Platform Exit Audit 2026: What You Can Export from Zapier, Make, and n8n

You are paying for an automation platform, eyeing an exit to a cheaper tool, self-hosting, or a rival. The deciding question isn’t features, it’s portability: what comes with you, and what stays behind when the subscription ends?

Broadly, workflow definitions travel best — Make blueprints, n8n JSON, Zapier’s listed exports — while credentials, run history, and data tables are the sticky parts with hard, documented limits. See Make blueprints docs, Zapier data retention, and n8n export docs for specifics.

This review is based on official documentation, pricing pages, and community reports — we did not run the tool hands-on.

Our team monitors automation portability and compiled this audit from primary sources fetched on 2026-10-26.

Background — the three platforms and their pricing models

Make bills in credits where most actions cost 1 credit per Make’s credits FAQ, Zapier bills per task from $19.99/month at Zapier pricing, and n8n bills per execution from 20 EUR/month according to n8n pricing. These models shape exit costs differently for each user base.

• Zapier: Task-based pricing; only successful actions count as tasks (task usage help); Free $0/month, 100 tasks, Professional from $19.99/month, Team from $69/month (25 users) — Zapier pricing. Target user: non-technical business teams.
• Make: Credit-based billing as of August 27 — “each action your scenario performs consumes a certain number of credits — most actions consume 1 credit”; routers and error-handler modules are free — credits docs. NOTE: Make plan dollar amounts were NOT extracted — do not invent per-plan prices. Target user: visual scenario builders wanting fine-grained control.
• n8n: Execution-based pricing; Starter 20 EUR/month annually (2.5K executions), Pro 50 EUR/month (10K), Business 667 EUR/month (40K, self-hosted only per page), Enterprise custom; free Community Edition self-hosted on GitHub — n8n pricing. Target user: technical teams comfortable with self-hosting.
• One-liner on the escape valve: n8n’s Sustainable Use License permits internal business use; Activepieces is MIT for non-ee code (Activepieces license, pricing). Keep brief — destination context only.

The export matrix — what travels and what doesn’t

Per official docs, Make blueprints and n8n JSON carry full workflow structure but not credentials, while Zapier documents run-history export up to 5,000 runs and lists workflow/account-data exports at Zapier’s data retention page. This defines the portable core and the sticky left-behind items.

Item	Zapier	Make	n8n
Workflow definitions	Export listed on data-retention page; format unverified	Blueprint .json (modules, settings, mapped values) via Export blueprint	JSON via Workflow menu > Download
Credentials	Not stated in docs read	Do NOT travel — users recreate connections	Names/IDs travel; secrets and configuration do NOT
Run history	Up to 5,000 runs, CSV or JSON, emailed	Scenario history page exists (details unverified — qualitative only)	Executions/history do NOT travel
Data tables	Stored until deleted; no export option stated	Not covered in dossier — qualitative only	Schemas travel in packages; rows do NOT
Import limits	Unverified	Blueprint must be < 2 MB	.n8np packages are Preview (from 2.27.0)
Bulk export	Account data export at zapier.com/app/settings/2074697/data	Per-scenario blueprints	API/CLI only, not the editor

• Make: Blueprints help — export via three dots > Export blueprint; clipboard copy option; 2 MB import limit; connections must be recreated; Make itself says blueprints back up scenarios when switching accounts.
• Zapier: Zap history export (5,000-run batches, CSV/JSON, email delivery), data retention (runs kept 7 days in logs, 29–69 days in account, up to 4 months in backups; Enterprise can shorten; Lead Router via support; Tables stored until deleted with no export option stated). Flag the GAP explicitly: the Zap Workflows export file format was not verified — do not describe it.
• n8n: Export/import docs (JSON includes credential names/IDs; warned sensitive; HTTP Request nodes may carry auth headers), n8n packages (.n8np gzipped tar; Preview; carries workflows, folders, projects, credential references, variable names/types, data table schemas; does NOT carry secrets, data table rows, executions, users/roles, pinned data, version history, tags, favorites), CLI docs (server CLI vs n8n CLI with API key).

Rebuild cost math — a worked example

Assuming 10,000 successful actions per month, Zapier Professional starts at $19.99/month per Zapier pricing while n8n Pro costs 50 EUR/month at n8n pricing for that volume; Make bills in credits with most actions at 1 credit per credits FAQ though plan prices are unverified.

Worked example (stated volume: 10,000 successful actions/month):

• Zapier Professional from $19.99/month, task-based — the monthly bill scales with volume per pricing.
• n8n Starter 20 EUR/month (2.5K executions) vs Pro 50 EUR/month (10K executions) — at 10,000 executions, Pro fits; Community Edition is free self-hosted but you carry infra and rebuild effort (n8n pricing).
• Make: qualitative only — credits are the billing unit (most actions = 1 credit) per the credits FAQ; per-plan dollar amounts were not verified, so no Make dollar figure. Say so plainly.
• Frame rebuild cost in hours: credential reconnection per platform (documented as manual for Make and n8n), plus re-testing. Do not invent hourly rates.

Step-by-step audit checklist (before you cancel anything)

The core sequence is export definitions, export history, record credentials externally, then verify retention windows per Zapier’s data retention page. Completing these steps in order protects portable assets and respects the 29–69 day account window documented on that page.

1. Inventory every live workflow and its trigger schedule.
2. Export workflow definitions (Make: blueprints; n8n: JSON download / packages; Zapier: workflows export — format unverified).
3. Export run history (Zapier: up to 5,000 runs per batch per history export and history page; n8n: executions do not travel — capture screenshots/logs manually).
4. Document every connection: service, account, scopes — credentials never travel on any platform.
5. Check data tables: Zapier Tables have no stated export option; n8n schemas travel, rows don’t — export raw data via the source app.
6. Note retention windows: Zapier runs 29–69 days in account, 4 months in backups (retention page).
7. Map each workflow to its destination equivalent; flag HTTP/webhook/custom nodes for manual rework.
8. Trial-run in parallel before canceling the old subscription.

Mistakes that break a migration

The biggest documented failure is assuming credentials travel — Make requires recreating connections and n8n exports only credential names/IDs, per Make blueprints docs and n8n export docs. This error stalls imports and exposes secrets if ignored; plan to rebuild auth manually on every platform to avoid lockout.

• Cancelling before exporting run history (retention clocks start).
• Importing a Make blueprint over 2 MB and hitting the save failure.
• Sharing exported n8n JSON with embedded auth headers from HTTP Request nodes — docs explicitly warn this.
• Treating n8n’s .n8np packages as stable — they’re Preview, format/API may change.
• Assuming Zapier Tables data exports with the account — no export option stated.
• Forgetting Enterprise-set shorter retention windows on Zapier.

FAQ

Can I take my Zapier run history with me?

You can export Zapier run history in batches of up to 5,000 runs as CSV or JSON delivered by email, according to Zapier history export docs. This captures logs but not live Zaps, and retention limits still apply per retention page. We could not verify the Zap Workflows export format, so only history is reliably portable.

Do Make blueprints include my passwords and connections?

Make blueprints include modules, settings, and mapped values but explicitly do not contain account credentials, so you must recreate connections after import per Make blueprints docs. Passwords and tokens never travel in the .json file, keeping exports safe to share internally. The 2 MB import limit also applies.

Is n8n’s export format stable enough to build on?

n8n’s .n8np packages are labeled Preview from version 2.27.0 and the format or API may change, per n8n packages docs. JSON workflow export is stable but excludes secrets, so treat packaging as experimental for now. Use the CLI or API for exports, and avoid relying on packages for long-term backups until General Availability.

The Bottom Line

Workflow definitions travel, credentials and run history largely do not, and the audit cost is mostly reconnection and retesting time, per Make, Zapier, n8n. Zapier leavers grab history first; Make gets clean exports; n8n offers Preview packages and self-host. Plan around these limits.

Zapier leavers should grab history first; Make leavers get the cleanest definition export; n8n leavers get the most complete (but Preview) packaging plus a true self-host escape hatch under the Sustainable Use License.

How This Guide Was Built

This review is based on official documentation, pricing pages, and community reports — we did not run the tool hands-on.

All sources were fetched in-session on 2026-10-26. Key URLs include Make blueprints, Make credits, Zapier history export, Zapier task usage, Zapier retention, Zapier pricing, n8n export/import, n8n packages, n8n CLI, n8n credentials env, n8n pricing, n8n license, Activepieces license, and Activepieces pricing. The three explicit gaps are: Zapier workflows export format unverified; Make per-plan prices not extracted; n8n packages are Preview.

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