On smaller screens, scroll sideways to compare both tools.
| Compare features | Windmill | n8n |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | A script and workflow execution platform; distinguish hosting, builder roles and compute costs. | A workflow platform with hosted and self-hosted options. Assess operational control alongside maintenance responsibilities. |
| Category | Automation & websites | Automation & websites |
| Paid entry price | Check official pricingUsage-based or variable · Cloud / self-hosted options No universal paid starting price is asserted across hosting, seat and compute configurations. Community software does not remove infrastructure costs. | €20 / mo+Monthly equivalent, billed annually · Starter Starter monthly equivalent on annual billing. Check executions, concurrency and external API bills separately; the Cloud trial is not a continuing free allowance. |
| Free plan | Supported | Supported |
| Japanese support | Unverified | Unverified |
| Deployment | Cloud / self-hosted | Cloud / self-hosted |
| Reasons to choose |
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| Pricing checked | Unverified | 2026-10-27 |
| Official pricing | Check pricing | Check pricing |
Prices exclude tax, currency conversion and introductory discounts. Different currencies and billing periods are not directly comparable. Japanese support can apply to input, output or the interface; check each tool’s scope.
Locate the maintained business logic
Decide whether existing scripts remain or are decomposed into connector operations. Retain dependencies, input formats and failure behavior either way. Fewer nodes or fewer lines do not establish maintainability; verify that the assigned person can explain the rule and why a change is needed.
Normalize the hosting requirement
Do not line up unrelated low prices from managed and self-hosted configurations. If private deployment is required, compare the actual editions and operating responsibilities. An unassigned upgrade, backup or recovery process remains a production gap even where the software licence itself costs nothing.
Translate accounting to one workload
n8n executions and Windmill’s role-and-compute description are not identical meters. Fix records per run and waiting behavior before applying each rule. Include upstream API charges and operating time under the same assumptions so a different execution boundary does not masquerade as a direct price advantage.
Give the operator a usable review path
Rehearse another operator distinguishing ordinary output from exceptions. Verify the task through legitimate scoped access instead of a shared administrator login. Detecting a business discrepancy and modifying the underlying script can be different responsibilities, provided the escalation path is clear.
A hypothetical daily stock reconciliation
Compare a daily two-register reconciliation initially without writes. Include an empty input, stale file and repeated IDs and ask the operator to explain which records need attention. When adding authorized mutations, verify that replay does not accumulate the same business change twice.
Retain the platform-independent specification
Retain inputs, transformations, outputs, ordering and dependencies independently of the chosen editor. For a future move, distinguish retained configuration from connections and state requiring re-establishment. Replacing the execution platform does not remove the need to verify the same business logic again.
Compare replay after different failure positions
For a fictional reconciliation, separate failure before retrieval, after a write and before an alert. Verify that operators can identify whether to fetch again, whether a mutation completed and whether only notification remains. One successful path cannot establish general reliability. Retain the specific exceptions checked for the intended APIs and use the same acceptance sheet after a migration.
Estimate costs for your workload
Enter monthly jobs, billable steps and retries to see how different billing units affect your estimate.
Open cost calculatorOfficial sources
Pricing, availability and feature limits can change. Check the linked official pages before subscribing.
- Windmill pricing and computeInformation checked: 2026-10-28
- Windmill plans and upgrade scopeInformation checked: 2026-10-28
- Windmill jobs and cancellationInformation checked: 2026-10-28
- Host n8nInformation checked: 2026-10-28
- n8n pricingInformation checked: 2026-10-27
- Choose how to use n8nInformation checked: 2026-10-26
- n8n Community license FAQInformation checked: 2026-10-26