Kestra vs n8n (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Kestra and n8n share a 2.4 GPA, both have a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on whether you care more about the free plan, where Kestra grades higher, or ease of use, where n8n does.
Checked Oct 4, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on value for money, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Which one is for you
Pick Kestra if
- Fits if you are an engineer who wants to own the orchestrator
- Works for data teams already using dbt, Spark or Kafka
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you do not write YAML or run servers
- Tight if you need SSO, roles, audit logs or multi-tenancy, as those are Enterprise
- Watch out: no Cloud or Enterprise price is published
- Watch out: you run and upgrade the platform yourself
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
| 2.4GPAKestraFair | 2.4GPAn8nFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CThe open-source edition is $0 but needs your own servers, which is a C. Cloud and Enterprise prices are not published. | 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 | BFree to self-host under Apache 2.0, with unlimited flows and executions. You pay for the server. | 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 | BDeclarative workflows, code and no-code editors, event-driven scheduling and over 2,600 plugins. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core work. | 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 | DFlows are YAML, and self-hosting means running and upgrading it yourself. | 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 interface with plugins for PostgreSQL, MySQL, Kafka, Terraform, dbt, Spark and Redis. 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 | workflows defined in YAML | 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: Kestra and n8n. How we grade
Where they differ
- Kestra is open source, according to its own site.
At a glance
| Kestra | n8n | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | €20 / month, billed annually, for 2,500 executions (n8n Cloud Starter) |
| Free plan | The open-source edition is free to self-host, with unlimited flows and executions. | 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 | Kestra | n8n |
| Price read from | kestra.io | n8n.io |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Kestra
- No Cloud or Enterprise price is published; Cloud is by access request and Enterprise by contact with sales.
- SSO, role-based access, audit logs and multi-tenancy are Enterprise Edition features.
- Workflows are defined in YAML, so it assumes engineering skills.
- Self-hosting means running and upgrading the platform yourself.
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
Kestra
- Declarative workflows
- Workflows, triggers and dependencies are written as YAML, versioned in Git and deployed through CI/CD.
- Code and no-code editors
- Flows can be written in code or built in a visual editor.
- Event-driven scheduling
- Flows run on schedules, on events or through the API, with retries, backfills and failure handling.
- 2,600+ plugins
- Plugins and scripts orchestrate SQL, Python, shell, APIs, Terraform, dbt and Spark in one workflow.
- AI features
- An MCP server for AI agents is in open source; an agentic AI copilot on any LLM is an Enterprise feature.
- Enterprise governance
- Enterprise adds SSO, LDAP and SCIM, role-based access, audit logs, multi-tenancy and secrets management.
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
Kestra
Open Source$0
Self-hosted under Apache 2.0. Unlimited flows and executions, queue on PostgreSQL or MySQL.
CloudCustom
Managed by Kestra with scaling and enterprise plugins; priced by usage, access by request.
Enterprise EditionCustom
Annual subscription per instance, with SSO, RBAC, audit logs, worker groups and SLA 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.
Ways to pay less
Kestra
No public discounts listed.
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, Kestra or n8n?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Kestra publishes no starting price, and n8n starts at €20 / month, billed annually, for 2,500 executions (n8n Cloud Starter).
Which has a free plan, Kestra or n8n?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Kestra 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.