Workflow automation tools compared: builders, iPaaS, or agents?
Three shapes compete for the same job: step builders that bill per action, operation-billed platforms that bill per module or per whole run, and agent runtimes where a model picks the next step. Integration counts almost never decide it. The meter and the branching model do.
Three types, three meters
| Aspect | Step builders (Zapier) | Operation-billed (Make, n8n) | Agent runtimes (Gumloop) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billing unit | one task per action finished in another app | Make: 1 credit per module; n8n: 1 per whole run | credits per run plus an 8% fee |
| Entry price | 100 free tasks, then $19.99/mo for 750 | Make $9/mo for 5,000 credits; n8n 20 EUR/mo for 2,500 runs | $37/mo for 20,000 credits |
| Free steps | filters, paths, Formatter, Delay | unlimited nodes inside one n8n execution | none, model calls always bill |
| Who picks the steps | you, at build time | you, at build time | the model, at run time |
When a step builder still wins
Fixed path, same shape every run. A Zapier task only counts when work finishes inside another app, so triggers, filters, paths and Formatter cost nothing. Moving a filter from step six to step two cuts the bill without touching the logic. Volume is the wall, not complexity: 8 actions firing 100 times a day is roughly 24,000 tasks a month, 32 times the 750 in the entry tier.
When to move up the stack
Per-execution pricing kills the step tax. n8n counts one execution per run whatever the node count, so a 40-node run costs what a 3-node run costs, and it self-hosts. Neither fixes branching, and branching is why automations multiply. Rebuild as an agent when the path depends on the input: a 7-step Make scenario routing leads by industry, headcount and reply tone becomes one goal with the same apps attached.
How to choose
Count actions per run and runs per month before comparing plans. Under a few thousand actions, stay on the builder. When step count drives the bill, move to per-execution pricing. When teams clone near-identical flows to cover new cases, the branches have outgrown the builder and an agent runtime is the cheaper answer.
Last updated: Aug 28, 2026