head to head · open source
n8n vs MDMA
n8n has 209,375 GitHub stars, 61,361 forks, 1,143 open issues and last shipped yesterday. MDMA has 73 stars, 2 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 11 days ago. n8n leads on adoption by 286,715% (209,375 vs 73 stars). n8n is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; MDMA is written in TypeScript under MIT. n8n has attracted 29% as many forks as stars, MDMA 3%. n8n was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (mcp), 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 | MDMA | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 209K | ★ 73 |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-23 |
| Forks | ⑂ 61K | ⑂ 2 |
| 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 MDMA if
- You want the MDMA feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and MDMA 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 MDMA
MDMA Markdown Document with Mounted Applications Interactive documents from Markdown. Built for next gen apps 🌐 Website · 🚀 Live Demo · 📖 Docs · 💬 Discord · 🤗 Model Why MDMA? AI conversations today are plain text — the user reads a response and manually acts on it. MDMA changes that. When an LLM knows the MDMA spec, it can respond with interactive components (forms, tables, approval gates) instead of just text. The conversation becomes actionable: the user fills out a form, approves a step, or reviews structured data — all inline, with a predictable schema that your app already knows how to render and…
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Frequently asked questions
Is n8n or MDMA more popular?
n8n has 209,375 GitHub stars and MDMA has 73. n8n has the larger community by that measure.
Are n8n and MDMA free?
Both are open source. n8n has no licence declared in this registry, and MDMA is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between n8n and MDMA?
n8n is written in TypeScript and MDMA in TypeScript. 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 MDMA?
Choose n8n if you want the larger community (209,375 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose MDMA if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.