n8n

  • n8n — Full Profile (English, 2026-09)

    n8n GmbH is headquartered in Berlin and operates as a remote‑first global organisation. Founded in 2019 by Jan Oberhauser, a former VFX pipeline engineer who worked on Pirates of the Caribbean, the company completed successive financing rounds: $1.5 million seed in March 2020 backed by Sequoia and firstminute capital; $12 million Series A led by Felicis in April 2021; €55 million Series B from Highland Europe in March 2025 at a ~€250 million valuation; $180 million Series C led by Accel in October 2025 at a $2.5 billion valuation. A SAP‑led strategic investment closed May 2026 valuing n8n at $5.2 billion, embedding the platform inside SAP Joule Studio and establishing n8n as Germany’s most valuable AI‑focused company.

    n8n remains a VC‑backed independent private firm. It uses a fair‑code source‑available licensing model, distinct from MIT‑style open‑source software; the business is not acquired, publicly traded, PE‑owned, nor bootstrapped. For Model Context Protocol support, n8n delivers dual‑mode first‑party functionality: it runs as an MCP server via the MCP Server Trigger node, and also operates as an MCP client through the MCP Client Tool node. It joins the first‑party‑MCP cluster alongside Rezi, Miro, XMind, Supabase, Framer, GitHub, Webflow, Netlify, Cloudflare, Smartlead, Lokalise, Slack, Klaviyo and Feedly‑CTI. Uniquely among this group, n8n functions both as an MCP host and an MCP consumer.

    Website

    Field Value
    Official Website https://n8n.io · pricing: https://n8n.io/pricing · docs: docs.n8n.io · GitHub (Community Ed): github.com/n8n-io/n8n (~199K stars Sep 2026) · MCP nodes doc: docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-langchain.mcpservertool / .mcptrigger
    Company n8n GmbH was founded in Berlin in 2019 by Jan Oberhauser. It remains an independent, venture‑backed private company with investors including Accel, Sequoia, Felicis, Highland Europe, NVentures, Redpoint, Visionaries, alongside a strategic investment from SAP. The project follows the fair‑code Sustainable Use License: source‑visible and permitting self‑hosting, while prohibiting reselling n8n as a competing hosted service.

    As of mid‑2025, n8n reports 1.7 million monthly‑active builder users, over 1,400 enterprise customers, and more than $40 million in annual recurring revenue. It holds SOC 2 compliance, supports GDPR‑compliant cloud hosting out of Frankfurt, EU. Deployment options include self‑hosting via Docker or npm, as well as managed n8n Cloud.
    Status Active, v2.x (secure-by-default 2.0 beta Dec 2025), AI Workflow Builder GA 2026
    Category ai-productivity-data
    Pipeline Stage none

    Title

    Field Value
    Product n8n (contraction of “nodemation”)
    Descriptive Title n8n — Fair-Code Node-Based Workflow Automation + AI Orchestration Platform: Visual node editor (400-500+ native nodes: CRM/DB/comm/cloud/DEV) + inline JS/Python Code nodes + HTTP/GraphQL/cURL import + AI Agent node (LangChain underhood, OpenAI/Claude/Gemini/Ollama) + 70+ AI nodes + vector stores (Pinecone/Qdrant/Chroma/Supabase pgvector) + MCP dual role​ (MCP Server Trigger exposes workflows as tools to Claude/Cursor; MCP Client Tool lets n8n agents call external MCP servers) + AI Workflow Builder (NL→workflow) + Git version control (Business+) + self-hosted Community Edition free / Cloud Starter €20-2.5K exec / Pro €50-10K / Business €667-40K self-hosted / Enterprise custom (2019 Oberhauser Berlin Accel C 5.2B May2026)
    One-line Positioning Engineer wires nodes (trigger→HTTP→code→AI Agent→DB write) in canvas → one full run = one execution​ regardless of node count (reverse Zapier per-task, reverse Make per-operation) → AI Agent node calls any n8n node as tool, or calls external MCP server via MCP Client Tool, or the whole workflow is exposed to Claude via MCP Server Trigger → self-host Docker for $0 + server cost, or n8n Cloud metered on executions (2,500/10K/40K tiers) with AI credits separate (2,300/13,700/mo); ownership VC-independent (Accel/Sequoia/SAP strat), not per-seat (unlimited users on all tiers), not per-step.

    Features

    Field Value
    Editor / Core Visual node canvas, 400-500+ native nodes (Salesforce/HubSpot/Slack/Gmail/GitHub/Postgres/MySQL/Mongo/Redis/Airtable/S3/GDrive), trigger types (webhook/cron/app-event/queue), IF/switch/loop/merge/wait, data mapping, inline Code node JS/Python, HTTP Request (import cURL, GraphQL), custom nodes (self-host), 1,000+ templates
    AI Subsystem AI Agent node​ (LangChain core, tool-calling, memory buffer/summary, planner), Chat Model nodes (OpenAI/Anthropic/Gemini/Mistral/Ollama/vLLM), 70+ LangChain nodes, Vector Store nodes (Pinecone/Qdrant/Chroma/Supabase pgvector/in-memory), Embeddings nodes, AI Workflow Builder​ (NL prompt→workflow draft), multi-agent orchestration, RAG pipelines, human-in-the-loop node, Evaluations (prompt-drift monitoring)
    MCP (dual first-party) MCP Server Trigger node​ — exposes an n8n workflow as an MCP tool endpoint other agents (Claude Desktop/Cursor/Codex) call; MCP Client Tool node​ — lets an n8n AI Agent invoke tools on an external MCP server (Composio/MCP360/filesystem/Notion etc.) inside a workflow; OAuth/header auth; no separate mcp.n8n.com host needed, runs in-instance. → first-party MCP both directions, GA (not preview, not 3rd-party-only).
    Data / Scale Data tables, streaming/bulk ops, queue mode (multi-worker), S3 external storage, execution log retention 7/30/unlimited days by tier, saved-execution cap 2.5K/25K/50K, concurrent exec 5/20/200+, Git diff + version control (Business+), environments (dev/prod cloud, more self-host)
    Security / Admin Encrypted credential store, SSO/SAML/LDAP (Business+), RBAC project roles (Pro+), external secret store (Enterprise), log streaming to Datadog (Enterprise), audit log (Enterprise), 2FA enforce, VPC-ready self-host, EU Frankfurt Cloud region
    API / Extensibility REST API (instance admin + workflow control), CLI, webhooks, custom node SDK, Community nodes, Apps Script-equivalent none (it’s Node.js), Docker/K8s/Heroku/marketplace one-click

    Pricing (2026-09, execution-metered cloud OR free self-host, unlimited users all tiers)

    Field Value
    Community Edition $0​ self-hosted (Docker/npm) — core engine, unlimited workflows + executions, no SSO/audit/Git/AI Assistant, forum support only; fair-code license bars reselling as competing hosted service
    Cloud Starter €20/mo​ billed annually (≈$24 mo-equivalent) — 2,500 exec/mo, 1 shared project, 5 concurrent, 2,300 AI credits/mo, forum support, 14-day trial no CC
    Cloud Pro €50/mo​ annual — 10,000 exec/mo, 3 projects, 20 concurrent, up to 13,700 AI credits/mo, 7-day insights, admin roles, global vars, workflow history, execution search
    Business (Self-hosted) €667/mo​ annual — 40,000 exec/mo, 6 projects, SSO/SAML/LDAP, 30-day insights, Git version control, environments, scaling options; Cloud checkout not offered, self-host only
    Enterprise Custom​ — unlimited projects, 200+ concurrent, 365-day insights, external secret store, log streaming, SLA, invoice billing, hosted or self-hosted
    Startup Plan 50% off Business (under 20 employees) ≈ €333/mo equivalent
    AI Credits Separate pool from executions: 2,300 (Starter) / 13,700 (Pro) / none-on-self-host (bring own LLM key) per mo; AI Workflow Builder + AI Assistant consume credits
    Overages Business: €4,000 per extra 300K exec bucket; Cloud tiers throttle at cap (buy up tier)
    Type execution-metered-cloud OR free-self-host; no per-seat fee (unlimited users); starting_paid=€20/mo; reverse Motion/Todoist per-seat, reverse Qualtrics per-interaction, reverse Nanonets block-run, reverse Klaviyo active-profile
    Note One 50-node workflow run = 1 execution (Zapier would bill 50 tasks); self-host pays VPS+LLM API, not n8n

    Reviews

    Field Value
    G2 4.7/5​ (~287-294 verified, “n8n” workflow-automation profile, 2026) — primary B2B star; 87% 5-star barbell-positive; praise node flexibility + code escape hatch + self-host sovereignty + MCP dual-role + execution pricing vs Zapier, gripes learning curve for non-devs, debug UX pre-2.0, Business tier self-host-only checkout surprise, AI credits confusingly separate from exec
    Capterra No separate n8n Capterra profile​ (Capterra folds into “Workflow Automation” grid with Zapier/Make; adjacent 4.5-4.7 on automation category) — auxiliary near-zero direct; G2 2026-02 Capterra corpus absorbed but n8n lacks standalone Capterra page → print no-standalone-capterra-profile (aligns FB-Ads-API/Sheets-AI proxy rule)
    Trustpilot No n8n brand page​ (B2B-only) → no-rated-consumer-profile, excluded (aligns FFmpeg/MonkeyLearn/Qualtrics/Feedly)
    Product Hunt / Reddit / HN Launch-era 4.9/29 not reweighted; dev sentiment strongly positive (GitHub 199K stars, “Zapier for devs who hate Zapier”), gripes node-version churn, LangChain dep coupling, MCP Client Tool auth friction
    Editorial AI Agent Index 4.6/5, ToolRadar 4.5, Lumetric Mar 2026 “execution pricing + MCP dual-role = agentic infra pick”, Nodesify Jun 2026 “80-90% cheaper than Zapier at 100K tasks/mo”
    Praise Free self-host unlimited, node+code hybrid kills no-code ceiling, MCP server+client native (agents both call and are called), execution billing crushes per-task at complexity, AI Agent node + RAG visual, SAP Joule embed validates enterprise, 400-500 nodes + HTTP covers gaps
    Gripes Non-technical users face JS/expression learning curve (reverse Todoist), Business €667 self-host-only no cloud checkout, AI credits vs executions double-meter confusion, debug overlay pre-2.0 clunky, LangChain upgrades occasionally break AI nodes, Community Edition no SSO/audit (must pay to self-host Business for those)

    Review Sources Breakdown

    Field Value
    G2.com 4.7/5 ~290 verified — primary B2B star, weight highest
    Capterra no standalone n8n page → no-standalone-capterra-profile, automation-grid aux 4.5-4.7 not attributed
    Trustpilot none → no-rated-consumer-profile excluded
    PH/Reddit/HN directional dev sentiment only
    Editorial (AI Agent Index/ToolRadar/Nodesify/Lumetric) 4.5-4.6 band confirm
    Conclusion​ Prints “G2 4.7 primary, Capterra no-standalone-profile, TP none-excluded, MCP dual-role praised” — split-source rule holds; no TP barbell because B2B-only (unlike Klaviyo/Feedly/Motion which have B2C surfacing)

    Access

    Field Value
    Web App n8n Cloud app.n8n.io OR self-hosted your-domain/n8n (Docker port 5678); editor UI browser-only, no desktop app
    API REST instance API (users/workflows/executions/credentials), CLI n8n command, webhook triggers (public URL), import cURL→HTTP node, GraphQL via HTTP node
    MCP First-party dual​ — MCP Server Trigger (expose workflow as tool, SSE/streamable HTTP, OAuth/header) + MCP Client Tool (call external MCP server inside AI Agent); runs in-instance, no mcp.n8n.com gateway; Claude Desktop/Cursor/Codex can mount n8n as MCP server; joins Klaviyo/Feedly/Sheets first-party cluster but only tool that is both server and client natively
    Integrations 400-500 native nodes + HTTP/GraphQL any API + Composio/MCP360 bridge + 1,000+ Community nodes; SAP Joule Studio embed (May 2026)
    Login Email/password, Google/Microsoft SSO (Pro+), SAML/OIDC/LDAP (Business+), instance RBAC
    Self-host Core differentiator​ — Docker/npm/K8s/Heroku/Marketplace, EU/US/APAC your choice, air-gapped AI Starter Kit (n8n+Ollama+pgvector Compose)

    Best For

    Field Value
    Audience 1 Backend/dev/DevOps teams wanting Zapier-power without per-task billing and with JS/Python escape hatch
    Audience 2 AI engineers orchestrating agents+RAG+webhooks+DB in one canvas (MCP dual-role = agent talks to n8n, n8n talks to agent)
    Audience 3 EU/regulated orgs needing self-hosted automation with data residency (Frankfurt Cloud or own VPC)
    Audience 4 Startups with 100K+ monthly multi-step tasks where Zapier/Make bill would be $500-2K but n8n Pro €50 covers it
    Audience 5 Agencies running client workflows under one n8n instance (unlimited users, per-execution not per-seat)

    Not For

    Field Value
    Exclude 1 Non-technical solo users wanting pure drag-drop no-code (Zapier/Make lower curve; n8n expressions/JS steep)
    Exclude 2 Teams refusing to run infra but needing SSO/Git/audit — those gate to Business €667 self-host-only​ (no Cloud Business checkout)
    Exclude 3 Buyers expecting per-seat inclusive pricing for budgeting simplicity (n8n is execution-metered; finance must model run volume)
    Exclude 4 Orgs wanting 9,000+ native app connectors out-of-box (Zapier 9K vs n8n 400-500; HTTP node closes gap but needs dev)
    Exclude 5 Real-time sub-second event processing at massive scale (n8n is workflow orchestrator, not Kafka/Fluss replacement; queue mode helps but not stream processor)

    Competitors

    Field Value
    Zapier Largest connector lib (9K+), easiest UX, per-task billing expensive at scale, no self-host, no native MCP server, AI add-on separate
    Make (ex-Integromat) Visual scenarios, per-operation billing, stronger routing than Zapier, still cloud-only, no self-host, MCP nascent
    Tray.io Enterprise iPaaS, per-step/volume, stronger governance than n8n mid-market, weaker code-node freedom
    Airflow / Dagster / Prefect Dev-native DAG orchestration, no visual no-code layer, no AI Agent node, self-host default, different lane (n8n complements not replaces)
    Flowise / Langflow AI-agent builders, narrower than n8n (no general workflow/CRM nodes), n8n eats their lunch on hybrid
    Huginn / ActivePieces OSS automation, smaller node eco, ActivePieces closer to n8n fair-code but less AI depth

     

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