Compare / Lindy vs n8n
Head-to-head
Lindy vs n8n.
Side-by-side on ratings, pricing, pros, cons, and the honest take on which to pick. Cross-category comparison: Lindy is a no-code saas and n8n is a workflow builder.
| Lindy | n8n | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Category | No-code SaaS | Workflow builder |
| Tech level | no code | low code |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Pricing | Freemium. Paid plans from ~$49/month. | Open-source self-hosted (free — you pay only your server costs and model API tokens). Cloud plans from $24/month for hobbyists; $50–$100/month for serious teams; enterprise pricing for SSO and audit log requirements. AI agent node usage adds model API costs on top. |
| Best for | Sales and customer support teams at B2B companies who need working agents in days, not weeks, with no developer on staff. | Teams with at least one developer who need flexible, powerful workflow automation with AI agents built in. Strong for marketing ops, customer support automation, internal tool orchestration, and any workflow that touches multiple SaaS APIs. Self-hosted option is the right pick when data residency or compliance matters. |
| Not for | Teams with complex custom integrations, regulated data, or who need full infrastructure control. | Teams with zero technical resources — initial setup requires comfort with a server (self-hosted) or at minimum YAML-shaped thinking (cloud). Workflows that only need 2–3 steps and basic integrations — Zapier ships faster for simple cases. Pure agentic-loop tasks where no external systems are involved — a dedicated harness like OpenClaw or Paperclip is the better fit there. |
Our verdict on Lindy
The best no-code AI agent platform for operators. Non-technical teams can ship real automations in hours.
Full Lindy review →Our verdict on n8n
The best workflow automation platform for teams with at least one developer — beats every no-code tool for complex multi-step automations with AI agents. Self-hostable for full data control, 400+ integrations, mature AI agent layer. The trade-off is real: initial setup requires technical capacity, and the learning curve is steeper than Zapier or Lindy. For technical operators in 2026, n8n is the default.
Full n8n review →Lindy
What works
- Genuinely no-code — plain English agent creation
- Fast time to first value (hours, not days)
- Polished pre-built templates for sales and support
- Managed infrastructure — nothing to maintain
What doesn't
- SaaS pricing adds up at scale
- Limited customization ceiling vs open-source harnesses
- Your data lives on their servers
- Hits a ceiling on complex or non-standard workflows
n8n
What works
- 400+ integrations — connects to virtually everything
- Self-hostable for full data control (free, you pay only server + model costs)
- Strong native AI agent support with model-agnostic node design
- Large, active open-source community — fair-code licence
- Meaningfully more flexible than Zapier or Make for complex logic
- JavaScript expressions and custom nodes let you escape any limitation
- Cloud option for teams who don't want to operate the server
What doesn't
- Initial setup requires developer time (1+ day for serious workflows)
- Self-hosted version requires ongoing maintenance — patches, backups, monitoring
- Higher learning curve than Zapier or Lindy for non-technical operators
- Visual builder gets cluttered for very large workflows (20+ nodes)
- Pure agentic loops without integrations are better served by dedicated harnesses (OpenClaw, Paperclip)
Which to pick
These two are closely matched. Don't pick on overall rating — pick on use case. Lindy for sales and customer support teams at b2b companies who need working agents in days, not weeks, with no developer on staff. n8n for teams with at least one developer who need flexible, powerful workflow automation with ai agents built in. strong for marketing ops, customer support automation, internal tool orchestration, and any workflow that touches multiple saas apis. self-hosted option is the right pick when data residency or compliance matters.
Honest middle: most serious operators end up using more than one tool. If you're early in your AI agent journey, our five-question picker recommends a starting platform from your specific situation.
Common questions
Lindy vs n8n — which should I pick?
Lindy and n8n are closely matched (we rate them 4.5/5 and 4.5/5). Pick by use case rather than overall score: Lindy for sales and customer support teams at b2b companies who need working agents in days, not weeks, with no developer on staff.; n8n for teams with at least one developer who need flexible, powerful workflow automation with ai agents built in. strong for marketing ops, customer support automation, internal tool orchestration, and any workflow that touches multiple saas apis. self-hosted option is the right pick when data residency or compliance matters..
Is Lindy or n8n cheaper?
Lindy's pricing: Freemium. Paid plans from ~$49/month. n8n's pricing: Open-source self-hosted (free — you pay only your server costs and model API tokens). Cloud plans from $24/month for hobbyists; $50–$100/month for serious teams; enterprise pricing for SSO and audit log requirements. AI agent node usage adds model API costs on top. The right "cheaper" pick depends on usage volume and what's included — see the pricing row in the table above.
What's Lindy best for?
Sales and customer support teams at B2B companies who need working agents in days, not weeks, with no developer on staff.
What's n8n best for?
Teams with at least one developer who need flexible, powerful workflow automation with AI agents built in. Strong for marketing ops, customer support automation, internal tool orchestration, and any workflow that touches multiple SaaS APIs. Self-hosted option is the right pick when data residency or compliance matters.
Why compare Lindy and n8n if they're different categories?
Lindy is a no-code saas and n8n is a workflow builder. The comparison still matters because builders evaluating one often consider the other for adjacent jobs. See the recommendation section above for how to think about the cross-category choice.
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