n8n
Open-source workflow automation tool for technical users
What it does
n8n is a source-available workflow automation platform. Think Zapier or Make, but you can self-host it on your own server and pay flat fees instead of per-task pricing. Visual node editor, 400+ integrations, native JavaScript and Python code nodes, error branches, sub-workflows, and a proper credentials manager. The self-host option is why technical teams pick it: run it on a $10/mo VPS and process a million workflow executions for the same price as running ten thousand on Zapier. Cloud plans exist too for teams that want the same tool without managing infra.
Free tier
Yes
Starts at
$20/mo
Setup
hard
Key features
Integrates with
Google Sheets, Slack, PostgreSQL, GitHub, OpenAI, 200+ more
Who this fits
- Technical founders and dev-adjacent operators comfortable with a Docker command
- Agencies building client automations who want unlimited executions without per-task metering
- Ops teams running high-volume workflows (scraping, data sync, batch enrichment)
- Startups on a budget that already have engineering headcount
- Consultants delivering automation as a service to multiple clients
- Anyone hitting Zapier's task ceiling and looking at a $2,000+/mo Zapier bill
Who it does NOT fit
- Non-technical solo operators (Zapier's UX is meaningfully gentler)
- Teams that want zero infrastructure decisions (Make or Zapier)
- Businesses needing SOC 2 out of the box without paying for Enterprise
- Anyone whose stack is 100% Google Workspace and Slack (Zapier templates win)
Pricing
Real gotchas
- Community edition license is "fair-code," not open source. Reselling n8n as a service is restricted
- Self-host on SQLite is fine for small teams but move to Postgres before you hit real volume
- No visual debugger comparable to Make's execution history depth
- Some integrations are community-maintained and can lag official APIs
- Cloud tiers cap active workflows aggressively (Starter is 5, Pro is 15) even at higher execution counts
- LangChain and AI Agent nodes are strong but the AI credit model on cloud is a separate meter to watch
Integrations that matter
Otto’s take on this tool
Recommend n8n when: the user is technical or has an engineer, the pain_points include "Zapier bill is too high" or "we need custom logic Zapier can't do," or the use case involves scraping / heavy data transformation / AI agents. Pairs with Supabase, OpenAI, and a $10/mo Hetzner or DigitalOcean droplet. Do NOT recommend for non-technical solo operators, marketing-only teams with basic Slack-to-Notion needs, or anyone who would panic at a Docker command. If they're already on Make and it works, don't force the switch.
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Editor's curated reviews
49 reviews across TrustPilot - avg 3.2/5Curated by Otto from TrustPilot public reviews (fetched 2026-08-31). n8n's TrustPilot is small (49 reviews at 3.2) and bimodal - the 5-stars are almost entirely from self-hosted users praising the fair-code model, and the 1-stars cluster on cloud account lockouts with unresponsive support. This is not the population that pushed n8n's G2 rating up; take it as color, not census. G2 and Capterra were consulted for aggregate context but not directly cited here (source-access limits). Not user-submitted on Ottomately.
“I'm so grateful for the n8n team and their fair-code, self-hosted version. It saves me a lot of money.”
TrustPilot5.0/5“Great way to automate any online workflows. It has become my favorite tool as a developer.”
TrustPilot5.0/5“I had no background in automation yet n8n made it possible. The interface is straightforward.”
TrustPilot5.0/5“We use the self-hosted version of n8n and it's amazing. Helps us daily to automate our business.”
TrustPilot5.0/5“It has a surprisingly low score here whereas this tool is a life saviour for me. Build automations for your Gmail and Google Sheets.”
TrustPilot4.0/5“For an unknown reason, I no longer have access to my account. Their support is completely unresponsive.”
TrustPilot1.0/5“This app doesn't work. It keeps crashing and breaking the workflow. I'm paying to fix my workflow that their website broke.”
TrustPilot1.0/5
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