Activepieces vs n8n
A side-by-side comparison of capabilities, autonomy, integrations, and pricing to help you choose.
Short answer: choose Activepieces if you want open-source, ai-first automation platform with no-code ai agents and mcp (Supervised agent, freemium); choose n8n if you want fair-code workflow automation with built-in ai agent nodes, self-hostable (Supervised agent, freemium).
| Activepieces | n8n | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Open-source, AI-first automation platform with no-code AI agents and MCP | Fair-code workflow automation with built-in AI agent nodes, self-hostable |
| Type | platform | platform |
| Autonomy | Supervised agent | Supervised agent |
| Pricing | freemium · Self-hosted free; Cloud free for 10 active flows, then $5/active flow/mo | freemium · Self-hosted free; Cloud Starter EUR 20/mo |
| Best for | smb, mid-market, developers, enterprise | developers, smb, mid-market, enterprise |
| Deployment | saas, self-hosted, on-prem, api | saas, self-hosted, on-prem, api |
| Modalities | text, code, api, email | text, code, api, email |
| Models | model-agnostic, gpt, claude | model-agnostic, gpt, claude, open-source |
| Protocols | mcp, function-calling, rest-api | mcp, function-calling, rest-api |
| Integrations | OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Slack, Gmail, Notion, HubSpot | OpenAI, Anthropic, Slack, Google Sheets, Postgres, HTTP/REST |
| Capabilities | 4 documented | 4 documented |
Activepieces
- +Genuinely open source: the Community Edition is MIT-licensed and free to self-host with no task limits
- +AI-first design: no-code AI agents plus native MCP, so every integration doubles as a tool for AI assistants
- +Large and community-driven piece library (700+ apps, ~60% of pieces contributed by the community)
- -Enterprise security controls (SSO, RBAC, audit logs, Git sync) are gated behind the custom Ultimate/enterprise tier
- -Self-hosting shifts backups, security updates, scaling, and infra cost onto you
n8n
- +Genuinely flexible: visual no-code builder plus inline JavaScript/Python and HTTP-to-any-API
- +Self-hostable community edition is free with unlimited executions, giving full data control
- +Strong native AI: agent nodes, MCP support, model-agnostic LLM connections built into workflows
- -Not truly open source: the Sustainable Use License restricts commercial use such as reselling n8n as a service
- -Execution-based cloud pricing can balloon for high-frequency workflows
Which should you choose?
Activepieces is open-source, ai-first automation platform with no-code ai agents and mcp, best for smb, mid-market, developers, enterprise. n8n is fair-code workflow automation with built-in ai agent nodes, self-hostable, best for developers, smb, mid-market, enterprise. The right choice depends on the autonomy level you want, your existing integrations, and your budget, all compared above.
This comparison is generated from the sourced Activepieces and n8n profiles. Open either profile to review its evidence and last-reviewed date.