AI Tool Comparison
Dify vs n8n
A side-by-side breakdown to help you pick the right tool for your workflow.
Dify
Build and orchestrate LLM applications and agentic workflows with visual workflow design, RAG, and knowledge-base management, open source with 139,000+ GitHub stars.
n8n
Visually connect apps, APIs, and AI models into multi-step automations, free and self-hostable, or run on Cloud with per-execution pricing.
Bottom Line
Last reviewed: August 2026
Dify (Developer Tools) and n8n (Automation) come from different corners of the market, so this usually comes down to which job you're actually hiring a tool for, not a head-to-head on the same task. Both carry the same 4.7 rating, so the decision comes down to fit, not quality.
Choose Dify if…
Best for teams building production chatbots or agent pipelines who want a visual editor instead of raw LangChain code, and its edge is a visual canvas with built-in RAG tooling and observability, reducing development time versus building from primitives. Dramatically faster to build with than coding from scratch, complex workflows can still get hard to debug once wired up. Lean toward n8n instead if free and self-hostable, with the same visual workflow builder as the paid competitors matters more for your use case.
Choose n8n if…
Best for teams that want automation they can self-host and fully control, and its edge is free and self-hostable, with the same visual workflow builder as the paid competitors. The best choice when you want Zapier's flexibility without the recurring cost. Lean toward Dify instead if a visual canvas with built-in RAG tooling and observability, reducing development time versus building from primitives matters more for your use case.
| Attribute | Dify | n8n |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Developer Tools | Automation |
| Pricing | freemium | freemium |
| Pricing Detail | Free Sandbox / $59/mo Professional / $159/mo Team | Free (self-hosted) / €20/mo Cloud Starter / €50/mo Cloud Pro |
| Rating |
Key Features
Dify
- Visual workflow editor
- RAG pipeline builder
- Multi-model support
- Built-in observability
- API and webhook integration
- Self-hostable
n8n
- 400+ integrations
- AI nodes (LangChain)
- Self-hosting option
- Code nodes (JavaScript/Python)
- Complex branching logic
- Natural-language AI Assistant for building workflows
Pros
Dify
- •Visual editor dramatically reduces development time
- •Strong open-source community and active development
- •Works with any major LLM provider
n8n
- •Open source and self-hostable
- •More powerful than Zapier for technical users
- •AI nodes are excellent
- •Great value vs Zapier
Cons
Dify
- Complex workflows can become difficult to debug
- Cloud pricing jumps significantly beyond free tier
n8n
- Higher technical bar than Zapier
- Self-hosting requires maintenance
- Debugging complex flows can be hard