n8n
Fair-code workflow automation platform, self-hostable for free, with AI nodes for building LLM-powered agents and RAG pipelines.
About n8n
n8n is a node-based workflow automation tool similar in concept to Make or Zapier, but with a fair-code license that allows free self-hosting on your own infrastructure with full access to the source code — a major draw for technically-minded teams who want control over data and costs. Its AI capabilities go beyond simple "add an AI step": dedicated nodes support building multi-step AI agents, connecting to vector databases for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and chaining multiple LLM calls with conditional logic. For those who don't want to manage infrastructure, n8n Cloud plans start around $20/mo with execution-based pricing. The trade-off for self-hosting is that you're responsible for setup, updates, and uptime, and the node-based interface has a steeper learning curve than Zapier — though it rewards that investment with far more flexibility, especially for AI-agent workflows.
Pros
- ✓Free and self-hostable with full source access
- ✓Powerful AI/agent and RAG-building nodes
- ✓Large library of integrations and community templates
- ✓Visual node editor with fine-grained control
Cons
- ×Self-hosting requires technical setup and maintenance
- ×Cloud plans add up for higher execution volumes
- ×Steeper learning curve than Zapier for non-technical users
Use Cases
Self-hosted business automation
AI agent and RAG pipeline building
Internal tooling and integrations
Data syncing between apps
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Tags
Free (self-hosted) / from $20mo (cloud)
freemium