Why we recommend it
n8n is the most flexible tool for workflows that run across several systems, and one of the few you can run in an EU cloud or entirely on your own servers. Billing is per complete run, not per step, which keeps long workflows with many steps predictable. For AI steps, n8n includes human approval before an agent acts.
What it does
- Visual editor with more than 1,000 integrationsH, plus JavaScript and Python code steps for special cases.
- AI agent step using your model provider's credentials, with memory, tools and MCP support.
- Human approval: before an agent uses selected tools, someone confirms via Slack, Telegram or n8n Chat.
- Evaluations: test AI workflows against known test cases before they go live.
- Billing per workflow run; every plan has unlimited users and workflows.
A workflow to copy
- 01StartEmail with a PDF invoice arrives at invoices@
- 02AIExtract supplier, amount, tax and due date
- 03SystemMatch against supplier master data and purchase order
- 04CheckDo amount and order match?no: query to purchasing
- 05PersonApproval with one click in Slack or Teams
- 06ResultBooked in the ERP, run logged
Prices
- Community Edition, self-hosted: free
- Starter (cloud): €20 a monthP billed annually, €24 billed monthly; 2,500 runs
- Pro (cloud): €50 a monthP annually, €60 monthly; 10,000 runs
- Business (self-hosted only): €667 a monthP annually; 40,000 runs, SSO, Git, separate environments
- Enterprise: on request
You can try the cloud version without a credit card.
Data protection and law
- Cloud data is stored in the EU, on servers in Frankfurt according to the vendor. Alternatively, you run n8n yourself.H
- According to the AI terms, customer content is not used to train models.H
- Data processing agreement available for download; SOC 2 Type 2.
- If you self-host, you install security updates yourself. Critical vulnerabilities became known in late 2025 and early 2026, one of them with the maximum CVSS score of 10.M
Limits
- Not open source in the strict sense: the Sustainable Use License allows internal use, not reselling it as a service.
- SSO, Git versioning and separate environments start with Business, and Business currently runs self-hosted only.
- Steeper than Zapier or Make for business teams without a technical bent.
Alternatives
Make, Zapier, Microsoft Power Automate
Related articles
- Zapier, Make, n8n, Power Automate: Which Tool for Which Process?
- From Invoice to Ledger: A Semi-Automated Finance Workflow
- 200 Hours a Month: How Delivery Hero Automated Account Recovery