n8n alternatives
A fair-code workflow automation platform with a visual node canvas, AI agents, and MCP support, sold as managed cloud or self-hosted.
Alternatives by use case
Start with Activepieces
Visual workflows with branching
Builds and runs app-connected flows and AI agents in the cloud or on customer-controlled infrastructure.
Compare the alternatives
| Tool | A good fit for | Pricing | Describe workflows | Alerts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technical teams building visual, code-extensible workflows and AI agents, self-hosted or in n8n Cloud | Free self-hosted Community edition; Starter €20/mo, Pro €50/mo, Business €667/mo (all billed annually, monthly billing shown as 17% more); Enterprise custom pricing | Yes | Yes | |
| Visual workflows with branching | $0–$200/mo; annual billing lowers Plus to $16/mo and Team to $166/mo; Ultimate custom; Community Edition free self-hosted | Limited | Yes | |
| AI-led work across apps | Pro: $29/month, or $19/month billed annually. Team: $349/month, or $234/month billed annually. Enterprise: custom. Free is retired for new and existing accounts; extra actions/vendor credits are separate. | Yes | Yes | |
| Reliable unattended workflows | Free: standard-connector cloud flows and attended local desktop flows for qualifying Entra work/school accounts, no sharing. Premium: $15/user/month paid yearly. Process: $150/bot/month paid yearly. Hosted Process: $215/bot/month paid yearly. Trials are finite and separate; local prices/checkout terms may vary. | Yes | Yes | |
| AI steps with human review | Cloud Sandbox: free. Professional: $59/workspace/month or $590/year ($49.1667/month by exact division). Team: $159/month or $1,590/year ($132.50/month). Self-hosted Community: free under Dify's license; Enterprise: custom. Provider/model use and resource caps are separate. | Yes | Limited | |
| Custom logic and API workflows | Cloud Free: $0, 1,000 executions/month. Cloud Team: $10/developer seat/month (operators $5), 10,000 executions/seat, maximum 10 seats. Cloud Enterprise is capacity-based, advertised from $840/month. Self-hosted Free is $0 with unlimited executions; self-hosted Enterprise is seats+compute, and eligible small-company Pro is separately restricted. | Yes | Yes |
Each alternative in detail
01
Activepieces: visual workflows with branching
Builds and runs app-connected flows and AI agents in the cloud or on customer-controlled infrastructure.
- Visual workflow builder
- Conditional branches
- Email, form, or manual trigger
Who it suits
Individuals and teams that want app automation with AI agents and optional self-hosting.
02
Relevance AI: AI-led work across apps
Build specialist AI agents, reusable tools and visual multi-agent workforces for business processes.
- Build workflows with natural language
- Autonomous agents
- Ready-made app integrations
The trade-off. Unlike n8n, it has no self-hosting.
Who it suits
Teams delegating multi-step business processes to specialist AI agents.
03
Power Automate: reliable unattended workflows
Automate connected business apps and Windows desktops with managed cloud flows and low-code RPA.
- Retries and error paths
- Run history and logs
- Monitoring and alerts
Who it suits
Organizations using Microsoft 365 that need cloud workflows and Windows RPA.
04
Dify: AI steps with human review
Build agentic workflows with visual nodes, persistent knowledge, tools and human decision checkpoints.
- Human approval steps
- AI model steps
Who it suits
Teams building RAG-based AI workflows with deployment and governance options.
05
Windmill: custom logic and API workflows
Build code-first workflows, APIs and internal tools with a low-code flow editor.
- Custom code steps
- Webhook or API trigger
- Data mapping and transforms
Who it suits
Developers automating internal processes with scripts, APIs and governed flows.
Questions about n8n alternatives
What is a good alternative to n8n?
Start with Activepieces for visual workflows with branching. Relevance AI suits AI-led work across apps. Power Automate suits reliable unattended workflows.
How do the prices compare with n8n?
n8n: Free self-hosted Community edition; Starter €20/mo, Pro €50/mo, Business €667/mo (all billed annually, monthly billing shown as 17% more); Enterprise custom pricing. Activepieces: $0–$200/mo; annual billing lowers Plus to $16/mo and Team to $166/mo; Ultimate custom; Community Edition free self-hosted. Relevance AI: Pro: $29/month, or $19/month billed annually. Team: $349/month, or $234/month billed annually. Enterprise: custom. Free is retired for new and existing accounts; extra actions/vendor credits are separate.
Is there a free alternative to n8n?
Yes. Activepieces, Power Automate, Dify and Windmill can be used for free. Self-hosting Activepieces still costs hosting and model usage.
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