n8n is an extremely powerful flexible tool, and it's growing rapidly for a reason. But it's built for technical people that are comfortable with JSON objects, webhooks, and writing code. If you're looking for an alternative, you came to the right place.
We did some in-depth research and came back with a list of the 7 best n8n alternatives, including Relay.app, Zapier, Make.com, and more.
Buckle up as we dive into n8n’s key limitations and analyze each alternative’s pros, cons, and best use cases ⤵️.
Why look for n8n alternatives?
There are several reasons why n8n might not be the best AI automation tool for some users. Let’s break down the three most common n8n drawbacks.
🧑🔧 It's designed for technical teams
n8n is aimed first and foremost at technical teams, such as developers, QA engineers, and coders more generally.
As a result, its UI is not easy to grasp, and setting up more complex automation workflows requires at least some coding knowledge.
📈 It has a steep learning curve
Unlike some other workflow automation software on the list, n8n is tricky to onboard, let alone master.
Unless you have a strong technical background or are prepared to put lots of time and effort into learning, n8n will probably not be a match.
🤳 You may have to turn to self-hosting
You may need to run your own server to utilize n8n’s automation features fully.
Once again, this requires technical knowledge and will take more time than the alternatives.
The best n8n alternatives in 2025
Here are the 7 alternatives you should consider
- Relay.app
- Make.com
- Zapier
- Gumloop
- Lindy
- Activepieces
- Pipedream
1. Relay.app
🏆 Best for: All-in-one, easiest-to-use AI workflow, automation, and agent builder with free, built-in AI tools and human-in-the-loop capabilities for streamlining both simple and complex processes
🔬 Free Tier: Includes 1 user account, 200 steps, and 500 AI credits per month.
Relay.app is the easiest-to-use AI-integrated workflow automation tool and sets the standard for AI automation in three ways:
1. It has the best selection of actions and tools to make AI actually useful, with the widest range of built-in AI actions, from extraction to translation to text-to-speech to mini agents. Simple tasks are easier than any other tool, but there’s also the flexibility that power users need.
2. Relay.app’s flexible human-in-the-loop steps ensure you stay in control. AI isn’t perfect for everything — you can add a human in the loop to your automations for cases where you want to review the AI’s work first.
3. AI is built-in, for free. No need to juggle multiple AI model provider accounts or pay-to-play. It’s all built in and you can try for free in just a few clicks. No matter whether you prefer Claude 3.5, GPT-4o or another model.
Pros
✅ Easiest-to-use workflow automation tool
✅ Pre-built AI actions for tasks like data extraction from emails and websites, content summarization, audio transcription, and text translation — plus flexible AI agent and custom prompt steps
✅ Supports all major models across all AI actions (including GPT-4o, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and Gemini 1.5 Pro) and doesn’t require you to connect your existing OpenAI/Anthropic API account
✅ Free AI credits in every plan to use with any AI action and most models
✅ Human-in-the-loop steps to add manual reviews or data inputs into AI-driven workflows
Cons
❌ Number of integrations. As a newer player, Relay.app doesn’t have as many integrations as some of the older incumbents yet.
Pricing
Prices for the plans below from Relay.app are when billed annually:
1. Professional: $19 per month. For individuals. Includes 750 steps, 5,000 AI credits per month, and email support.
2. Team: $69 per month. For teams. Includes 2,000 steps 5,000 AI credits per month, and email support.
3. Enterprise: Custom pricing. For organizations with custom requirements. Includes unlimited users, unlimited steps, custom integrations, and a dedicated Slack channel.
2. Make.com
Best for: Seasoned automation users who need complex, multi-step workflows and flexibility in how processes are built.
Free tier: Yes – 1,000 operations per month (Make counts an “operation” similar to a task).
Pricing: Paid plans start at $9/month (Core plan with 10,000 ops), with higher tiers (Pro, Teams) for greater usage. Make’s pricing is generally more value-for-money than Zapier’s for large volumes of tasks.
Make.com (formerly Integromat) is often the first name that comes up among Zapier power-users. It’s an automation platform known for its visual “drag-and-drop” scenario builder that lets you create highly complex workflows. Unlike Zapier’s linear, step-by-step layout, Make provides a canvas interface where you can branch, merge, and loop flows with ease. This makes it incredibly powerful – you can build intricate multi-app, multi-step automations that might be impossible or very cumbersome in Zapier. Make also has a huge library of integrations (2,000+ apps) and allows custom API calls, giving it virtually unlimited reach
Pros:
- ✅ Visual workflow editor: Make’s scenario builder is extremely flexible. You can connect modules in non-linear ways, set filters, and handle data with functions. This drag-and-drop UI is fantastic for designing complex automations and seeing the flow at a glancerelay.app. It’s often praised as easier to implement large workflows once you get the hang of it.
- ✅ Highly flexible and powerful: You can create workflows with multiple branches, iterations, and conditional logic that go well beyond Zapier’s capabilities. Make also supports data transformations within steps (e.g., text parsing, math operations) without needing external tools. This power is a big reason it’s considered a strongest contender in the spacerelay.app.
- ✅ Affordable for high volume: The free plan is generous for getting started, and paid plans allow tens of thousands of operations for a low price. For example, $9/month gets you 10,000 opsmake.com – significantly more actions for the dollar than Zapier’s equivalent. If you have large workloads, Make can be dramatically cheaper.
Cons:
- ❌ Steeper learning curve: With great power comes… a bit of complexity. Make’s rich functionality means there’s more to learn. New users might find it simpler to start than Zapier for basic flows, but truly mastering Make (to build very advanced scenarios) takes timerelay.app. Its interface, while powerful, can overwhelm until you get used to it.
- ❌ Occasional performance limits: Make scenarios can sometimes be slower or hit processing limits if doing extremely large data transfers or very complex loops. Also, its concept of “operations” differs from Zapier’s “tasks,” so you need to understand how certain actions consume multiple ops. However, these issues only affect edge cases or huge workloads.
3. Zapier
🏆 Best for: Expansive app integrations and deploying AI across multiple UIs, including chatbots, interfaces, and browser extensions
🔬 Free Tier: Automate basic workflows with 100 tasks per month.
Zapier is a well-established player in the automation space, known for its ability to connect over 7,000+ apps and automate workflows between them. It’s a great solution for businesses looking to automate tasks across a multitude of platforms.
With recent product additions of a custom AI chatbot builder, AI workflow actions, and an AI browser extension, it aims to be an all-in-one, no-code AI automation solution. However, as it's not an AI-first platform, many of its AI integrations are more complex to set up with less flexibility.
Pros
✅ The most extensive integration library, supporting over 7,000+ apps
✅ A suite of AI offerings including AI chatbot builders, AI workflow actions, and AI browser extensions
✅ A premier testing and debugging suite of tools compared to newer entrants in the space
✅ Comes with Zapier Tables and Interfaces for teams looking to build internal apps
Cons
❌ Not able to easily switch between multiple AI model providers within the same automation step
❌ Does not have native AI actions — you’re required to set up and connect an OpenAI/Anthropic API account for AI actions
❌ You can’t test AI actions for free, as you’ll always pay API fees for AI actions
❌ It’s a more expensive tool compared to most, with many of its more advanced features and integrations locked behind higher-tier paid plans
Pricing
The below plans from Zapier are billed annually:
1. Professional: $19.99 per month. Automate advanced workflows with the full power of Zapier. Includes 750 tasks per month.
2. Team: $69 per month. Build and manage automated workflows with your team. Expands to 2,000 tasks per month.
3. Enterprise: Custom pricing. Scale automation across multiple departments. Adds on advanced admin permissions and app controls, SSO, and designated technical support.
4. Gumloop
⭐ G2: No reviews
🏆 Best for: Automating complex data processing workflows, like generating batches of SEO-optimized blog posts from marketing strategies
🔬 Free Tier: Includes 1,000 credits with 2 concurrent list steps.
Gumloop is a no-code platform designed to automate complex workflows using AI-powered actions. The platform is highly versatile, supporting a wide range of integrations with popular business applications like HubSpot, Slack, Linear, and more.
It differentiates itself by enabling programming-like functionality (e.g., looping, parallel sub-processes) and many pre-built advanced AI actions within its workflow builder. It's great for more technical teams looking to automate their processes quickly and efficiently, but due to its complexity, has a steeper learning curve than other tools.
Pros
✅ Pre-built AI actions, including extracting data, summarizing content, web browsing, and more
✅ Easily switch between multiple AI model providers within the same automation step
✅ Includes native AI actions, which don’t require you to connect your OpenAI/Anthropic API account — with credits to test AI actions in the free tier plan
✅ Extensive pre-built nodes to enable complex code-like actions, including a custom STMP email sender, web scraper, and SQL writer
✅ Supports parallel execution of sub-workflows, speeding up processing times and enabling highly complex workflows
Cons
❌ There is a steep learning curve to build workflows in the tool
❌ Number of integrations. As a newer player, Gumloop doesn’t have as many integrations as some of the older incumbents yet.
❌ Very expensive relative to other tools in this category
Pricing
The below plans from Gumloop are billed monthly:
1. Starter: $97 per month. Starts at 30,000 credits with 5 concurrent list steps.
2. Pro: $297 per month. Expands to 75,000 credits with 15 concurrent list steps.
3. Enterprise: Custom pricing. Adds custom node creation, 24/7 on-call support, and custom data security rules.
5. Lindy
⭐ G2: No reviews
🏆 Best for: Custom AI assistants that can autonomously manage human-like workflows like calendar management and email triage
🔬 Free Tier: Includes up to 400 Tasks and 1M character knowledge base
Lindy is an advanced AI-powered virtual assistant and workflow builder, designed to enhance productivity by automating a wide range of tasks across various job functions.
Whether you’re a sales rep, HR partner, or in an executive role, Lindy is a great option for handling tedious tasks such as calendar management, email drafting, note-taking during meetings, sales outreach, and more.
Pros
✅ Allows you to set up complex automations using natural language commands
✅ Supports over 3,000 integrations within an easy-to-use interface
✅ Includes a chat interface for human-in-the-loop intervention and messaging
✅ Easily switch between multiple AI model providers within the same automation step
✅ Includes native AI actions, which don’t require you to connect your OpenAI/Anthropic API account — with credits to test AI actions in the free tier plan
Cons
❌ Less advanced workflow logic options compared to some competitors
❌ Does not have pre-built AI actions — you’re required to write prompts for all AI actions
❌ Less extensive AI model provider options
Pricing
The below plans from Lindy are billed monthly:
1. Pro: Starts at $29.99 per month. Includes up to 3,000 tasks, 20M knowledge base character indexing, and premium actions.
6. Activepieces
Best for: Engineers or technical users who want an open-source automation platform that they can self-host and extend.
Free tier: Yes – 1000 tasks/month on Activepieces Cloud, and unlimited tasks if you self-host (the software is open source).
Pricing: The cloud service uses a usage-based model at about $1 per 1,000 tasks(one of the lowest costs on the market). Self-hosting is free aside from your own server costs.
Activepieces is a newcomer in the automation space that stands out by being completely open source. You can think of it as an open-source alternative to Zapier/Make that you can run on your own server. This is a huge plus for developers who want full control or for companies concerned with data privacy (you can keep all data in-house). Activepieces provides a visual flow builder and about ~200 integrations so far. Being open-source, developers can also create and contribute new connectors or functionality. Additionally, Activepieces offers a white-label option – you could embed it into your own product to provide automation features to your users (useful for SaaS companies)
Pros:
- ✅ Open-source and self-hostable: You have the freedom to run Activepieces on your own infrastructure for free, which means unlimited automations without recurring feesnocodefinder.com. This is ideal for those who are comfortable with hosting and want to avoid usage charges entirely.
- ✅ Extensible by engineers: Because you can access the source code, engineers can add custom integrations or modify how the platform works. This flexibility is unparalleled – if Activepieces doesn’t do something today, you could build that feature yourself. It’s a great choice for developers who like to tinker or need a very tailored solution.
- ✅ Low-cost cloud option: Even if you don’t self-host, the managed Activepieces Cloud is extremely affordable. Paying ~$1 per 1k tasksnocodefinder.com is much cheaper than Zapier’s pricing per task. You only pay for what you use, and there are no tier restrictions on features since the code base is the same.
Cons:
- ❌ Smaller integration library: Activepieces currently has ~200+ integrations. This is fewer than most other tools on this list. While it covers many popular apps and is growing, you may find some services missing. The community can build more connectors over time, but check compatibility if you rely on less common apps.
- ❌ Young project & fewer bells and whistles: As a newer open-source project, Activepieces might not have the polished UI or advanced features (like AI integration or built-in templates) that some commercial products offer yet. It’s evolving quickly, but expect a more minimalistic experience as of 2025.
7. Pipedream
G2 Rating: 4.6/5 ★ (15 reviews)
Best for: Developers looking for a code-centric automation platform with generous free limits and the ability to run custom code in workflows.
Free tier: Yes – includes 300 credits per month (roughly 10 credits/day) on the free plan. This equates to a substantial amount of execution time for free each month.
Pricing: Pipedream uses a credit-based model. Paid plans start at $29/month for 2,000 credits/mo with higher tiers adding more included credits and features. (One credit roughly equals 30 seconds of workflow runtime at 256 MB memory.)
Pipedream is a relatively new player (founded in 2019) that’s quickly gained popularity among developers and engineers. Think of it as an integration platform that’s built for coders. You can use it like a standard workflow tool (it has a library of 700+ integrations and a visual builder), but at any point you can drop into a code step (Node.js, Python, etc.) to implement custom logic. It’s serverless under the hood – Pipedream handles the infrastructure while you write code for any custom steps. This makes it incredibly powerful and flexible, but also means it’s geared toward those who are comfortable writing a bit of code. Many devs favor Pipedream as a “Zapier for developers.”
Pros:
- ✅ Developer-centric and flexible: You’re not limited by predefined actions – you can write JavaScript (Node.js) or Python to do anything you want in a workflow. Pipedream provides environment variables, supports NPM packages, and even allows importing any API with minimal setup. This is a dream for developers who find Zapier too restrictive.
- ✅ Large community & open source components: Pipedream has an open-source integration registry where the community contributes. It also has a large user base on forums and Slack, meaning lots of shared “Pipedream components” (pre-built code steps). This community aspect speeds up development for common tasks.
- ✅ Generous free usage: 300 credits per month freepipedream.com is enough to handle a good number of workflows for hobby or light use. Even beyond that, Pipedream’s pay-for-what-you-use pricing can be very cost-effective – e.g., one user calculated 1,000 jobs cost only about $222 on Pipedream (versus double on Zapier)medium.com.
Cons:
- ❌ Code required for many tasks: Non-developers may find Pipedream intimidating. While it has no-code steps and integrations, unlocking its real power often involves writing code. If you don’t know JavaScript/Python or don’t want to maintain code, other more purely no-code tools might suit you better. Pipedream explicitly targets engineersrelay.apprelay.app.
- ❌ UI less polished for non-tech users: The interface is utilitarian. It’s great for showing logs, debugging, and editing code. But a non-technical user might find it less guided or friendly compared to, say, Relay or Integrately which spoon-feed the process more. Pipedream is more akin to an IDE for automation than a plug-and-play wizard.
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