head to head · open source
n8n vs saltcorn
n8n has 209,375 GitHub stars, 61,361 forks, 1,143 open issues and last shipped yesterday. saltcorn has 2,088 stars, 360 forks, 737 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. n8n leads on adoption by 9,928% (209,375 vs 2,088 stars). n8n is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; saltcorn is written in JavaScript under MIT. n8n has attracted 29% as many forks as stars, saltcorn 17%. 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.
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Side by side
| n8n | saltcorn | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 209K | ★ 2.1K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 61K | ⑂ 360 |
| 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 saltcorn if
- You want the saltcorn feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and saltcorn 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 saltcorn
Saltcorn Saltcorn is an extensible open source no code database application builder. Use it to build web and mobile database applications with flexible views, datatypes, layouts and actions This repository contains the core codebase, including the code necessary to self host an instance and to host a multitenant instance. Acknowledgements Saltcorn is using PostgreSQL, node.js, node postgres, express, live plugin manager, craft.js, jQuery Menu Editor, Blockly, CodeMirror and other awesome free and open source projects. Trying out Saltcorn Online A multitenant instance of Saltcorn is running at saltcorn.com, and…
read the full saltcorn overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is n8n or saltcorn more popular?
n8n has 209,375 GitHub stars and saltcorn has 2,088. n8n has the larger community by that measure.
Are n8n and saltcorn free?
Both are open source. n8n has no licence declared in this registry, and saltcorn is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between n8n and saltcorn?
n8n is written in TypeScript and saltcorn in JavaScript. 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 saltcorn?
Choose n8n if you want the larger community (209,375 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose saltcorn if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.