IFTTT vs n8n

IFTTT

• Personal and smart-home automations with one trigger and one action
• People who prefer switching on ready-made automations to building them
• A low-cost paid plan priced per account rather than per run

n8n

• Technical teams that want to host their automation on their own servers
• Developers who mix visual workflows with JavaScript or Python
• Building AI agents where every step can be inspected

IFTTT

• The Free plan allows only 2 Applets, and Pro stops at 20.
• Multi-action Applets and Webhooks need Pro; queries, filter code and AI services need Pro+.
• Free Applets run at standard speeds; the fastest speeds are reserved for paid plans.
• IFTTT's terms say it offers no refunds or credits, and subscriptions renew automatically.

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.

IFTTT

Applets

An Applet links a trigger in one service to an action in another. Published Applets can be switched on as they are, or you can build your own.

1,000+ services

IFTTT lists more than 1,000 services, from apps such as Google Sheets, Slack and Notion to smart-home brands such as Philips Hue, Ring and LIFX.

Multi-action Applets and Webhooks

Pro and Pro+ Applets can run several actions from one trigger and can use Webhooks to reach services IFTTT does not list. Neither is part of the Free plan.

Queries and filter code

Pro+ adds queries and filter code to Applets and lets you connect more than one account for the same service.

Chat Create and MCP

Chat Create builds an automation from a written prompt, and the IFTTT MCP server connects AI tools to your services and automations. AI services inside Applets need Pro+.

Mobile apps

The iOS and Android apps create and manage Applets and add device triggers such as location, photos and notifications. Mobile access is included on the Free plan.

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.

IFTTT

• Free$0

  2 Applets with unlimited runs at standard speeds, using published or do-it-yourself Applets, and mobile app access.

• Pro$2.99

  per month, billed annually ($35.88)

  20 Applets at the fastest speeds, multi-action Applets, Webhooks, exclusive triggers and actions, and customer support.

• Pro+$8.99

  per month, billed annually ($107.88)

  Unlimited Applets, AI services, multiple accounts per service, queries and filter code, and prioritized support.

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.

IFTTT

• Annual discount

  Save 40% with yearly billing

  IFTTT's plans page shows a 40% saving on Pro and Pro+ when billed yearly: $35.88 a year for Pro and $107.88 a year for Pro+.

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.