n8n vs Activepieces
AI Automation pricing comparison · 2026
n8n pricing ranges from $0–$800/month, while Activepieces ranges from $0–$5/flow/month. Activepieces is typically 90% more affordable, though your actual cost depends on tier and team size.
n8n and Activepieces are both open-source workflow automation platforms that offer free self-hosting, but they differ significantly in maturity, pricing model, and integration breadth. n8n is a well-established platform with 400+ integrations, execution-based cloud pricing starting at $24/month for 2,500 executions, and a large community, while Activepieces is a newer entrant with 100+ integrations, a unique per-flow pricing model at $5/flow/month after 10 free flows with unlimited runs, and built-in AI agents. This comparison evaluates their pricing, feature depth, and trade-offs to help you select the right open-source automation tool in 2026.
Plan-by-Plan Pricing
| Plan | n8n | Activepieces |
|---|---|---|
| Community Edition (Self-Hosted) | Free /month | Free /month |
| Starter (Cloud) | $24 /month | $5 /flow/month |
| Pro (Cloud) | $60 /month | Custom |
| Business (Self-Hosted) | $800 /month | — |
| Enterprise | Custom | — |
Cost at Scale
Total cost of ownership — licenses, implementation, and hidden costs included.
n8n
7 scenariosActivepieces
8 scenariosMarket Intelligence
n8n
- Median annual cost
- $700
- Based on
- 51 deals
Activepieces
- Median annual cost
- $120
- Based on
- 7 deals
Our Verdict
Choose n8n if you need a mature, battle-tested automation platform with 400+ integrations, want unlimited free executions through self-hosting with a large community and extensive documentation, require enterprise features like SSO and audit logs on cloud plans, or run high-volume workflows where execution-based pricing (counting full workflow runs, not per-step) is more cost-effective than per-flow pricing at scale.
Choose Activepieces if you prefer predictable per-flow pricing with unlimited runs ($5/flow/month) that eliminates worry about execution counts, want built-in AI agents and AI actions included on all plans at no extra cost, need a simpler and more modern interface for getting started quickly, or have 10 or fewer active automations that fit entirely within the generous free tier.
Frequently Asked Questions
01 Which is cheaper for a team with 25 active workflows?
It depends on execution volume. With Activepieces, 25 flows cost $75/month (10 free + 15 x $5) with unlimited runs. With n8n Cloud Pro, you get 15 active workflows and 10,000 executions for $60/month, but you would need Business ($800/month) for unlimited active workflows. With n8n self-hosted, it is free but requires infrastructure costs ($10-50/month for a VPS). For managed cloud with 25+ workflows, Activepieces is cheaper. For self-hosted, n8n is cheaper.
02 Does n8n or Activepieces have more integrations?
n8n offers 400+ native app integrations, significantly more than Activepieces' 100+. For common apps like Google Workspace, Slack, and HubSpot, both platforms have native connectors. However, teams needing niche or enterprise integrations are more likely to find them in n8n. Both platforms support HTTP request nodes for connecting to any API, but n8n's larger community means more pre-built community nodes are available.
03 Can both n8n and Activepieces be self-hosted for free?
Yes, both platforms are open-source and offer free self-hosting. n8n uses a fair-code license and can be deployed via Docker, npm, or Kubernetes with unlimited executions, workflows, and users. Activepieces uses an MIT license (more permissive) and also supports Docker deployment with 10 free active flows and unlimited runs. Both require server infrastructure ($10-50/month for a VPS) and DevOps expertise for setup and maintenance.