What is n8n?

n8n is an open-source automation tool that lets you connect apps, services, and data flows with a visual, node-based interface—without writing code. It's a powerful alternative to Zapier and Make (formerly Integromat), but with a fundamentally different business model: you can run n8n on your own server and don't pay per automation.

What can n8n automate?

Virtually anything that is digital. Common uses for Swedish companies include: automatic placement of leads from web forms to CRM, email notifications and Slack notices based on database events, automatic generation of reports and PDFs, synchronization of data between Supabase and external systems, AI agent flows where n8n calls OpenAI or Claude API as part of a longer chain, and automatic invoice processing connected to accounting systems.

n8n vs Zapier vs Make - what's the difference?

Zapier is easiest to get started with but most expensive at scale. Prices start at SEK 0 for 5 zaps and quickly escalate to thousands of SEK per month as automation volume increases.

Make (Integromat) is more powerful than Zapier with better handling of complex data flows and lower prices. Good middle option.

n8n is the most technical but also the most powerful. With self-hosting, ongoing costs are largely free – you only pay for server hosting, the cost of which depends on your load profile and chosen provider. Used by tech-heavy teams who want full control over data flows and not pay per execution.

The GDPR benefit of n8n self-hosting

An often overlooked advantage: when you run n8n on your own server, no customer data is stored with a third-party service. For Swedish companies that handle sensitive customer data, this is an important compliance advantage compared to Zapier and Make where the data passes through their servers.

How to get started with n8n?

The easiest way to get started is through n8n Cloud, their managed service, which costs from $20/month for up to 5,000 executions. For self-hosting, we recommend a VPS with Hetzner or Linode with Docker – n8n has an official Docker image and detailed documentation to set this up in an hour.