# iPaaS vs MCP: The Real Cost Comparison
## Make vs Zapier vs N8N vs AI Foundations MCP Server
### Reference Document for AI Foundations by Amara
---
## How Traditional iPaaS Pricing Works
**iPaaS = Integration Platform as a Service** (Zapier, Make, N8N, Workato, etc.)
These platforms charge based on **operations** or **tasks** — every step in a workflow counts.
### What Counts as an Operation?
| Action | Operations Used |
|--------|-----------------|
| Trigger fires (webhook, schedule, etc.) | 1 |
| Get data from an app | 1 |
| Send data to an app | 1 |
| Transform/parse data | 1 |
| Each item in a loop | 1 per item |
| Send to AI (ChatGPT, Claude) | 1 |
| Filter/router decision | 1 |
**The gotcha: Loops multiply fast.**
```
Example: "Get all overdue tasks and send reminders"
Step 1: Get overdue tasks (returns 50 tasks) → 1 operation
Step 2: Loop through each task → 50 operations
Step 3: Send reminder for each → 50 operations
TOTAL: 101 operations for ONE run
Run this daily? That's 3,030 operations/month for ONE workflow.
```
---
## Platform Pricing Breakdown
### Make (formerly Integromat)
| Plan | Operations/Month | Price | Per 1k Ops |
|------|------------------|-------|------------|
| Free | 1,000 | $0 | $0 |
| Core | 10,000 | $10.59/mo | $1.06 |
| Pro | 10,000 | $18.82/mo | $1.88 |
| Teams | 10,000 | $34.12/mo | $3.41 |
| Enterprise | Custom | $$$ | $$$ |
**Overage:** Must upgrade plan or workflows stop.
### Zapier
| Plan | Tasks/Month | Price | Per 1k Tasks |
|------|-------------|-------|--------------|
| Free | 100 | $0 | $0 |
| Starter | 750 | $29.99/mo | $40.00 |
| Professional | 2,000 | $73.50/mo | $36.75 |
| Team | 50,000 | $103.50/mo | $2.07 |
| Enterprise | Custom | $$$ | $$$ |
**Note:** Zapier calls them "tasks" but same concept as operations.
### N8N (Self-Hosted)
| Option | Price | Notes |
|--------|-------|-------|
| Self-hosted | Free | You manage server, updates, security |
| N8N Cloud Starter | $24/mo | 2,500 executions |
| N8N Cloud Pro | $60/mo | 10,000 executions |
| N8N Cloud Enterprise | Custom | $$$ |
**Hidden cost:** Self-hosting requires DevOps knowledge + server costs ($5-50/mo).
---
## Real-World Scenario: Transcript → ClickUp Tasks
**The workflow:** Upload a meeting transcript → AI extracts action items → Creates tasks with subtasks in ClickUp
### In Make:
```
Step 1: Trigger (file uploaded) → 1 op
Step 2: Read file contents → 1 op
Step 3: Send to ChatGPT to extract tasks → 1 op
Step 4: Parse the AI response → 1 op
Step 5: Loop through 12 main tasks → 12 ops
Step 6: Create each task in ClickUp → 12 ops
Step 7: Loop through ~3 subtasks per task (36) → 36 ops
Step 8: Create each subtask in ClickUp → 36 ops
TOTAL: ~100 operations per transcript
```
| Usage | Operations | Make Plan Needed | Monthly Cost |
|-------|------------|------------------|--------------|
| 10 transcripts/month | 1,000 | Free | $0 |
| 50 transcripts/month | 5,000 | Core | $10.59 |
| 100 transcripts/month | 10,000 | Core (at limit) | $10.59 |
| 200 transcripts/month | 20,000 | Need upgrade | $20+ |
| 500 transcripts/month | 50,000 | Pro or Teams | $35+ |
**Plus:** 4-8 hours to BUILD the workflow. Mapping fields. Handling errors. Testing. Debugging when ClickUp API changes.
### In Zapier:
Same workflow would use similar task counts, but Zapier's pricing is steeper:
| Usage | Tasks | Plan Needed | Monthly Cost |
|-------|-------|-------------|--------------|
| 10 transcripts/month | 1,000 | Professional | $73.50 |
| 50 transcripts/month | 5,000 | Team | $103.50 |
| 100 transcripts/month | 10,000 | Team | $103.50 |
---
## AI Foundations MCP Server Costs
### How It Works:
```
User says: "Here's my transcript. Create tasks."
Claude:
- Reads transcript (in context)
- Fetches skill from GitHub (1 request)
- Thinks about structure (no cost to you)
- Calls create_task ~12 times
- Calls create_task for subtasks ~36 times
MCP server makes ~50 requests to ClickUp API
```
### Your Actual Costs (Google Cloud Run):
| Resource | Pricing | Cost per Transcript |
|----------|---------|---------------------|
| CPU | $0.000024/vCPU-second | ~$0.0005 |
| Memory | $0.0000025/GB-second | ~$0.00001 |
| Requests | $0.40/million | ~$0.00002 |
| **Total** | | **~$0.001** |
**That's one-tenth of a penny per transcript.**
### Scaled Costs:
| Transcripts/Month | Your Cloud Run Cost |
|-------------------|---------------------|
| 100 | ~$0.10 |
| 500 | ~$0.50 |
| 1,000 | ~$1.00 |
| 5,000 | ~$5.00 |
| 10,000 | ~$10.00 |
**Note:** Cloud Run scales to zero when not in use. You only pay for actual compute time.
---
## Side-by-Side Comparison
### For a user processing 100 transcripts/month:
| Platform | User Pays | Time to Build | Your Revenue | Your Cost |
|----------|-----------|---------------|--------------|-----------|
| Make | $10.59/mo (to Make) | 4-8 hours | $0 | $0 |
| Zapier | $73.50/mo (to Zapier) | 4-8 hours | $0 | $0 |
| N8N Cloud | $24/mo (to N8N) | 4-8 hours | $0 | $0 |
| **AI Foundations MCP** | **$29/mo (to you)** | **2 minutes** | **$29** | **~$0.10** |
### Profit Margin:
```
Revenue: $29.00
Cloud Costs: -$0.10
-----------------------
Gross Profit: $28.90
Margin: 99.6%
```
---
## The Hidden Costs of iPaaS
What users don't realize they're paying:
| Hidden Cost | Make/Zapier | AI Foundations MCP |
|-------------|-------------|---------------------|
| Time to build workflow | 4-8 hours | 0 (skills pre-built) |
| Time to debug | Ongoing | Claude handles errors |
| Learning curve | Weeks | Minutes |
| Maintenance when APIs change | You fix it | We update the server |
| Counting operations anxiety | Constant | Flat rate, unlimited |
| Complex logic = complex workflows | Yes | Claude figures it out |
---
## Scaling Comparison
### Your business at different customer levels:
| Customers | Their Usage | Your Revenue | Your Cloud Cost | Net Profit |
|-----------|-------------|--------------|-----------------|------------|
| 50 | Light | $1,450/mo | ~$5-10/mo | ~$1,440/mo |
| 100 | Moderate | $2,900/mo | ~$15-25/mo | ~$2,875/mo |
| 200 | Moderate | $5,800/mo | ~$25-40/mo | ~$5,760/mo |
| 500 | Heavy | $14,500/mo | ~$75-150/mo | ~$14,350/mo |
---
## The Pitch Points
### For Marketing:
1. **"Unlimited operations. Flat rate."**
- Make charges per step. We don't count.
2. **"2 minutes to set up. Not 2 days."**
- No workflow building. Just connect and go.
3. **"Claude is the brain. Not you."**
- You don't map every "if this then that." Claude figures it out.
4. **"$29/month. Not $73+."**
- Cheaper than Zapier Professional. More powerful.
5. **"NO MAKE. ZERO MIDDLEWARE."**
- Direct connection. No middleman.
### For Sales Conversations:
> "How much time did you spend building that workflow in Make? And how much do you pay monthly?
>
> With our system, you'd be done in 2 minutes, and it's $29/month flat. No operation counting. No anxiety. And Claude handles edge cases you didn't think of."
---
## Key Differentiators
| Aspect | Traditional iPaaS | AI Foundations MCP |
|--------|-------------------|---------------------|
| Pricing model | Per operation (anxiety) | Flat rate (peace of mind) |
| Who builds logic | You (every if/then) | Claude (just give goal) |
| Setup time | Hours to days | Minutes |
| Handles edge cases | Only if you built for it | Claude adapts |
| Updates when API changes | You fix it | We update server |
| Skills/templates | Buy separately or build | Included in subscription |
| Community | Forums | Shared skills library |
| Learning curve | Weeks | Watch one video |
---
## The Bottom Line
**iPaaS platforms (Make, Zapier, N8N) are middleware.**
- You are the brain
- You build every decision
- You pay per step
- You maintain everything
**AI Foundations MCP is a bridge.**
- Claude is the brain
- Claude figures out the steps
- You pay flat rate
- We maintain the server
**Same outcome. Fraction of the cost. Fraction of the time.**
---
*Document created: February 5, 2026*
*AI Foundations by Amara*
*"I prompt like shit. But I get glorious results."*
