N
AI agents & automation
n8n
Open-source, visual workflow automation you can self-host.
Open-source, visual workflow automation you can self-host.
n8n is a source-available workflow automation tool built around a visual, node-based editor. Instead of writing code, you drag and connect nodes representing apps, APIs, and AI models onto a canvas to build automated pipelines, things like moving data between tools, scraping information on a schedule, or triggering an action whenever something changes.
You can run n8n on its own cloud service or self-host it on your own server. Self-hosting is what sets it apart from tools like Zapier: instead of paying per task the automation runs, you pay a flat server cost and run it as often as you like.
Alec Saluga picked n8n on Episode 004. He builds client automations in it because every step of a workflow is visual and debuggable, you can see exactly where data is flowing and catch the point where something breaks. He demoed a live example: a workflow that scrapes a client's YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok follower counts every Sunday and pushes the updated numbers straight to their website, no manual reporting involved.
We keep n8n in the stack because it is open source, so you self-host it for a few dollars a month in server costs and run it as many times as you want, instead of paying per execution the way tools like Zapier charge. That makes it cheap to lean on heavily once a client relationship grows. Alec calls it the best place to start before graduating to something like Claude Code: you learn how automations are actually structured on a visual canvas, then move to writing your own once you outgrow it.
n8n is one of the more approachable tools here. You are not writing code, you are dragging nodes onto a canvas and connecting them, so if you can follow a flowchart you can build a real automation. The one technical piece is self-hosting: running your own instance takes some basic server setup, though n8n's cloud plan skips that step entirely. Chaining more than a couple of steps together still takes some patience to learn.
Genuine substitutes for n8n that we've also run on stage:
Yes, n8n has a free tier. Open source and self-hostable for free; paid Cloud plans available.
Open source and self-hostable for free; paid Cloud plans available.
Alec Saluga used it in Episode 004 for scraping live creator stats and pushing them to a client's website.
n8n is one of the more approachable tools here. You are not writing code, you are dragging nodes onto a canvas and connecting them, so if you can follow a flowchart you can build a real automation. The one technical piece is self-hosting: running your own instance takes some basic server setup, though n8n's cloud plan skips that step entirely. Chaining more than a couple of steps together still takes some patience to learn.
Tools we've also used live that can stand in for n8n: Zapier.
| Category | AI agents & automation |
|---|---|
| Pricing | Open source and self-hostable for free; paid Cloud plans available. |
| Free tier | Yes |
| Used live in | Episode 004 |
| Operator(s) | Alec Saluga |
| Website | n8n.io |
On AI4NTP, every tool is shown live by a real operator. These are the people who demoed n8n on stage.
A former B2B salesman with no technical background who self-taught AI. He builds and deploys AI-driven marketing and websites, and has grown a following of over 15,000 teaching AI adoption.
Explore other tools we've demoed live at AI4NTP:
See tools like n8n set up live, step by step, on AI4NTP, or get hands-on help putting it to work.