Airparser vs n8n (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, n8n grades higher than Airparser: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 4, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
n8n grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Airparser
AI parser that turns emails and PDFs into structured data
Which one is for you
Pick Airparser if
- Fits if you pull fields from invoices or lead emails into a spreadsheet or CRM
- Works for teams that want extraction without building templates
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you parse more than 20 items a month on the free plan
- Skip it if you want to pay monthly without checking, since the prices shown are annual-billing rates
- Watch out: credits expire each billing period and cannot be bought alone, and refunds are very limited
- Watch out: document retention is 30 to 180 days depending on plan
Pick n8n if
- Fits if you want automations on your own servers, where the Community Edition is free
- Works for workflows that need a few lines of JavaScript or Python in the middle
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free hosted plan, because n8n Cloud only has a 14-day trial
- Not for you if nobody on the team is technical, since it's pitched at developers
- Pricey if you need SSO or Git version control, which start on Business at €667 a month, self-hosted only
- Watch out: the free Community Edition leaves out projects, environments and workflow sharing, and you maintain it
- Watch out: prices are in euros, and no US dollar price list was found on n8n's site
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAAirparserFair | 2.4GPAn8nFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is $33 a month billed annually, between the cheapest quarter ($13.49) and the dearer quarter ($50) of automation tools. | CCloud Starter is €20 a month billed annually for 2,500 executions, the dear end of this category, and a whole workflow run counts as one execution however many steps it has. Self-hosting the Community Edition costs nothing but your server, while SSO and Git version control start on Business at €667. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe free trial plan gives 20 credits a month with all features and no card; you will hit that quickly. | CNo free plan on the hosted service, just a 14-day trial capped at 1,000 executions with no card needed. Free here means self-hosting the Community Edition, which is nearly the full product but leaves out SSO, projects, environments, Git and workflow sharing, and you maintain it. |
| Features | CAI parsing, OCR, post-processing, an API and human review. It does the parsing job fully, though it is a narrower job than a full automation tool. | BA canvas with JavaScript or Python available in any step, single steps you can re-run while debugging, AI agents whose reasoning you can inspect and gate with approvals, 500+ integrations, custom API calls, and the option to run the lot air-gapped. The job, covered. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You set up inboxes and parsers and connect them to other apps. | CNo store rating on record, and it's pitched at developers: accounts to connect, a canvas to learn, and code in the middle of a workflow when the nodes run out. The hosted version at least saves you installing it; the free route doesn't. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb with a link to 7,000+ apps through Zapier, Make and n8n, plus Google Sheets, Airtable and Excel. No desktop or phone app. | BA web app, hosted or on your own Docker setup, with no phone or desktop app. It cites 500+ integrations, reaches anything else through custom API calls, and the paid plans open up its own API. |
| Best for | pulling invoices and emails into structured data | technical teams who want to host their own automation |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Airparser and n8n. How we grade
Price against what you get
Airparser starts at $33 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. n8n starts at about $22.34 a month and scores 2.7.
n8n scores higher and starts $10.66 a month lower. Of the other automation tools on the chart, 15 score higher than Airparser for less, and 2 score higher than n8n for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- n8n is self-hostable, according to its own site.
At a glance
| Airparser | n8n | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $33 per month, billed annually | €20 / month, billed annually, for 2,500 executions (n8n Cloud Starter) |
| Free plan | Trial plan: 20 credits a month with all features, 30-day document retention, no credit card. | The self-hosted Community Edition is free with almost the complete feature set, but without SSO, projects, environments, Git version control or workflow sharing. n8n Cloud has no free plan, only a trial. |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day n8n Cloud trial of Pro features, capped at 1,000 executions, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Airparser | n8n |
| Price read from | airparser.com | n8n.io |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Airparser
- Prices shown are the annual-billing rates; the monthly-billing price is not shown in the default view.
- Credits are consumed per page or email, expire at the end of each billing period, and cannot be bought separately.
- Refunds are described as very limited, pointing buyers to the free plan first.
- Document retention ranges from 30 to 180 days depending on plan.
n8n
- n8n Cloud has no free plan; the free option is self-hosting the Community Edition, which you run and maintain yourself.
- The Community Edition leaves out SSO, projects, environments, Git version control and workflow sharing.
- The Business plan is self-hosted only and starts at €667 a month, billed annually.
- The pricing page showed prices in euros when checked; no US dollar price list was found on n8n's site.
Key features
Airparser
- AI document parsing
- Pulls fields from emails, PDFs (including scans), images, Word files, text, HTML, Excel and CSV without templates.
- OCR
- Every plan can parse images, scanned documents and handwritten text. One credit covers a page, email, image or HTML document.
- Post-processing
- Python code reformats, merges or filters extracted fields, and an AI assistant drafts the code from a plain-language description.
- Integrations and API
- Sends parsed data to Zapier, Make, n8n, Google Sheets, Airtable, Excel and webhooks, or programmatically through the API.
- Human review and MCP
- A review step lets a person approve extracted data, and an MCP server connects Airparser to AI assistants.
n8n
- Visual builder with code steps
- Workflows are built on a canvas, and JavaScript or Python can be written anywhere in them. Single steps can be re-run and earlier data replayed while debugging.
- AI agents
- Agents are assembled from AI nodes on the same canvas, with each step of their reasoning open to inspection and the option to require human approval.
- Self-hosting
- n8n can run on your own infrastructure with Docker, including air-gapped setups. The Community Edition is free; Business and Enterprise add SSO, environments and Git version control.
- Execution-based pricing
- One run of a whole workflow counts as a single execution, however many steps it has. Going over the plan quota does not stop workflows, but overage charges may apply.
- Integrations and custom APIs
- The homepage cites 500+ integrations, including Google Sheets, Slack and OpenAI, and other services can be reached through custom API connections.
- Shared projects
- Shared projects group workflows for a team: 1 on Starter, 3 on Pro, 6 on Business and unlimited on Enterprise. Pro adds admin roles and workflow history.
Plans
Airparser
Trial$0
20 credits a month, all features included, 30 days of document retention.
Starter$33
per month, billed annually
100 credits a month, 30 days of retention, OCR, AI code assistant, API, webhooks and integrations.
Growth$49
per month, billed annually
500 credits a month and 90 days of document retention.
Business$149
per month, billed annually
2,000 credits a month, 90 days of retention and unlimited team members.
Premium$249
per month, billed annually
5,000 credits a month, 180 days of retention and unlimited team members.
n8n
Community Edition€0
Self-hosted from GitHub. Almost the complete feature set, without SSO, projects, environments, Git version control or workflow sharing.
Starter€20
per month, billed annually, for 2,500 executions
Hosted by n8n. Unlimited steps per workflow, 1 shared project, 5 concurrent executions, and agents, MCP and AI nodes.
Pro€50
per month, billed annually, for 10,000 executions
Hosted by n8n. 3 shared projects, up to 50 concurrent executions, 7 days of insights, admin roles and workflow history.
Business€667
per month, billed annually, for 40,000 executions
Self-hosted only. 6 shared projects, SSO with SAML and LDAP, multiple environments, Git version control, queue mode and 30 days of insights.
EnterpriseCustom
Hosted or self-hosted. Custom executions, unlimited shared projects, 200+ concurrent executions, external secret store, log streaming and SLA support.
Ways to pay less
Airparser
- Annual discount
About 17% off with annual billing
The pricing page says every plan has a discount of roughly 17% when billed annually, equal to two months free.
n8n
- Annual discount
Save 17% with annual billing
n8n's pricing page shows a 17% saving when a plan is billed annually instead of monthly. The prices listed here are the annual rates.
- Startups
Start-up Plan: 50% off Business
Companies with fewer than 20 employees can check whether they qualify for the Start-up Plan, which takes 50% off the Business plan.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Airparser or n8n?
As of Nov 13, 2026, n8n is cheaper to start with: about $22.34 a month, against $33 a month for Airparser. Airparser starts at $33 per month, billed annually, and n8n starts at €20 / month, billed annually, for 2,500 executions (n8n Cloud Starter).
Which has a free plan, Airparser or n8n?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Airparser and n8n have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.