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Marketing · head to head

Mautic vs n8n

Mautic logo

Mautic

Marketing

The main open source marketing automation platform, self-hosted and GPL licensed

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
n8n logo

n8n

Automation Integration

The fair-code workflow automation tool

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Mautic mautic depends on reliably scheduled cron jobs to process segments and send campaigns, and a misconfigured or silently failing schedule stops sends without an obvious error, which is the most common way Mautic deployments fail in production.; n8n starter tier limited to 1 project and 5 concurrent executions
  • They diverge on capability: Mautic covers Visual campaign builder, n8n covers Workflow automation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mautic and n8n actually diverge.

Attributes where Mautic and n8n differ
AttributeMauticn8n
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Self-hosted, DockerWeb, Docker, Self-hosted
CategoryMarketingAutomation Integration
FoundedUnknown2019

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Mautic

  • Visual campaign builder
  • Contact management and segmentation
  • Landing pages and forms
  • Lead scoring
  • Dynamic web content
  • Email builder and A/B testing
  • Self-hosted data control
  • No feature gating

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.

Mautic

  • A marketing agency running automation for many clients that cannot pass on per-contact SaaS pricing at scalenot n8n
  • A European university or public body whose data protection position requires contact data to stay on infrastructure it controlsnot n8n
  • A company with a list of several hundred thousand contacts where SaaS per-contact pricing has become the largest line in the marketing budgetnot n8n
  • A team that needs to modify the automation logic itself, not just configure it, and wants source access to do sonot n8n

n8n

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

Where each one falls short

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

Mautic

  • Mautic depends on reliably scheduled cron jobs to process segments and send campaigns, and a misconfigured or silently failing schedule stops sends without an obvious error, which is the most common way Mautic deployments fail in production.
  • Email sending is not included: you must arrange, pay for and warm up your own sending infrastructure through Amazon SES, SendGrid or similar, and deliverability problems become entirely your problem with no vendor to escalate to.
  • Acquia owns the commercial descendant, Campaign Studio, and is the largest contributor, so the loudest commercial interest in the ecosystem benefits from a hosted product rather than from the self-hosted one being easy.
  • Upgrades between major versions have historically been disruptive, requiring database migrations and plugin compatibility checks, so a neglected instance can become expensive to bring current.
  • The interface and the reporting are noticeably behind commercial platforms, so marketing teams that came from HubSpot or ActiveCampaign will find everyday tasks slower and will need training.

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

Mautic

Free
  • Self-hosted communityFree
    • GPL licensed, no licence fee and no contact limits
    • All features included, no paid edition
    • You provide hosting, database, cron scheduling and email sending
  • Managed Mautic hosting$undefined/month
    • Third-party managed hosting listed by the project
    • Updates, backups and cron scheduling handled for you
    • Pricing varies by provider and is not set by the project

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 Mautic if

  • You need visual campaign builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker.
  • You also want contact management and segmentation.
Mautic 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 Mautic or n8n better?
Neither clearly leads. Mautic starts at Free and n8n at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mautic or n8n?
Mautic starts at Free and n8n at Free.
Does Mautic or n8n run on more platforms?
Mautic runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker. n8n runs on Web, Docker, Self-hosted.
Can I use Mautic for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Mautic best used for?
Mautic is most often used for a marketing agency running automation for many clients that cannot pass on per-contact saas pricing at scale, a european university or public body whose data protection position requires contact data to stay on infrastructure it controls, a company with a list of several hundred thousand contacts where saas per-contact pricing has become the largest line in the marketing budget, a team that needs to modify the automation logic itself, not just configure it, and wants source access to do so. Of those, a marketing agency running automation for many clients that cannot pass on per-contact saas pricing at scale and a european university or public body whose data protection position requires contact data to stay on infrastructure it controls are not what n8n is typically brought in for.
What can Mautic do that n8n cannot?
Mautic covers Visual campaign builder, Contact management and segmentation, Landing pages and forms, Lead scoring. n8n covers Workflow automation, Visual editor, Conditional execution, Looping.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Mautic: Is Mautic free?

Yes, GPL licensed with no licence fee and no contact limits. You pay for hosting, email sending and the staff time to maintain it.

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
Mautic: Does Acquia own Mautic?

Acquia acquired the founding commercial entity in 2019 and sells Campaign Studio built on it, but the Mautic trademark sits with the Open Source Collective and the project is community governed.

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
Mautic: What breaks most often?

Cron scheduling. If segment rebuilding and campaign triggers are not running on schedule, campaigns quietly stop sending with no alert.

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
Mautic: Can it handle large contact lists?

Yes, but performance at several hundred thousand contacts depends on database tuning and queue configuration, which is work you must do yourself.

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