head to head · open source
n8n vs second-brain
n8n has 205,086 GitHub stars, 60,753 forks, 1,143 open issues and last shipped today. second-brain has 641 stars, 77 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped today. n8n leads on adoption by 31,895% (205,086 vs 641 stars). n8n is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; second-brain is written in Python under MIT. n8n has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, second-brain 12%. n8n 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 | second-brain | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 205K | ★ 641 |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 61K | ⑂ 77 |
| 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 second-brain if
- You want the second-brain feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and second-brain 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 second-brain
Quick install Sponsor Atlas Cloud is a full modal AI inference platform that gives developers a single AI API to access video generation, image generation, and LLM APIs. Instead of managing multiple vendor integrations, you connect once and get unified access to 300+ curated models across all modalities. Check out Atlas Cloud's new coding plan promotion for more budget friendly API access: Second Brain Example For an example of what Second Brain can do, visit It's an interactive art exhibition. Head to Head Evaluation Second Brain performs higher than OpenClaw and Hermes on harness bench, which measures "model ha…
read the full second-brain overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is n8n or second-brain more popular?
n8n has 205,086 GitHub stars and second-brain has 641. n8n has the larger community by that measure.
Are n8n and second-brain free?
Both are open source. n8n has no licence declared in this registry, and second-brain is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between n8n and second-brain?
n8n is written in TypeScript and second-brain 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 second-brain?
Choose n8n if you want the larger community (205,086 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose second-brain if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.