Is Mage AI or n8n better?

Neither clearly leads. Mage AI starts at $100/month and n8n at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Mage AI or n8n?

n8n has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $100/month for Mage AI and Free for n8n.

Does Mage AI or n8n run on more platforms?

Mage AI runs on Cloud, Hybrid, Private Cloud, On-Premises. n8n runs on Web, Docker, Self-hosted.

Can I use n8n for free?

Yes. n8n has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Mage AI starts at $100/month.

What is Mage AI best used for?

Mage AI is most often used for building and orchestrating data pipelines with visual interface, automating etl workflows with ai assistance, validating data quality across transformations, distributing transformed data to multiple destinations. Of those, building and orchestrating data pipelines with visual interface and automating etl workflows with ai assistance are not what n8n is typically brought in for.

What can Mage AI do that n8n cannot?

Mage AI covers AI-generated workflows, Pipeline building, Data validation, Workflow orchestration. n8n covers Workflow automation, Visual editor, Conditional execution, Looping.

Automation Integration · head to head

Mage AI vs n8n

Mage AI

Automation Integration

Data pipeline platform with AI-generated workflows and governance

From: $100/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

n8n

Automation Integration

The fair-code workflow automation tool

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only n8n has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Mage AI usage-based pricing lacks transparency for cost forecasting; n8n starter tier limited to 1 project and 5 concurrent executions
They diverge on capability: Mage AI covers AI-generated workflows, n8n covers Workflow automation.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mage AI and n8n actually diverge.

Attributes where Mage AI and n8n differ
Attribute	Mage AI	n8n
Starting price	$100/month	Free
Pricing model	Usage-based cloud platform	subscription
Free tier	No	Yes
Platforms	Cloud, Hybrid, Private Cloud, On-Premises	Web, Docker, Self-hosted
Founded	Unknown	2019

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Automation Integration).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Mage AI

AI-generated workflows
Pipeline building
Data validation
Workflow orchestration
Automatic recovery
Reusable components
Governance controls

Only in n8n

Workflow automation
Visual editor
Conditional execution
Looping
Error handling
Scheduling
Webhooks
REST API

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Mage AI

Building and orchestrating data pipelines with visual interfacenot n8n
Automating ETL workflows with AI assistancenot n8n
Validating data quality across transformationsnot n8n
Distributing transformed data to multiple destinationsnot n8n

n8n

Building AI agents and workflow automation for technical teamsnot Mage AI
Visual workflow design with capability to write custom JavaScript or Python codenot Mage AI
Enterprise deployments with self-hosted or cloud optionsnot Mage AI
Integrating 500+ pre-built applications with custom API connectionsnot Mage AI

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Mage AI

Usage-based pricing lacks transparency for cost forecasting
Limited standalone pricing details on website
Requires contact for enterprise deployment options
Smaller ecosystem compared to established competitors
May require significant customization for complex data models

n8n

Starter tier limited to 1 project and 5 concurrent executions
Starter and Pro tiers restricted to Cloud hosting only, not self-hosted
Business tier requires 6 months minimum commitment at €667/month
SSO/SAML/LDAP authentication requires Business or Enterprise tier
Dedicated support with SLA available only on Enterprise plan

Pricing, plan by plan

Mage AI

$100/month

Cloud$100/month
- 1 development environment
- Unlimited users
- Usage-based infrastructure pricing
Hybrid Cloud$null/custom
- Private data processing
- Custom infrastructure
- Contact sales
Private Cloud$null/custom
- Complete isolation
- Full infrastructure control
- Contact sales
On-Premises$null/custom
- Full local control
- Enterprise deployment
- Contact sales

n8n

Free

CommunityFree
- Free self-hosted version on GitHub
- Open source
Starter$20/month
- 2,500 workflow executions
- 5 concurrent executions
- 2,300 AI credits/month
Pro$50/month
- 10,000 workflow executions
- 20 concurrent executions
- 13,700 AI credits/month
Business$667/month
- 40,000 workflow executions
- Self-hosted option
- 6 shared projects

Which should you pick?

Choose Mage AI if

You need ai-generated workflows.
You work on Cloud, Hybrid, Private Cloud, On-Premises.
You also want pipeline building.

Mage AI review

Choose n8n if

You need workflow automation.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Docker, Self-hosted.
You also want visual editor.

n8n review

Questions people ask

Is Mage AI or n8n better?: Neither clearly leads. Mage AI starts at $100/month and n8n at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mage AI or n8n?: n8n has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $100/month for Mage AI and Free for n8n.
Does Mage AI or n8n run on more platforms?: Mage AI runs on Cloud, Hybrid, Private Cloud, On-Premises. n8n runs on Web, Docker, Self-hosted.
Can I use n8n for free?: Yes. n8n has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Mage AI starts at $100/month.
What is Mage AI best used for?: Mage AI is most often used for building and orchestrating data pipelines with visual interface, automating etl workflows with ai assistance, validating data quality across transformations, distributing transformed data to multiple destinations. Of those, building and orchestrating data pipelines with visual interface and automating etl workflows with ai assistance are not what n8n is typically brought in for.
What can Mage AI do that n8n cannot?: Mage AI covers AI-generated workflows, Pipeline building, Data validation, Workflow orchestration. n8n covers Workflow automation, Visual editor, Conditional execution, Looping.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Mage AI: What is the starting price for Mage Cloud?

Cloud plan starts at $100/month for one development environment with unlimited users, plus usage-based compute charges.

Source

n8n: Is there a free version of n8n?

Yes, n8n Community Edition is free and open-source, available for self-hosting on GitHub with unlimited users and workflows.

Source

Mage AI: How is compute usage billed on Mage?

CPU is charged at $0.50 per hour and RAM at $0.50 per 4GB per hour of utilization.

Source

n8n: What is the difference between n8n plans?

Plans differ by monthly workflow executions (2,500 for Starter, 10,000 for Pro, 40,000 for Business), concurrent execution limits, AI credits, and shared project counts.

Source

n8n: Does n8n offer annual billing discounts?

Yes, n8n offers 17% off when billing annually instead of monthly, and provides a Startup Plan at 50% off Business pricing for companies under 20 employees.

Source

Mage AI vs n8n

Mage AI

n8n

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Mage AI

Only in n8n

What people use each for

Mage AI

n8n

Where each one falls short

Mage AI

n8n

Pricing, plan by plan

Mage AI

n8n

Which should you pick?

Choose Mage AI if

Choose n8n if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Mage AI

More on n8n

Keep looking

Other head to heads