Hi n8n,
I have recently started using n8n after nearly 8 years as a Make.com power user. I have built many complex automations for clients inside their own Make accounts.
I am really enjoying n8n and wanted to give my honest feedback as a new user.
I feel like I am watching the progression and adoption Make.com made in the last couple of years with n8n. Make.com, which back then was Integromat, was fairly unknown to many people interested in automation. Zapier was king. It had all the apps and ease of use. I often compare early Make/Integromat and Zapier to early Android and Apple.
Apple was easy to use and the most popular. Therefore, it was easily adopted by users and was the clear choice for app makers to spend their development time.
Android, however, was more versatile and powerful, but this also meant it was less user-friendly. This led to a poor adoption rate, and in turn, meant that app developers could not see the benefit in coding their apps to work on all different Android devices for such a small market share.
I compare this to early Make.com/Integromat and Zapier because it was practically the same story.
Zapier was king, easy to use and understand for non-tech people. This resulted in a huge market share, and many companies would create a connection directly with Zapier. (Some still only have Zapier connections and no public REST API.) It is still the poster child on many company websites as their main integration to the rest of the world.
Make.com, but back then Integromat, was new. It was a lot cheaper for many more uses/operations. But this came with its downsides. There was a steep learning curve when coming from Zapier, and it lacked (back then) many of the point-and-click apps. This meant you needed to learn about HTTP requests, webhooks, and REST. As a result, many of the non-tech-oriented users did not make the move, leaving Zapier with their huge market share unchallenged.
But now Make.com is making huge progress. It is becoming the go-to when anyone recommends automation software. Most automation videos on YouTube use Make.com. I personally feel one of the main reasons for this is that Make has made the platform a lot more user-friendly with tools and other features, but more importantly, they have managed to match and keep up with Zapier in terms of app connections. Companies now actively display their Make integration next to Zapier.
This brings me back to my original point. n8n is on the same path of growth that Make.com went through in the last couple of years.
Why do I say this? I am seeing the same increase in exposure that Make had. More YouTube videos, more social posts. People are starting to make the jump from Zapier and Make to n8n, just like people made the jump from Zapier to Make.
But I personally see a problem. One that will dramatically slow down your growth. The problem I see is that n8n, similar to Make/Integromat when it first came to market, is super powerful, even more than Make and Zapier. However, the learning curve is another jump. But more importantly, there is a lack of apps.
I feel the lack of app integrations, triggers, and tools are what will slow down the adoption of n8n dramatically. Putting a huge emphasis on this, I feel, will allow many, if not most, people to switch over to n8n. Make and Zapier users are used to easy-to-use GUIs. I understand that nearly everything is possible for people who know JS and HTTP, etc., but this is a much smaller market of people.
The next thing is the price. Most users will be jumping from Make.com, and the price is just too far apart. I feel like the Active Workflows limit is what stopped me from going straight to the cloud plans. Sadly, I took the self-hosted route because, to match anything close to my Make.com account, I would need a plan beyond your max offering. Many of my large automations in Make are simply two or three steps that run all day. These are simple data parsers, intermediary automations to connect other automations or software. Due to the Active Workflow limit in your plans, I could not justify the jump and huge increase in cost.
On another note, I feel there is also a huge potential revenue opportunity sitting right under your nose.
As I am sure you are very aware, a percentage of your user base takes the self-hosted cloud, own-machine route. Only you know the true percentage, but I would guess it is quite big.
A potential way to monetize this percentage without alienating people is to offer a small monthly charge to get the features of the n8n cloud that the community version is missing. $10–$15. I feel like every single community user would jump at the chance to pay for this option, and also, I feel like they would be happy to pay something. That could potentially bring in huge MMR that could help fund the development of new apps, triggers, and GUI tools.
This turned out to be a lot longer than expected.