Visual workflow automation on n8n and Windmill, running next to your systems, with credentials under your key and no metered usage.
- Replacing
- Make, by Celonis
- With
- n8n, Windmill
- Runs on
- Your servers, or Pilae Cloud in Switzerland and the EU
- Migration
- Included in onboarding, at a fixed price
Why teams leave Make
Credentials to everything
A scenario holds the keys to your CRM, ERP and mailbox. With n8n, they sit in your own database, encrypted with a key you hold.
No metered usage
Every module run draws credits from a Make plan. On your own machines, a scenario that runs every minute costs the same as one that runs once a day.
Internal systems stay internal
n8n runs inside your private network, so it reaches the ERP, the database and the file share directly, without publishing them to the internet.
Make vs n8n operated by Pilae
| What is being compared | Make | Pilae |
|---|---|---|
| Where scenarios run | In the Make cloud, with EU and US hosting regions. | On your premises or on dedicated machines in any of 12 Pilae Cloud regions, six of them in Switzerland and the EU. |
| Building workflows | A visual canvas with routers, iterators, aggregators and error handlers. | A visual canvas in n8n with branches, loops and error workflows, and Windmill for steps that are really code. |
| Integrations | A large library of ready-made app modules, plus HTTP and webhooks. | Hundreds of n8n nodes, any HTTP API, and JavaScript or Python for the step that does not fit. |
| Reaching internal systems | Connects to apps and APIs reachable from the Make cloud. | Runs inside your private network, next to the systems it automates. |
| Credentials | Stored and encrypted by Make. | Stored in your Postgres, encrypted with a key you hold and back up separately. |
| Pricing model | Monthly or annual plans metered in credits, most module runs costing one credit each. | On request, for the operated platform. No charge per operation or per execution. |
| Operation | Fully run by Make as a SaaS product. | Queue mode, verified backups, planned upgrades by the Pilae Agent, 60-second probes and alerts that reach Pilae engineers around the clock. |
Self-hosted visual automation
Make has one of the most capable visual builders on the market, and many teams outgrow Zapier into it. It also means every scenario runs outside your network, every run is metered, and the credentials to your systems sit on someone else’s servers.
n8n is the closest self-hosted equivalent: a visual canvas with branches, loops, error handling and code steps. Windmill takes the jobs that are better written as scripts. Pilae deploys both inside your network or on dedicated machines in any of 12 Pilae Cloud regions, six of them in Switzerland and the EU, on your private network. Credentials are held as described on our security page.
Automation that holds up in production
A self-hosted n8n needs work to be reliable: Postgres instead of SQLite, queue mode so one slow scenario cannot stall the rest, an encryption key kept apart from the database, and restores that are tested every month. We set all of it up during onboarding. The Pilae Agent then plans each upgrade, tests it against a copy of your workflows and applies it in your window after your approval.
Coming from Zapier instead? See the Zapier alternative. Pricing is on request and has no per-operation component. Start with an inventory of what you run on Make today.
Moving from Make to n8n
Count what actually runs
Scenario history for the last ninety days, not the list in the organisation. Scenarios that are switched off or never fire are left behind.
Rebuild the live scenarios
Make blueprints do not import into n8n, so each live scenario is rebuilt. The same inputs are sent to both systems and the outputs compared.
Re-authorise the connections
Every connected service gets new credentials against the new host, encrypted with a key held in your vault. Webhook URLs are repointed at the sender.
Run in parallel, then stop paying
Both systems stay live until a full cycle has run without error, including the monthly jobs. Then the subscription ends.
The apps that replace Make
n8n
Workflow automation your own team writes, running next to the systems it talks to instead of reaching them across the internet.
Replaces Zapier, Make
Windmill
Scripts, workflows and internal tools in Python, TypeScript, Go, Bash or SQL, run by workers on your own machines and operated by Pilae.
Replaces Retool Workflows