n8n Alternatives (2026): Open-Source, No-Code and Enterprise Picks
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n8n is a workflow automation platform for technical teams: you connect apps and AI models in a visual editor, drop into code when you need to, and run it in n8n’s cloud or on your own server. People look for n8n alternatives for three reasons: its license, its euro-only cloud pricing, or because they want AI agents without building nodes. Below are five options in three groups.
The short answer
For an open-source, self-hostable swap, pick Activepieces (free plan, Plus $20/mo). To build AI agents without code, try MindStudio or Turbotic (from $14.99/mo billed yearly). For an assistant instead of workflows, try Lindy. To govern agents company-wide, look at Airia.
What n8n costs, and why people switch
n8n’s cloud plans are billed per workflow execution, and one execution is one full run of a workflow, however many steps or how much data it has. Every plan includes unlimited users and workflows. On November 11, 2026 the pricing page listed:
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Executions a month | Hosting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | €20/mo | €24/mo | 2,500 | n8n cloud |
| Pro | €50/mo | €60/mo | 10,000 | n8n cloud |
| Business | €667/mo | €800/mo | 40,000 | Self-hosted only |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | Contact sales | Custom | Cloud or self-hosted |
Prices are shown in euros on n8n’s page, even from a US connection, so we don’t convert them. Yearly prices read November 11, 2026; monthly prices read from the page’s monthly toggle on October 29, 2026. More detail on the n8n profile.
A cloud trial includes 1,000 executions with no card required. A self-hosted Community Edition is free on GitHub. The common reasons to look elsewhere:
- The license. The Community Edition uses n8n’s Sustainable Use License. It’s free for your own business, but you can’t host n8n as a service where clients build workflows, white-label it, or let outside users configure workflows through your product.
- Euro pricing. The cloud plans are priced in euros only, which makes budgeting harder for US teams.
- It’s built for technical users. n8n shines when someone can write code in a step. Non-developers may prefer tools that build from a plain-English description.
- Execution caps. Starter covers 2,500 runs a month. A workflow that runs every 15 minutes uses about 2,900 a month on its own.
n8n alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Group | Starts at | Free option | Self-host | Counts by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 n8n | Baseline | €20/mo Starter, billed yearly | Cloud trial (1,000 executions); free self-hosted Community Edition | Yes, Sustainable Use License | Execution: 1 per full run |
 Activepieces | Open source, self-host | $20/mo Plus, flat per workspace | Free cloud plan: 1,000 credits a month, up to 5 users | Yes, MIT-licensed Community Edition | Credit: 1 per run, AI steps extra |
 MindStudio | No-code AI agents | $16/mo legacy Individual plan, billed yearly | Free plan: 1 agent, 1,000 runs a month | Business plan only (custom price) | Run, plus AI tokens at cost |
 Lindy | No-code AI agents | See pricing page Team plan, billed per active user; the listed price has changed in recent checks | $50 in credits for 7 days, no card | Not listed | Credit, per user each month |
 Turbotic | No-code AI agents | $14.99/mo Basic, billed yearly | Free plan: up to 100 executions, 100 AI chats, 3 automations | On-premise on Enterprise only | Execution, plus AI chats |
 Airia | Enterprise governance | $25/mo Professional, 2 members, up to 2,500 executions | No free plan or trial listed | Private cloud or on-premise on Enterprise | Workflow execution |
List prices before tax, from each vendor’s pricing page on November 11, 2026. Lindy’s price is left out because it changed between our checks.
Activepieces vs n8n
These two are the closest match, so here they are side by side.
| n8n | Activepieces | |
|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted license | Sustainable Use License (free for internal use) | MIT for the Community Edition; enterprise features under a commercial license |
| Cheapest cloud plan | €20/mo billed yearly (€24 monthly), 2,500 executions | $20/mo, 10,000 credits, up to 5 users |
| Free cloud plan | No; trial with 1,000 executions | Yes, 1,000 credits a month |
| What one run costs | 1 execution, however many steps | 1 credit, plus 2, 10 or 20 per AI step |
| Going over | Overage listed as “Capped” on Starter and Pro | $0.007 per extra credit on Plus and Team |
| Integrations (vendor’s count) | 500+ native, plus HTTP requests | 770+, plus an HTTP piece and webhooks |
| Users | Unlimited on every plan | 5 on Free and Plus; 25 on Team ($200/mo) |
A worked example. Take one workflow that runs 2,000 times a month. With no AI steps, it fits n8n Starter (2,500 executions, €20/mo billed yearly) and Activepieces Plus (2,000 of its 10,000 credits, $20/mo). Add one smart-model AI step and n8n still counts 2,000 executions; you pay your AI provider for the model. On Activepieces each run now costs 11 credits, or 22,000 a month: that’s 12,000 over Plus, about $84 extra at $0.007 a credit. With your own AI keys, each AI step costs 1 credit, so the same workflow uses 4,000 credits and stays inside Plus.
Pick by why you’re leaving n8n
| If you want… | Look at | Why |
|---|---|---|
| An open-source license and self-hosting | Activepieces | MIT Community Edition, Docker files in its GitHub repo |
| US-dollar, month-to-month pricing | Activepieces | $20/mo Plus, billed monthly |
| AI agents built by non-developers | MindStudio | Visual builder, 200+ AI models, no API keys needed |
| Automations written for you from a description | Turbotic | AI writes, tests and fixes the code |
| An assistant for email and meetings | Lindy | You message it instead of building workflows |
| Control over AI agents across a company | Airia | Runtime policies, red teaming, compliance reports |
How we chose
We picked tools that cover a common reason to leave n8n and read each pricing page on November 11, 2026, from a US server where possible. We compared published prices, free plans, licenses and how each tool counts usage. We haven’t tested these tools hands-on yet, so we don’t rank them on reliability, speed or support, and the order within each group isn’t a ranking.
Activepieces: best for teams that want an open-source, self-hostable n8n swap
Open-source automation platform (MIT-licensed core) for building AI agents and multi-step flows across 770+ app connectors, in the cloud or self-hosted.
- Group
- Open source, self-host
- Starts at
- $20/mo Plus, flat per workspace (billed monthly)
- Free option
- Free cloud plan: 1,000 credits a month, up to 5 users
- Self-host
- Yes, MIT-licensed Community Edition
Compared with n8n: Activepieces is the most direct replacement. You build flows from a trigger and steps, add AI agents, and run it in its cloud or on your own server. Its Community Edition is MIT-licensed (its GitHub README says enterprise features sit under a separate commercial license), while n8n’s Community Edition uses n8n’s own Sustainable Use License. Billing is close to n8n: 1 credit per run, however many steps, but AI steps add 2, 10 or 20 credits depending on the model.
Who it’s for: You want a license with fewer limits than n8n’s, a free cloud plan, or prices in US dollars billed monthly.
Skip it if: Your flows lean on heavy AI steps without your own model keys, since each smart-model step adds 10 credits. Or you need an annual price in writing: the page says yearly billing saves 2 months but shows no yearly price.
Visit ActivepiecesRead the Activepieces profile
Source: activepieces.com, checked November 11, 2026
MindStudio: best for non-developers who want to build AI agents and apps
No-code builder for AI agents and AI apps, with 200+ AI models billed at provider cost, 1,000+ integrations, and deployment as web apps, browser extensions or APIs.
- Group
- No-code AI agents
- Starts at
- $16/mo legacy Individual plan, billed yearly ($20 billed monthly), plus AI usage
- Free option
- Free plan: 1 agent, 1,000 runs a month
- Self-host
- Business plan only (custom price)
Compared with n8n: MindStudio is a builder for AI agents rather than a tool for wiring apps together. You lay out an agent’s steps visually, choose from 200+ AI models without your own API keys, and publish it as a web app, browser button, scheduled agent or API. Paid plans have unlimited runs, and model use is billed by token at the provider’s price, with no markup per MindStudio. On November 11, 2026 the pricing page opened with “MindStudio is now Remy”, a $99/mo plan after a 30-day free trial, and listed the Individual plan under “Legacy MindStudio plans”.
Who it’s for: Most of your workflows are AI work, such as drafting, summarizing or classifying, and the people building them don’t write code.
Skip it if: You mainly move records between apps, or you want a flat bill: token costs come on top of the plan. The move to Remy also means plans may change, so check the page before you commit.
Visit MindStudioRead the MindStudio profile
Source: mindstudio.ai, checked November 11, 2026
Lindy: best for teams that want an assistant for email, meetings and briefs
AI assistant for teams that connects to Gmail, Slack, CRMs and 1,500+ other apps to draft email, take meeting notes, send daily briefs and run recurring tasks.
- Group
- No-code AI agents
- Starts at
- See pricing page Team plan, billed per active user; the listed price has changed in recent checks
- Free option
- $50 in credits for 7 days, no card
- Self-host
- Not listed
Compared with n8n: Lindy swaps workflow diagrams for an assistant you message in Slack, email, iMessage or a Chrome extension. It connects to Gmail, your calendar, Slack and CRMs (its pricing page cites 3,000+ integrations), then drafts replies, takes meeting notes and runs routines such as a daily brief. Every active user on the Team plan is billed. We don’t print its price here: across our checks from Oct 12 to November 11, 2026 the Team plan was listed at either $29.99 with 3,000 credits or $49.99 with 5,000 credits, and on November 11, 2026 the page’s plans table and its meta description still disagreed.
Who it’s for: What you automate is mostly inbox, calendar and meeting work, and you would rather describe the job in plain words than build nodes.
Skip it if: You need exact, rule-based workflows, self-hosting, or a price that stays put between checks.
Visit LindyRead the Lindy profile
Source: lindy.ai, checked November 11, 2026
Turbotic: best for teams that want AI to write the automation code for them
Automation platform where you describe a workflow in plain English and its AI writes, tests and fixes the code, then schedules, monitors and self-heals it; connects to any API.
- Group
- No-code AI agents
- Starts at
- $14.99/mo Basic, billed yearly ($19.99 billed monthly) at the smallest allowance
- Free option
- Free plan: up to 100 executions, 100 AI chats, 3 automations
- Self-host
- On-premise on Enterprise only
Compared with n8n: In n8n you build each node yourself. In Turbotic you describe the workflow in plain English, and its AI assistant writes the code, tests it and fixes it. Turbotic says it then schedules and monitors each automation and rewrites it when something breaks. Its product page (read Oct 29, 2026) says it works with any API or webhook rather than a library of ready-made connectors. Like n8n it counts executions, but the allowances are small: Basic comes in tiers of 200, 400, 600 or 1,000 executions a month.
Who it’s for: You know what you want automated but not how to build it, and your apps have APIs.
Skip it if: You run thousands of executions a month on a budget. Pro starts at $79.99/mo billed yearly for 2,000 executions, while n8n Starter is €20/mo billed yearly for 2,500.
Visit TurboticRead the Turbotic profile
Source: turbotic.com, checked November 11, 2026
Airia: best for security and IT teams rolling out AI agents
Enterprise platform to build, secure and govern AI agents: no-code agent builder, model routing, MCP gateway, runtime guardrails, red teaming and compliance reporting.
- Group
- Enterprise governance
- Starts at
- $25/mo Professional, 2 members, up to 2,500 executions
- Free option
- No free plan or trial listed
- Self-host
- Private cloud or on-premise on Enterprise
Compared with n8n: Airia is built for the part n8n leaves to its top tiers: control. Its homepage pairs an agent builder for business and technical teams with model routing, an MCP gateway, policies that can allow, block or require approval, red teaming and compliance reporting mapped to frameworks such as the EU AI Act and SOC 2. Professional is small (2 members, 5 agent workflows), and Team is $250/mo for 15 members and up to 50,000 executions. Plan buttons lead to a demo request.
Who it’s for: Your company needs to approve, monitor and audit AI agents across teams, not just build workflows.
Skip it if: You are a small team that just wants to automate tasks. The security features are the point of Airia, and most sit on Team and Enterprise.
Visit AiriaRead the Airia profile
Source: legal.airia.com, checked November 11, 2026
Other names you’ll see
Zapier, Make and Pipedream come up in most n8n comparisons. We haven’t verified their current plans for this page, so we don’t list prices. Zapier suits non-technical teams that need a very large app catalog; our Zapier alternatives guide covers how it counts tasks. Make is a visual automation builder, and Pipedream is aimed at developers who write steps in code.
When n8n is still the right pick
- Someone on your team writes code. n8n lets you add custom logic in any step, and every plan includes unlimited users and workflows.
- Your workflows are long. One execution covers a whole run, however many steps or AI calls it makes.
- You self-host for your own business. The Community Edition is free for that, and the license limits mostly matter if you resell or embed n8n.
See the n8n profile for plan limits, our list of the best AI automation tools, the Lindy vs MindStudio comparison, or all AI automation and agent tools.
FAQ
What is better than n8n?
It depends on why you want to leave. For an open-source swap with a free cloud plan and US-dollar pricing, try Activepieces. For AI agents built without code, look at MindStudio or Turbotic. For governing agents across a large company, look at Airia. If you already run n8n well, it may still be the best fit.
Is there a free open-source alternative to n8n?
Yes. Activepieces’ Community Edition is released under the MIT license, according to its GitHub README, and you can self-host it. Its cloud Free plan also gives 1,000 credits a month without a card. n8n’s own Community Edition is free to self-host too, but under n8n’s Sustainable Use License rather than an open-source license like MIT.
Is Activepieces better than n8n?
Neither is better for everyone. Activepieces has a more permissive license (MIT for its Community Edition), a free cloud plan and Plus at $20/mo in US dollars. n8n’s homepage lists 500+ native integrations and lets you drop into code inside a workflow, and its cloud Starter plan is €20/mo billed yearly for 2,500 executions. Activepieces cites 770+ integrations on its pricing page. Both count one unit per full run. Checked November 11, 2026.
Is n8n free?
The self-hosted Community Edition is free under n8n’s Sustainable Use License, as long as only you or your organization build and edit the workflows. n8n’s cloud has no free plan: Starter is €20/mo billed yearly, after a trial with 1,000 executions and no card required.
Can I use n8n for my business or clients?
n8n’s license FAQ says you can use the free Community Edition to run your own business and charge clients for building or maintaining workflows. You can’t host n8n as a service where clients build their own workflows, white-label it, or let outside users configure workflows through your product. For that, n8n points you to a paid license.
What is the cheapest n8n alternative?
Activepieces, MindStudio and Turbotic all have free plans. Among paid plans, Turbotic Basic starts at $14.99/mo billed yearly, MindStudio’s legacy Individual plan is $16/mo billed yearly plus AI usage, and Activepieces Plus is $20/mo. Usage limits differ a lot, so compare what you get per run, not just the price. Prices checked November 11, 2026.
Does n8n have prices in US dollars?
Not on its pricing page. On November 11, 2026, even viewed from a US server, n8n showed euros only: Starter €20, Pro €50 and Business €667 a month billed annually. We don’t convert them, because your card issuer’s rate and any tax will change the final amount.
Which n8n alternative is best for AI agents?
For building agents without code, MindStudio offers 200+ AI models and several ways to publish an agent. Turbotic writes automation code from a plain-English description. Lindy works as an assistant you message rather than a builder. Activepieces also has AI agents inside its flows. We haven’t tested these tools hands-on, so we can’t say which agents perform best.
Sources
All pages checked November 11, 2026. n8n monthly prices and Turbotic monthly prices were read from each page’s billing toggle on October 29, 2026.