The best n8n alternatives for AI agents in 2026.
n8n is a strong default for self-hosted workflow automation, and it has a first-party AI Agent node. People look elsewhere for four reasons: they want a desktop app instead of a server, agents as first-class objects rather than a node, a fully hosted canvas, or an agent that lives in their chat apps. Here is the option for each, including staying on n8n.
Disclosure: we build AGNT, which is on this list. Every other entry is described from its maker’s own documentation and pricing page, linked below, and each one says who should pick it over us.
What are you actually trying to fix?
Each reason points at a different tool. Picking by the reason, not the brand, is how you avoid migrating twice.
| If the reason is… | Look at |
|---|---|
| You want it on your desktop, not a server to patch | AGNT, or OpenClaw for a chat-first assistant |
| You want agents with memory, budgets and goals as first-class objects | AGNT |
| You want the same idea, fully hosted, with a richer canvas | Make |
| You want a Zapier-style builder you can still self-host | Activepieces |
| You want an agent you message from Telegram or WhatsApp | Hermes Agent or OpenClaw |
| The work is mostly code in repositories | Claude Code or OpenAI Codex |
| A node you need is missing | Check n8n’s community nodes first — you may not need to move |
How we compared them
No invented scores. Each option is described on the six questions that decide whether it fits, and every price is quoted from the vendor’s own page on 23 September 2026.
- Where the work runs. Your machine, your server, or a vendor’s cloud — and whether local files and private networks are reachable.
- How it is priced. Flat, per execution, per step or task, or per credit. The unit decides what success costs you.
- What the AI can do. A single AI step, an agent inside a workflow, or agents, goals and memory as first-class objects.
- Model freedom. One vendor’s models, several, or any provider plus local models.
- Control and evidence. Approval gates before consequential actions, and a record of what ran and why.
- Openness. Licence and whether you can self-host, inspect and leave.
11 serious options
1. AGNT
Our productPeople and teams who want AI to run recurring operations on their own hardware, across any model, with approvals and a receipt for every run.
- Runs
- Desktop app (Windows, macOS, Linux), web and mobile via QR pairing; optional dedicated cloud instance
- Pricing
- Free with unlimited local runs; Personal Cloud $29/mo; Business $99/mo with 3 seats
- Licence
- Source available
- AI capability
- Agents, workflows, autonomous goals, memory, skills, MCP; delegates to Codex, Claude Code and Hermes
- Watch out for
- Smaller connector catalogue than the big hosted tools and a younger community — and you run the software yourself, or pay for Personal Cloud.
2. Make
Best forBuilders who want the most expressive hosted visual canvas — routers, iterators and aggregators — without running anything.
- Runs
- Hosted only (AWS, EU or North America)
- Pricing
- Free (1,000 credits/mo); Core $12/mo, Pro $21/mo, Teams $38/mo for 10k credits
- Licence
- Proprietary
- AI capability
- Make AI Agents (beta), Maia, MCP server
- Watch out for
- Each module action consumes credits, and credits expire at the end of the term. Cloud only.
3. Zapier
Best forNon-technical teams connecting SaaS apps fast, with the largest catalogue in the category (9,000+ apps).
- Runs
- Hosted only
- Pricing
- Free (100 tasks/mo); Professional from $19.99/mo; Team from $69/mo; Agents Pro $33.33/mo billed annually
- Licence
- Proprietary
- AI capability
- Zapier Agents, AI steps, Zapier MCP
- Watch out for
- Every step and AI call draws from a task allowance, so cost grows with success. No access to local files or private networks.
4. Activepieces
Best forTeams who want a Zapier-style builder they can also self-host, with flat monthly plans.
- Runs
- Cloud or on-prem
- Pricing
- Free (100 credits/day); Plus $20/mo; Team $200/mo
- Licence
- Source on GitHub (self-hostable)
- AI capability
- Flows, agents and tables with MCP support
- Watch out for
- Smaller catalogue and community than Zapier or n8n; heavier use moves to pay-as-you-go credits.
5. Gumloop
Best forBusiness teams building AI agents and flows in a hosted, no-code canvas.
- Runs
- Hosted only
- Pricing
- Pro from $37/mo with a 14-day trial; Enterprise custom
- Licence
- Proprietary
- AI capability
- Unlimited agents across 35+ models
- Watch out for
- Cloud only, with no local or offline mode.
6. Hermes Agent
Best forTechnical users who want one personal agent in their chat apps that writes and improves its own skills.
- Runs
- Local, Docker, SSH, VPS or serverless backends
- Pricing
- Free; you pay your model provider (optional Nous Portal subscription)
- Licence
- MIT
- AI capability
- Self-improving agent with a learning loop, memory, cron and a messaging gateway
- Watch out for
- Terminal-first, single operator, no visual workflow builder.
7. OpenClaw
Best forAnyone who wants an assistant they can message from WhatsApp, iMessage, Telegram or Slack, running on their own hardware.
- Runs
- Your own computer; native apps on macOS, iOS, Android, Windows, Linux
- Pricing
- Free — no paid tier
- Licence
- MIT, stewarded by a non-profit foundation
- AI capability
- Personal assistant reachable from 20+ messaging channels
- Watch out for
- Tools run on the host unless you configure sandboxing; no workflow canvas or graded goals.
8. Claude Code
Best forDevelopers who want the strongest coding agent on Claude models, in the terminal or IDE.
- Runs
- CLI, IDE, desktop app and web; cloud routines
- Pricing
- A paid Claude plan or an Anthropic Console account
- Licence
- Proprietary
- AI capability
- Agentic coding with subagents, skills, hooks, MCP and scheduled routines
- Watch out for
- Built for code in repositories; tied to Claude models.
9. OpenAI Codex
Best forDevelopers who already use ChatGPT and want OpenAI’s coding agent locally and in the cloud.
- Runs
- CLI, IDE, ChatGPT desktop app and cloud
- Pricing
- Included with ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, Edu and Enterprise, or an API key
- Licence
- CLI is Apache-2.0
- AI capability
- Coding agent with cloud tasks, scheduled and event-triggered tasks, skills and plugins
- Watch out for
- Built for code; tied to OpenAI models.
10. Meta Muse
Best forPeople in the US who want a personal agent for everyday life with zero setup.
- Runs
- Meta-operated Muse Secure VM; iOS, Android, Mac, WhatsApp, web
- Pricing
- Free with a usage limit; paid plans for more
- Licence
- Proprietary
- AI capability
- Consumer personal agent with goals, approvals, audit trail and agent checkout
- Watch out for
- One model (Muse Spark), runs in Meta’s cloud, US-only rollout for adults.
11. Vellum
Best forIndividuals who want one assistant that knows them and follows them across every device.
- Runs
- Local, or Vellum Cloud
- Pricing
- Free locally; Vellum Cloud $30, $100 or $200/mo
- Licence
- Open source
- AI capability
- Personal AI assistant with long-term memory and permissions
- Watch out for
- Personal-first: one assistant rather than a system of agents and workflows.
Every option in one table
| Option | Runs | Pricing | Licence | AI capability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AGNT | Desktop app (Windows, macOS, Linux), web and mobile via QR pairing; optional dedicated cloud instance | Free with unlimited local runs; Personal Cloud $29/mo; Business $99/mo with 3 seats | Source available | Agents, workflows, autonomous goals, memory, skills, MCP; delegates to Codex, Claude Code and Hermes |
| Make | Hosted only (AWS, EU or North America) | Free (1,000 credits/mo); Core $12/mo, Pro $21/mo, Teams $38/mo for 10k credits | Proprietary | Make AI Agents (beta), Maia, MCP server |
| Zapier | Hosted only | Free (100 tasks/mo); Professional from $19.99/mo; Team from $69/mo; Agents Pro $33.33/mo billed annually | Proprietary | Zapier Agents, AI steps, Zapier MCP |
| Activepieces | Cloud or on-prem | Free (100 credits/day); Plus $20/mo; Team $200/mo | Source on GitHub (self-hostable) | Flows, agents and tables with MCP support |
| Gumloop | Hosted only | Pro from $37/mo with a 14-day trial; Enterprise custom | Proprietary | Unlimited agents across 35+ models |
| Hermes Agent | Local, Docker, SSH, VPS or serverless backends | Free; you pay your model provider (optional Nous Portal subscription) | MIT | Self-improving agent with a learning loop, memory, cron and a messaging gateway |
| OpenClaw | Your own computer; native apps on macOS, iOS, Android, Windows, Linux | Free — no paid tier | MIT, stewarded by a non-profit foundation | Personal assistant reachable from 20+ messaging channels |
| Claude Code | CLI, IDE, desktop app and web; cloud routines | A paid Claude plan or an Anthropic Console account | Proprietary | Agentic coding with subagents, skills, hooks, MCP and scheduled routines |
| OpenAI Codex | CLI, IDE, ChatGPT desktop app and cloud | Included with ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, Edu and Enterprise, or an API key | CLI is Apache-2.0 | Coding agent with cloud tasks, scheduled and event-triggered tasks, skills and plugins |
| Meta Muse | Meta-operated Muse Secure VM; iOS, Android, Mac, WhatsApp, web | Free with a usage limit; paid plans for more | Proprietary | Consumer personal agent with goals, approvals, audit trail and agent checkout |
| Vellum | Local, or Vellum Cloud | Free locally; Vellum Cloud $30, $100 or $200/mo | Open source | Personal AI assistant with long-term memory and permissions |
Prices as listed by each vendor on 23 September 2026; plans that bill annually are marked as such.
Where n8n is the better choice
A larger node catalog, battle-tested retry and error semantics, queue mode and horizontal scale, and mature multi-user RBAC on paid tiers. If the work is integration-shaped, n8n is the strong default and we say so. Its AI Agent node is a root node: attach a chat model and one or more tool sub-nodes, and it decides which tools to call. n8n can also attach persistent chat memory to agent workflows through memory nodes such as Postgres Chat Memory.
Reviewed 23 September 2026 against n8n’s official AI Agent node documentation and Postgres Chat Memory documentation. Every product here ships often — verify current capabilities, prices and licence terms before you choose.
Frequently asked
What is the best n8n alternative for AI agents?
If you want agents with memory, goals and approvals running on your own desktop, AGNT. If you want the same workflow model fully hosted, Make. If you want a self-hostable Zapier-style builder, Activepieces. If you want an agent in your chat apps, Hermes Agent or OpenClaw.
Does n8n support AI agents?
Yes. n8n has a first-party AI Agent node that decides which connected tools to call, and memory nodes for persistent chat history.
Is there a free n8n alternative?
AGNT Community Core, Hermes Agent and OpenClaw are free to run on your own hardware. Make, Zapier and Activepieces have free tiers with usage limits.
What is the difference between n8n and AGNT?
n8n’s unit of work is the workflow, run on a server. AGNT’s is the agent, with memory, tools and budget, run from a desktop app alongside a workflow builder.