When you’re building a SaaS, Micro-SaaS, MVP, or any online tool, one of the most critical decisions you’ll make is choosing your backend.
Among the popular no-code/low-code options, n8n and Make stand out as flexible and powerful choices.
But most comparisons focus on pricing and features.
What about real-world performance?
How do these platforms handle stress, response time, and reliability when used as the backend engine for a live product?
To find out, I ran a head-to-head benchmark. I built identical backend workflows in both n8n and Make, then stress-tested them with 100 API calls in 5 minutes across three complexity levels — from simple webhook handling to AI-powered content generation.
Method
To test them based on real-life case scenarios, I built three automations that mirror real business needs:
Level 1: Simple Webhook Response
- Task: Receive webhook with JSON input → Return JSON input received
- Purpose: Test basic platform overhead and response times
- Real-world use: Simple form submissions, basic data logging
Level 2: Google Search Scraping
- Task: Receive webhook → Scrape Google’s first page for keyword → Return scraped data
- Purpose: Test external API handling and data processing
- Real-world use: Competitor monitoring, keyword research automation
Level 3: AI-Powered Content Analysis
- Task: Receive webhook → Scrape Google → Analyze with AI → Generate content ideas
- Purpose: Test complex multi-step workflows with AI integration
- Real-world use: Content strategy automation, competitor analysis
Each test involves:
- 100 API calls in 5 minutes (realistic load)
- Identical workflows in both platforms
- Standardized WordPress endpoints as triggers
WordPress Backend Setup
For this benchmark, I used WordPress as the trigger point for both platforms.
This mirrors my typical approach when building MVPs or Micro-SaaS tools — where WordPress acts as a lightweight gateway to backend automation platforms like n8n or Make.
This method lets me launch fully functional tools in days. That said, you can run the same tests using Python scripts, Postman, or any other API testing tool — WordPress just makes the setup fast and repeatable for real-world use cases.
Now Before jumping into the platform comparison, let me quickly show you how I set up the WordPress endpoints that both n8n and Make called.
Since our main target is a comparison of the no-code tools, I kept the WordPress setup simple by using the Code Snippets plugin to add our code, so install it by:
- Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard
- Go to Plugins > Add New
- Search for “Code Snippets”