Sign in to your XDA account

If you’ve ever researched web automation, you’ve likely come across Zapier. It’s an extremely popular choice for connecting disconnected apps and services. Some might even call it the default choice. The service lets you set up workflows that do things like send a Slack message when someone fills out a form, all without touching a single line of code. But Zapier has its limits. The entry-level plans have pretty low limits on tasks, and if you’ve got multiple workflows, costs can ramp up pretty quickly. There’s also the fact that all data is processed on the cloud. So, I’ve been looking for an alternative. Turns out there is an open-source solution to achieve much of the same results while running on my own hardware. You might’ve heard of n8n already. Turns out, this open-source automation platform lets me handle all my automation needs for free and is surprisingly flexible.

Self-hosting gives you complete ownership of data and workflows

Take your automations off the cloud

Zapier’s biggest strength has been its accessibility. Despite its intended purpose of pulling off complex automations, the platform is accessible for even those who don’t have a technical background. But that ease comes at the cost of control. Every action, trigger, and effect goes through Zapier’s servers. You’re dependent on Zapier to pass through all sorts of sensitive data like email addresses and customer data. That’s no good when you’re dealing with sensitive data. Similarly, you’re dependent on Zapier’s uptime commitments and pricing structure. If plans change or features and integrations are removed, your automations aren’t guaranteed to work. Of course, there’s also the matter of cost.

N8n takes the opposite approach. While the service offers its own cloud-hosted plans, it also lets you host your own platform. You can run it locally, on a VPS, or on a NAS. The Docker container is straightforward to get up and running, and from there, you are in full control of your data and automations. It lets you use private API keys for OpenAI connections without exposing them to a third party.

While Zapier ships with a much larger number of built-in integrations, one of n8n’s practical advantages is the fact that it can connect to any service via an API. Meanwhile, Zapier limits triggers and actions to supported apps. This API-based interaction support enables n8n to pull data from webhooks, local scripts, and self-hosted apps with ease. It makes it a cinch to trigger Docker updates based on external input or send Telegram updates when an update completes. That flexibility goes a long way towards making n8n a truly personal automation server.

A flexible, self-hosted, modern approach to automation

Visual logic and advanced workflow design make automation much simpler

N8n stands out for more than its self-hosted nature. It’s a more modern platform and takes a node-based approach to building automations. This approach also makes it much more flexible. Each workflow that you build is a visual map of how data moves from one point to another. Double-tap a node to define specifics for the automation you are building. N8n lets you build conditional branches, loops, and recursive actions using a simple, easy-to-understand visual interface.

So, for example, you could build a basic system that emails you every time a form gets filled, but you could just as easily build a system that monitors RSS feeds, analyses new posts with a local AI model, or plugs into OpenAI, summarizes your feeds and sends you daily emails, or updates your Notion. It’s really just limited by your imagination. You can even have n8n check for duplicate feeds, filter incoming feeds by keywords, and format your summaries however you like. And since it runs on your own hardware, there’s no cost. For more advanced users, n8n also offers a lot of flexibility in letting you add custom code and API calls to the mix. Being open source also brings the community aspect. I’ve observed more integrations on offer, with developers constantly adding support for n8n. In fact, n8n has quickly become a favorite in the self-hosting community as well.

Build better automation workflows without the cost

Look, I’m not going to say Zapier doesn’t have its place. It’s a popular tool that made web automation accessible and popular. Depending on your use case, Zapier might be all that you need despite its limitations. But if you are looking to turn away from yet another paid service, n8n offers you that. It gives you the same power, with the option to run it on your own hardware. You can build workflows that run privately, scale up, and cost practically nothing to maintain. Sure, you’ll still pay for hardware or, in some cases, for API access if you want to connect to, say, OpenAI. But those are one-time or smaller costs compared to the costs of being dependent on a third-party business’s plans.

Switching over to n8n has been an absolute revelation for someone like me who has spent enough time being frustrated by Zapier’s cost and limitations. Between full ownership of data, no upcharge for building and testing new automations, in fact, no upcharge at all, it’s become a key part of how I manage many aspects of my self-hosted stack and daily life. From Slack reminders for calendar appointments to RSS-based triggers, n8n can be completely customized without worrying about limits or fees.

n8n

n8n is a powerful automation software that can be self-hosted in Docker on your own VPS or home server.