Make vs n8n for a small LatAm business.
Both build workflows. They differ on hosting, billing, and which apps ship as official modules.
Where it runs
Make. On Make’s cloud. You do not install it on your own server.
n8n. On n8n Cloud or on a server you control. Self-hosting matters if invoice data should stay on your machine.
How billing works
Make. By scenario usage. The current price is on make.com/pricing. We do not copy figures because they change.
n8n. On n8n Cloud, one execution is one full workflow run, however many steps it has. The current price is on n8n.io/pricing.
WhatsApp Business Cloud
Make. Native app, with a template module and a session-message module.
n8n. Official node plus a trigger. Meta’s rule is the same: a template opens the chat; a free-form reply stays inside the 24-hour window.
Google Sheets, Gmail, Calendar, Drive
Make. Native apps.
n8n. Official nodes.
Alegra
Make. Native app. Make’s module list page says it is AI-generated, so confirm Create an Invoice or Make an API Call inside the editor.
n8n. No official node. The stable path is HTTP to Alegra’s API. The unofficial package n8n-nodes-alegra-unofficial is beta and, unless n8n has verified it, self-hosted only.
Mercado Libre
Make. No official app. Use the HTTP module against the API, with OAuth and a refresh token.
n8n. No official node. Same API via the HTTP Request node.
Tiendanube
Make. No official app. HTTP to the Admin API, plus webhooks.
n8n. No official node. HTTP, or the community package n8n-nodes-nuvemshop (not published by Tiendanube; self-hosted unless verified).
Afip SDK (ARCA)
Make. No native Afip SDK app. Afip SDK’s own docs say to use Make’s HTTP module.
n8n. No official node. The same HTTP API. Afip SDK lists n8n as a way to call that API, not as a first-party node.
Google Business Profile
Make. Native app: watch reviews and create or update a reply. The docs require a verified location.
n8n. We did not find an official node, and we do not document a raw HTTP flow. Google grants that API access separately.
Mercado Pago
Make. The “Notifications for Mercado Pago” listing is community-supported, not Mercado Pago’s app. Our recipe uses the official webhook plus a GET of the payment.
n8n. HTTP Request node and the same official webhook docs.
How to choose
Pick Make if you want a visual builder and its built-in apps, and you are fine with the scenario running on Make’s cloud.
Pick n8n if you want to self-host, pay per full run, or install a community node. Unverified community nodes are not available on n8n Cloud.
Neither has an official Mercado Libre or Tiendanube app. Those recipes use HTTP.