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Langflow vs n8n

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors.

The short answer

Free plan
Both — Langflow is free to use, n8n has a free plan
Public API
Both have one
Higher Trust score
Langflow — 85 vs 75 for n8n
Best fit
Langflow: teams prototyping RAG and agent flows visually before coding them · n8n: Technical teams that want to self-host automation with Docker, on-prem or air-gapped
Platforms
Langflow: Web, macOS, Windows, Linux · n8n: Web, Linux

From our own records as of each tool's last check. Anything we have not confirmed is left out rather than guessed. How we verify

LangflowOpen-source visual builder for LLM agents and RAG flows, deployable as an HTTP API or an MCP server.n8nWorkflow automation with AI-agent nodes that runs on n8n's cloud or self-hosted from GitHub

Side by side

FactLangflown8n
CategoryLLM Orchestration FrameworksWorkflow Automation Platforms
Pricing modelFreeFreemium
Public APIYesYes
Trust score85 / 10075 / 100
PlatformsWeb, macOS, Windows, Linux, APIWeb, Linux, API
CompanyLangflown8n GmbH
Last verifiedSep 6, 2026Sep 6, 2026

What our research says

Langflow

Langflow is the visual layer most teams reach for when a flow needs to be shown to someone who does not write Python, and the escape hatch into real code keeps it from becoming a toy. Deploying a flow as an API or MCP server in one step is the feature that earns it a place in production. The gap is commercial: no published pricing, no named vendor on the site, and support only via a contact form.

Pros

  • MIT-licensed with roughly 154,000 GitHub stars and an active release cadence
  • Any flow deploys as an HTTP API or an MCP server
  • Runs identically self-hosted, in the free cloud, or as a desktop app
  • Components can be edited as Python when the visual layer runs out

Cons

  • No pricing or support tiers published anywhere on the site
  • Desktop download requires a signup form and covers only Mac and Windows
  • The site names no operating company or jurisdiction
  • Visual flows get hard to reason about once they grow past a screen

n8n

The automation tool to pick when you want agents and integrations on one canvas and the option to run it on your own hardware; self-hosting from GitHub is the escape hatch Zapier and Make do not offer. Cloud pricing is per execution rather than per task, which rewards long workflows, but the monthly figures hide behind a toggle and the Business tier is a self-hosted licence at a very different price point.

Pros

  • Self-hosted Community Edition on GitHub under a fair-code licence, with 207k stars
  • Agent, model, MCP and RAG nodes alongside 500+ app integrations
  • JavaScript or Python at any step, with a canvas that traces agent reasoning
  • Execution-based cloud billing with unlimited steps per execution
  • Public REST API on all self-hosted editions and on cloud Starter and above

Cons

  • Cloud prices were shown only in euros and only as annual-billing figures
  • Business tier (€667 a month) is self-hosted only, with cloud availability on a waitlist
  • Fair-code licence is not OSI open source, which matters for some corporate policies
  • Forum-only support below Enterprise

Which one fits

Choose Langflow if you need

  • teams prototyping RAG and agent flows visually before coding them
  • self-hosters who want an MIT-licensed orchestration layer
  • exposing a flow to other tools as an MCP server

Choose n8n if you need

  • Technical teams that want to self-host automation with Docker, on-prem or air-gapped
  • Builders combining LLM agents, MCP tools and RAG with ordinary app integrations
  • Workflows with many steps, since billing counts executions rather than individual operations

Langflow vs n8n: the questions people ask

Does Langflow or n8n have a free tier?

Both: Langflow is free to use, and n8n has a free tier.

Which has a public API, Langflow or n8n?

Both ship a public API, so either can be built on; the fact table above shows the platforms each one runs on.

More comparisons

All n8n alternatives →Browse all LLM Orchestration Frameworks →