Windmill vs n8n vs Activepieces

Side by side, as alternatives to Make. Rows that differ are highlighted; the strongest value in a row is marked. Unknown means no source yet.

Windmillwindmill-labs/windmill

n8nn8n-io/n8n

Activepiecesactivepieces/activepieces

Makepaid product

Cost and coverage

Price

$0 software; you run it

See pricing page source ↗

App-to-app workflows

Partly

Yes

Scheduled automations

Partly

Yes

AI agent workflows

Partly

Yes

Webhooks

Partly

Yes

Jobs covered

3 of 4 jobs

4 of 4 jobs

All 4

Popularity and activity (from GitHub)

Stars

18,232

208,161Top

25,140

—

Gain this week

Unknown

—

Signal

Building history

—

Commits / 4 wk

651

1,168Top

496

—

Latest release

v1.842.0 · 2026-10-20Top

n8n@2.44.4 · 2026-10-19

0.92.3 · 2026-10-12

—

Commits / 12 wk

1,979

4,771

1,316

—

People committing / 12 mo

66+

219+

177+

—

Issues opened / closed, 30 days

45 / 26

171 / 232

108 / 81

—

Facts, with sources on each project page

Runs on my machine?Differs

Self-hosted with Docker Compose or Kubernetes; Windmill cloud also offered

Self-hosted with Docker or npm; n8n Cloud also offered

Self-hosted with Docker; Activepieces Cloud also offered

Hosted by the vendor

Code licenceDiffers

AGPLv3 (clients and OpenFlow spec Apache-2.0); enterprise code proprietary

Sustainable Use License (fair-code, source-available, not OSI); .ee files under n8n Enterprise License

MIT (Community Edition); packages/ee and server ee directories under a commercial licence

—

Model weights licence

No model weights

—

Commercial useDiffers

Free for internal use; reselling, managed service or embedding in a product needs AGPL compliance or a commercial licence

Only for your own internal business use; no reselling or offering n8n to others for a fee

Yes for the MIT Community Edition; enterprise features need a paid licence

—

Paid services needed?Differs

None required; Enterprise Edition and Windmill cloud are optional

None required; Enterprise License and n8n Cloud are optional paid extras; AI nodes use your own model provider keys

None required; enterprise licence and Activepieces Cloud are optional

Subscription

HardwareDiffers

Rule of thumb 1 vCPU and 1-2 GB RAM per worker, plus Postgres

Illustrative sizing from n8n Cloud: 320 MB to 2 GB memory, 512 MB to 4 GB SSD for the database; not CPU-intensive, so small instances suffice

Production sizing: app 1 vCPU / 1 GB per ten workers; each worker 0.5 vCPU / 1 GB; Postgres 2 vCPU / 4 GB; Redis 1 vCPU / 1 GB

—

Operating systemsDiffers

Docker on macOS, Windows and Linux; native Windows workers supported

Docker on Windows, macOS and Linux

Docker or Kubernetes (Helm); host operating systems not listed

—

Setup effortDiffers

Medium, Docker Compose (three files) with Postgres

Medium, Docker install script or docker run

Medium, install script or a single docker run with embedded database

—

Stars over time

Switch to Growth % to compare projects of different sizes fairly.

Windmill
n8n
Activepieces

Focus a point, use arrow keys, or tap for its value.

Tracked daily since 15 Oct 2026. Dashed history: estimated from public records of when people starred the repo. Lines connect observations only; gaps contain no measured points.

Growth % starts at each project's first observed point in the shown range. Zero-star starts are unavailable.

Notes for a video or post

A plain summary with today's date and a link to the sources. Check each project page before you publish.

Windmill vs n8n vs Activepieces (as alternatives to Make)
Figures from RepoQuarry, 21 Oct 2026. Sources: https://repoquarry.dev/compare?ids=windmill,n8n,activepieces&product=make

Make: See pricing page
Windmill: free software; does 3 of 4 Make jobs
n8n: free software; does 4 of 4 Make jobs
Activepieces: free software; does 4 of 4 Make jobs

- Windmill: 18,232 GitHub stars, 1,979 commits in 12 weeks, licence AGPLv3 (clients and OpenFlow spec Apache-2.0); enterprise code proprietary
- n8n: 208,161 GitHub stars, 4,771 commits in 12 weeks, licence Sustainable Use License (fair-code, source-available, not OSI); .ee files under n8n Enterprise License
- Activepieces: 25,140 GitHub stars, 1,316 commits in 12 weeks, licence MIT (Community Edition); packages/ee and server ee directories under a commercial licence

Where they differ:
- Runs on my machine?: Windmill Self-hosted with Docker Compose or Kubernetes; Windmill cloud also offered; n8n Self-hosted with Docker or npm; n8n Cloud also offered; Activepieces Self-hosted with Docker; Activepieces Cloud also offered
- Code licence: Windmill AGPLv3 (clients and OpenFlow spec Apache-2.0); enterprise code proprietary; n8n Sustainable Use License (fair-code, source-available, not OSI); .ee files under n8n Enterprise License; Activepieces MIT (Community Edition); packages/ee and server ee directories under a commercial licence
- Commercial use: Windmill Free for internal use; reselling, managed service or embedding in a product needs AGPL compliance or a commercial licence; n8n Only for your own internal business use; no reselling or offering n8n to others for a fee; Activepieces Yes for the MIT Community Edition; enterprise features need a paid licence
- Paid services needed?: Windmill None required; Enterprise Edition and Windmill cloud are optional; n8n None required; Enterprise License and n8n Cloud are optional paid extras; AI nodes use your own model provider keys; Activepieces None required; enterprise licence and Activepieces Cloud are optional
- Hardware: Windmill Rule of thumb 1 vCPU and 1-2 GB RAM per worker, plus Postgres; n8n Illustrative sizing from n8n Cloud: 320 MB to 2 GB memory, 512 MB to 4 GB SSD for the database; not CPU-intensive, so small instances suffice; Activepieces Production sizing: app 1 vCPU / 1 GB per ten workers; each worker 0.5 vCPU / 1 GB; Postgres 2 vCPU / 4 GB; Redis 1 vCPU / 1 GB
- Operating systems: Windmill Docker on macOS, Windows and Linux; native Windows workers supported; n8n Docker on Windows, macOS and Linux; Activepieces Docker or Kubernetes (Helm); host operating systems not listed
- Setup effort: Windmill Medium, Docker Compose (three files) with Postgres; n8n Medium, Docker install script or docker run; Activepieces Medium, install script or a single docker run with embedded database

Stars show popularity, not quality. Check each project page before publishing.

Want share images and a ready video description? Open a project's creator kit.

Numbers: GitHub, fetched nightly. Facts: read from each project's own documentation, with the source on its page. How we check. windmill-labs/windmill ↗n8n-io/n8n ↗activepieces/activepieces ↗

Windmill vs n8n vs Activepieces

Stars over time

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