What Is n8n? The Open-Source Zapier Alternative You Actually Own

Inside n8n, you build workflows with a drag-and-drop visual editor — triggers, actions, conditions, loops, all connected as nodes. A simple example:

When a new lead fills in a contact form → add them to HubSpot CRM → send a personalised welcome email → notify the sales team in Slack → create a follow-up task in Notion.

That entire sequence runs automatically, every time, without anyone touching it.

What can n8n actually automate?

n8n has 400+ native integrations and can connect to any service with a REST API. Common workflows:

• 
  Lead handling: Contact form → CRM entry → assigned to sales rep → welcome email sent → calendar invite created


• 
  Client onboarding: Contract signed → project folder created in Google Drive → onboarding email sequence triggered → client added to Slack channel


• 
  Reporting: Every Monday at 9am → pull last week's sales data → format into a summary → send to management Slack channel


• 
  Invoice processing: Invoice paid → update Airtable → mark project complete → request Google review from client


• 
  Social media: New blog post published → auto-post to LinkedIn and Twitter with custom formatting

n8n vs Zapier: which one should you use?

n8n wins on:

• Flat-rate self-hosted pricing


• Full data ownership & privacy


• Unlimited workflow complexity


• Custom code nodes (JS/Python)

Zapier wins on:

• Zero setup, instant start


• No server to maintain


• Simpler for 1–2 step automations


• Larger pre-built template library

Zapier is excellent for businesses running a handful of simple automations. But its pricing scales with task volume — at 50,000+ tasks/month you're looking at $100–500+/month. n8n on a €10 VPS handles millions of tasks for the same flat cost.

Beyond price, n8n gives you full visibility and control over your data — every automation runs on your own infrastructure. For teams in regulated industries or with strict data policies, that's often a requirement, not a preference.

Is it hard to use?

The visual editor is genuinely intuitive for anyone comfortable with basic software tools. The complexity shows up in the business logic — conditional branches, error handling, data transformation — which is where most teams benefit from having someone build the initial workflows before handing off monitoring and minor edits.