n8n alternatives
Short answer
We track 4 self-hosted alternatives to n8n: Activepieces, Dify, Langflow and Sim.
Activepieces (same category): fewer license conditions (Open core vs Source-available).
Dify (ai agent and workflow automation builders): fewer license conditions (Custom / conditional vs Source-available).
Langflow (ai agent and workflow automation builders): fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Source-available).
Last updated · how we rank · sources
n8n alternatives compared
| # | App | Advantages over n8n | Est. server cost | Official hardware | License | Stars | Last commit | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | n8n (this app) | Active | not estimated (no official RAM figure) | not published | Sustainable Use License (fair-code) + n8n Enterprise License for .ee files | 208k | Oct 22, 2026 | — |
| 1 | Activepieces Same category | fewer license conditions (Open core vs Source-available) Trade-off: n8n has larger community (208k vs 25.2k GitHub stars) | not estimated (no official RAM figure) | not published | MIT (core) + Activepieces Enterprise License (ee directories) | 25.2k | Oct 22, 2026 | n8n vs Activepieces |
| 2 | Dify AI agent and workflow automation builders | fewer license conditions (Custom / conditional vs Source-available) Trade-off: n8n has simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack) | from €19.99/mo | minimum 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM | Dify Open Source License (modified Apache-2.0) | 159k | Oct 22, 2026 | n8n vs Dify |
| 3 | Langflow AI agent and workflow automation builders | fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Source-available) | from €11.99/mo | minimum 1 vCPU · 1.5 GB RAM (recommended 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM) | MIT | 156k | Oct 21, 2026 | n8n vs Langflow |
| 4 | Sim AI agent and workflow automation builders | fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Source-available) Trade-off: n8n has larger community (208k vs 29.9k GitHub stars); simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack) | from €69.99/mo | minimum 2 vCPU · 12 GB RAM · 20 GB disk (recommended 4 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 50 GB disk) | Apache-2.0 | 29.9k | Oct 22, 2026 | n8n vs Sim |
Ranked by the number of objective advantages each alternative has over the app (cheaper estimated server cost, lighter official RAM figure, no GPU needed, fewer license conditions, better maintenance status, at least 1.5× the GitHub stars, simpler deploy). Ties: same-category apps first, then more GitHub stars. License order used: Permissive (MIT/Apache) → Open core → Copyleft (GPL) or Custom conditions → Network copyleft (AGPL) → Source-available. Archived projects are not listed as alternatives.
What each alternative is
- Activepieces (Workflow automation with AI): Open-source Zapier alternative with AI agents, MCP and human-in-the-loop steps.
- Dify (AI app & agent builders): Visual platform for building LLM apps, RAG chatbots, agents and workflows. Why it is listed: All of them let you build multi-step workflows or agents that call LLMs and expose or connect to other systems.
- Langflow (AI app & agent builders): Visual builder for AI agents and RAG flows that you can deploy as APIs or MCP servers. Why it is listed: All of them let you build multi-step workflows or agents that call LLMs and expose or connect to other systems.
- Sim (AI app & agent builders): Visual builder for AI agent workflows, with knowledge bases, integrations and an API. Why it is listed: All of them let you build multi-step workflows or agents that call LLMs and expose or connect to other systems.
n8n alternatives: FAQ
What is the best self-hosted alternative to n8n?
By our objective ranking: 1. Activepieces (fewer license conditions (Open core vs Source-available)) 2. Dify (fewer license conditions (Custom / conditional vs Source-available)) 3. Langflow (fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Source-available)). "Best" depends on the features you need; the ranking only counts cost, hardware, license, maintenance, community size and deploy complexity.
Is there a cheaper alternative to n8n?
Not by our estimate. n8n: not estimated (no official RAM figure). Alternatives: Activepieces (not estimated (no official RAM figure)), Dify (from €19.99/mo), Langflow (from €11.99/mo), Sim (from €69.99/mo).
Which n8n alternative has the most permissive license?
Activepieces: MIT (core) + Activepieces Enterprise License (ee directories) (Open core); Dify: Dify Open Source License (modified Apache-2.0) (Custom / conditional); Langflow: MIT (Permissive); Sim: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). n8n is Sustainable Use License (fair-code) + n8n Enterprise License for .ee files (Source-available). Not legal advice.
Which SaaS products does n8n replace?
In our mapping, n8n is a self-hosted alternative to Zapier and Make, with gaps listed on each comparison page.
Related
Sources
- n8n GitHub repository: github.com/n8n-io/n8n
- n8n documentation, n8n deploy instructions: docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/install-options/install-with-docker
- n8n license: github.com/n8n-io/n8n/blob/master/LICENSE.md
- n8n hardware requirements: docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/configure-n8n/scaling/fix-memory-issues
- Activepieces GitHub repository: github.com/activepieces/activepieces
- Dify GitHub repository: github.com/langgenius/dify
- Langflow GitHub repository: github.com/langflow-ai/langflow
- Sim GitHub repository: github.com/simstudioai/sim
- Hetzner Cloud pricing used for cost estimates (read 2026-10-22): www.hetzner.com/cloud/regular-performance
- GitHub stars and commits: GitHub REST API, refreshed daily