The practical difference
Investigate n8n when moving definitions into another compatible n8n instance is a requirement. Investigate Make when its scoped scenario operations meet the current management task, then verify the restore artifact separately. Require a working imported workflow with recreated connections (saved definitions can retain credential references without preserving a usable credential). Hosting rights and total operating cost need separate assessment.
This comparison covers customer control over n8n and Make. The assessment below retains each product, route and source date; product features and native workflows need their own product evaluation.
Scores and assessment scope
These scores use the same customer-control methodology as the vendor reviews. They combine documented capabilities and conditions (unresolved scoring inputs carry an asterisk).
| Overall control | |
|---|---|
| Data access | |
| Third-party accessibility | |
| External action | |
| Continuity | |
| Data exit | |
| Business logic and customization | |
Product scopes, dates & reviews
n8n
Workflow automation · Checked 2026-10-22
n8n / public API workflow definitions and workflow mutations; credentials, execution histories, hosting licenses and complete instance migration are excluded.
Read findings and sources ↗Make
Workflow automation · Checked 2026-10-22
Make / scenario collection, scenario creation/update and scoped API-token access; connection secrets, execution-data completeness and independent execution are excluded.
Read findings and sources ↗| Customer control | n8n ↗ | Make ↗ |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Workflow automation | Workflow automation |
| Overall control | ||
| Data access | ||
| Third-party accessibility | ||
| External action | ||
| Continuity | ||
| Data exit | ||
| Business logic and customization | ||
| Assessment scope | n8n / public API workflow definitions and workflow mutations; credentials, execution histories, hosting licenses and complete instance migration are excluded. | Make / scenario collection, scenario creation/update and scoped API-token access; connection secrets, execution-data completeness and independent execution are excluded. |
| Assessment checked | 2026-10-22 | 2026-10-22 |
| Read the findings | Detailed review ↗ | Detailed review ↗ |
Scores are out of 10. * Incomplete evidence discounts verified capabilities (unknown answers stay unknown). Planned migration drives data exit. Scoring method ↗
Key scope and hosting entitlement are different questions
n8n users create expiring keys and send X-N8N-API-KEY; Enterprise supports explicit scopes. Its public API is unavailable during the Cloud free trial. That restriction does not settle every self-hosted license or production hosting arrangement.
Make tokens carry explicit API scopes, while OAuth requires requesting a client. Establish who owns the account and which organization or team the token can manage. Complete minimum-plan and exact API fee conditions remain unresolved in the Make review; compare the selected routes before treating either product’s headline price as the cost of this control.
n8n API keys and scoped access ↗ · Make API tokens and OAuth ↗ · Make scenario API reference ↗
List definitions without dropping later pages
n8n returns nextCursor for continued workflow retrieval. Preserve filters such as the selected project or active state while traversing. Make lists scenarios for the selected organization or team. A first response is a page of the inventory, not proof that every workflow was retained.
Both assessed APIs document definition mutations and activation operations. Make also documents scenario execution. For a deployment process, retain the returned identity and check the intended environment before activation; verify behavior with the destination’s connections before allowing live business actions.
n8n workflow public API ↗ · n8n cursor pagination ↗ · Make scenario API reference ↗
Inspect the artifact that will actually be restored
n8n workflow JSON can be imported into another compatible n8n instance. Its export guide warns that credential names and IDs appear in the file and that HTTP Request nodes imported from cURL can contain authentication headers. Inspect the artifact before sharing it, and recreate the required connections in the target.
The Make scenario-management assessment does not establish an equivalent complete restore package, connection secrets or independent execution. Obtain and test the actual artifact needed by your destination. An exported n8n workflow and an API-returned Make scenario should not be treated as equivalent backups without that test.
n8n workflow JSON export and import ↗ · Make scenario API reference ↗
Recover definitions separately from past executions
Repeat each selected collection traversal to reconcile current definitions. These reviewed routes do not establish a retained definition-change stream or complete execution history. Make’s published request budget depends on organization plan; schedule inventory reads within that allowance.
For a proposed recovery drill, retain a representative workflow, recreate its connections in a clean target and verify its intended result with safe sample inputs. Record any missing custom nodes, external dependencies or historical evidence. A successful definition import would support that workflow’s recovery, not a claim that the entire account can be restored after cancellation.
n8n workflow public API ↗ · n8n workflow JSON export and import ↗ · Make scenario API reference ↗ · Make plan request budgets ↗
Before you choose
- Which hosting arrangement and plan authorize the management API?
- Can the retained inventory include every required project, team and inactive workflow?
- Which credentials and runtime dependencies must be recreated for import?
- Do we need current definitions, revision history or past execution evidence?
Open the full reviews for n8n and Make to inspect each answer, source clause and remaining gap.
Compare other vendors ↗Sources and assessment dates
Publication date records this comparison’s analysis. The underlying vendor findings retain their own check dates; a new comparison does not redate a contract or establish tested account behavior.