Node-RED vs n8n
Node-RED and n8n are both visual, self-hostable automation tools, but they automate different worlds. Node-RED, an OpenJS Foundation project that began at IBM UK, wires sensors, controllers and protocols such as MQTT and Modbus. n8n, from Berlin, connects business applications and adds AI agents. Choose by what sits at the end of the wire: a machine or a SaaS product.
Choose Node-RED if
you are automating physical things, a factory floor, a building or a home lab, on a Raspberry Pi or industrial gateway, and want permissive Apache 2.0 software with no vendor.
Read the Node-RED reviewChoose n8n if
you are moving records between business applications, need error workflows, queue mode and AI agent steps, and want the option of an EU cloud instead of your own server.
Read the n8n reviewNode-RED and n8n side by side
| Node-RED | n8n | |
|---|---|---|
| Company | OpenJS Foundation (originated at IBM UK) | n8n GmbH |
| Headquarters | Hursley, United Kingdom | Berlin, Germany |
| Founded | 2013 | 2019 |
| Jurisdiction | Wherever you run it | EU (Germany) |
| Where the data sits | Wherever you run it | Your own servers, or EU cloud |
| Pricing | Free and open source | Free self-hosted / Cloud from about €24/month |
| Free tier or trial | Free | Free Community Edition |
| Certifications and checks | Open source (Apache 2.0) | Not stated in our data |
| Source code | Open source | Source-available (Sustainable Use Licence) |
| Usually replaces | Zapier, IFTTT, industrial SCADA glue | Zapier, Make, Workato, Tray.io |
| Position in our Automation & Integration guide | #4 of 13 | #1 of 13 |
Both are listed in our European Automation & Integration guide. The table is built from the same directory data as those entries; how we check it is described in the editorial process.
Where Node-RED and n8n differ
Across the four points below, Node-RED has the edge on 1 point, n8n on 2 points and one is a tie. A count like that is a summary, not a verdict: the point that matters to you may be the one the other product wins.
Hardware and protocols
Node-RED speaks MQTT and Modbus natively and runs on hardware down to a Raspberry Pi or an industrial gateway, with more than 4,000 community nodes covering devices and services. Our category guide places n8n among the app-to-app tools and says no SaaS-style automation platform competes with Node-RED on physical automation. For sensors and controllers there is one choice.
Edge: Node-RED
Business application integration
n8n ships more than 400 integrations for the usual business systems, with branching, looping, error workflows, webhooks and queue mode. Node-RED's SaaS integrations are described as weaker than n8n's or Make's, because that was never its purpose, and the quality of community nodes is uneven. For CRM, accounting and mailbox automation, n8n is the stronger tool.
Edge: n8n
Licence and vendor
Node-RED is Apache 2.0 with no vendor in the path: nothing is processed by anyone else. n8n is source-available under the Sustainable Use Licence, free for internal use but restricted for anyone offering it as a service, and backed by n8n GmbH. Builders of products prefer Node-RED's licence; buyers wanting a company behind the software prefer n8n.
No clear winner on this point.
Code and AI steps
Both let you drop into code when the visual nodes run out: Node-RED through JavaScript function nodes, n8n through JavaScript and Python code nodes. n8n adds native AI agent and LangChain nodes on top, so an agent is a first-class step instead of an HTTP call to someone else's API. For workflows that mix code and AI, n8n offers more.
Edge: n8n
When neither Node-RED nor n8n fits
If the job is scheduled data pipelines rather than devices or app triggers, neither is the natural fit: Kestra defines workflows as declarative YAML with versioning and backfills. And a team wanting hosted automation with no server at all should look at Make.
Node-RED vs n8n: questions
Only partly. Node-RED's SaaS integrations are weaker than n8n's, community node quality is uneven, and it has no built-in team collaboration or versioning. It is built for IoT, industrial and home automation and lightweight API glue. For app-to-app workflows n8n, with 400-plus integrations, is the better match.
Yes. Node-RED is completely free under Apache 2.0, and self-hosting is its only deployment model. n8n's Community Edition self-hosts for free with no per-task pricing, and n8n also sells an EU cloud from about €24 a month. In both cases you run, upgrade and monitor the installation yourself.
Node-RED is an OpenJS Foundation project that originated at IBM UK in Hursley; there is no vendor, and data stays wherever you run it. n8n is developed by n8n GmbH in Berlin, founded in 2019, under German and EU jurisdiction, with self-hosting or an EU cloud.