Head to head · Agents & automation · updated Oct 25, 2026
n8n vs Activepieces
n8n scores 94 to Activepieces's 80 on public evidence for AI workflow automation, and they rank #1 and #4 there. Both are free to start. Numbers below are the same public signals the ranking uses, recomputed nightly — nothing here is sponsored.
n8n
Fair-code workflow automation with native AI agent nodes and self-hosting.
+ Self-hostable with code nodes and LangChain-based AI nodes at a fraction of Zapier's cost.
− Sustainable Use licence is not OSI open source and the learning curve is steeper than Zapier.
Activepieces
Open-source Zapier alternative with AI pieces and an MCP server for agent tool access.
+ MIT-licensed core with pieces written in TypeScript that are easy to extend.
− Far fewer integrations than Zapier or n8n.
Side by side
public evidence| n8n | Activepieces | |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence score / 100 | 94 | 80 |
| GitHub stars | 208,515 | 25,210 |
| Hacker News stories, 30d | 0 | 1 |
| Release-feed mentions, 30d | 0 | 0 |
| Last activity | 0 days ago | 0 days ago |
| Pricing | Free tier · Self-host free; Cloud from about $24/mo | Open source · Self-host free; cloud plans paid |
| Platforms | web, linux, mac, windows | web, linux |
| Maker | n8n | Activepieces |
Which one?
Pick n8n if
- you want the stronger public evidence (94 vs 80)
- you need it on mac, windows
- a bigger GitHub community matters (208,515 vs 25,210 stars)
Best for technical users who want cheap, self-hosted automations.
Pick Activepieces if
MIT-licensed core with pieces written in TypeScript that are easy to extend.
Best for teams that want a truly open-source automation tool.