ToolJet
93 · HealthyLow-code platform for internal tools and workflows with many data-source connectors.
Directory / Internal tools & automation
Open source Internal tools & automation
Appsmith
93 · HealthyLow-code builder for admin panels, dashboards and internal CRUD apps.
Activepieces
93 · HealthyWorkflow automation with a visual builder and TypeScript-based integration pieces.
Budibase
88 · HealthyLow-code platform for forms, portals and approval apps on top of your databases.
Windmill
83 · HealthyDeveloper platform that turns scripts into workflows, internal UIs and scheduled jobs.
Baserow
83 · HealthyNo-code database and app builder with a spreadsheet interface.
Source-available and unverified licenses
The code for these is public, but the license is not an OSI open source license, or we have not verified it yet. Check the license notes on each project before relying on it.
n8n
100 · HealthyNode-based workflow automation with hundreds of integrations and code steps.
Directus
97 · HealthyData platform that puts an admin app and REST/GraphQL APIs on top of any SQL database.
NocoDB
95 · HealthySpreadsheet-style interface over SQL databases, positioned as an Airtable replacement.
Directory / Internal tools & automation / n8n
n8n
Node-based workflow automation with hundreds of integrations and code steps.
Will it still be around?
Health 100/100 · Healthy
Activity, bus factor and issue responsiveness. Breakdown
Can a business use it freely?
Source-available, not open source
Sustainable Use License 1.0 (+ n8n Enterprise License for .ee files) · relicensed to something stricter in 2022. Details
Alternative to
Savings proposal
At $69 a month (Zapier Team), self-hosting n8n costs more: about $132 a month to run plus $480 to set up. It pays off once your Zapier bill is above $132 a month, so enter your actual bill.
List price: Zapier Team, billed annually. Priced by tasks: Team starts at 2,000 tasks a month for up to 25 users, so enter your actual bill. Source, checked 2026-10-07.
Extra cost over 3 years
$2,748
Pays for itself
Not at this size
Extra cost in year one
$1,236
Each month
$69 → $132
Show as a table
| Month | Zapier | Self-hosted | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Today | $0 | $480 | −$480 |
| Month 3 | $207 | $876 | −$669 |
| Month 6 | $414 | $1,272 | −$858 |
| Month 9 | $621 | $1,668 | −$1,047 |
| Month 12 | $828 | $2,064 | −$1,236 |
| Month 18 | $1,242 | $2,856 | −$1,614 |
| Month 24 | $1,656 | $3,648 | −$1,992 |
| Month 30 | $2,070 | $4,440 | −$2,370 |
| Month 36 | $2,484 | $5,232 | −$2,748 |
Assumptions you can change
Self-hosting n8n usually means one small container and a database. Hours are for one engineer; the server cost is a typical cloud VPS with backups and grows with the number of people using it.
Not included: paid editions or features of n8n (see What's free?), large data migrations, and compliance work. All amounts in US dollars at list price; your negotiated price may differ.
Health score: 100/100
Activity45% weight
100/100
- Last commit today (100/100).
- 9633 commits in the past 12 months (100/100).
- 50+ releases in the past 12 months (100/100).
Bus factor30% weight
100/100
- Top contributor wrote 8% of the last 88 commits (past 12 months).
- 44 people authored those commits.
Responsiveness25% weight
100/100
- 97% of all issues are closed (362 open, 10109 closed) (100/100).
- 30 of 30 recent issues got a reply or were closed (100/100).
Score v2. How the health score works.
License
Sustainable Use License 1.0 (+ n8n Enterprise License for .ee files) · Source-available, not open source
Allowed only for internal business, personal or non-commercial use. You can't sell it or offer it to others as a service, and files marked .ee need a paid n8n Enterprise License.
The code is public, but the license restricts how you can use it, usually by banning competing hosted services or capping production use. Not open source.
License text checked 2026-10-07: read it.
License history
- 2022-03-17: Apache-2.0 with Commons Clause → Sustainable Use License · Fair-code license limited to internal business and non-commercial use. (commit)
What's free?
Enterprise features many open-core projects keep for paid plans.
| Feature | Self-hosted, free? |
|---|---|
| SSO (SAML) | Unknown |
| SSO (OIDC) | Unknown |
| SCIM provisioning | Unknown |
| Audit logs | Unknown |
| Role-based access control | Unknown |
| Multi-tenancy | Unknown |
We haven't verified which of these features are free for this project yet.
GitHub metrics
| Stars | 207k | Forks | 61k |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last commit | today | Commits, 12 months | 9.6k |
| Releases, 12 months | 50+ | Last release | today |
| Contributors | 429 | Active authors | 44 in last 88 commits |
| Open issues | 362 | Closed issues | 10k |
Snapshot from 2026-10-08.