head to head · open source
n8n vs Collabora Online
n8n has 204,887 GitHub stars, 60,739 forks, 1,143 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Collabora Online has 3,351 stars, 1,019 forks, 874 open issues and last shipped yesterday. n8n leads on adoption by 6,014% (204,887 vs 3,351 stars). n8n is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Collabora Online is written in Shell under a custom or non-standard licence. n8n has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, Collabora Online 30%. n8n was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | Collabora Online | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 205K | ★ 3.4K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 61K | ⑂ 1.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick n8n if
- You weight community size — 205K 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 Collabora Online if
- You want the Collabora Online feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and Collabora Online fits your workflow better
About n8n
n8n is a visual workflow automation platform built in TypeScript that combines a drag and drop editor with custom code execution. It lives in the integration and automation ecosystem, positioned as an open alternative to proprietary services like Zapier. Users design multi step workflows—called “n8n flows”—that connect apps, services, and custom logic to automate repetitive tasks.
About Collabora Online
Collabora Online is an open source document editing suite for secure collaboration, and it sits in the productivity and office suite category. The repository metadata presents it as a suite for documents, office work, and enterprise use, with topics that connect it to LibreOffice, JavaScript, C++, Android, and iOS. Active development and code review happen on a Gerrit instance, while the GitHub repository is kept for issue tracking and release artifacts.
read the full Collabora Online overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is n8n or Collabora Online more popular?
n8n has 204,887 GitHub stars and Collabora Online has 3,351. n8n has the larger community by that measure.
Are n8n and Collabora Online free?
Neither n8n nor Collabora Online declares a licence in this registry, so check each project's own repository before relying on either for a commercial use. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between n8n and Collabora Online?
n8n is written in TypeScript and Collabora Online in Shell. 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 Collabora Online?
Choose n8n if you want the larger community (204,887 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Collabora Online if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.