head to head · open source
n8n vs local-deep-research
n8n has 209,375 GitHub stars, 61,361 forks, 1,143 open issues and last shipped yesterday. local-deep-research has 9,483 stars, 899 forks, 889 open issues and last shipped yesterday. n8n leads on adoption by 2,108% (209,375 vs 9,483 stars). n8n is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; local-deep-research is written in Python under MIT. n8n has attracted 29% as many forks as stars, local-deep-research 9%. local-deep-research 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 | local-deep-research | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 209K | ★ 9.5K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 61K | ⑂ 899 |
| 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 local-deep-research if
- You want the local-deep-research feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and local-deep-research 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 local-deep-research
Local Deep Research AI powered research assistant for deep, agentic research Performs deep, agentic research using multiple LLMs and search engines with proper citations 🧪 First open source project — fully local on a single RTX 3090 (Qwen3.6 27B) — to report 95% SimpleQA (n=500) and 77% xbench DeepSearch (n=100) on local hardware. See the r/LocalLLaMA announcement and the benchmark dataset. ▶️ Watch Review by The Art Of The Terminal 🚀 What is Local Deep Research? AI research assistant you control. Run locally for privacy, use any LLM and build your own searchable knowledge base. You own your data and see…
read the full local-deep-research overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is n8n or local-deep-research more popular?
n8n has 209,375 GitHub stars and local-deep-research has 9,483. n8n has the larger community by that measure.
Are n8n and local-deep-research free?
Both are open source. n8n has no licence declared in this registry, and local-deep-research is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between n8n and local-deep-research?
n8n is written in TypeScript and local-deep-research 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 local-deep-research?
Choose n8n if you want the larger community (209,375 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose local-deep-research if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.