n8n vs Activepieces: Complete Comparison for Self-Hosted Automation

Both n8n and Activepieces promise open-source workflow automation, but choosing between them could save you thousands of dollars or cost you weeks of frustration. These platforms represent two philosophies for escaping the Zapier tax, yet their differences run far deeper than what appears on their marketing pages.

The internet is filled with surface-level comparisons that tell you “n8n has more nodes” or “Activepieces is easier.” That’s not helpful when you’re about to invest significant time and money into a platform your business will depend on.

The Real Question Behind This Comparison

Most people searching for “n8n vs Activepieces” already know they want to self-host their automation infrastructure. They’re tired of unpredictable Zapier bills that scale with success. They want control over their data and workflows.

The real question isn’t which platform is “better.” It’s which platform matches how you think about automation, what resources you have, and where your business is headed.

Why These Two Platforms?

n8n and Activepieces have emerged as the leading open-source alternatives to Zapier and Make. Both offer self-hosting options that eliminate per-task pricing. Both have active communities and regular updates.

But they target fundamentally different users. Understanding this difference is the key to making the right choice.

What You’ll Learn

How pricing actually works for self-hosted and cloud options
Performance benchmarks that reveal dramatic differences at scale
The licensing distinction that matters more than you think
Which interface philosophy matches your team
AI and agent capabilities comparison
Self-hosting requirements and complexity
A decision framework based on your specific situation
Answers to the most common questions from the community

Quick Comparison: n8n vs Activepieces at a Glance

Before diving deep, here’s the summary for those who want the bottom line:

Factor	n8n	Activepieces
License	Sustainable Use (Fair Code)	MIT (True Open Source)
Self-Hosted	Free, unlimited	Free, unlimited
Cloud Free Tier	14-day trial only	1,000 tasks/month
Learning Curve	Steeper (G2: 7.9/10 ease)	Gentler (G2: 9.1/10 ease)
Performance	Fast (0.5-1s per execution)	Slower (improving rapidly)
GitHub Stars	160,000+	19,000+
Integrations	500+ nodes	450+ pieces
UI Style	Node-based canvas	Step-based vertical
AI Capabilities	LangChain, AI nodes	AI-first, MCP support
Best For	Developers, complex workflows	Beginners, quick deployment

The verdict in one sentence: Choose n8n for power and performance at scale. Choose Activepieces for simplicity and true open-source licensing.

Now let’s understand why.

Pricing: Where Your Money Actually Goes

Both platforms can run free forever if you self-host. But “free” comes with caveats worth understanding.

Self-Hosted Costs

n8n Self-Hosted:

Software: Free (unlimited workflows, unlimited executions)
Infrastructure: $5-50/month for a VPS depending on workload
Database: PostgreSQL recommended for production
Maintenance: Your time for updates and monitoring

Activepieces Self-Hosted:

Software: Free (unlimited flows, unlimited tasks)
Infrastructure: $5-50/month for a VPS
Database: PostgreSQL required
Maintenance: Your time for updates and monitoring

For self-hosting, they’re effectively identical in cost. The difference emerges in what you get for that investment, which we’ll cover in performance and features.

Cloud Pricing Comparison

Here’s where the models diverge significantly:

n8n Cloud:

Plan	Price/Month	Executions	Active Workflows
Trial	Free (14 days)	2,500	5
Starter	$20	2,500	Unlimited
Pro	$50	10,000	Unlimited
Enterprise	Custom	Custom	Unlimited

n8n counts workflow executions. A workflow with 20 nodes that runs once counts as one execution.

Activepieces Cloud:

Plan	Price/Month	Tasks	Active Flows
Free	$0	1,000	2
Plus	$25	Unlimited	10
Pro	$69	Unlimited	Unlimited
Platform	Custom	Unlimited	Unlimited

Activepieces counts tasks (similar to operations in Make). Each step in your flow that processes data counts as one task.

Real Cost Scenarios

Scenario 1: Small Business (5,000 monthly workflow runs, 10 steps each)

n8n Cloud Starter: 5,000 executions would require Pro plan. $50/month
Activepieces Cloud: 5,000 runs × 10 steps = 50,000 tasks. Free tier insufficient, Plus works for lighter use. $25-69/month
Self-hosted either: $10-20/month (VPS only)

Scenario 2: Growing Agency (20,000 monthly workflow runs)

n8n Cloud: Enterprise territory. $200+/month
Activepieces Cloud: Pro plan covers unlimited. $69/month
Self-hosted either: $30-100/month (VPS + possibly dedicated database)

Winner: Activepieces cloud pricing is more predictable with unlimited tasks on paid plans. For self-hosted, they’re equal. But pricing is just one factor.

User Interface and Learning Curve

The interface determines how quickly your team adopts the platform and how efficiently you build workflows.

n8n’s Node-Based Canvas

n8n presents a canvas where every action is a node connected by lines. Data flows visually from left to right through your workflow.

Strengths:

Full visibility into data flow at every step
Easy to build complex branching logic
Debugging shows exact data at each node
Familiar to developers who’ve used Node-RED or similar tools
Canvas zooms and pans smoothly for large workflows

Challenges:

Initial overwhelm for non-technical users
Requires understanding of data structures and JSON
More configuration options mean more decisions
Large workflows can become visually complex

n8n’s interface is powerful but assumes you understand (or want to learn) concepts like JSON, API requests, and data mapping.

Activepieces’ Step-Based Builder

Activepieces uses a vertical, step-by-step builder that reads like a checklist. Each block represents one action with clearly labeled fields.

Strengths:

Feels like writing a recipe or checklist
Minimal cognitive load for simple automations
AI copilot helps configure steps
Faster time to first working automation
Templates get you started immediately

Challenges:

Complex branching can become harder to visualize
Less granular control over data transformation
Power users may feel constrained
Debugging complex logic is harder to trace

Activepieces is designed for people who think “when this happens, do this, then this” rather than those who think in data flows and conditional branches.

G2 User Ratings

According to G2’s comparison, users rate:

Ease of Setup: Activepieces 9.1/10, n8n 7.9/10
Quality of Support: Activepieces 9.2/10, n8n 9.1/10
Meets Requirements: Both 9.0/10
Overall Satisfaction: Both 4.8/5 stars

These ratings confirm the pattern: Activepieces is easier to start with, while n8n meets requirements just as well once you’ve invested in learning.

Winner: Activepieces for beginners and non-technical teams. n8n for developers and those building complex workflows.

Performance and Scalability

This is where the platforms diverge dramatically, and it matters more than most comparisons admit.

The Benchmark Reality

Community testing with identical resources (16 vCPU, 32 GB RAM) revealed significant differences:

Metric	n8n	Activepieces
Single request processing	0.5-1 second	~15 seconds
77 concurrent requests	~20 seconds total	~2 minutes total
Throughput capacity	220+ executions/second (optimized)	Lower, improving

Why the difference?

Activepieces runs each task in an isolated process for security. This process-per-task model adds overhead but provides better isolation. n8n runs workflows in shared workers, prioritizing speed over isolation.

Activepieces Is Catching Up

The Activepieces team has acknowledged these benchmarks and introduced an “unsandboxed mode” that can boost performance by up to 50x for trusted environments. They’ve been actively closing the gap with each release.

For most use cases with moderate throughput (a few workflows per minute), you won’t notice the difference. But if you’re processing hundreds of webhook events per second, n8n is currently the safer choice.

n8n’s Scaling Options

n8n offers queue mode for high-volume deployments. This architecture separates the main process from worker processes, distributing execution across multiple containers.

With queue mode, n8n can scale horizontally. Add more workers as load increases. This makes n8n viable for enterprise-scale deployments processing millions of executions monthly.

Activepieces can also scale with multiple workers, but the architecture and documentation are less mature for extreme scale scenarios.

Winner: n8n for high-throughput production environments. For typical small to medium workloads, both perform adequately.

Integrations and Extensibility

Raw integration counts matter less than whether the platforms connect to your specific tools.

Native Integration Counts

n8n: 500+ nodes covering popular services
Activepieces: 450+ pieces, 60% contributed by community

Both platforms cover the essentials: Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Slack, CRMs like HubSpot and Salesforce, databases, payment processors, and more.

HTTP Request Capabilities

When a native integration doesn’t exist, both platforms offer HTTP request nodes to connect to any REST API. n8n’s HTTP Request node is particularly powerful with options for:

OAuth 1.0 and 2.0 authentication
Custom headers and query parameters
Response pagination handling
Retry logic on failures
SSL certificate configuration

Learn more in our n8n HTTP Request guide.

Building Custom Integrations

n8n Custom Nodes:

Written in TypeScript
Requires local development environment
Published to npm or used locally
Steeper learning curve
More powerful and flexible

Activepieces Custom Pieces:

Written in TypeScript
Type-safe SDK with great developer experience
Published to npm
Hot reloading for development
Focused on rapid development

Activepieces makes creating custom integrations somewhat easier with their type-safe SDK and development tooling. n8n offers more flexibility but expects more from developers.

Winner: Tie. Both have extensive integrations and support custom development. Choose based on which existing integrations you need.

AI and Agent Capabilities

Automation platforms are racing to integrate AI capabilities. Here’s how they compare.

n8n’s AI Features

n8n has invested heavily in AI integration:

LangChain Integration: Native nodes for building AI chains
AI Agent Node: Create autonomous agents within workflows
OpenAI, Anthropic, and More: Direct integrations with major LLM providers
Vector Store Nodes: Connect to Pinecone, Supabase, and others
Memory Nodes: Maintain context across agent interactions

n8n treats AI as powerful tools within workflows. You connect AI nodes like any other integration, giving you granular control over prompts, model selection, and data flow.

The platform recently raised $180 million at a $2.5 billion valuation, with NVIDIA’s venture arm as an investor. This signals serious investment in AI capabilities.

Activepieces’ AI-First Approach

Activepieces positions itself as “AI-first” rather than “AI-added”:

AI Copilot: Helps configure steps and suggests automations
MCP (Model Context Protocol) Support: 400+ MCP servers available
Native AI Pieces: Built-in support for GPT-4, Claude, and others
AI Agents Tab: Dedicated interface for building standalone agents
ASK AI in Code: AI assistance within code pieces

The MCP support is particularly interesting. Activepieces provides all its pieces as MCP servers, meaning AI agents in tools like Claude Desktop or Cursor can interact with Activepieces workflows natively.

Architectural Difference

In n8n, AI agents are embedded in workflows. You build the agent as part of your automation flow.

In Activepieces, you can build agents either within workflows OR as standalone entities from a dedicated Agents tab. This flexibility may appeal to teams focused heavily on AI agent development.

Winner: It depends on your use case. n8n for integrating AI into existing workflow patterns. Activepieces for AI-first development with MCP ecosystem access.

Self-Hosting Experience

Since self-hosting drives most people to these platforms, the hosting experience matters significantly.

n8n Self-Hosting

Docker deployment is straightforward:

docker run -it --rm \
  --name n8n \
  -p 5678:5678 \
  -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n \
  docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n

For production, n8n strongly recommends PostgreSQL over SQLite. The PostgreSQL setup adds complexity but ensures reliability at scale.

Key requirements:

Docker or Node.js 18+
PostgreSQL 13+ for production
2GB RAM minimum (4GB recommended)
Persistent storage for data

Maintenance considerations:

Regular version updates (frequent releases)
Database backups essential
Credential encryption key management
SSL/HTTPS configuration

Our n8n Docker setup guide and self-hosting mistakes article cover the details.

Activepieces Self-Hosting

Docker deployment is similarly straightforward:

docker run -d \
  --name activepieces \
  -p 8080:80 \
  -e AP_EXECUTION_MODE=UNSANDBOXED \
  -v ap_data:/root/.activepieces \
  activepieces/activepieces

Key requirements:

Docker
PostgreSQL
2GB RAM minimum
Redis (optional, for scaling)

Maintenance considerations:

Version updates
Database management
Environment configuration

Both platforms have similar self-hosting requirements. Neither is dramatically easier to run once you’re past initial setup.

Documentation Quality

n8n has more extensive self-hosting documentation, covering edge cases, troubleshooting, and advanced configurations. This reflects its longer history and larger community contribution.

Activepieces documentation is improving but less comprehensive for complex deployment scenarios.

Winner: Tie for basic self-hosting. n8n has better documentation for advanced scenarios.

Licensing: The Hidden Difference That Matters

This is where many comparisons fail. Licensing affects what you can legally do with the software, especially for commercial use.

n8n’s Sustainable Use License

n8n uses a “Sustainable Use License” (often called “Fair Code”). Key points:

You CAN: Use n8n for internal business automation, modify the code, self-host without limits
You CANNOT: Offer n8n as a hosted service to third parties (competing with n8n Cloud), remove license notices
Gray area: White-labeling for clients, building products on top of n8n

The license protects n8n’s cloud business. If you’re building automations for your own company, you’re fine. If you’re an agency building automations for clients on your infrastructure, you’re likely fine. If you want to sell “n8n hosting” as a service, that’s prohibited.

Activepieces MIT License

Activepieces uses the MIT license, one of the most permissive open-source licenses:

You CAN: Use for any purpose, modify freely, redistribute, sell products built on it, offer hosted services
Only requirement: Include the license notice

This is true open source. You could legally build a competing hosted service on Activepieces (though competing with the original maintainers rarely ends well).

What This Means Practically

For most users building internal automations, the licensing difference doesn’t matter.

For agencies, consultants, and platform builders:

n8n: Check the license carefully if you’re white-labeling or offering automation as a service
Activepieces: Maximum flexibility for any commercial model

Winner: Activepieces for licensing flexibility. n8n is fine for most use cases but has restrictions.

Community and Support

Your experience depends heavily on getting help when stuck.

GitHub Activity

n8n: 160,000+ stars, massive community
Activepieces: 19,000+ stars, growing rapidly

n8n’s larger community means more:

Forum posts with solved problems
YouTube tutorials and courses
Community-built nodes
Stack Overflow answers
Third-party integrations

Activepieces grew from 10,000 to nearly 20,000 stars in one year, showing strong momentum. The community is engaged but smaller.

Official Support

n8n Support:

Community forum (free)
Email support (paid plans)
Priority support (enterprise)
Extensive documentation

Activepieces Support:

Community forum (free)
Email support (Plus plan+)
Discord community
Growing documentation

Documentation

n8n’s documentation is comprehensive with:

Detailed node references
Course-style learning paths
Troubleshooting guides
API documentation
Self-hosting guides

Activepieces documentation covers basics well but has gaps for advanced scenarios. It’s improving consistently.

Winner: n8n for community size and documentation depth. Activepieces for potentially faster direct support on paid plans.

Decision Framework: Which Platform Is Right for You?

After analyzing every aspect, here’s a practical framework for deciding.

Choose n8n If:

You’re technical or have developers on your team. n8n’s power justifies its learning curve when you have the skills to leverage it.
You need performance at scale. Processing thousands of workflows hourly? n8n’s architecture handles it better today.
You’re building complex workflows. Deep branching, sub-workflows, sophisticated error handling, and data transformations are n8n’s strengths.
You want maximum community resources. More tutorials, more solved problems, more integrations from the community.
You’re already in the ecosystem. Migrating from other node-based tools like Node-RED feels natural.
You need enterprise features. SSO, audit logs, environments, and version control are available.

Choose Activepieces If:

You prioritize speed to first automation. Get running faster with the intuitive step-based builder.
Your team is non-technical. Activepieces’ interface reduces the barrier to entry significantly.
Licensing flexibility matters. Building products on top, white-labeling, or offering as a service? MIT license gives you freedom.
You’re AI-first. If MCP ecosystem and AI agent development are priorities, Activepieces is designed for this.
Predictable cloud pricing matters. Unlimited tasks on paid plans eliminates cost anxiety.
You want true open source. Supporting and contributing to MIT-licensed software aligns with open-source principles.

When to Consider Both

Some organizations run both platforms:

n8n for complex backend workflows handling data processing, integrations, and heavy lifting
Activepieces for team-facing automations where non-technical staff build simple workflows

This approach uses each platform’s strengths while accepting the operational overhead of maintaining two systems.

Need Help Deciding?

If you’re still unsure, our n8n consulting services can assess your specific needs. We also offer self-hosted setup if you choose n8n but want expert deployment.

For businesses considering a switch from Zapier or Make, our Zapier to n8n migration service handles the transition professionally.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I migrate workflows from n8n to Activepieces (or vice versa)?

There’s no automated migration tool between these platforms. Workflow definitions are fundamentally different: n8n uses a node-based JSON structure while Activepieces uses a step-based format.

Migration requires rebuilding workflows manually. For simple workflows (5-10 steps), this takes 15-30 minutes each. Complex workflows with branching, loops, and custom code take significantly longer.

The practical approach: run both platforms in parallel during transition, migrating workflows as time permits. Start with critical workflows and validate thoroughly before switching production traffic.

Which is better for self-hosting on a Raspberry Pi or low-spec VPS?

Both can run on minimal hardware, but with tradeoffs:

n8n on 2GB RAM handles simple workflows fine but struggles with complex executions. The SQLite option works for testing but not production.

Activepieces’ sandboxed execution mode uses more resources per task. Their unsandboxed mode reduces overhead but sacrifices isolation.

For a Raspberry Pi or 2GB VPS:

Stick to simple workflows (under 15 nodes)
Use SQLite only for experimentation
Monitor memory usage closely
Consider upgrading to 4GB+ for production reliability

Our recommendation: a $10-20/month VPS with 4GB RAM runs either platform comfortably for small to medium workloads.

How do they compare for AI workflow building?

Different approaches, different strengths:

n8n treats AI as another integration category. You add LLM nodes, vector store nodes, and memory nodes into existing workflows. This works well for adding AI capabilities to traditional automation patterns. The LangChain integration provides flexibility for complex AI chains.

Activepieces positions AI as a core architectural element. The dedicated Agents tab lets you build AI agents separately from workflows. MCP support means your automations integrate with the broader AI assistant ecosystem (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.).

Choose based on your approach:

Adding AI to existing automation patterns → n8n
Building AI-native applications with automation → Activepieces
Wanting MCP ecosystem compatibility → Activepieces
Needing LangChain integration → n8n

Is Activepieces really faster than n8n?

No, the opposite. Benchmarks consistently show n8n processing requests 10-30x faster than Activepieces in comparable environments.

The confusion likely stems from “ease of getting started” being conflated with “execution performance.” Activepieces is faster to learn and faster to build your first workflow. But once workflows run, n8n executes them faster.

Activepieces is addressing this with unsandboxed execution modes and architectural improvements. The gap is closing, but n8n currently maintains a significant performance advantage for high-throughput scenarios.

For workflows running a few times per hour, this difference is irrelevant. For hundreds of executions per minute, it matters significantly.

Which has better long-term viability?

Both have strong foundations, but different trajectories:

n8n has:

Raised $180M+ in venture funding
160,000+ GitHub stars indicating massive adoption
Enterprise customers and established revenue
NVIDIA investment signaling AI future
Larger team and faster feature development

Activepieces has:

Venture backing (smaller scale)
Fastest-growing open-source automation project
MIT license ensuring community can fork if needed
Strong AI positioning ahead of market trends
Leaner operation that may prove more sustainable

n8n’s scale provides stability but creates pressure to maximize enterprise revenue, potentially at community expense. The Sustainable Use License reflects this commercial focus.

Activepieces’ MIT license means the community could maintain the project regardless of company trajectory. Smaller scale means more agility but less resources for development.

Both will likely exist in 5+ years. The question is which will evolve in directions that serve your needs. For maximum control over that question, Activepieces’ open licensing provides a safety net that n8n’s license doesn’t.

Making Your Decision

Both n8n and Activepieces are excellent platforms that solve real problems for businesses escaping Zapier’s pricing model. There’s no universally “better” choice.

The best platform is the one your team will actually use effectively.

For technical teams building complex automations at scale, n8n’s power justifies its learning curve. For non-technical teams wanting quick wins and maximum licensing flexibility, Activepieces delivers.

If you’re still unsure, start with a small pilot project on each platform. Build the same simple workflow (like “new form submission to Slack notification”) on both. The experience will reveal which interface and philosophy resonates with how your team thinks.

Ready to get started with n8n? Our workflow development services and consulting help teams implement n8n successfully. Check out our free workflow debugger and best practices guide to accelerate your learning.

Whichever platform you choose, you’re making a smart move toward sustainable automation costs and true control over your workflows.