n8n vs Trigger.dev
n8n and Trigger.dev are both workflow automation tools aimed at developers and small businesses. Both have a free plan.
Source-available workflow automation you can self-host
Open-source platform for durable background jobs and AI agents
| Pricing | Open source | Open source · $10 |
| Starting price | Not published | $10/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | 14 days | — |
| Built for | Developers, Small businesses | Developers, Small businesses, Enterprise |
| Platforms | web | web |
| Country | DE · 2019 | GB · 2022 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose n8n if
Technical teams and developers who want powerful, affordable automation and are comfortable with Docker or a cloud plan.
- Self-host for free with unlimited runs
- Per-execution cloud pricing is far cheaper than per-task
- Strongest AI/agent tooling among automation platforms
Look elsewhere if: Non-technical users who want plug-and-play templates and premium support; Zapier or Make fit better.
Choose Trigger.dev if
TypeScript teams that need reliable long-running jobs and AI agents with retries, queues and observability built in.
- Apache-2.0 open source with a self-hosting option
- Waiting time on waitpoints is not billed
- Generous observability for each run
Look elsewhere if: Non-developers or teams working mainly in Python or other languages (Windmill, Pipedream).
n8n vs Trigger.dev pricing
n8n
- Community (self-hosted)€0Self-hosted on your own server; fair-code license
- Starter (Cloud)€24/mo€20/mo billed annually; 2,500 executions, 1 shared project
- Pro (Cloud)€60/mo€50/mo billed annually; 10,000 executions, 3 shared projects
- Business (self-hosted)€800/mo€667/mo billed annually; 40,000 executions, SSO, LDAP
- EnterpriseCustomCloud or self-hosted, unlimited projects, 200+ concurrency
Trigger.dev
- Free$0$5 usage included, 20 concurrent runs, 1-day log retention
- Hobby$10/mo$10 usage included, 50 concurrent runs, 7-day logs
- Pro$50/mo$50 usage included, 200+ concurrent runs, 25+ seats
- EnterpriseCustomRBAC, SSO, SOC 2 report, priority support
n8n · Key features
- Visual node editor with branching, loops, merge and error handling
- 400+ native integrations plus generic HTTP and webhook nodes
- Code nodes in JavaScript and Python
- AI agent nodes with LangChain, vector stores and memory
- Self-hosting with Docker or npm; queue mode for scale
- Credentials management, versioning and environments (Enterprise)
Cons
- Steeper learning curve than Zapier
- Fewer and sometimes less polished integrations
- Self-hosting means you maintain uptime and updates
Trigger.dev · Key features
- Durable TypeScript tasks with no timeouts, retries and checkpointing
- Queues and concurrency controls with per-key overrides
- Cron schedules and waitpoints for human approval up to 90 days
- Realtime run updates and LLM streaming to the frontend
- Verified, deduplicated webhooks that trigger up to 25 agents
- Slack and Linear integrations for chat-driven agents
Cons
- TypeScript and JavaScript SDK only
- Webhooks are still in public beta
- Usage-based compute makes bills harder to predict
n8n vs Trigger.dev: FAQ
Do n8n and Trigger.dev have a free plan?
Yes, both n8n and Trigger.dev have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.