head to head · open source
n8n vs langgraph
n8n has 205,086 GitHub stars, 60,753 forks, 1,143 open issues and last shipped today. langgraph has 41,863 stars, 7,069 forks, 786 open issues and last shipped today. n8n leads on adoption by 390% (205,086 vs 41,863 stars). n8n is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; langgraph is written in Python under MIT. n8n has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, langgraph 17%. langgraph was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ai), 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 | langgraph | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 205K | ★ 42K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 61K | ⑂ 7.1K |
| 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 langgraph if
- You want the langgraph feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and langgraph 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 langgraph
LangGraph is a low level Python orchestration framework for building stateful, long running agents, aimed at developers and platform teams who need durable execution, human in the loop control, and persistent memory instead of a turnkey agent application.
read the full langgraph overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is n8n or langgraph more popular?
n8n has 205,086 GitHub stars and langgraph has 41,863. n8n has the larger community by that measure.
Are n8n and langgraph free?
Both are open source. n8n has no licence declared in this registry, and langgraph is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between n8n and langgraph?
n8n is written in TypeScript and langgraph in Python. 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 langgraph?
Choose n8n if you want the larger community (205,086 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose langgraph if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.