Research Question
The user sought the best automation platform in 2026 for AI-driven lead qualification from Typeform submissions—scoring against ICP (B2B SaaS, 50-500 employees, US/EU), drafting personalized emails, conditional AE notification via Slack if score >7, HubSpot integration—with easy LLM swapping (OpenAI, Claude, Gemini), human-in-loop AE approval for emails, and low costs at 500 leads/month.
Key Findings
- All platforms natively integrate Typeform ("New form response" trigger, 1-2 triggers/1-10 actions), HubSpot (create/update contact, add to list/workflow; 8-86 actions), and Slack (post message to channel; 4-37 actions).
- At 500 executions/month, 8 steps/workflow (Typeform → parse → LLM score/email → approval → conditional → HubSpot/Slack): Make $16/mo (Core, 10k ops), n8n $24/mo (Starter, 2.5k exec), Relay.app $118/mo (Professional, 5k steps), Zapier $134/mo (Professional, 5k tasks).
- n8n excels at LLM swapping via modular AI chain nodes (OpenAI/Chat Model 15 actions, Anthropic 9, Gemini 15); others require node/prompt swaps (Make 26/13/12 actions, Relay model-prefixed 39/21/30, Zapier 21/4/9).
- Relay.app offers native "Approvals"/"Tasks" for AE email review; n8n/Make use webhook pauses (e.g., Slack links, 10+ n8n templates like "AI-Assisted Lead Follow-Up With Human Approval").
- OpenAI costs separate (~$50-100/mo est. at GPT-4o-mini, 1.5k tokens/lead); platforms charge per step/op/exec, not tokens; Relay includes 2k free AI credits/mo (Professional).
- Automation saves $12k/year vs. manual; prices verified Apr 20, 2026.
Recommendation
Make (Core tier, $16/mo) is recommended for cost-sensitive, beginner-friendly setup with webhook approval and full integrations; upgrade to n8n (Starter $24/mo or free self-host) for easiest LLM swapping without flow rewrites. Use Relay.app (Professional $118/mo) if native approval UI is critical. Test Make first (fits under 10k ops), monitor OpenAI dashboard, assume 1 item/bundle and cloud deployment.
Details
Cost Comparison (500 exec/mo, 8 steps, 1 workflow, cloud)
Prices as of Apr 20, 2026.
| Platform | Tier | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost | Fits Free Tier | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Make | Core | $16 | $144 | No | 4k ops; ops/module/data bundle. Pricing |
| n8n | Starter | $24 | $240 | No (self-host free) | 500 exec (whole workflow=1); open source. Pricing |
| Relay.app | Professional | $118 | $708 | No | 4k steps; 2k AI credits. Pricing |
| Zapier | Professional | $134 | $1,068 | No | ~3.5k tasks (0.8 ratio). Pricing |
LLM Support
All have native actions (no premiums).
| Platform | OpenAI Actions | Claude Actions | Gemini Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| n8n | 15 | 9 | 15 |
| Make | 26 | 13 | 12 |
| Relay | 39 | 21 | 30 |
| Zapier | 21 | 4 | 9 |
n8n templates include human approval (e.g., Telegram/Slack for leads/emails). Setup: 0.5h beginner (Make/Relay/Zapier), 1h intermediate (n8n).