Knime vs n8n (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Knime grades higher than n8n: 3.2 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 4, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Knime grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Knime
Open-source visual workflows for data analysis and automation
Which one is for you
Pick Knime if
- Fits if you're an analyst who wants a free visual tool for cleaning data
- Works for teams automating recurring data jobs
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want hosted execution, billed per started minute on top of €99
- Watch out: the Team plan is priced in euros
- Watch out: executors use 2, 4 or 8 credits a minute depending on size
- Skip it if you need a published Business Hub price, as it's quote only
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
| 3.2GPAKnimeVery good | 2.4GPAn8nFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AThe Analytics Platform is free to download and run. The Team plan is €99 a month for 3 seats, with execution at €0.025 per credit per started minute on top. | 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 | AFree open-source desktop program with no cap, plus a 1-month trial of the Team plan with 1,000 credits. | 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 | BVisual workflows for data cleaning and reporting, with Snowflake, Amazon S3, Azure, Google Cloud and Power BI connections. The listing names no gap in the core job. | 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 build workflows node by node, so there's a learning curve. | 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 | BWindows, macOS, Linux and web, with cloud and Power BI connections. No phone apps. | 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 | free visual data cleaning and reporting | 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: Knime and n8n. How we grade
Price against what you get
Knime starts at about $110.60 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. n8n starts at about $22.34 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and n8n starts $88.26 a month lower. Of the other automation tools on the chart, 3 score higher than Knime 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
- Knime is open source, according to its own site.
- n8n is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Knime also covers no-code.
At a glance
| Knime | n8n | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | €99 per month for 3 seats and 120 execution credits | €20 / month, billed annually, for 2,500 executions (n8n Cloud Starter) |
| Free plan | KNIME Analytics Platform is free and open source for Windows, macOS and Linux; the paid plans add hosted collaboration and execution. | 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 | 1-month free trial of the Team plan with 1,000 execution credits | 14-day n8n Cloud trial of Pro features, capped at 1,000 executions, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | KNIME | n8n |
| Price read from | knime.com | n8n.io |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Knime
- The Team plan is priced in euros; execution is billed on top at €0.025 per credit, per started minute.
- Executors use 2, 4 or 8 credits per minute for the small, medium and large sizes.
- Business Hub has no published price; the pricing page offers a quote form with no per-seat licensing.
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
Knime
- Visual workflows
- Analyses are built in a low-code, no-code interface for data prep, analysis, machine learning and LLM work.
- K-AI assistant
- KNIME's AI assistant, K-AI, helps build workflows, generate scripts and create visualizations.
- Scheduled runs
- Team plan workflows can be run ad hoc or on a schedule, from every minute to monthly, in the vendor's hosted cloud.
- Data apps and REST APIs
- Workflows can be deployed as browser-based data apps or REST APIs that others use without installing the desktop software.
- Version control and sharing
- Spaces on KNIME Hub store workflows privately, with a team, or publicly, and track changes.
- Credential handling
- The Team plan page describes central, encrypted handling of credentials for automated runs.
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
Knime
Analytics Platform$0
Free open-source desktop software for building workflows; runs on your own machine.
Team plan€99
per month for 3 seats, with 120 execution credits
Private spaces, scheduled runs and data apps. Extra execution is billed at €0.025 per credit.
Business HubCustom
Private environment for larger organizations with governance and the K-AI assistant; sold by quote.
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
Knime
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, Knime or n8n?
As of Nov 13, 2026, n8n is cheaper to start with: about $22.34 a month, against about $110.60 a month for Knime. Knime starts at €99 per month for 3 seats and 120 execution credits, and n8n starts at €20 / month, billed annually, for 2,500 executions (n8n Cloud Starter).
Which has a free plan, Knime or n8n?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Knime and n8n have a free plan.
Which platforms do Knime and n8n run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Knime lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.