head to head · open source
n8n vs Skyvern
n8n has 209,375 GitHub stars, 61,361 forks, 1,143 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Skyvern has 23,336 stars, 2,233 forks, 234 open issues and last shipped yesterday. n8n leads on adoption by 797% (209,375 vs 23,336 stars). n8n is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Skyvern is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. n8n has attracted 29% as many forks as stars, Skyvern 10%. n8n was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (ai, automation), 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| n8n | Skyvern | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 209K | ★ 23K |
| License | Custom / other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 61K | ⑂ 2.2K |
| 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 Skyvern if
- You want the Skyvern feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Skyvern 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 Skyvern
🐉 Automate Browser based workflows using LLMs and Computer Vision 🐉 Skyvern automates browser based workflows using LLMs and computer vision. It provides a Playwright compatible SDK that adds AI functionality on top of playwright, as well as a no code workflow builder to help both technical and non technical users automate manual workflows on any website, replacing brittle or unreliable automation solutions. Traditional approaches to browser automations required writing custom scripts for websites, often relying on DOM parsing and XPath based interactions which would break whenever the website layouts changed…
read the full Skyvern 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 Skyvern more popular?
n8n has 209,375 GitHub stars and Skyvern has 23,336. n8n has the larger community by that measure.
Are n8n and Skyvern free?
Both are open source. n8n has no licence declared in this registry, and Skyvern is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between n8n and Skyvern?
n8n is written in TypeScript and Skyvern 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 Skyvern?
Choose n8n if you want the larger community (209,375 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Skyvern if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.