Home / AI Tools / n8n AI Workflows
n8n AI Workflows

n8n AI Workflows

Open-source workflow automation with native AI agent nodes, self-hosting option, and a thriving developer community.

$20/mo - n8n Cloud starter with 2,500 executions/month ~ Moderate Agreement Visit Website ↗

Score Breakdown

8.3
8.6
9.1
Task Autonomy 8.4
8.2 8.1 9.0
Accuracy & Reliability 8.6
8.3 8.3 9.2
Speed & Performance 8.6
8.1 8.2 9.5
Tool Integration 9.1
8.8 9.0 9.4
Safety & Guardrails 8.7
8.5 8.6 9.0
Cost Efficiency 9.5
9.2 9.2 10.0
Ease of Use 7.6
7.6 7.8 7.5
Multi-step Reasoning 8.5
8.1 8.2 9.2

Judge Opinions

Claude Opus 8.3

"n8n leads in AI workflow automation for technical teams — 500+ integrations, native AI agent nodes with multi-provider LLM support, and free unlimited self-hosted execution. The real-time execution preview is a strong UX touch. However, conversational agent nodes lose all context when workflows end (no persistent memory), and the heavy reliance on JSON structures and JavaScript expressions creates a genuine barrier for non-technical users."

+ Free unlimited self-hosted execution with full data control — unbeatable cost efficiency
+ Native AI agent nodes with RAG, tool-calling, and multi-provider LLM support
+ 500+ integrations with real-time execution preview for immediate debugging feedback
+ Git-based version control and custom npm package support for developer workflows
- Conversational agent nodes lose all context when workflow ends — no persistent memory
- Heavy reliance on JSON structures and JavaScript expressions excludes non-technical users
- Self-hosting operational overhead is non-trivial for production workloads
- Cloud pricing ($20+/mo) is less competitive than Make for hosted automation
GPT-5.2 8.6

"n8n is an open-source automation platform that’s particularly strong for technical teams, with a self-host option and native AI/agent-style nodes. It can power sophisticated, tool-using workflows with good observability, but it’s not “no-code” in practice once you start doing real data mapping, error handling, and AI guardrails."

+ Free self-hosting option provides strong cost control and data ownership
+ Native AI nodes support agent patterns like tool calling and structured outputs
+ Large integration ecosystem plus webhooks/HTTP for custom connectors
+ Good execution logs and run history for debugging production workflows
+ Active community with templates and rapid iteration on new features
- Self-hosting adds operational overhead (updates, scaling, secrets, monitoring)
- UI and data mapping can be intimidating for non-technical users
- AI steps still need strong guardrails and testing to avoid brittle automations
- Cloud plans can become costly if workflows are chatty or execution-heavy
Gemini 3 9.1

"n8n is the engineer's automation platform. Its LangChain integration allows you to build true LLM agents that can call tools, reason, and remember context. Being self-hostable makes it the default choice for privacy-conscious enterprises and developers who want full control."

+ Native LangChain nodes for building complex agents
+ Self-hostable (Docker) for infinite customization and privacy
+ Run custom JavaScript/Python code within workflows
+ Extremely cost-effective (free for self-hosted)
+ Memory/Context management is superior to Zapier/Make
- Requires technical knowledge to set up and optimize
- UI is utilitarian; less 'magic' for non-technical users
- Community support is great but smaller than Zapier's

/// RECOMMENDED_USE_CASE

"Technical teams and developers who want open-source, self-hostable workflow automation with native AI agent capabilities and full data control."

Appears In

Zapier AI vs Make vs n8n