n8n

Overview

n8n is a workflow automation platform for building AI agents and automations you can follow step by step. You connect apps, databases and AI models on a visual canvas, open any step to see what it did, and add code when a node does not cover your case. You can use n8n Cloud or self-host it; without a license key, a self-hosted instance runs as the free Community edition.

Main features

• Visual workflows: triggers, app integrations, branching, approvals (for example in Slack) and error handling on one canvas.
• AI agents: agent, MCP and AI nodes, plus AI models you can use without bringing your own API keys on cloud plans.
• Code when needed: JavaScript or Python steps inside a workflow.
• Insights and history: execution insights, workflow history and evaluations on higher plans.
• Team and governance: shared projects, SSO and LDAP, Git-based version control, multiple environments and log streaming on Business and Enterprise.

Pricing

All plans include unlimited users, workflows and integrations; you pay per full workflow execution, not per step.

• Community edition: free to self-host.
• Starter: €20 per month billed annually (€24 monthly), 2,500 executions, 5 concurrent executions.
• Pro: €50 per month billed annually (€60 monthly), 10,000 executions, up to 50 concurrent executions.
• Business: €667 per month billed annually (€800 monthly), 40,000 executions, self-hosted.
• Enterprise: custom. Cloud plans start with a free trial and no credit card. Companies with fewer than 20 employees may qualify for 50% off Business.

Who it is for

Operations teams, developers and technical marketers who want to automate work across many tools and keep each step of an AI agent visible and auditable.

How to start

Start from a template close to your task, replace the credentials, run it once with test data and read each step’s output before switching on the trigger.

Things to note

Self-hosting means you handle updates, backups and security. Store credentials in n8n’s credential manager, not in workflow text.

Similar tools

Zapier, Make, Pipedream, Activepieces, Microsoft Power Automate.