n8n vs Workato
n8n and Workato are both automation options. n8n lists 6 features across 2 platforms; Workato lists 8 features across 1 platform — see the full breakdown below, sourced from each vendor's own site rather than ratings or reviews.
Side-by-side summary
Best for n8n
Positioned for technical teams — IT Ops, Security Operations, DevOps, and Sales — who want to automate processes while retaining full visibility and control, including via self-hosting.
Best for Workato
Enterprise IT, finance, HR, and revenue operations teams that need deep, governed integrations across many business systems and AI agents.
Feature comparison
Every feature listed here comes directly from each vendor's own official site.
n8n
- Visual workflow builder with inline custom code
- Hundreds of pre-built app integrations plus custom API connections
- AI agent building with multi-agent setups and RAG support
- Step-by-step traceability of agent reasoning
- Human-in-the-loop approval steps
- Enterprise controls: SSO/SAML, audit logs, RBAC, Git-based deployment
Workato
- 500+ pre-built connectors for enterprise apps like Salesforce, NetSuite, Workday, and ServiceNow
- Recipe-based workflow automation across departments
- Agent Studio for building custom AI agents plus pre-built "Workato Genies" for IT, Sales, HR, and Support
- MCP Gateway for governed Model Context Protocol tool access
- Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) and Data Hub / master data management
- Built-in API management and B2B/EDI capabilities
- Robotic process automation for legacy system tasks
- Regional cloud instances (US, EU, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Australia, Israel) for data residency
Pros and cons
n8n
- Visual workflow builder with inline custom code
- Hundreds of pre-built app integrations plus custom API connections
- AI agent building with multi-agent setups and RAG support
- Step-by-step traceability of agent reasoning
- Human-in-the-loop approval steps
- Enterprise controls: SSO/SAML, audit logs, RBAC, Git-based deployment
- The free Community Edition is self-hosted, so infrastructure, maintenance, backups, and production operations are the user's responsibility.
- Hosted Starter is limited to 2,500 workflow executions and Pro to 10,000; higher execution needs move to more expensive plans or custom Enterprise terms.
Workato
- 500+ pre-built connectors for enterprise apps like Salesforce, NetSuite, Workday, and ServiceNow
- Recipe-based workflow automation across departments
- Agent Studio for building custom AI agents plus pre-built "Workato Genies" for IT, Sales, HR, and Support
- MCP Gateway for governed Model Context Protocol tool access
- Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) and Data Hub / master data management
- Built-in API management and B2B/EDI capabilities
- Robotic process automation for legacy system tasks
- Regional cloud instances (US, EU, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Australia, Israel) for data residency
We don't infer weaknesses from missing or differently worded vendor marketing copy. Use documented plan limits, migration requirements, and other sourced constraints as decision inputs; anything not supported by a source remains unverified.
Key differences
- n8n lists Visual workflow builder with inline custom code, Hundreds of pre-built app integrations plus custom API connections, AI agent building with multi-agent setups and RAG support, Step-by-step traceability of agent reasoning, Human-in-the-loop approval steps, Enterprise controls: SSO/SAML, audit logs, RBAC, Git-based deployment that Workato doesn't list.
- Workato lists 500+ pre-built connectors for enterprise apps like Salesforce, NetSuite, Workday, and ServiceNow, Recipe-based workflow automation across departments, Agent Studio for building custom AI agents plus pre-built "Workato Genies" for IT, Sales, HR, and Support, MCP Gateway for governed Model Context Protocol tool access, Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) and Data Hub / master data management, Built-in API management and B2B/EDI capabilities, Robotic process automation for legacy system tasks, Regional cloud instances (US, EU, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Australia, Israel) for data residency that n8n doesn't list.
- n8n supports Web (n8n.cloud), Self-hosted via Docker, npm, or Kubernetes, which Workato doesn't list.
- Workato supports Web, which n8n doesn't list.
Choose n8n if…
Choose n8n if this fits: Positioned for technical teams — IT Ops, Security Operations, DevOps, and Sales — who want to automate processes while retaining full visibility and control, including via self-hosting. Compared with Workato specifically, n8n also offers Visual workflow builder with inline custom code, Hundreds of pre-built app integrations plus custom API connections, AI agent building with multi-agent setups and RAG support, and 3 more features that Workato doesn't list, plus Web (n8n.cloud), Self-hosted via Docker, npm, or Kubernetes support that Workato doesn't list.
Choose Workato if…
Choose Workato if this fits: Enterprise IT, finance, HR, and revenue operations teams that need deep, governed integrations across many business systems and AI agents. Compared with n8n specifically, Workato also offers 500+ pre-built connectors for enterprise apps like Salesforce, NetSuite, Workday, and ServiceNow, Recipe-based workflow automation across departments, Agent Studio for building custom AI agents plus pre-built "Workato Genies" for IT, Sales, HR, and Support, and 5 more features that n8n doesn't list, plus Web support that n8n doesn't list.
Facts on this page are sourced from each vendor's official site (linked below), not from ratings or reviews. Products change — verify anything that matters to your decision directly on the vendor's own site before switching. See our Disclaimer and Sources Policy.
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