n8n is a workflow automation tool that you can self-host, which makes it attractive to teams that want control over their data and no per-task pricing. It supports hundreds of integrations and lets you write custom JavaScript or Python inside a workflow when the built-in nodes are not enough. The visual editor shows the flow as connected nodes.

Compared to Zapier, n8n requires more setup because you run it yourself, but the trade-off is flexibility and cost predictability. Developers often prefer it for internal automations, data pipelines, and AI workflows that call language models. If you are comfortable running a Docker container, it is a powerful alternative to closed-source automation services.