n8n GmbH
platformFair-code, self-hostable workflow automation for technical teams.
Code-level flexibility with a visual interface, available self-hosted for free or in the cloud. The only major automation platform that's both open-source and enterprise-ready.
Our Take
We deploy n8n self-hosted for clients who need to keep workflow data in their VPC, and n8n Cloud for teams that want speed of iteration. The AI Agent node combined with self-hosting is currently the most defensible architecture we can point clients toward for production AI-agent workflows in 2026. — Rafal Fila, ShadowGen
What Sets n8n GmbH Apart
n8n is the only mature workflow-automation platform that is simultaneously fair-code (source-available, free to self-host), enterprise-credible (Series B with named European customers), and code-extensible (full JavaScript/Python node execution). Zapier and Make do not allow self-hosting; Apache Airflow and Temporal are code-first without the visual editor; Pipedream sits between but without n8n's integration breadth.
Key Achievements
About n8n GmbH
n8n GmbH builds n8n, a fair-code workflow-automation platform that competes with Zapier, Make, and Pipedream in the visual-workflow category while offering full self-hosting and code-extensibility that hosted competitors do not. The company was founded in 2019 in Berlin by Jan Oberhauser, who had created the n8n project as an independent open-source effort the previous year. n8n GmbH (legal entity: n8n GmbH, registered Berlin HRB 213399 B) employs the core maintainer team and operates the commercial Cloud service at n8n.cloud.
The n8n product is a node-based workflow editor where users assemble integrations from a library exceeding 600 nodes (as of Q2 2026) covering SaaS APIs, databases, AI/LLM providers, and generic protocols like HTTP and webhooks. Workflows can be augmented with JavaScript or Python code nodes, and the entire stack is self-hostable under the Sustainable Use License (free for internal business use, restricted for SaaS resale). n8n Cloud pricing starts at $24/month for the Starter plan with execution-based metering; Enterprise pricing is custom.
The company closed a $12M Series A in March 2021 led by Sequoia, followed by a €55M Series B in March 2025 led by Highland Europe with participation from Sequoia and HV Capital. The 2025 raise was widely covered as one of the larger European open-source-company rounds of the period, anchored by inbound interest in n8n as the dominant self-hostable substrate for AI-agent workflows. Reported headcount at announcement was approximately 100 employees, primarily in Berlin and remote across Europe.
Expertise & Services
Specializations
Industries Served
Services
Market Position
n8n competes with Zapier and Make for workflow automation, but targets a different buyer — technical teams vs. business users. Against Zapier, n8n wins on flexibility, self-hosting, and price (free to self-host vs. Zapier's $20-600+/month). Against Make, n8n wins on code capabilities and open-source transparency but Make has a more polished visual builder. Against enterprise tools (Workato, Tray.io), n8n wins on price and openness but loses on enterprise support, SOC 2 certification, and pre-built enterprise connectors. n8n's real competition is not another tool — it's custom code and internal scripts that developers would otherwise build themselves.
Our Story
Created in 2019 by Jan Oberhauser in Berlin, born from frustration with existing automation tools. As a developer, Oberhauser wanted a tool that combined the visual workflow building of tools like Zapier with the code-level flexibility that technical teams needed. Unable to find one, he built n8n — and released it as fair-code to ensure it would always be accessible while remaining sustainable as a business.
What Clients Say
"n8n gives us the best of both worlds — our team can build workflows visually for simple automations, and drop into code when we need complex logic. Self-hosting means our data never leaves our infrastructure."