n8n vs Zapier

TL;DR: n8n is best for technical teams needing deployment flexibility and control—it's self-hostable, open-source, and allows custom code (JS/Python) within workflows, making it ideal for on-premise or air-gapped environments. Zapier excels for non-technical users with its pure no-code interface and massive 9,000+ app library (vs n8n's 500+), plus self-healing AI workflows that automatically fix broken automations. Choose n8n if you need infrastructure control or custom logic; choose Zapier if you want maximum pre-built integrations without technical overhead.