n8n vs Node-RED

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

Node-RED

• Home automation and device projects on hardware such as a Raspberry Pi
• Industrial teams collecting and transforming operational data
• Developers who are comfortable running a Node.js service themselves

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.

Node-RED

• Node-RED is software you install and run yourself; the project offers no hosted service of its own, though third parties such as FlowFuse do.
• The machine that runs it needs a supported version of Node.js, or Docker.
• The project calls it low-code: custom logic is written as JavaScript in function nodes.
• Running on Android through Termux is described in the docs as a bit experimental.

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.

Node-RED

Browser-based flow editor

Flows are built by wiring together nodes from a palette in the browser, then deployed to the runtime in a single click.

Function nodes

JavaScript functions can be written inside the editor in a rich text editor, and a built-in library saves functions, templates and flows for reuse.

Community nodes and flow library

The palette can be extended with new nodes, and the project says the community has shared more than 5,000 nodes and flows. An online flow library hosts them.

Runs from edge devices to the cloud

The Node.js runtime is light enough for low-cost hardware such as the Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone, and guides also cover Docker, Windows, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.

Flows stored as JSON

Flows are saved as JSON, which can be imported and exported to share with others. A Projects feature, which needs git, puts flows under version control.

APIs and embedding

An Admin HTTP API administers the runtime remotely, and module APIs let developers embed Node-RED in an existing Node.js application.

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.

Node-RED

• Node-RED$0

  The whole project under the Apache 2.0 license: the runtime, the browser-based editor and access to the community's nodes and flows.

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.

Node-RED

No public discounts listed.