n8n: The Open Source Workflow Automation You Can Self-Host
Open-source Zapier/Make alternative. Self-hostable, code-extensible, with strong AI agent support. The choice for engineering-heavy teams.
n8n is what your engineering team will pick if you let them choose. Self-hostable, code-extensible, and now the strongest of the major automation platforms for AI agent workflows.
Self-host or use cloud
Cloud is fine. Self-host is the real win — your data never leaves your infrastructure, your costs go to zero past a base server, and you can build internal-only integrations. If you have anyone on staff who can manage a Docker container, self-host is the move.
AI agent workflows
n8n’s agent nodes let you build chains where the LLM decides which tool to call next. This is the modern automation paradigm — not rigid IF-THEN trees but goal-seeking agents with bounded tool access. n8n is currently the best of the no-code tools at this.
Key features
- 400+ integrations
- AI agent nodes
- Custom code nodes (JS/Python)
- Webhooks
- Workflow versioning
- Self-host or cloud
Pros & cons
Pros
- Self-hostable (full data control)
- Open source
- Strong AI agent capabilities
- Code-extensible nodes
- Free if self-hosted
Cons
- Self-hosting requires DevOps skill
- Smaller integration library than Zapier
- Steeper learning curve
Best for
- Engineering teams
- AI agent workflows
- Data privacy requirements
- High-volume automation