cost. Zapier Agents win for a non-technical team that values app breadth and zero setup over hosting control. If you need both EU hosting and no code, neither is a perfect fit.

A third option

Sokosumi

If you want the work done, not a workflow to maintain

Both tools above give a builder a canvas. Someone has to design the flow, wire the apps and fix it when an auth token expires. If the team's real need is a competitor report, a campaign plan or the Monday performance PDF, that is a different product: a coworker you brief, a board the team sees, a file at the end. Sokosumi is a marketplace of named AI coworkers for marketing teams, each with a role, sample work and a named vendor that states its models and hosting.

Brief in plain language or @mention in a channel; the task shows on a shared board and ends with a finished file.
Credits only when a task runs. Free: 250 credits per seat per month, no card. Paid seats €25, €75 or €200 per month.
EU hosting available, stated per coworker. Built by Serviceplan Group with NMKR, Munich.

Start free Sokosumi vs n8n Sokosumi vs Zapier Agents

In use at

Teams already on Sokosumi

“For a small business like mine who would never do the research myself and never pay someone to do it, I think this is the best tool to develop an actionable and effective online strategy.”

Florian von KeyserlingkOwner and Sound Engineer, fiftyfour audio post production

n8n vs Zapier Agents: questions

What is a Zapier agent activity?+

Any billable agent step: using a trigger, answering from a knowledge source, running an action, browsing or scraping a page, a web search, or a message sent via the Chrome extension. Free includes 400 a month, Pro 1,500; Team shares a pool across the account.

How does n8n count executions?+

One execution is one complete workflow run regardless of steps. Starter has 2,500 a month, Pro 10,000, Business 40,000. Workflows keep running past the quota and overage may apply.

Which one is hosted in the EU?+

n8n Cloud stores data in Frankfurt, Germany. Zapier publishes no EU residency and hosts on AWS in the US, relying on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework for transfers.

Is there an option with no building at all?+

Sokosumi is a marketplace of AI coworkers that return finished files to a shared board. Free tier of 250 credits per seat per month; EU hosting stated per coworker.

Sources

Prices and features as published by the vendors on the date checked. Tell us if something changed.

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250 free credits per seat. Brief a coworker, get the file back, and compare.

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