Head to head · Agents & automation · updated Oct 17, 2026
n8n vs Dify
n8n scores 100 to Dify's 96 on public evidence for AI workflow automation, and they rank #1 and #3 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.
Dify
Open-source LLMOps platform with a visual builder for agents, RAG pipelines, and workflows.
+ Covers prompt management, knowledge bases, and deployable APIs in one self-hostable app.
− Complex workflows get unwieldy in the visual canvas and version control is weak.
Side by side
public evidence| n8n | Dify | |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence score / 100 | 100 | 96 |
| GitHub stars | 207,742 | 158,681 |
| Hacker News stories, 30d | 0 | 0 |
| 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 Professional $59/mo |
| Platforms | web, linux, mac, windows | web, linux |
| Maker | n8n | LangGenius |
Which one?
Pick n8n if
- you want the stronger public evidence (100 vs 96)
- you need it on mac, windows
Best for technical users who want cheap, self-hosted automations.
Pick Dify if
Covers prompt management, knowledge bases, and deployable APIs in one self-hostable app.
Best for teams shipping LLM apps without much code.