head to head · open source
n8n vs ShareX
n8n has 204,887 GitHub stars, 60,739 forks, 1,143 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ShareX has 39,618 stars, 3,916 forks, 646 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. n8n leads on adoption by 417% (204,887 vs 39,618 stars). n8n is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; ShareX is written in C# under GPL-3.0. n8n has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, ShareX 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.
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Side by side
| n8n | ShareX | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 205K | ★ 40K |
| License | Custom / other | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | C# |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 61K | ⑂ 3.9K |
| 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 ShareX if
- You want the ShareX feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and ShareX 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 ShareX
ShareX is a free and open source Windows application written in C that combines screen capture, screen recording, image annotation, file uploading, and productivity utilities into a single lightweight tool. It lives in the Windows desktop productivity ecosystem and is distributed under the GPL 3.0 license with over 39,000 GitHub stars.
read the full ShareX overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is n8n or ShareX more popular?
n8n has 204,887 GitHub stars and ShareX has 39,618. n8n has the larger community by that measure.
Are n8n and ShareX free?
Both are open source. n8n has no licence declared in this registry, and ShareX is licensed under GPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between n8n and ShareX?
n8n is written in TypeScript and ShareX in C#. 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 ShareX?
Choose n8n if you want the larger community (204,887 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose ShareX if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.