Best Free Automation Platforms: What the Free Tiers Really Allow

Compare the best free automation platforms: Make, Zapier, n8n and Bardeen. See what each free tier really allows, from task limits to check intervals.

By Galactic News Editorial · Published 2026-11-11T07:27:49+00:00 · Updated 2026-11-11T07:27:49+00:00

Best Free Automation Platforms: What the Free Tiers Really Allow

Free automation tiers look generous until you hit their limits. One platform gives you 1,000 runs a month but only two workflows. Another gives unlimited workflows but caps each one at two steps. This guide compares the free tiers of four leading platforms: Make, Zapier, n8n and Bardeen. Every figure comes from the vendors' own pricing pages, checked in 2026. Here is what each free tier really allows.

Best free automation platforms compared

Make: the most capable free tier for real workflows

Make's free plan gives you 1,000 credits a month. One credit is charged for each module that runs in a scenario. A three-module workflow that runs 200 times uses 600 credits. The plan includes the full visual builder, thousands of app integrations and all AI features. Routers and filters cost no credits. The hard limit is two active scenarios. You can build as many as you like, but only two can run. Scheduled scenarios check for new data at most once every 15 minutes. Free scenarios also queue behind paid users during busy periods. That makes the free plan a learning tool, not a production tool. The first paid plan, Core, costs 9 dollars a month billed annually for 10,000 credits. It removes the scenario cap and the 15-minute limit. If you need more than two workflows, Make's free tier will push you to Core fast.

Zapier: the simplest free tier, and the smallest

Zapier's free plan gives you 100 tasks a month. One task is one successful action step. Triggers, filters and formatter steps cost nothing. The catch is depth. Free Zaps are limited to two steps: one trigger and one action. Premium apps are not included. Polling runs every 15 minutes. That is enough for one simple job, such as sending new form responses to a spreadsheet. It is not enough for a real pipeline. The first paid plan, Professional, starts at 19.99 dollars a month billed annually for 750 tasks. It adds multi-step Zaps, premium apps and webhooks. Zapier is the easiest platform to learn. Its free tier is also the quickest to outgrow. Use it to test one connection. Move on if you need chains of steps.

n8n Community Edition: free forever, if you can host it

n8n's Community Edition is the only free tier with no usage cap. It is free software you run on your own server. There is no execution limit from n8n and no seat limit. Every integration is included. The cost is yours to carry. You pay for the server, the database, backups and your own time. The Community Edition also lacks team features such as shared projects, single sign-on and Git version control. Those sit on paid plans. n8n Cloud has no permanent free plan. It offers a 14-day trial with no credit card. Cloud plans start at 20 euros a month billed annually for 2,500 executions. If your team can run a server, the Community Edition is the most powerful free option by far. If it cannot, budget for the cloud plan from day one.

Bardeen: free credits for browser work

Bardeen gives every account 100 free credits a month. It is a browser extension, not a server platform. Scraping, web search and AI actions cost one credit per output row. Enrichment costs three credits per row. Import, export and utility actions are free. Unused credits expire at the end of each billing period. That allowance covers light work, such as scraping a short list or enriching a handful of contacts. A single lead list of 50 enriched contacts would cost far more than 100 credits. The first paid plan, Basic, costs 10 dollars a month for 100 more credits. Premium costs 50 dollars a month for 1,000 more credits. Bardeen's free tier is best for testing browser automation. It is not a free workflow engine. It also needs the browser open to run, unless you pay for cloud runs.

How to pick the right free tier

Start from the job, not the brand. Need scheduled workflows across apps? Make's free tier is the most useful. Need one simple connection between two apps? Zapier's free tier is the fastest to set up. Need heavy volume and have server skills? n8n's Community Edition has no cap. Need to scrape the web or research leads? Bardeen's 100 free credits are enough to test. Watch three numbers before you commit. First, the monthly allowance. Second, the workflow limit. Third, the check interval. A 15-minute interval means data can sit for 15 minutes before it moves. That delay matters for leads and orders. It does not matter for nightly reports. Check the paid price too. A free tier is only free while it fits. Make's Core plan costs 9 dollars a month. Zapier's Professional plan costs 19.99 dollars a month. n8n's Starter plan costs 20 euros a month. Bardeen's Basic plan costs 10 dollars a month. All prices are billed annually unless noted.

Bottom line

The best free automation platform depends on your constraint. Make wins for most people. Its 1,000 free credits and full builder handle real multi-step work. n8n wins for technical teams that can self-host, because its free tier has no usage cap. Zapier wins for the simplest jobs, but 100 tasks and two-step Zaps run out fast. Bardeen wins for browser scraping and lead research, but only in small doses. Start with Make if you are unsure. Switch to n8n when volume grows and you have server skills. Pay only when the free tier starts costing you time.