Trigger-based or scheduled poll: what to pick?
Webhooks are realtime and cheaper in operations. Polling is robust if the source has no webhook.
Try this first
- 1Check if source system offers webhooks
- 2Use triggers if latency must be under 1 minute
- 3Use schedule if batch is fine and webhook is missing
- 4Set polling interval realistic, not every minute
When to bring us in
Hybrid: schedule as fallback for missed webhooks.
See also
- n8n: self-host or cloud?Self-hosted is cheaper at volume and keeps data local. Cloud removes ops burden.
- Zapier or Make: which fits better?Zapier is straight-line; Make handles complex flows with routers and iterators for less money.
- Power Automate Cloud or Desktop: which to use?Cloud for SaaS integrations and triggers. Desktop for RPA against legacy Windows apps without APIs.
None of the above fits?
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