5 alternatives to n8n
Reviewed by Cheetah Systems Lab research team on 2026-08-03. Competitive set: Workflow and agent orchestration. The reviewer profile includes the editorial and corrections policy.
Compare n8n on price and setup. Check n8n against 5 rivals on developer access, buyer fit and tradeoffs.
n8n current baseline
n8n is a workflow automation tool distributed under a "fair-code" (source-available, not OSI open source) license: the code is public and self-hostable, but commercial resale/hosting is restricted by the Sustainable Use License.
- 500+ pre-built integration nodes plus generic HTTP Request/GraphQL nodes for custom APIs
- AI Agent nodes with multi-model support and human-in-the-loop controls
- Built-in MCP support: an instance-level MCP server for AI tools to build/run workflows, and an MCP Server Trigger node to expose n8n workflows as MCP tools to external clients
- Self-hosted (fair-code licensed, source-available) or n8n-managed cloud deployment
- Step-level testing, debugging, and execution replay with mock data
- Published starting point
- €20/month (Starter, billed annually)
- Setup
- 1h setup assessment
- Developer access
- No developer-interface link in the checked sources
When to replace n8n
Pricing is metered by workflow execution count, so high-volume, per-row automations can consume plan allowances quickly and should be modeled before purchase. The self-hosted fair-code license restricts using n8n itself to build a competing hosted product. Non-technical teams should also evaluate whether the node editor's expression syntax and code nodes fit their operators.
How each alternative compares with n8n
Gumloop vs n8n
Choose Gumloop when
Choose Gumloop over n8n when these published constraints align more closely with the requirement: $37/mo (Pro); 30m setup assessment; Gumloop's checked sources link API documentation, MCP documentation. The corresponding n8n constraints are €20/month (Starter, billed annually); 1h setup assessment; n8n's checked sources did not include a developer-interface link.
Cheetah comparison of published constraints
Keep n8n in contention when
Keep n8n when 1h setup assessment, €20/month (Starter, billed annually), and n8n's checked sources did not link a developer interface are the more workable constraints for the team than Gumloop's 30m setup assessment, $37/mo (Pro), and Gumloop's checked sources link API documentation, MCP documentation.
Cheetah assessment
Key tradeoff
Gumloop versus n8n on published starting price: Gumloop - $37/mo (Pro); n8n - €20/month (Starter, billed annually). On setup, Gumloop has a 30m setup assessment; n8n has a 1h setup assessment. On developer access, Gumloop's checked sources link API documentation, MCP documentation; n8n's checked sources did not include a developer-interface link.
Cheetah assessment
For Gumloop versus n8n, official pages checked 2026-08-03: Website used for Gumloop versus n8n, Documentation used for Gumloop versus n8n, Pricing used for Gumloop versus n8n, API documentation used for Gumloop versus n8n, MCP documentation used for Gumloop versus n8n. These Gumloop sources inform comparison with n8n, not every sentence individually.
Lindy vs n8n
Choose Lindy when
Choose Lindy over n8n when these published constraints align more closely with the requirement: $49.99/mo (Plus); 5m setup assessment; Lindy's checked sources did not include a developer-interface link. The corresponding n8n constraints are €20/month (Starter, billed annually); 1h setup assessment; n8n's checked sources did not include a developer-interface link.
Cheetah comparison of published constraints
Keep n8n in contention when
Keep n8n when 1h setup assessment, €20/month (Starter, billed annually), and n8n's checked sources did not link a developer interface are the more workable constraints for the team than Lindy's 5m setup assessment, $49.99/mo (Plus), and Lindy's checked sources did not link a developer interface.
Cheetah assessment
Key tradeoff
Lindy versus n8n on published starting price: Lindy - $49.99/mo (Plus); n8n - €20/month (Starter, billed annually). On setup, Lindy has a 5m setup assessment; n8n has a 1h setup assessment. On developer access, Lindy's checked sources did not include a developer-interface link; n8n's checked sources did not include a developer-interface link.
Cheetah assessment
For Lindy versus n8n, official pages checked 2026-08-03: Website used for Lindy versus n8n, Documentation used for Lindy versus n8n, Pricing used for Lindy versus n8n. These Lindy sources inform comparison with n8n, not every sentence individually.
Make.com vs n8n
Choose Make.com when
Choose Make.com over n8n when these published constraints align more closely with the requirement: $0/mo (Free, 1,000 operations); 30m setup assessment; Make.com's checked sources link API documentation, MCP documentation. The corresponding n8n constraints are €20/month (Starter, billed annually); 1h setup assessment; n8n's checked sources did not include a developer-interface link.
Cheetah comparison of published constraints
Keep n8n in contention when
Keep n8n when 1h setup assessment, €20/month (Starter, billed annually), and n8n's checked sources did not link a developer interface are the more workable constraints for the team than Make.com's 30m setup assessment, $0/mo (Free, 1,000 operations), and Make.com's checked sources link API documentation, MCP documentation.
Cheetah assessment
Key tradeoff
Make.com versus n8n on published starting price: Make.com - $0/mo (Free, 1,000 operations); n8n - €20/month (Starter, billed annually). On setup, Make.com has a 30m setup assessment; n8n has a 1h setup assessment. On developer access, Make.com's checked sources link API documentation, MCP documentation; n8n's checked sources did not include a developer-interface link.
Cheetah assessment
For Make.com versus n8n, official pages checked 2026-08-03: Website used for Make.com versus n8n, Documentation used for Make.com versus n8n, Pricing used for Make.com versus n8n, API documentation used for Make.com versus n8n, MCP documentation used for Make.com versus n8n. These Make.com sources inform comparison with n8n, not every sentence individually.
Relevance AI vs n8n
Choose Relevance AI when
Choose Relevance AI over n8n when these published constraints align more closely with the requirement: $0 (Free); 30m setup assessment; Relevance AI's checked sources link MCP documentation. The corresponding n8n constraints are €20/month (Starter, billed annually); 1h setup assessment; n8n's checked sources did not include a developer-interface link.
Cheetah comparison of published constraints
Keep n8n in contention when
Keep n8n when 1h setup assessment, €20/month (Starter, billed annually), and n8n's checked sources did not link a developer interface are the more workable constraints for the team than Relevance AI's 30m setup assessment, $0 (Free), and Relevance AI's checked sources link MCP documentation.
Cheetah assessment
Key tradeoff
Relevance AI versus n8n on published starting price: Relevance AI - $0 (Free); n8n - €20/month (Starter, billed annually). On setup, Relevance AI has a 30m setup assessment; n8n has a 1h setup assessment. On developer access, Relevance AI's checked sources link MCP documentation; n8n's checked sources did not include a developer-interface link.
Cheetah assessment
For Relevance AI versus n8n, official pages checked 2026-08-03: Website used for Relevance AI versus n8n, Documentation used for Relevance AI versus n8n, Pricing used for Relevance AI versus n8n, MCP documentation used for Relevance AI versus n8n. These Relevance AI sources inform comparison with n8n, not every sentence individually.
Zapier vs n8n
Choose Zapier when
Choose Zapier over n8n when these published constraints align more closely with the requirement: $0/mo (Free, 100 tasks/mo); 5m setup assessment; Zapier's checked sources link MCP documentation. The corresponding n8n constraints are €20/month (Starter, billed annually); 1h setup assessment; n8n's checked sources did not include a developer-interface link.
Cheetah comparison of published constraints
Keep n8n in contention when
Keep n8n when 1h setup assessment, €20/month (Starter, billed annually), and n8n's checked sources did not link a developer interface are the more workable constraints for the team than Zapier's 5m setup assessment, $0/mo (Free, 100 tasks/mo), and Zapier's checked sources link MCP documentation.
Cheetah assessment
Key tradeoff
Zapier versus n8n on published starting price: Zapier - $0/mo (Free, 100 tasks/mo); n8n - €20/month (Starter, billed annually). On setup, Zapier has a 5m setup assessment; n8n has a 1h setup assessment. On developer access, Zapier's checked sources link MCP documentation; n8n's checked sources did not include a developer-interface link.
Cheetah assessment
For Zapier versus n8n, official pages checked 2026-08-03: Website used for Zapier versus n8n, Documentation used for Zapier versus n8n, Pricing used for Zapier versus n8n, MCP documentation used for Zapier versus n8n. These Zapier sources inform comparison with n8n, not every sentence individually.
n8n baseline sources
Verify before deciding
- A specific official product-demo video URL (only the general YouTube channel link was confirmed, no specific video was verified as vendor-published during this check)
- Trial terms for n8n Cloud paid plans
- A machine-readable OpenAPI specification was not included in the reviewed source set.
Cheetah assessed n8n buyer fit, setup and tradeoffs. Shortlist reviewed 2026-07-31.