Visual no-code automation platform with AI agents connecting 3,000+ apps.
Lindy vs n8n
Features, pricing, strengths and trade-offs — and which one fits your situation.
The verdict
Summary
Lindy is best for teams wanting an AI teammate in Slack that handles email, meetings and research, while n8n is best for technical teams wanting self-hostable automation and AI agents billed per workflow run. Only n8n offers visual workflow builder and self-hosting. Lindy has a low learning curve, compared with high for n8n. n8n has a free plan, while Lindy offers a free trial.
Which should you choose?
Choose Lindy if…
- You need teams wanting an AI teammate in Slack that handles email, meetings and research
- You're one of: small teams living in slack, founders and executives, sales and customer-facing teams
- You want something quicker to learn
- Natural-language setup with no flow diagrams to maintain
Choose n8n if…
- You need technical teams wanting self-hostable automation and AI agents billed per workflow run
- Visual workflow builder matters to you
- Self-hosting matters to you
- You're one of: developers and technical ops teams, companies with data residency requirements, teams building llm agents
- You want a free plan (Lindy only has a trial)
At a glance
| Lindy | n8n | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Teams wanting an AI teammate in Slack that handles email, meetings and research | Technical teams wanting self-hostable automation and AI agents billed per workflow run |
| Free plan | Trial only | Yes |
| Starting price | From $29.99/mo | From €20/mo |
| Learning curve | Low | High |
| Platforms | Web, Chrome extension | Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, API |
| Ideal for | Small teams living in Slack, Founders and executives, Sales and customer-facing teams, Operations generalists | Developers and technical ops teams, Companies with data residency requirements, Teams building LLM agents, High-volume automation users |
Feature comparison
| Lindy | n8n | |
|---|---|---|
| Visual workflow builder | No | Yes |
| Integrations, approx. | 1,000+ | 400+ native nodes |
| AI agents | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosting | No | Yes |
| Custom code steps | — | Yes |
| Webhooks | — | Yes |
| Human approval steps | Yes | Yes |
| Billed per | Credit | Execution (per workflow run) |
IncludedLimited / higher plansNot available— Not confirmed
Security & enterprise
| Lindy | n8n | |
|---|---|---|
| Business / enterprise plan | Yes | Yes |
| SSO (SAML / OIDC) | Enterprise plan | Enterprise plan |
| SCIM user provisioning | Enterprise plan | — |
| SOC 2 | Type II | Type II |
| ISO 27001 | — | — |
| HIPAA (BAA available) | Enterprise plan (BAA) | — |
| GDPR DPA | — | Yes |
| Data residency options | — | — |
| No training on your data | — | — |
| Audit logs | — | — |
| Admin controls | Yes | Yes |
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud, self-hosted |
From each vendor's security documentation. "—" = not confirmed. What to ask vendors · Compare all tools
What each tool does
Lindy
Lindy is an AI assistant that works primarily inside Slack, with access via iMessage, Gmail and a Chrome extension, and connects to a team's apps to carry out tasks. Users @mention it or configure skills in natural language instead of building visual flows. Work is metered in credits, and it includes built-in approval steps and computer-use capability for sites without an API.
Key features- Slack-native assistant for channels and DMs
- 40+ built-in skills plus custom skills
- Meeting recording and scheduling
- Computer use for websites without integrations
- Built-in approvals before actions
- MCP server support
n8n
n8n is a fair-code workflow automation tool with a node-based visual editor, available as a managed cloud service or self-hosted via the free Community Edition. Cloud plans are billed per workflow execution regardless of how many steps a run contains. It is favoured by developers and technical operations teams building integrations and LLM agents that need code-level control.
Key features- Node-based visual workflow editor
- AI Agent node with LangChain-based tools and memory
- JavaScript and Python Code node
- Webhook triggers and HTTP Request node
- Human review of AI tool calls via Slack, Teams, Gmail or chat
- Self-hosting with Docker or npm
Pricing
Lindy
Free trial; paid from $29.99/mo per user
n8n
Free self-hosted Community Edition + cloud free trial; Cloud Starter from EUR 20/mo
Prices last checked September 2026. Plans change often — confirm on each vendor's site.
Pros and cons
Lindy
Strengths- Natural-language setup with no flow diagrams to maintain
- Human approval built in for emails and other sensitive actions
- Computer use covers tools that lack an integration
- Choice of AI models
- No free plan, only a short trial
- Not designed for complex branching, data-heavy workflows
- Credit consumption varies widely with model choice and task length
- No self-hosting option
Not ideal for: Teams that want deterministic, auditable multi-step automations should use a visual workflow tool such as Make, n8n or Zapier.
n8n
Strengths- Free self-hosted Community Edition with no execution limits
- Per-execution billing is cheaper than per-step billing for long workflows
- Code nodes allow custom logic in any workflow
- Unlimited users and workflows on all cloud plans
- Fewer native integrations than Zapier or Make
- Assumes comfort with JSON, expressions and APIs
- SSO, Git version control and longer log retention need Business or Enterprise
- Self-hosting requires managing servers, updates and backups
Not ideal for: Non-technical users who want a guided, low-effort setup for common app connections will get started faster with Zapier.
Integrations
Lindy
n8n
FAQ
What is the main difference between Lindy and n8n?
Lindy is built for teams wanting an AI teammate in Slack that handles email, meetings and research; n8n is built for technical teams wanting self-hostable automation and AI agents billed per workflow run. Key differences: n8n offers visual workflow builder and self-hosting.
Is Lindy or n8n cheaper?
Lindy starts from $29.99/mo and n8n starts from €20/mo (as of September 2026). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site.
Do Lindy and n8n have free plans?
n8n has a free plan, while Lindy offers a free trial.
Which is easier to use, Lindy or n8n?
Lindy is generally quicker to learn (Lindy: low, n8n: high learning curve).
What are good alternatives to Lindy and n8n?
Other automation tools worth comparing include Make, Gumloop and Relevance AI.
