n8n review (2026): pricing, best for, alternatives
Summary
n8n is #1 of 5 in our Agent Builders & Automation ranking (initial editorial, pending tests). Visual workflow plus AI-agent builder with MCP and AI nodes and a self-host option. A builder favorite.[n8n.io] Pricing as stated on n8n.io (checked 2026-10-19) starts with: Starter €20/mo billed annually (2.5K executions); Pro and Business tiers; more tiers below.[pricing page] Our public-docs Agent-Ready review scores it 9/10 (Agent-native): documented API, MCP server, CLI/headless mode, machine-friendly docs and documented auth & limits.[evidence table]
Best for
- Self-hosting and AI agents (from our head-to-head verdict)
- Agent Builders & Automation: ranked #1 of 5
- Agent and automation workflows (Agent-Ready 9/10)
- MCP-based setups (MCP server documented)
- Testing before you commit: a free trial is stated on the pricing page
Not ideal for
- Needing an ongoing free plan: none is stated on the pricing page (free trial only)
Derived from the sourced pricing, Agent-Ready evidence and head-to-head verdicts on this page; not a hands-on quality test.
n8n pricing (as stated on vendor site)
| Plan | Price / terms as stated |
|---|---|
| Starter | €20/mo billed annually (2.5K executions) |
| Pro | €50/mo billed annually |
| Business | €667/mo billed annually (self-hosted) |
| Enterprise | contact sales |
| Community Edition | free, self-hosted |
Agent-Ready breakdown: 9/10 (Agent-native)
| Signal | Points | What we found | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| API | 3/3 | Public REST API generated from OpenAPI | docs.n8n.io |
| MCP server | 2/2 | Built-in n8n MCP server | docs.n8n.io |
| CLI / headless | 2/2 | n8n server CLI | docs.n8n.io |
| SDK | 0/1 | No official client SDK found | docs.n8n.io |
| Machine-friendly docs | 1/1 | llms.txt plus OpenAPI | docs.n8n.io |
| Agent-friendly auth & limits | 1/1 | API key scopes | docs.n8n.io |
Public-docs review on 2026-10-19; no account was used and no API calls were made. Rubric · Leaderboard
n8n alternatives
| Tool | Rank | Agent-Ready | Why | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zapier | #2 | 10/10 | The largest app-integration catalog, with Copilot, Agents, Tables and Forms on top. | n8n vs Zapier |
| Make | #3 | 10/10 | Visual scenario builder that offers more control per dollar than Zapier for complex flows. | n8n vs Make |
| Manus | #4 | 5/10 | General-purpose autonomous agent that does research, slides, sites and wide research end to end. | side by side in ranking |
| CrewAI | #5 | 8/10 | Popular multi-agent ('crew') framework with a hosted visual studio. | side by side in ranking |
Ranks across use cases
| Use case | Rank | Score | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agent Builders & Automation | #1 | TBD | Initial editorial, pending tests |
Test results
Loadout Score: TBD. No quality test on the published task set has been run yet. Rank history: unchanged since the 2026-10-19 seed (movers).
Head-to-head
Notable releases
TBD
Featured in guides
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