n8n Alternatives: 9 Options Compared by Price and Fit

The best n8n alternative depends on why you are leaving. Pick CodeWords if you want to describe a workflow and change it by describing the change, Zapier for the widest app catalog, Make for a hosted visual canvas, and Activepieces or Windmill if you must self-host.

"I tried n8n, I tried Make, and they all wanted me to go deeper and deeper." Faiz Jafar, Sales Network Expansion, Jumia (case study)

Key takeaways

• Nine alternatives are compared: CodeWords, Zapier, Make, Activepieces, Pipedream, Power Automate, Workato, Tray.ai and Windmill.
• Most of these tools now build a first draft from a prompt, n8n included. The real difference is what you maintain afterwards: a canvas, a list of steps, code, or a conversation.
• Price units differ (executions, runs, tasks, credits), so the same hourly workflow costs from $0 to $129 a month across five tools. See the worked example below.
• Only Activepieces and Windmill can be self-hosted. The other seven are hosted only.
• Stay on n8n if you already self-host it and someone maintains it.
• To move, rebuild each workflow in the new tool. Do not try to convert it.

Pick by situation

Pick the alternative that matches your reason for leaving n8n. Find your case in the table, then read that tool's section for pricing, strengths and weaknesses.

Your situation	Best pick	Why
You want to describe a workflow and change it in the same conversation	CodeWords	Cody builds, connects and hosts the workflow; you change it by describing the change
You need a niche SaaS app connected today	Zapier	Largest app catalog, over 9,000 apps (Zapier pricing page, 2026)
You like a visual canvas and want it hosted	Make	Visual builder with routers and error handlers; free plan of 1,000 credits a month (Make pricing page, 2026)
You must self-host and want open source	Activepieces	MIT-licensed community edition and a linear editor (Activepieces GitHub, 2026)
Developers own the workflows	Windmill or Pipedream	Steps are scripts in Python, TypeScript and more
You run on Microsoft 365	Power Automate	Built into Teams, SharePoint and Outlook (Microsoft, 2026)
Enterprise IT with governance needs	Workato or Tray.ai	Audit logs, roles and support contracts

Why teams leave n8n

Teams leave n8n for five reasons: the fair-code license, no free cloud plan, the work of self-hosting, per-execution pricing and crowded canvases. n8n is a good product, and most teams hit only one or two of these. Match them to your own case.

• The license is fair-code, not open source. n8n's Sustainable Use License lets you self-host for internal use but restricts offering n8n as a service to others (n8n docs, 2026). Teams that need an Open Source Initiative (OSI) approved license for legal or resale reasons look elsewhere.
• No free cloud plan. n8n Cloud has a trial, not a free tier. The free option is self-hosting the Community Edition, so you run the server, updates and backups.
• Self-hosting becomes a job. Queue mode, worker scaling, Postgres upgrades and credential storage fall to whoever set it up. When that person leaves, changes get hard.
• Pricing by execution. Every workflow run counts against your plan. A workflow scheduled to run every minute makes 43,200 executions in a 30-day month, far above the 2,500 in the Starter plan (n8n pricing page, 2026).
• The canvas gets crowded. Large workflows with many branches, loops and code nodes are hard to read and hard to hand to a colleague.

What n8n costs in 2026

n8n is free to self-host and starts at €20 a month on Cloud, billed annually (n8n pricing page, checked 30 October 2026). Plans differ by executions, not by workflow steps, and every plan includes unlimited users and workflows.

Plan	Price	Executions	Notes
Community Edition	Free	Unlimited	Self-hosted; you run it
Starter	€20/month, billed annually	2,500/month	Hosted by n8n
Pro	€50/month, billed annually	10,000/month	Hosted by n8n
Business	€667/month, billed annually	40,000/month	Self-hosted only; adds single sign-on (SSO) and Git version control
Enterprise	Custom	Custom	Hosted by n8n or self-hosted

New cloud accounts get a trial with 1,000 executions and no card required. European visitors see euro prices. Limits change, so read n8n's pricing page before you buy.

Every builder drafts from a prompt now

n8n, Zapier, Make and Activepieces can all turn a written prompt into a first draft of a workflow. n8n Cloud plans include Assistant (preview), Zapier has Copilot on every plan, Make has its Maia assistant, and Activepieces lists building automations from chat on its free plan (vendor pricing and product pages, 2026). So "can it build from a prompt?" no longer separates these tools.

What separates them is what you are left with after the first draft:

• A canvas or a step list (n8n, Make, Zapier, Activepieces, Power Automate). The AI drafts it, then you own the nodes. When an app changes a field or the job changes, someone opens the canvas and edits it.
• Code (Windmill, Pipedream). You own scripts. That suits developers and nobody else.
• A conversation (CodeWords). Cody builds the workflow, connects the apps and hosts it. When the job changes, you describe the change and approve it. The canvas isn't yours to maintain.

Pick the one whose maintenance model matches who will look after the workflow in six months.

What one workflow costs on each tool

The same workflow costs between $0 and $129 a month on five tools, because each counts a different unit. The example below is one workflow with a trigger and nine action steps, running every hour for 30 days: 720 runs. Calculations are ours, from each vendor's published counting rules.

Tool	What it counts	Usage for this workflow	Cheapest plan that fits	Price per month
n8n	Executions (one per run, any number of steps)	720	Starter, 2,500 executions	€20, billed annually
CodeWords	Runs, plus credits for building, editing and running	720 runs	Pro, 2,500 runs	$39 monthly, or $390 a year
Zapier	Tasks (each successful action step; triggers do not count)	6,480	Professional, 10,000-task tier	$129 billed annually, $193.50 monthly
Make	Credits (most module actions, trigger included, use 1)	7,200	Core, 10,000 credits	$9 billed annually, $10.59 monthly
Activepieces	Credits (one per run; AI steps cost 2 to 20)	720	Free, 1,000 credits	$0

Three things move these numbers:

• AI steps. Activepieces charges 2 to 20 credits per AI step, Make charges AI modules by the tokens or files they process, Zapier now bills AI steps and code in tasks at varying rates, and CodeWords draws AI work from its credit balance. A workflow that calls a model on every run can cost several times the table figure.
• Free steps. Zapier does not charge for filters, formatters or paths, and Make does not charge for routers or error handlers. A Zap with three formatter steps uses fewer tasks than the table shows.
• Polling. On Make, a polling trigger that checks for new data uses a credit each time it runs, even when it finds nothing. Zapier never charges a task for checking.

CodeWords is not the cheapest option for this workflow. Make and Activepieces are. Choose CodeWords for how the workflow gets built and changed, not for the per-run price.

How we compared the tools

We compared each n8n alternative on five criteria: how you build, price, hosting, AI steps and maintenance. Prices come from each vendor's public pricing page, checked on 30 October 2026, except where a section names another source. Plans change often, so confirm on the vendor's site before you buy.

• How you build: describe it, drag nodes or steps, or write code.
• Price: the free plan and the lowest paid tier.
• Hosting: hosted only, self-hosted, or both.
• AI steps: whether you can call a large language model (LLM) inside a workflow without a workaround.
• Maintenance: who keeps the workflow working once it is live.

The 9 n8n alternatives

Nine tools are worth comparing with n8n. Each section gives the tool's best use, its pricing and source, and its strengths and weaknesses. CodeWords is our product, so check every number about it against the pricing page linked in its section.

1. CodeWords: best for building and changing workflows in plain language

CodeWords is the best n8n alternative for building and changing a workflow by describing it. You tell Cody, the builder, what should happen, such as "when a new row lands in this sheet, look up the company, score it and post the good ones to Slack". Cody writes the workflow as code, connects the apps, deploys it and runs it on a schedule or trigger.

Pricing (CodeWords pricing page, checked 30 October 2026): Free includes 100 workflow runs a month and starter credits. Pro is $39 a month, or $390 a year, for 2,500 runs and 60 credits a month. Business is $100 a month, or $1,000 a year, for unlimited runs and 200 credits a month. Credits pay for building, editing and running workflows, so a workflow with heavy AI steps uses credits as well as runs.

Strengths:

• You change a live workflow by describing the change, then approve it. The canvas isn't yours to maintain.
• You own the code Cody writes on every plan, including Free.
• Cody can also build a hosted interface for a workflow, such as a form or a small app on a codewords.run address.
• You can start a build from Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor through the CodeWords MCP server.
• It is hosted, so there is no server to patch.

Weaknesses:

• CodeWords cannot be self-hosted. If your data must stay on your own servers, choose Activepieces or Windmill.
• Zapier has a larger prebuilt app catalog. Check that your apps are in the CodeWords integrations directory before you move.
• It is not the cheapest per run. For simple, high-volume workflows, Make and Activepieces cost less (see the worked example).
• If the credit balance runs out, scheduled runs stop. On Pro and Business, turn on auto top-up for workflows you depend on.

Jumia's sales team moved its n8n, Make and Google Apps Script work onto CodeWords; read the Jumia case study. For a direct comparison, see CodeWords vs n8n.

2. Zapier: best for connecting a niche app with no setup

Zapier is the best n8n alternative for connecting a niche app with no setup. It has the largest app catalog of the tools here, with over 9,000 apps (Zapier pricing page, 2026). You pick a trigger app and add action steps in a linear editor, so a business user can finish a first workflow without help, and Copilot can draft the Zap from a prompt.

Pricing (Zapier pricing page, checked 30 October 2026): Free has 100 tasks a month and two-step Zaps. Professional starts at $19.99 a month billed annually ($29.99 monthly) for 750 tasks. Team starts at $69 a month billed annually ($103.50 monthly) for 2,000 tasks and up to 25 users. Higher task tiers cost more; Professional at 10,000 tasks is $129 a month billed annually (Zapier pricing page, as read by Techpresso, 19 October 2026).

Strengths: the largest app catalog, Tables and Forms on every plan, and filters, formatters and paths that do not use tasks.

Weaknesses: every successful action step uses a task, so a ten-step Zap uses up to nine tasks per run. AI steps and code now also draw tasks at varying rates. Free and Professional are single-user. Zapier cannot be self-hosted.

More options in our Zapier alternatives guide, or see CodeWords vs Zapier.

3. Make: best for a hosted visual canvas

Make is the best n8n alternative for a hosted visual canvas. It was formerly called Integromat and is the closest hosted equivalent to n8n's canvas. Make draws workflows, which it calls scenarios, as connected modules with routers, iterators and error handlers, and its Maia assistant can draft a scenario from a prompt.

Pricing (Make pricing page, 2026): Free has 1,000 credits a month. At 10,000 credits a month, Core is $9 a month billed annually ($10.59 monthly), Pro $16 and Teams $29, billed annually. Most module actions use 1 credit; AI modules use a variable number based on the tokens or files they process. Unused credits expire at the end of the term.

Strengths: data mapping between modules, a view of each run for debugging, and the lowest entry price of the hosted tools here.

Weaknesses: Make cannot be self-hosted. Credit use is hard to predict with AI modules and iterators, so test a real scenario before you pick a tier. When credits run out, scenarios stop until you add more.

See Make vs n8n, our Make alternatives guide, or CodeWords vs Make.

4. Activepieces: best for self-hosting with an open source license

Activepieces is the best n8n alternative if you must self-host and want an open source license. Its community edition is MIT-licensed (Activepieces GitHub, 2026), which matters if n8n's fair-code license is why you are leaving. The editor is linear, like Zapier's, and every plan can run on Activepieces' cloud or your own servers.

Pricing (Activepieces pricing page, checked 30 October 2026): the self-hosted community edition is free. Cloud Free has 1,000 credits a month and up to five users. Plus is $20 a month for 10,000 credits, and Team is $200 a month for 50,000 credits and 25 users; annual billing takes two months off. A run uses one credit however many steps it has; AI steps use 2 to 20 credits, or 1 if you bring your own AI keys on Plus and up.

Strengths: the MIT license, per-run (not per-step) pricing, connectors called "pieces" written in TypeScript, and built-in AI steps.

Weaknesses: fewer prebuilt connectors than the largest platforms, and SSO, roles and audit logs sit on Team and Ultimate.

See Activepieces vs n8n for a closer look.

5. Pipedream: best for developers who write code steps

Pipedream is the best n8n alternative for developers who want code steps without running servers. Each workflow step is a prebuilt action or a block of Node.js, Python, Go or Bash code that Pipedream hosts and scales. Pipedream is now part of Workday, and its pricing page leads with Connect, its toolkit for adding integrations to AI agents and apps.

Pricing (Pipedream pricing page, checked 30 October 2026): Free covers development only, with no production environment. Startup is $99 a month billed annually ($150 monthly) with 10,000 usage credits; one credit covers up to 30 seconds of compute. Business is custom.

Strengths: code steps in four languages, most npm packages in Node.js steps (Pipedream docs, 2026), and a large prebuilt action library.

Weaknesses: the free plan cannot run production workflows, so the first paid plan is a big step. Non-developers will struggle. Product direction may shift under Workday. Pipedream cannot be self-hosted.

More in our Pipedream alternatives guide.

6. Power Automate: best for Microsoft 365 companies

Microsoft Power Automate is the best n8n alternative for companies on Microsoft 365 and Azure. It builds workflows, which Microsoft calls flows, across Microsoft 365, Dynamics and Azure. It also does desktop automation, called robotic process automation (RPA), for older Windows apps.

Pricing (Microsoft Power Automate pricing page, checked 30 October 2026): Premium is $15 per user per month, paid yearly. Process is $150 per bot per month and Hosted Process $215 per bot per month, both paid yearly, for unattended desktop automation. There is a 30-day trial, not a free plan, and Microsoft says the price at checkout is the one you pay.

Strengths: deep Teams, SharePoint, Outlook and Excel support, plus desktop RPA.

Weaknesses: licensing is complex, and the free trial covers standard connectors only. It is a weak fit for teams on Google Workspace.

7. Workato: best for enterprise governance and compliance

Workato is the best n8n alternative for enterprise teams with compliance needs. It is an enterprise integration platform that calls workflows recipes, with governance, audit logs and role-based access, and prebuilt connectors for enterprise resource planning (ERP) and human resources (HR) systems.

Pricing (Workato pricing page, 2026): not public. The page lists editions and asks you to request a quote.

Strengths: enterprise security, ERP and HR connectors, and support contracts.

Weaknesses: quote-based pricing makes it hard to compare, and it offers more than most n8n users need.

8. Tray.ai: best for mid-market and enterprise integration

Tray.ai (formerly Tray.io) is the best n8n alternative for mid-market and enterprise teams that want a hosted builder with enterprise support. It is a low-code integration platform with a drag-and-drop builder, an agent builder called Merlin, and embedded integrations for software as a service (SaaS) vendors.

Pricing (Tray.ai pricing page, checked 30 October 2026): the integration plans (Pro, Team, Enterprise) are quoted from your usage, counted in tasks. The $50-a-month starting price on the page is for Tray Helix, a runtime for apps built with AI coding tools, not the integration builder. A 30-day trial includes 1 million tasks.

Strengths: it handles complex logic and high volumes, retries are not charged, and there is an embedded option for software companies.

Weaknesses: a longer learning curve, no self-serve price for the workflow builder, and no self-hosting.

9. Windmill: best open source platform for developers

Windmill is the best n8n alternative for engineering teams that want self-hosting with code as the main interface. It is an open source developer platform for scripts, workflows and internal apps. Each step is a script in TypeScript, Python, Go, PHP, Bash, C#, SQL and more.

Pricing (Windmill pricing page, checked 30 October 2026): the self-hosted Community Edition is free, with unlimited executions, up to 50 users and SSO for up to 10. Enterprise starts from $120 a month and is priced on seats and compute units.

Strengths: Git sync, auto-generated interfaces for scripts, and approval steps on Enterprise.

Weaknesses: Windmill is built for developers, so business users will struggle. It has fewer prebuilt app connectors than n8n.

Other n8n alternatives worth knowing

Four other tools fit narrower cases: IFTTT, Pabbly Connect, Integrately and Node-RED. Each suits one job, and none replaces n8n for varied business workflows.

• IFTTT: simple applets for home devices and personal use. Too limited for most business workflows.
• Pabbly Connect: a budget Zapier-style tool that sells lifetime plans as well as subscriptions (Pabbly pricing page, 2026). Check connector depth for your apps before buying.
• Integrately: prebuilt automations for common app pairs. It starts fast; check whether it covers the custom logic you need.
• Node-RED: an open source, flow-based tool from the Internet of Things (IoT) world, free under the Apache 2.0 license (Node-RED project, 2026). A common choice for devices and MQTT messaging, with fewer SaaS app nodes than the hosted tools above.

Side-by-side comparison

The table compares n8n and the nine alternatives on how you build, self-hosting, free plan and lowest paid price. Only n8n, Activepieces and Windmill can be self-hosted. Read the free plan column for its unit, because runs, tasks and credits are not the same thing.

Tool	How you build	Self-host	Free plan	Paid from (per month)
n8n	Node canvas, code nodes, Assistant	Yes	Self-hosted only	€20, billed annually
CodeWords	Describe it to Cody	No	100 runs/month	$39 monthly, $390 a year
Zapier	Linear steps, Copilot	No	100 tasks/month	$19.99 annually, $29.99 monthly
Make	Visual canvas, Maia	No	1,000 credits/month	$9 annually, $10.59 monthly
Activepieces	Linear steps, chat	Yes (MIT)	1,000 credits/month	$20
Pipedream	Code and prebuilt steps	No	Development only	$99 annually, $150 monthly
Power Automate	Visual flows, RPA	No	30-day trial	$15 per user, paid yearly
Workato	Recipes	No	No	Not public
Tray.ai	Visual builder	No	30-day trial	Quoted (Helix from $50)
Windmill	Scripts	Yes	Community Edition	$120 (Enterprise)

Source: each vendor's pricing page, checked 30 October 2026; Make's Core monthly price from Make's pricing page as read by Jet Admin, 26 September 2026. Paid-from prices are the lowest paid tier.

Open source n8n alternatives

Three n8n alternatives have a true open source license: Activepieces, Windmill and Node-RED. n8n itself is not open source, because its Sustainable Use License is "fair-code" (n8n docs, 2026). Choose one of the three if your team needs an open source license for legal or resale reasons.

Activepieces (MIT) is the closest like-for-like replacement, Windmill suits developers who write scripts, and Node-RED (Apache 2.0) suits IoT and device workflows. Our guides to open source automation tools and open source workflow automation platforms cover more, including Apache Airflow, Kestra and Huginn.

When to stay on n8n

Stay on n8n if most of the four points below are true. Moving a working, maintained, self-hosted setup costs time and gives little back, because the usual reasons to leave do not apply to you.

• You already self-host n8n and someone on the team is happy to maintain it.
• Your data has to stay on your own servers.
• Your workflows rely on n8n-specific features, such as code nodes with custom npm packages or community nodes.
• The fair-code license fits how you use it: internal workflows, not reselling n8n as a service.

How to migrate off n8n

To migrate off n8n, rebuild each workflow in the new tool instead of converting it, and move the most valuable workflows first. Run the new workflow next to the old one, then switch the old one off and revoke its credentials.

1. List your workflows. Export each workflow's JSON and note its trigger, apps, schedule and monthly executions. The exported file does not include credentials, so list those separately.
2. Rank by business value. Move the workflows people would notice breaking first, not the simplest ones.
3. Rebuild, do not convert. On CodeWords, describe what the workflow does: the trigger, each app it touches and what it produces. Cody builds it from that.
4. Compare before you switch. Run the new workflow on a copy of the inputs, or point it at a test destination, and compare outputs for a week. Do not let both workflows send messages or write the same live records.
5. Move credentials last. Then revoke the n8n API keys and OAuth connections.

FAQs: n8n alternatives

Is there a free alternative to n8n?

Yes. Activepieces and Windmill are free to self-host, and Make, Activepieces Cloud, Zapier and CodeWords have free hosted plans. Make and Activepieces Cloud give 1,000 credits a month, Zapier 100 tasks, and CodeWords 100 runs (vendor pricing pages, October 2026). Activepieces' community edition is MIT-licensed, and Windmill's Community Edition has unlimited executions.

What is the closest alternative to n8n?

Make is the closest hosted alternative to n8n, because both draw workflows as connected nodes on a canvas. Activepieces is the closest self-hosted alternative, because it can run on your own servers under an open source (MIT) license. Neither copies n8n exactly: Make bills per module action, and Activepieces uses a linear editor instead of a free-form canvas.

Can Zapier replace n8n?

Yes for app-to-app workflows with simple logic, but not if you need self-hosting or long code inside the workflow. Zapier lists over 9,000 apps and has a free plan of 100 tasks a month, with paid plans from $19.99 a month billed annually (Zapier pricing page, 2026). It counts each successful action step as a task, while n8n counts whole executions, so busy multi-step workflows cost more on Zapier.

Can I just do this in ChatGPT or Claude?

No, not for a workflow that has to run on its own. ChatGPT and Claude can plan a workflow, write its code and take actions while you chat, but they do not host a workflow that runs on a schedule after you close the chat. You can start in Claude or ChatGPT and hand the build to CodeWords through its MCP server, which hosts and runs it.

Is n8n becoming obsolete?

No. n8n still sells Starter and Pro cloud plans, a self-hosted Business plan and Enterprise, and added an AI Assistant to its cloud plans (n8n pricing page, October 2026). Teams that leave usually cite the license, the work of self-hosting or the pricing model. If none of those apply to you, staying on n8n is a fair choice, as long as your team can keep it running.

Related reading

• Zapier vs Make vs n8n
• Cheapest workflow automation tools
• Workflow automation tools in 2026