Automation Business: Choosing Between n8n, Python, and AI Agents
Interesting-Tap960 · reddit · 2026-08-12
A user planning to offer automation services to SMBs asks experienced developers for advice on several core operational questions:
- Tech Stack: When are n8n/Make/Zapier sufficient, and when should you move to Python or a custom backend?
- Hosting: Do you build on the client's infrastructure or host and manage it yourself?
- Pricing: What exactly do you charge for ongoing maintenance, and how do you structure pricing (e.g., one-time fee + monthly retainer)?
- AI Integration: Should LLMs be limited to specific steps (classification, extraction) rather than making the entire workflow agentic?
The author notes that the key isn't the tool itself, but choosing the simplest architecture that reliably solves the client's problem.
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