I thought automation needed big paid tools — until I tried this open-source one

I have relied on big names like Make.com or Power Automate for automation. These are easy go-tos with real capability. However, after several years of using them, a few drawbacks easily start to stand out: cost of task bundles, multistep limits, and cutting workflows to stay under monthly operation quotas. I noticed a lot of these drawbacks using a free Zapier plan.

There was a big shift in how I view automation after using n8n. It was supposed to be a weekend experiment, but it didn’t feel like the limited “free tier” versions of the tools I was used to. I was doing real automation without a payment ceiling. For the first time, automation complexity wasn’t being penalized.

Owning the backend changes everything

How data sovereignty and cost freedom reshape automation

My first surprise when using n8n wasn’t a feature, but the realization that I could run the entire automation engine on my own device. This felt very different after years of cloud-only platforms. Tools like Zapier or Make.com forced me to surrender my logs, workflow data, credentials, and even my failure reports. Running n8n locally for the first time allowed me to see my workflow execute behind my own firewall. It clicked in my head: automation can work without outsourcing the backend—similar to how I discovered freedom when replacing Google Drive with a self-hosted cloud.

My locally run n8n also changed the cost equation. It doesn’t matter whether a workflow has two steps or twenty: one workflow run equals one execution. This alone shattered the pricing model, in which “one automation” can be billed as 50 separate tasks. I no longer had to budget for complexity.

However, what surprised me the most was that self-hosting didn’t feel like complex engineering. With a single Docker command, everything was up and running. I could host it anywhere or scale it whichever way I wanted.

The low-code power I didn’t know I needed

Mixing a visual builder with real code removes the usual ceilings

Certain automation tools like Zapier and IFTTT may promise no-code, but this often translates to no complexity. They give you very smooth visual builders up until you actually need to do something slightly out of the ordinary, like merge arrays, restructure objects, call an obscure API, or clean up inconsistent data. It’s at this point that paid tools will start nudging you towards premium steps or workarounds. This cap does not exist with n8n.

n8n’s visual interface is great, but where it shines the most is letting me drop into a Code node when I need more control. I can replace entire stacks of complex steps I had previously stitched together in Zapier or Make.com with a 10-line JavaScript snippet. n8n respects the fact that sometimes the cleanest solution may be a few lines of logic.

I was also pleasantly surprised with how it handled APIs. Even for apps without official connectors, the HTTP Request node allows me to build integrations that would’ve taken ages or cost more on other platforms.

Automation that involves people and AI

n8n became a reliable orchestrator instead of just a connector

As the scope of an automation expands, it becomes more than linking apps, and you may need to call for a human decision in the middle of certain workflows. Other times, you need an AI step, and in some cases, all you need is a clear understanding of where a process went wrong. When it gets to these scenarios, several mainstream options tend to hide these features behind payment plans. n8n doesn’t hide these features behind paywalls.

Its human-in-the-loop automation is its most underrated feature. Approvals via email or Slack are built into workflows. I can build the pause into a workflow to review content, confirm a financial step, or catch something that needs judgment.

n8n lets me route AI decisions, validate outputs, retry steps, and pass results seamlessly into the next stage. Integrating AI helps me avoid cryptic error messages and see exactly what happened at each point.

Workflows that convinced me this was more than an alternative

How real automations replaced tools I was paying for

The true measurement of any automation platform is in what it actually allows you to build. n8n shines here and has replaced a surprising amount of my paid stack. I dipped my toe in, trying simple editorial reminders and content prep flows—tasks I had previously automated individually now run seamlessly in one workflow. But even the more advanced pipelines like cleaning data, reviewing drafts with AI, syncing content across platforms, and triggering consistent updates across multiple tools worked seamlessly.

The difference is in how much it saves me and the lack of friction in creating automations. I don’t have to worry about controlling task usage by breaking workflows into multiple smaller ones, and I can access APIs without premium actions. Everything runs in one place on my terms.

Over time, my automations fade into the background just as you’d expect good automation to do. The point isn’t that the big paid tools are bad; they’re just not necessary for the kind of work I need to do, and it’s hard to go back after experiencing automation without the ceilings.

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Professional automation, your way

n8n has proven to me that automation isn’t about subscriptions or tiers. It allows me to solve real problems efficiently for free. Now I can grow my workflow, scaling without surprise costs as long as I use the free, open-source, self-hosted n8n Community Edition.

I use its version control and multiple environments, and they give me the confidence I need in every step of my automations. n8n makes my automations manageable, auditable, and reliable at a level you’d expect only from paid.