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Node-RED vs n8n: catalog facts
Node-RED	n8n
Free Free and open source.	Freemium Free self-hosted community edition, with paid cloud and enterprise plans.
Web, Self-hosted	Web, Self-hosted
Visual drag-and-drop flows make complex if/else automation logic easier to follow than YAML Built-in debugging tools help trace what a flow is actually doing	Self-hostable community edition gives full control over data and workflows Combines no-code nodes with the flexibility to drop into custom code when needed
Adds another interface to learn on top of Home Assistant's own automation editor Complex flows can become hard to maintain without good node naming and organization	Source-available license is not a standard OSI open-source license Self-hosting requires managing your own infrastructure and updates
Self-hosted, Web application	Self-hosted, Web application
Open source	Closed source
License: Apache-2.0	License not stated
Not stated if an account is needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.