n8n Review: The Open-Source Home for AI Workflows
n8n's AI nodes and self-hosting story make it the pragmatic pick for teams building LLM automations without vendor lock-in.
n8n is a node-based workflow builder with first-class LLM, agent, memory, and vector-store nodes. You can chain OpenAI, Anthropic, and local models, plug in tool calls, and route outputs to 400+ integrations. Self-hosted is free forever under a fair-code license; Cloud starts at $20/mo with execution-based pricing. Compared to Zapier, you trade a slightly steeper learning curve for real branching logic, code steps, and AI primitives that ship as built-ins rather than clunky add-ons.
Pros
- Native AI/agent/vector nodes, not bolt-ons
- Self-hostable - no per-task pricing surprises
- Real branching, loops, and JS/Python code steps
Cons
- Steeper learning curve than Zapier
- Fair-code license restricts commercial resale
- Debugging long agent chains still rough
Best for
Engineering teams building internal AI automations
Agencies replacing brittle Zapier zaps
Solo builders who want to self-host
Verdict If your automations touch an LLM more than once a week, n8n is the default. Zapier is fine for simpler, non-AI plumbing.