· Alternatives
n8n alternatives: 7 tools to consider, and when to stay
People leave n8n for three reasons: the learning curve, the license, or the jump to the Business plan. The right alternative depends on which one is yours.
Short answer: if n8n feels too technical, look at Make (from $16 a month, 3,500+ apps) or Activepieces (free plan, $20 Plus, one credit per run). If you need a connector n8n lacks, Zapier has 9,000+ apps. If you want agents your whole team can chat with, Gumloop or Lindy. If your reason is the license and you want to self-host, Langflow (MIT) and Dify are the closest.
Not written by a vendor: this site sells no automation tool, and tools without any partner program are listed with the others. Prices were read on each vendor's page on November 15, 2026.
Why look for an n8n alternative?
n8n ranks first in our comparison, so this is not a page about a bad product. It is a page about fit. Reading n8n's own pricing page, documentation and license, four limits come up:
- It is low-code. The canvas is visual, but real workflows involve JSON, expressions and debugging. Non-technical teams stall.
- The license is fair-code, not open source. The Sustainable Use License restricts offering n8n to others as a commercial service.
- No free cloud plan. The trial has 1,000 executions; after that Starter is $24 a month.
- The Business cliff. SSO, environments and Git version control start at $960 a month, self-hosted only.
If none of these bothers you, stay. Our n8n review and n8n pricing guide explain how to get the most from it.
The 7 alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Score | Entry price | Billed in | Free plan or trial | Integrations | Self-hosting | Official page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 MakeFrom $16/mo · checked Nov 15, 2026 | 9.1/10 | From $16/mo | Credits | Free plan | 3,500+ | No | Check price at Make |
 ZapierFrom $29.99/mo · checked Nov 15, 2026 | 8.9/10 | From $29.99/mo | Tasks (and agent activities) | Free plan | 9,000+ | No | Check price at Zapier |
 ActivepiecesFrom $20/mo · checked Nov 15, 2026 | 9.4/10 | From $20/mo | Credits (one per run) | Free plan | 770+ | Yes, limited | Check price at Activepieces |
 GumloopFrom $37/mo · checked Nov 15, 2026 | 8.5/10 | From $37/mo | Credits | Free trial | 400+ | No | Check price at Gumloop |
 LindyFrom $29.99/mo · checked Nov 15, 2026 | 8.6/10 | From $29.99/mo | Credits, per seat | Free credits | 3,000+ | No | Check price at Lindy |
 DifyFrom $59/mo · checked Nov 15, 2026 | 8.7/10 | From $59/mo | Message credits | Free plan | Not stated | Yes | Check price at Dify |
 LangflowFree, open source · checked Nov 15, 2026 | 9.0/10 | Free, open source | No platform fee | Free self-hosted edition | Not stated | Yes | Get Langflow free |
Scores come from the same formula for every tool. n8n is included in the second table below so you can compare like with like.
No-code alternatives to n8n
For teams where nobody wants to see a JSON object, ever.
Make: the closest feel, without the code
Make is the alternative most n8n users try first, because it is also a canvas. Scenarios branch and loop visually, 3,500+ apps are ready to connect, and agents are included on every plan. In the US, Core is $16 a month for 10,000 credits and there is a free plan with 1,000. The difference to keep in mind is the meter: Make counts every module action, n8n counts one run. Short scenarios are cheaper on Make; long, frequent ones are not. Details in n8n vs Make and the Make review.
Zapier: when the app you need is not on anyone else's list
Zapier connects 9,000+ apps, against the 500+ native integrations n8n lists on its homepage. It is the least technical tool here, with a permanent free plan (100 tasks) and Professional from $29.99 a month billed monthly. You pay per action, and Agents are a separate add-on. Details in n8n vs Zapier and the Zapier review.
Activepieces: n8n's pricing logic, in a simpler tool
Activepieces is the alternative that keeps what people like about n8n's bill. A run is one credit however many steps it has, so long flows stay cheap. The free plan gives 1,000 credits a month for up to 5 users with no card, Plus is $20 a month for 10,000 credits, and there is an open-source Community Edition. The trade-offs: 770+ apps, and according to Activepieces itself the self-hosted edition is "the automation core on its own", with Agents and Chat in the paid layer.
Gumloop: when you wanted agents, not workflows
Some people come to n8n for the AI Agent node and find the surrounding workflow tool is more than they need. Gumloop is built the other way round: chat-first agents with skills and 400+ connectors, one plan at $37 a month with unlimited seats. Credits follow model list prices plus an 8% fee. See Gumloop vs n8n and the Gumloop review.
Lindy: when you wanted the work done, not a builder
Lindy is an assistant you brief in Slack or by email. It takes over inbox triage, meeting prep and follow-ups, with approvals before anything goes out. It bills $29.99 a month per active user, so it suits a few heavy users better than a whole company. See the Lindy review.
Open source and self-hosted alternatives to n8n
For teams whose issue is the license, or who want everything on their own servers.
| Compared | Langflow9.0/10Free, open source checked Nov 15, 2026 | Dify8.7/10From $59/mo checked Nov 15, 2026 | Activepieces9.4/10From $20/mo checked Nov 15, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Low-code, source-available | Developer tool, open source | Low-code, source-available | No-code, open source |
| Entry price | From $24/mo | Free, open source | From $59/mo | From $20/mo |
| Billed in | Workflow executions | No platform fee | Message credits | Credits (one per run) |
| Free plan or trial | No free cloud plan. The self-hosted Community Edition is free to run under n8n's Sustainable Use License; you pay for your own server. | Free and open source (MIT license); you pay for hosting and model usage | Free Sandbox plan with 200 message credits, plus a free self-hosted Community Edition | Free forever plan with 1,000 credits a month, no card; the open-source Community Edition is free to self-host (without Agents and Chat) |
| Integrations announced | 500+ | Not stated | Not stated | 770+ |
| Self-hosting | Yes: Community Edition on your own server (Sustainable Use License, fair-code, not an OSI open-source license) | Yes: MIT-licensed, installed with pip or deployed to your own infrastructure | Yes: Community Edition with a single-command Docker deploy (source-available, Apache-2.0-derivative license) | Yes: open-source Community Edition on your own servers; Activepieces says paying adds Agents and Chat |
| Official page | Check price at n8n | Get Langflow free | Check price at Dify | Check price at Activepieces |
Langflow: MIT-licensed and free
Langflow is "an open-source, Python-based, customizable framework for building AI applications" with a visual editor. Its repository carries the MIT license, the most permissive of this group. Each flow becomes an API or an MCP server. It is a developer tool, without an app catalog like n8n's: think agents and RAG pipelines, not CRM-to-spreadsheet automations.
Dify: workflows, agents and a knowledge base
Dify combines a workflow editor, agents and document processing, and publishes each app as a web app or an API. Dify Cloud has a free Sandbox and a Professional plan at $59 a month; the Community Edition is self-hosted with Docker. Read the license before you build a product on it: Dify describes it as an "Apache-2.0-derivative", with a ban on running a multi-tenant service and on removing its logo.
A word on Flowise
Flowise used to be on every list like this one. Its team wound the project down in 2026: the repository is archived and the official end of life was August 31, 2026. It is no longer an alternative to start with. What happened and where to move is in our Flowise review.
Video: “Building Your First Gumloop Agent | Getting Started with Gumloop”, from the Gumloop channel on YouTube.
Is there a free n8n alternative?
Yes, several, with different meanings of "free". Make and Activepieces have permanent free cloud plans (1,000 credits a month each), and Zapier has one with 100 tasks. Langflow is free software you host yourself. Dify has a free Sandbox with 200 message credits. They are ranked together in free AI agent builders.
How to choose
- "n8n is too technical for us." Make if you like a canvas, Zapier if you want the simplest path.
- "I like per-run pricing but want something lighter." Activepieces.
- "I only wanted agents." Gumloop for shared team agents, Lindy for a personal assistant.
- "The license is the problem." Langflow for MIT; read Dify's conditions.
- "I need SSO without paying $960." Compare the team plans in AI automation tools.
Whichever you pick, rebuild one real workflow during the free plan or trial before you migrate anything. A workflow is a design, not a file, and none of these tools imports an n8n export as is.
Our 3 picks from this guide
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to n8n?
For a no-code canvas, Make; for per-run pricing in a simpler tool, Activepieces; for the widest app catalog, Zapier; for a self-hosted MIT-licensed builder, Langflow. The best choice depends on why n8n does not fit.
Is there a free alternative to n8n?
Yes. Make and Activepieces have free plans with 1,000 credits a month, Zapier has a free plan with 100 tasks, and Langflow is free open-source software you host yourself.
Is there an open source alternative to n8n?
Langflow is MIT-licensed, and Activepieces publishes an open-source Community Edition. n8n itself is source-available under a fair-code license, not open source in the strict sense.
Who are n8n's main competitors?
Make and Zapier for app automation, Activepieces as a newer open-source rival, and Gumloop, Lindy and Dify on the agent side. All are scored in our ranking.