head to head · open source
n8n vs ProxmoxVE
n8n has 204,887 GitHub stars, 60,739 forks, 1,143 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ProxmoxVE has 29,607 stars, 2,887 forks, 27 open issues and last shipped yesterday. n8n leads on adoption by 592% (204,887 vs 29,607 stars). n8n is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; ProxmoxVE is written in Shell under MIT. n8n has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, ProxmoxVE 10%. 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.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| n8n | ProxmoxVE | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 205K | ★ 30K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 61K | ⑂ 2.9K |
| 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 ProxmoxVE if
- You want the ProxmoxVE feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and ProxmoxVE 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 ProxmoxVE
Proxmox VE Helper Scripts (Community Edition) is a collection of Shell scripts that install and configure self hosted services as containers or virtual machines on Proxmox VE. It is a community project built on the foundation of @tteck's original work, distributed under the MIT license, and it lives in the Proxmox VE and homelab ecosystem alongside LXC, Docker, Debian, Ubuntu, and Alpine tooling. The scripts cover hundreds of services across home automation, media, networking, monitoring, databases, security, and developer tooling.
read the full ProxmoxVE overview →
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More Automation projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Automation field.
Frequently asked questions
Is n8n or ProxmoxVE more popular?
n8n has 204,887 GitHub stars and ProxmoxVE has 29,607. n8n has the larger community by that measure.
Are n8n and ProxmoxVE free?
Both are open source. n8n has no licence declared in this registry, and ProxmoxVE is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between n8n and ProxmoxVE?
n8n is written in TypeScript and ProxmoxVE 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 ProxmoxVE?
Choose n8n if you want the larger community (204,887 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose ProxmoxVE if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.