Compare / n8n vs Windmill
n8n vs Windmill
Pick n8n if you want the bigger node library and the published Zapier stack. Pick Windmill if you want scripts that become webhooks, workflows, and UIs — closer to Retool/Temporal than to a node canvas.
Facts checked 17 Oct 2026. License, language, and GitHub activity come from the catalog or the project's own repo. "Not in the catalog row" means the public catalog dump does not store that number.
n8n in the catalog Windmill in the catalog
How they compare
| n8n | Windmill | |
|---|---|---|
| License | Sustainable Use License (fair-code); .ee. files need n8n Enterprise source | AGPLv3 community; enterprise snippets are proprietary source |
| Language | TypeScript (n8n-io/n8n) source | Rust (catalog) source |
| GitHub activity | 207,775 stars, pushed 17 Oct 2026 (not in the catalog row) source | 18,209 stars in the catalog source |
| Self-host | Official image + Postgres + volume. Railway template published. | Scripts → webhooks, workflows, and UIs. Enterprise flag is commercial. |
| Best for | The biggest node library and webhook ingress. | Code-first automations, not a node canvas. |
Self-hosting and resource needs
n8n wants the official image, Postgres, and a volume; c17 publishes a Railway template. Windmill is a Rust/TypeScript developer platform (windmill-labs/windmill). Community code is AGPLv3; enterprise compile-flag snippets are proprietary. No c17 one-click template for Windmill.
FAQ
- Is Windmill a Zapier clone?
- No. Windmill turns scripts into webhooks, flows, and generated UIs. n8n is the visual iPaaS. That split is how /best/workflow-automation ranks them.
- Which license is OSI?
- Windmill community is AGPLv3 (enterprise snippets are not). n8n is fair-code (Sustainable Use License).
- Does Windmill have a c17 Railway template?
- No. The published templates are n8n and Activepieces.
- n8n or Activepieces instead?
- See /compare/n8n-vs-activepieces if the job is a visual Zapier-shaped editor.
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