n8n vs Workflow Machine

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

Status: Workflow Machine failed our last uptime check (Oct 14, 2026); n8n was up on Sep 6, 2026
Free plan: Both have one
Public API: n8n has one; not confirmed by us for Workflow Machine
Higher Trust score: n8n — 75 vs 55 for Workflow Machine
Best fit: n8n: Technical teams that want to self-host automation with Docker, on-prem or air-gapped · Workflow Machine: Freelancers automating a handful of repetitive app-to-app tasks

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

n8nWorkflow automation with AI-agent nodes that runs on n8n's cloud or self-hosted from GitHub

Workflow MachineDescribe an automation in plain language and it builds a workflow across 20-plus connected apps.

Side by side

Fact	n8n	Workflow Machine
Category	Workflow Automation Platforms	AI Workflow Builders
Pricing model	Freemium	Freemium
Starts at	—	$18/mo
Public API	Yes	Not confirmed
Trust score	75 / 100	55 / 100
Platforms	Web, Linux, API	Web
Company	n8n GmbH	Workflow Machine
Last verified	Sep 6, 2026	Oct 14, 2026

What our research says

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

Workflow Machine

Workflow Machine's pitch is skipping the visual builder entirely and describing what you want automated in a sentence. That works for common integrations like Gmail-to-Sheets style tasks, but the free tier's 100 monthly runs and 2 active workflows will not last a busy user long.

Pros

Generates a working automation from a plain-language description rather than a node editor
Covers 20-plus common business apps including Gmail, Slack, Notion, and Stripe
Free plan requires no credit card to try the core flow

Cons

No public API for triggering workflows from outside the platform
AI credits and run limits both cap usage, so heavy users hit two ceilings at once
Company location and support details are not published on the site

Which one fits

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

Choose Workflow Machine if you need

Freelancers automating a handful of repetitive app-to-app tasks
Small teams who find visual workflow builders slow to set up