head to head · open source
n8n vs huginn
n8n has 209,375 GitHub stars, 61,361 forks, 1,143 open issues and last shipped yesterday. huginn has 50,269 stars, 4,339 forks, 698 open issues and last shipped yesterday. n8n leads on adoption by 317% (209,375 vs 50,269 stars). n8n is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; huginn is written in Ruby under MIT. n8n has attracted 29% as many forks as stars, huginn 9%. n8n was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (automation), 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 | huginn | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 209K | ★ 50K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Ruby |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 61K | ⑂ 4.3K |
| 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 huginn if
- You want the huginn feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Ruby
- You evaluated both and huginn 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 huginn
What is Huginn? Huginn is a system for building agents that perform automated tasks for you online. They can read the web, watch for events, and take actions on your behalf. Huginn's Agents create and consume events, propagating them along a directed graph. Think of it as a hackable version of IFTTT or Zapier on your own server. You always know who has your data. You do. Here are some of the things that you can do with Huginn: Track the weather and get an email when it's going to rain (or snow) tomorrow ("Don't forget your umbrella!") List terms that you care about and receive email when their occurrence on…
read the full huginn overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is n8n or huginn more popular?
n8n has 209,375 GitHub stars and huginn has 50,269. n8n has the larger community by that measure.
Are n8n and huginn free?
Both are open source. n8n has no licence declared in this registry, and huginn is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between n8n and huginn?
n8n is written in TypeScript and huginn 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 huginn?
Choose n8n if you want the larger community (209,375 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose huginn if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.