# n8n 46 Hacker News commenters recommended n8n and 27 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 11 of 13 months. **Verdict:** Powerful, flexible workflow automation that connects many services and LLM steps. Caveat: source-available license, not open source. ## Why people recommend it - Runs LLM steps in workflows (6 comments): "I'd counter that n8n (or most other workflow tools) can handle as much ambiguity as OpenClaw - it has a LLM call node." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47236724)) "n8n pipeline that scrapes industry sources daily, uses an LLM to score each story according to how relevant it is" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48950030)) "It takes a little sweat, but you can wire Claude Code into n8n" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49114700)) - Connects many services and data (5 comments): "If you are at all tech savvy, you can use n8n to set up a workflow that connects to all your data" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46829013)) "I find Grist (via API) and n8n much more applicable and process oriented than core DS pandas" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49669425)) "The daily automations I need are more efficiently carried out by home assistant / n8n." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47218408)) - Free, self-hostable, cheap to run (4 comments): "It's a powerful, free, open-source automation tool that will change your life." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46033927)) "I use this solution in production in my own projects." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45952164)) "Running on my mac mini: Local LLM and n8n" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49771088)) - Quick to build small tools (3 comments): "I installed an n8n instance on my server, and have become kind of addicted to making different Discord bots" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45870148)) "The n8n webhook approach is really powerful for shipping these kinds of micro-tools quickly." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47214542)) "It's way too easy to create placeholder art with an n8n pipeline" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45871765)) ## What people warn about - Not truly open source license (3 comments): "N8n and its clones are attempts to copy and commercialize it with a closed-source license." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46242554)) "n8n uses a "Sustainable Use License"—source available, but not OSI-approved open source." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46237723)) "n8n is not open-source. They have restrictions if you don't use their cloud service" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46080017)) - Slow and heavy at scale (3 comments): "The "workflow automation" approach is a lot of resource overhead and broker-config maintainance" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49584845)) "they all break the moment you need to run it more than twice a day at any real scale" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47115018)) "not very happy about it's overall execution speed, especially at scale" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46263372)) - Limited by GUI and built-in features (3 comments): "With the n8n's of the world they can get something done, limited by what they offer." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48917340)) "n8n was closer to developer-friendly, but still no real durability, no SDK" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47847941)) "They work great for simple tasks, but as a developer, I hated having my logic trapped in a GUI" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46590227)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Zapier](https://hackerapproved.com/p/zapier.md): 15 recommend - [Microsoft Power Automate](https://hackerapproved.com/p/power-automate.md): 6 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "n8n", https://hackerapproved.com/p/n8n/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).