There are dozens of automation platforms. For agencies, three matter: Zapier, Make, and n8n. Everything else is either too niche, too enterprise, or too early.
Each of these three can handle the core automations agencies need: client onboarding, reporting, lead routing, status updates, and internal operations. But they work differently, cost differently, and suit different types of agencies.
Here is a straight comparison based on what actually matters when you are running an agency.
Zapier: the safe choice
Zapier connects over 7,000 apps through a simple trigger-action interface. If you can describe what you want (“when a new row appears in this spreadsheet, send a Slack message and create a task in Asana”), Zapier can probably do it.
Best for: Agencies where non-technical staff need to build and maintain automations. Account managers, project managers, and operations leads can set up workflows without involving developers.
Strengths:
- Largest app library. If a tool has an API, Zapier probably has an integration.
- Simple interface. Five minutes to set up a basic automation.
- Reliable. Zapier handles millions of tasks daily and rarely breaks.
Weaknesses:
- Expensive at scale. Pricing is based on tasks (each step in a workflow counts). A busy agency can hit hundreds of thousands of tasks per month.
- Limited logic. Branching, loops, and complex conditional workflows are possible but clunky.
- No self-hosting. Your data flows through Zapier’s servers.
Agency cost: Expect to pay £50-150/month for a mid-size agency. Can climb to £300+ if you are running high-volume automations across multiple clients.
Make: the visual builder
Make (formerly Integromat) uses a visual drag-and-drop canvas where you build workflows as flowcharts. It handles complex logic, branching, and data transformation far better than Zapier.
Best for: Agencies that need more sophisticated workflows. If your automations involve pulling data from multiple sources, transforming it, and pushing it to several destinations, Make handles this elegantly.
Strengths:
- Visual workflow builder. You can see exactly what happens at each step, which makes debugging straightforward.
- Better pricing model. You pay for operations, but each operation costs less than a Zapier task.
- Stronger data handling. Parsing JSON, transforming arrays, and working with complex data structures is built in.
Weaknesses:
- Steeper learning curve. The visual builder is powerful but takes longer to learn than Zapier’s simple forms.
- Smaller app library. Around 2,000 integrations, compared to Zapier’s 7,000. Most agency tools are covered, but you might hit gaps with niche software.
- Can feel overwhelming. Complex workflows with dozens of nodes become hard to read.
Agency cost: £15-60/month for most agencies. Significantly cheaper than Zapier for the same volume of work.
n8n: the technical option
n8n is open-source and can be self-hosted. It combines a visual workflow editor with the ability to write custom code at any step. It also has the deepest AI integration of the three, with native LangChain nodes for building AI-powered workflows.
Best for: Agencies with technical capability (even one developer) who want full control over their automations and data. Particularly strong if you are building AI-powered workflows or need to keep client data on your own infrastructure.
Strengths:
- Self-hosted option. Your data stays on your servers. For agencies handling sensitive client data, this matters.
- Free tier is generous. The self-hosted version is free with no task limits.
- Best AI integration. Native nodes for OpenAI, Anthropic, and LangChain make it the strongest choice for AI-powered automations.
- Custom code anywhere. Drop in JavaScript or Python at any point in a workflow.
Weaknesses:
- Requires technical setup. Self-hosting means managing a server, updates, and backups.
- Smaller community. Fewer templates and pre-built workflows to start from.
- Cloud version is relatively new. If you do not want to self-host, the hosted option is less mature than Zapier or Make.
Agency cost: Free if self-hosted (plus server costs of £10-30/month). Cloud plans start at around £20/month.
Which one for your agency?
The honest answer depends on your team.
Choose Zapier if your team is non-technical, you need something working today, and you are happy to pay more for simplicity. It is the Toyota Corolla of automation: reliable, boring, gets the job done.
Choose Make if you need more complex workflows, you want better value for money, and you have someone willing to spend a day learning the visual builder. Best balance of power and accessibility.
Choose n8n if you have technical capability, you care about data sovereignty, or you are building AI-powered workflows. It is the most powerful of the three, but it asks more of you.
The workflows that matter
Whichever tool you pick, these are the agency automations worth building first:
- Lead capture to CRM. New enquiry comes in, contact is created in your CRM, Slack notification fires, and a follow-up task is scheduled. This is the foundation of automating your agency sales process.
- Client onboarding. Proposal signed, project folder created, welcome email sent, kickoff meeting scheduled, onboarding checklist generated.
- Weekly status updates. Project management data pulled, formatted into a client-friendly update, sent for review.
- Invoice triggers. Milestone completed, invoice generated, sent to client, follow-up scheduled if unpaid.
- Content approval. Draft created, routed to the right reviewer, feedback collected, revisions tracked.
The tool matters less than the workflows. An agency running five solid automations on Zapier will outperform one with a beautifully configured n8n instance and no workflows in production.
Start with the workflow, pick the tool that fits your team, and build from there.
This is part of Tool Drop, a series reviewing AI tools and approaches through an agency lens. Subscribe to the newsletter to get new articles weekly.
