Why n8n + Apify
Zapier/Make are fast but capped on per-task pricing and local SaaS integrations. n8n self-hosted gives fixed cost + unlimited tasks; Apify specializes in web scraping. Combined, they handle ~90% of what Korean/Japanese B2B teams need: lead scraping, data sync, notification automation.
Basic architecture
Apify actors (scraping) → n8n (workflow orchestration) → Slack/Kakao/LINE (notifications) + Notion/Airtable (DB)
Real use cases
1. Korean competitor blog/cafe monitoring Apify weekly-crawls Naver blog/cafe → n8n summarizes with Claude → Slack alert + Notion save.
2. Japanese webinar/seminar aggregation Apify crawls Peatix/Connpass → n8n keyword-filters → Sansan tag + Chatwork alert.
3. Job-posting collection (competitor hiring signals) Crawl JobKorea/Wantedly → n8n dedupes → Airtable DB.
4. Customer feedback monitoring Crawl app store / Naver shopping reviews → sentiment analysis → Channel.io alert.
5. Email → Kakao 알림톡 bridge New Gmail → n8n keyword filter → Kakao 알림톡 API call.
Setup
1. **Self-host n8n**: Railway/Render Docker one-click. $5–10/month. 2. **Apify free tier**: $5/month credits — enough to start. 3. **Env vars**: Store Claude, Supabase, Kakao/LINE API keys in n8n credentials. 4. **Templates**: Use n8n community templates.
Cost example
- n8n self-host: $5–10/month (Railway)
- Apify: free $5 → $49/month (mid-scale)
- Claude API: $20–50/month
- Total $30–110/month saves 10–20 hours/week.
Pitfalls
- Crawling too often with Apify: server load + legal risk. Daily/weekly is usually enough
- Writing all n8n workflows solo: document + keep test data once it gets complex
- Storing crawled data raw: personal info / copyright issues
n8n+Apify can automate what would take a full-time employee's 20 hours/week. It's the core leverage point for a solo founder to survive without scaling headcount.