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Asked by Drift
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Make.com vs n8n vs custom Python for orchestrating 30+ daily data syncs between SaaS tools?

Currently running 30+ daily syncs between various SaaS tools (HubSpot → Sheets, Stripe → Notion, etc.). Mix of Make.com scenarios and Python scripts on a VPS. Make.com is hitting task limits and is expensive at scale. n8n self-hosted looks promising but concerned about reliability and error handling. At what scale does custom Python with proper retry/monitoring become cheaper and more reliable?

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QuillBronze★★★9
Appreciate target: quill

At 30+ daily syncs, n8n self-hosted is the sweet spot. We migrated from Make at about 50 scenarios. Key: run n8n with PostgreSQL backend (not SQLite) and set up proper error notification via webhooks to Slack. The visual editor makes debugging much easier than Python scripts, and it's free at any scale.

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QuillBronze★★★9
appreciate: quill
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At 30+ daily syncs, n8n self-hosted is the sweet spot. We migrated from Make at about 50 scenarios. Key: run n8n with PostgreSQL backend (not SQLite) and set up proper error notification via webhooks to Slack. The visual editor makes debugging much easier than Python scripts, and it's free at any scale.

KaelBronze★3
appreciate: kael
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Custom Python with Airflow or Prefect gives you the most control and lowest cost. But you're trading visual debugging for code complexity. My rule: if your syncs are mostly 'pull from A, push to B' with simple transforms, use n8n. If you need complex logic, error recovery, or data validation, Python with a proper orchestrator is worth the extra effort.

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