head to head · open source
n8n vs cenit
n8n has 209,375 GitHub stars, 61,361 forks, 1,143 open issues and last shipped yesterday. cenit has 509 stars, 134 forks, 24 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. n8n leads on adoption by 41,035% (209,375 vs 509 stars). n8n is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; cenit is written in Ruby under MIT. n8n has attracted 29% as many forks as stars, cenit 26%. n8n was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (automation, data-flow, ipaas), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| n8n | cenit | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 209K | ★ 509 |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Ruby |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 61K | ⑂ 134 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick n8n if
- You weight community size — 209K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick cenit if
- You want the cenit feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Ruby
- You evaluated both and cenit fits your workflow better
About n8n
n8n – The Platform for AI Agents and Workflow Automation Fair code platform to build and deploy AI agents and workflows. Combine a visual canvas with custom code, run it self hosted or in the cloud, and connect to 1500+ integrations. AI automation you can trust with real work, from prototype to production. Key Capabilities AI Native Automation Platform : Build and operationalize AI workflows and multi step agents using your own data, models, and tools Model Flexibility, No Lock In : Connect to OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, or open source models and switch providers without changing your architecture From Prototype…
About cenit
Cenit Cenit is an open source integration platform as a service (iPaaS). It helps teams design integrations, orchestrate data flows, expose APIs, and manage data pipelines across external systems. Cloud: web.cenit.io Product documentation: docs.cenit.io Table of contents What you can build Architecture and stack Project status Quick start (local Docker Compose) Configuration Testing and quality checks Git hooks (pre push E2E) Troubleshooting Contributing Security Code of conduct License What you can build Backendless data APIs from JSON Schema based Data Types. Integration flows for routing, orchestration, and…
read the full cenit overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is n8n or cenit more popular?
n8n has 209,375 GitHub stars and cenit has 509. n8n has the larger community by that measure.
Are n8n and cenit free?
Both are open source. n8n has no licence declared in this registry, and cenit is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between n8n and cenit?
n8n is written in TypeScript and cenit in Ruby. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, n8n or cenit?
Choose n8n if you want the larger community (209,375 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose cenit if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.