While there’s no denying that n8n is a powerful automation tool, it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. This is especially true for non-technical teams, who face too many hurdles in creating workflows in n8n.
Since there are so many automation software on the market, finding the best n8n alternatives and picking the one that’s just right for you is far from easy.
That’s where we step in!
Our team did some in-depth research — so you won’t have to — and came back with a list of the 10 best n8n alternatives, including Relay.app, IFTTT, Klamp, Make, 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 workflow automation software for some users, such as requiring tons of technical know-how and having a complex UI.
Let’s break down the three most common n8n drawbacks as pointed out by real, verified users:
🧑🔧 It's designed for technical teams
n8n is aimed first and foremost at technical teams, such as developers, QA engineers, coders, and Business Ops teams.
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 2024
Our pick of the top 10 n8n alternatives includes:
- Relay.app: The best modern workflow automation platform
- IFTTT: Easy automation for business & home
- Activepieces: Open source no-code automation for businesses
- Nekton: AI-powered automation of daily tasks
- Klamp: User-friendly platform for simple automation
- Make: A no-code versatile automation platform
- Zapier: One of the more popular automation tools for various size businesses
- Integrately: Pre-built automations of small repetitive tasks
- Albato: Cost-efficient solution for basic 2-step automation
- Kissflow: An enterprise-level platform automating workflows for multiple personas
1. Relay.app
Relay.app is revolutionizing how teams approach workflow automation. Our intuitive platform lets you create reliable, time-saving workflows without extensive coding knowledge or prior automation experience.
🔁 Human-in-the-Loop Automation: Relay.app integrates human decision-making steps into automated processes, combining the efficiencies of automation with the personalization of human inputs. This ensures your workflows are both efficient and contextually aware.
🤖 AI-Powered Automation: Relay.app features purpose-built AI use cases that can be added to processes with one click. For example, AI Autofill can suggest paragraphs for emails and summarize content from a Notion page, while AI Classify can guide your automation through conditional logic paths.
Watch: How to Use AI to Automatically Draft Email Replies
🎮 Collaborative Workflow Building: Most workflows are managed in silos, but Relay.app promotes teamwork by letting you build playbooks alone or with your team. This facilitates dynamic role assignments from your existing go-to-market tools, ensuring seamless collaboration.
Bottom line? With Relay.app, you get a powerful, flexible, and user-friendly solution for automating your workflows, with powerful integrations and a cost-effective pricing structure that makes it the go-to choice for teams with broad automation needs.
How does Relay.app compare to n8n?
As mentioned before, n8n is best suited for technical teams. Relay.app, on the other hand, is an excellent option for a wide range of users, from business users and teams to individuals, regardless of their experience and technical expertise.
While n8n has a steep learning curve, Relay.app has a sleek, intuitive interface that both beginners and seasoned automation users will find easy to master.
n8n also lacks the option to add a human touch to the automation process, making it more challenging to personalize and overlook. In contrast, Relay.app balances efficacy, human precision, and personalization.
It’s worth noting that n8n allows for lots of customization (provided you can code) and has a self-hosting option, which is something Relay.app doesn’t offer at the moment.
It all comes down to what you’re looking for in a workflow automation software solution.
Pros and cons
✅ Great for non-technical teams.
✅ Allows more personalization and precision in automation in simple and complex workflows.
✅ Transparent pricing with all of its features included across tiers.
❌ Doesn’t have as many integrations as some other tools due to being relatively new.
Pricing
Relay.app’s pricing policy is clean and straightforward, so you won’t have to worry about unpredictable costs after subscribing.
Its free plan gives you 100 free automations and access to all its features, allowing you to learn everything it can do.
If you need to onboard your team and get more runs, there are three paid plans to choose from:
- Starter: $18 per month (for up to 2 users)
- Team: Starting at $59 per month for unlimited users
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
2. IFTTT
IFTTT is an advanced automation platform that empowers users to automate a wide range of tasks, including simpler business processes, social media management, smart home control, productivity enhancements, and more.
It offers seamless integration with various online services and provides robust automation solutions for simplifying daily workflows.
Features
- Enables automating simpler repetitive tasks, focusing on lifestyle and social media.
- Has a wide range of pre-built automations called “Applets” that can easily connect with your apps.
- It comes with AI-powered features that allow users to get summaries of meetings and generate social media content, emails, etc.
Pros and cons
✅ Comes with a free mobile app.
✅ Simple to use.
✅ Great choice for automating the simplest daily tasks.
❌ Isn’t suited for more complex, multistep workflows.
❌ Doesn’t have as many versatile features.
Pricing
IFTTT has a free forever plan that gets you only two Applets and access to the most basic features. When it comes to its paid plans, you can choose between two:
- Pro: 2.92 per month
- Pro+: 12.50 per month
3. Activepieces
Activepieces is a no-code, open-source business automation software designed for small business owners and individuals seeking a flexible, intuitive, and affordable solution.
It supports a variety of tasks per month, ranging from simple workflows to more complex operations, making it ideal for both regular users and power users alike.
Features
- It’s open-source, meaning that if you have coding experience or have a developer on your team, you can easily create the feature you need.
- Has no-code automation options with a drag-and-drop interface that’s easy to navigate.
- Offers an extensive library of pre-built connectors, with new ones being added frequently.
Pros and cons
✅ Its visual drag-and-drop automation builder is super easy to use.
✅ Offers lots of options for customization thanks to being open-source.
✅ Affordable option for individuals and small business owners.
❌ Doesn’t integrate with as many apps as other software on the list.
Pricing
Activepieces offers a free forever plan with a few limitations - you can have only one user, one project, and 1000 monthly tasks.
Additional tasks cost $1 each, and adding extra users will cost you $10 per user.
Activepieces has two paid plans:
- Enterprise: $99 per user per month, including 1000 tasks
- Embed: $1,200 per month, including 25 users and 1000 tasks
4. Nekton.ai
Nekton.ai is an AI-powered automation platform that enables users to create and execute automated tasks without requiring technical expertise.
By describing tasks in plain English, users can have Nekton.ai generate and run the necessary code for automation.
With a no-code platform and a wide range of integrations, Nekton.ai is particularly beneficial for marketing teams seeking efficient workflow automation.
Features
- Super easy to use thanks to being powered by OpenAI and ChatGPT, allowing for a conversational approach to automation.
- Can automate very specific small tasks and customize them.
Pros and cons
✅ Perfect for small, simple, and specific tasks.
✅ Lots of integrations.
✅ Affordable.
❌ Cannot automate more complex tasks and business operations.
❌ Lacks the capacity for processing large volumes of data.
Pricing
Nekton has one free plan, with 300 flows per month, and two paid ones:
- Starter: $9 per month, with 1000 flows
- Pro: $18 per month, with 5000 flows
5. Klamp.io
Klamp.io is a newcomer in the workflow automation software space, offering intriguing features for users seeking assistance with their tasks.
With capabilities like multi-step workflows and a solid integration library, Klamp.io caters to a broad range of users, providing an extra hand in managing various processes.
Features
- Includes an “Integration buddy” for personalized automation support.
- Promises to add any app you need within 3 days of receiving a request.
- Includes analytics for tracking KPIs.
Pros and cons
✅ Flexible and allows for customization.
✅ Personalized support
✅ Provides extensive documentation.
❌ Integrates with a limited number of apps.
❌ Only the most expensive plan offers more advanced features.
Pricing
Klamp.io has a 14-day free trial that lets you try out all of its functionality.
Its paid plans include:
- Rhythm: $4 per month, includes 2000 tasks and up to 10 users
- Melody: $24 per month, includes 12000 tasks and up to 30 users
- Harmony: $100 per month, includes 50000 tasks and up to 100 users
6. Make
Make is a no-code solution that gamifies workflow automation with its intuitive visual workflow builder.
It caters to advanced users, enabling them to automate intricate tasks and collaborate with their entire team effectively.
Features
- Makes building and testing workflows fun and accessible through a drag-and-drop builder.
- Has thousands of in-app integrations and allows no-code apps to connect via Webhooks or HTTP.
- Offers a rich library of pre-built templates you can easily incorporate into your system.
Pros and cons
✅ The visual builder makes building workflows fairly easy.
✅ Allows for creating more complex workflows thanks to data manipulation, flow control, conditional logic, etc.
❌ Building complicated workflows can slow down the interface significantly.
❌ Can get costly for large-scale users.
Pricing
You can try Make for free, but it’s limited to 1000 monthly operations and includes only the most basic features, such as the visual drag-and-drop builder.
If you need more complex functionality and more automations, you can choose between four plans:
- Core: $10.59 per month
- Pro: $18.82 per month
- Teams: $34.12 per month
- Enterprise: Custom Pricing
7. Zapier
Zapier is the biggest name in automation.
It started as a simple workflow platform, and has a grown to a colossal automation Swiss Army knife with thousands of integrations and a growing all-in-one suit of tools, like tables, chatbots, and interfaces.
Features
- Has lots of different ready-made automation templates.
- Allows customization to a high extent.
- Includes a conversational AI-powered option that lets you automate a task by simply explaining it in regular English.
Pros and cons
✅ Has a simple and intuitive interface despite its rich functionality.
✅ Offers the highest number of direct integrations, including business apps, social media, etc.
✅ Comes with an extensive template library.
❌ Pretty expensive.
Pricing
Zapier has a free forever plan that’s great for basic automation needs. It includes 100 monthly automations and 2-step workflows.
Zapier offers 3 paid plans:
- Professional at $29.99
- Team at $103.50
- Enterprise at a custom price
8. Integrately
Integrately comes with a large depository of ready-made automations across different applications, providing a wide variety of use cases.
Features
- Has one of the largest libraries of pre-built automations.
- Offers 1-click automations that can be activated just by connecting your apps.
- Has many different plans and features, allowing different-size businesses to find the one that suits their needs best.
Pros and cons
✅ Great option for users without coding experience due to its pre-built automations.
✅ Its customer support is highly responsive and helpful.
❌ Not that easy to customize.
❌ If you want multiple people to collaborate on a business workflow, you’ll have to choose one of the two most expensive plans.
Pricing
Integrately’s free plan includes 100 tasks and 5 single-step automations.
If you need more than that, you get to choose between 4 premium plans:
- Starter: $29.99 per month
- Professional: $49 per month
- Growth: $124 per month
- Business: $299 per month
9. Albato
Albato is a no-code automation software that lets users integrate apps and build advanced workflows without technical knowledge.
Features
- In addition to providing ready-made automations, it also provides options for creating custom solutions.
- Its no-code App Integrator enables users to add and configure the apps they need easily.
Pros and cons
✅ Every pricing plan includes the App Integrator feature that allows custom integrations.
✅ It’s flexible and customizable.
❌ Has a steep learning curve.
❌ Their customer services team leaves much to be desired.
Pricing
Albato offers a 7-day free trial with 500 tasks and unlimited workflow steps.
After the trial expires, you get to pick one of the 5 paid plans:
- Basic: $19 per month
- Standard: $53 per month
- Pro: $130 per month
- Enterprise: $202 per month
- Custom: a custom plan tailored to specific needs
10. Kissflow
Kissflow is a low-code automation platform for business teams that need to create a collaborative workspace for managing workflows.
Features
- Has a no-code visual automation builder that lets you create custom workflows from top to bottom, from data-capturing forms to triggers, conditional logic steps, branching paths, and more.
- Enables setting up permits and assigning roles, allowing you to stay in complete control of who accesses which part of the workflow.
- Includes no-code and low-code app development and integration options.
Pros and cons
✅ User-friendly interface.
✅ Provides a collaborative workspace.
❌ No free trial, and it is costly.
Pricing
Interestingly, Kissflow doesn’t have a free trial, meaning that you’ll have to opt for one of the 2 paid plans from the get-go:
- Basic: Starts at $1,500
- Enterprise: Custom-tailored pricing
Level up your automations
And there you have it, folks—an extensive list of n8n alternatives so that everyone can find the one that fits their needs.
So, how do you know which of these is right for you?
The best way is to try them and explore their functionality firsthand.
Too many options, not enough time? Try Relay.app's free trial and start streamlining your workflows (like this one) in minutes.
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n8n FAQs
What is the difference between Ifttt and n8n?
IFTTT is a no-code automation platform, while n8n is an open-source workflow automation tool. n8n offers more customization and control over workflows compared to IFTTT.
How is n8n pronounced?
n8n is pronounced as "n-eight-n" or "n-ate-n."
Is n8n free?
Yes, n8n is free to use for self-hosted instances. For the cloud-hosted version, there is a free tier with limitations.
What does n8n stand for?
n8n stands for "nodemation," emphasizing its focus on node-based automation.
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