n8n vs Workato 2026: Which Workflow Automation Tool Wins?
Quick verdict: n8n is our overall pick for n8n vs Workato.
n8n (4.0/5) publishes from EUR 20/mo and can be self-hosted free; Workato (3.7/5) publishes nothing and sells governance, enterprise connectors and compliance. One is a tool you adopt, the other a platform you procure.
| Tool | Rating | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| n8n Best overall Best free | 4.0/5 | Free €20/mo (Starter, annual) | n8n is the only tool in the class you can self-host free with unlimited workflows, executi… |
| Workato Best for teams | 3.7/5 | Quote-only (no published self-serve price) | Workato is the enterprise iPaaS of the class — 1,200+ connectors including SAP, Workday an… |
Bottom line: n8n (4.0/5) is transparent and cheap at the floor — free self-hosted Community Edition with unlimited executions, or cloud Starter EUR 20/mo at 2,500 executions, Pro EUR 50/mo at 10,000, Business EUR 667/mo at 40,000 with SSO and Git version control. Workato (3.7/5) is opaque and expensive at the floor, with no published price and no free plan, and it earns that through procurement-grade capability: 1,200+ connectors into SAP, Workday and ServiceNow, on-premises agents, recipe lifecycle management, RBAC, dedicated CSM and compliance coverage. n8n gives you unlimited users on every tier and full code control; Workato gives you an organisation that can pass an audit. Choose n8n when your team can run infrastructure and wants to stop paying per unit of work; choose Workato when the integration is a programme, not a project.
Pricing and details
n8n · 4.0/5
Free plan available · €20/mo (Starter, annual)
Priced per complete workflow execution, not per step - a workflow counts as one execution no matter how many nodes it contains, and every plan includes unlimited users, unlimited workflows and every integration. Starter gives 2,500 executions/mo with 5 concurrent executions and 1 shared project; Pro gives 10,000 with 20 concurrent, admin roles, global variables, workflow history and execution search; Business gives 40,000 with SSO/SAML/LDAP, Git version control, environments and a self-hosted option. The Community Edition is free to self-host under the fair-code Sustainable Use License with unlimited workflows, executions and users - you pay only for infrastructure. Enterprise is quote-only.
Annual billing saves ~17%; month-to-month is available at a higher rate
n8n is the only tool in the class you can self-host free with unlimited workflows, executions and users — and on cloud it bills per complete workflow execution, not per step, with JavaScript and Python anywhere in the flow.
Score breakdown
Pros
- Community Edition is free to self-host with unlimited workflows, executions and users — you pay only for infrastructure.
- Cloud bills per complete workflow execution, not per step: a 40-node workflow still counts as one execution.
- JavaScript and Python code nodes everywhere, plus 70+ LangChain nodes for AI agents, vector stores and RAG.
- Every cloud plan includes unlimited users and workflows, so seat count never drives the bill.
Cons
- Highest setup burden in the class: self-hosting means owning patching, backups, monitoring and execution-data pruning.
- Cloud starters are tight on concurrency — Starter allows 5 concurrent executions, and Business jumps to €667/mo.
- Interfaces and documentation are English-first, and the builder assumes a technical mental model.
Pricing verified 2026-09-25
Workato · 3.7/5
Trial and developer sandbox (no free plan) · Quote-only (no published self-serve price)
No published tiers. Workato sells four editions (Standard, Business, Enterprise, and the 2026 Workato One tier for agentic automation) on a sales quote that combines a platform edition fee with usage-based billing driven by recipe count, task volume and connector mix. There is no free plan - only a trial and a developer sandbox. Because nothing is published, third-party procurement trackers circulate typical contract values; Workato publishes none of these, so treat any figure you see elsewhere as an unofficial estimate rather than a list price.
Quote-only — platform edition fee plus usage metered on a single consumption unit, billed annually
Workato is the enterprise iPaaS of the class — 1,200+ connectors including SAP, Workday and ServiceNow, recipe lifecycle management and on-prem agents, sold entirely on a sales quote with no published price.
Score breakdown
Pros
- Deepest enterprise connector set of the five, including SAP, Oracle, Workday, NetSuite and ServiceNow, plus on-premises agents.
- Recipe lifecycle management across dev, staging and production with Git-style version control and environments.
- Governance built for IT: advanced RBAC, SSO, dedicated CSM, SLA and compliance coverage on upper editions.
- Embedded/OEM programme lets vendors ship Workato inside their own product.
Cons
- No published pricing of any kind — every edition is a sales quote, so you cannot self-serve or budget from a list price.
- No free plan: only a trial and a developer sandbox, so evaluation requires a sales cycle.
- Steepest learning curve in the class; deployments are typically run by certified admins inside IT ops, not by the teams who own the process.
Pricing verified 2026-09-25
Frequently asked questions
Which is better overall, n8n or Workato?
n8n is our overall pick (4.0/5 vs 3.7/5). n8n (4.0/5) publishes from EUR 20/mo and can be self-hosted free; Workato (3.7/5) publishes nothing and sells governance, enterprise connectors and compliance. One is a tool you adopt, the other a platform you procure.
Do n8n and Workato offer free plans?
n8n has a free tier. n8n paid plans start at €20/mo (Starter, annual); Workato is quote-priced — Quote-only (no published self-serve price).
What does n8n cost?
€20/mo (Starter, annual) — Priced per complete workflow execution, not per step - a workflow counts as one execution no matter how many nodes it contains, and every plan includes unlimited users, unlimited workflows and every integration. Starter gives 2,500 executions/mo with 5 concurrent executions and 1 shared project; Pro gives 10,000 with 20 concurrent, admin roles, global variables, workflow history and execution search; Business gives 40,000 with SSO/SAML/LDAP, Git version control, environments and a self-hosted option. The Community Edition is free to self-host under the fair-code Sustainable Use License with unlimited workflows, executions and users - you pay only for infrastructure. Enterprise is quote-only. Prices were last verified on 2026-09-25.