Workflow automation for technical teams
Visit WebsiteThe Bottom Line
Entry price
Free plan available, paid tiers above
Biggest pro
Open source
Biggest con
More technical
TL;DR - n8n
- Open-source Zapier alternative
- Self-host for full control
- Pieces connect apps with code
What is n8n?
Available on: Web
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Open source
- Self-hostable
- Code flexibility
Cons
- More technical
- Fewer native integrations
Ratings Across the Web
Ratings aggregated from independent review platforms. Learn more
Key Features
Pricing
n8n offers a generous free tier with optional paid upgrades for advanced features.
Is n8n worth the price?
n8n is the most cost-effective option if you self-host (unlimited workflows for $0) or run moderate cloud volumes.
Its killer advantage: one execution = one full workflow run, regardless of how many steps. A 20-step workflow costs the same as a 2-step one.
For a team running 50 workflows at 100 executions/day, cloud Pro at $60/mo handles it easily. Self-hosted on a $20/mo VPS handles it for free.
The trade-off: cloud plans are EUR-denominated and mid-tier is expensive (Business at EUR 800/mo), and self-hosting demands DevOps skills.
Hidden Costs & Gotchas
Cloud execution limits
Starter 2,500/mo, Pro 10,000/mo, Business 40,000/mo -- workflows pause when you hit the limit (no overage on Starter/Pro)
Business plan overage
EUR 4,000 for 300,000 additional executions (~EUR 0.013/execution)
Self-hosting infrastructure
VPS $10-40/mo, managed PostgreSQL $10-30/mo, Redis $5-15/mo, backups $5-10/mo = $30-95/mo total
Self-hosting DevOps time
2-5 hours/month for updates, monitoring, troubleshooting. At $50/hr that is $100-250/mo in labor
Cloud plans are EUR-denominated -- USD costs fluctuate with exchange rates
No built-in error alerting on Community Edition -- you need to set up external monitoring
Business plan jump is steep
Pro EUR 60/mo to Business EUR 800/mo (13x increase) just to get SSO and git integration
Cloud servers are EU-only (Frankfurt) -- higher latency for US/APAC teams
How n8n Compares to Competitors
n8n is the only tool where a 20-step workflow costs the same as a 2-step one (whole-run counting). Make counts every module, Zapier counts every action. Self-hosted n8n is unbeatable on cost -- unlimited executions for the price of a VPS. Cloud n8n is competitive with Make on Pro tier but the Business tier (EUR 800/mo) is steep. Pipedream offers developer-focused compute-time billing. Power Automate is per-user flat rate but ecosystem-locked.
Reviews
Review n8n, get a free AI guide
Share your experience and we will send you Improve Your Thinking Patterns Using ChatGPT, free.
Across 264 verified user reviews on G2, Capterra
Add your hands-on experience using the offer above to help the next buyer.
Best n8n Alternatives
Top alternatives based on features, pricing, and user needs.
Enterprise automation and integration platform
Automate workflows across 8,000+ apps without code
Build complex automations with a drag-and-drop visual builder
Visually build, deploy, and scale AI agents and chatbots with an open-source, low-code platform.
Automate CI/CD, testing, and deployment directly from your repository
Build, deploy, and manage autonomous AI agents for complex workflows
Still deciding?
Most buyers shortlist 2 or 3 tools before committing. Pull a side-by-side comparison or browse the full alternatives shortlist below.
Explore More
n8n FAQ
How does n8n support developers in building custom automations?
Which teams benefit most from using n8n?
How does n8n compare to Zapier for workflow automation?
What kind of trade-offs should users consider when choosing n8n?
Does n8n include a free tier?
Can n8n be used to automate backend processes for applications?
Source: n8n.io