head to head · open source
open-claude-cowork vs n8n-helm-chart
open-claude-cowork has 4,309 GitHub stars, 702 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped 6 months ago. n8n-helm-chart has 709 stars, 246 forks, 64 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. open-claude-cowork leads on adoption by 508% (4,309 vs 709 stars). open-claude-cowork is written in JavaScript under MIT; n8n-helm-chart is written in Go Template under Apache-2.0. open-claude-cowork has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, n8n-helm-chart 35%. n8n-helm-chart was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (workflow-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.
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Side by side
| open-claude-cowork | n8n-helm-chart | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 4.3K | ★ 709 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Go Template |
| Last push | 2026-05-23 | 2026-09-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 702 | ⑂ 246 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick open-claude-cowork if
- You weight community size — 4.3K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick n8n-helm-chart if
- You want the n8n-helm-chart feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go Template
- You evaluated both and n8n-helm-chart fits your workflow better
About open-claude-cowork
Open Claude Cowork An open source desktop chat application powered by Claude Agent SDK and Composio Tool Router. Automate your work end to end across desktop and all your work apps in one place. Get your free API key to get started → Pst. hey, you, join our stargazers :) What's Inside This repo includes two powerful AI tools: Both include 500+ app integrations via Composio (Gmail, Slack, GitHub, Google Drive, and more). Quick Start Open Claude Cowork Then run in two terminals: 🦑 Secure Clawdbot Select "Terminal chat" to test, or "Start gateway" to connect WhatsApp/Telegram/Signal/iMessage. See Secure Clawdbot…
read the full open-claude-cowork overview →
About n8n-helm-chart
[!NOTE] The n8n Helm chart is growing in popularity. We're looking for additional conscientious and accurate maintainers and contributors to improve and maintain this chart, governance, development, documentation and CI/CD workflows. If you're interested in making a difference, join the discussion. n8n Helm Chart for Kubernetes n8n is an extendable workflow automation tool. The Helm chart source code location is github.com/8gears/n8n helm chart Requirements Before you start, make sure you have the following tools ready: Helm = 3.8 external Postgres DB or embedded SQLite (SQLite is bundled with n8n) Helmfile…
read the full n8n-helm-chart overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is open-claude-cowork or n8n-helm-chart more popular?
open-claude-cowork has 4,309 GitHub stars and n8n-helm-chart has 709. open-claude-cowork has the larger community by that measure.
Are open-claude-cowork and n8n-helm-chart free?
Both are open source. open-claude-cowork is licensed under MIT and n8n-helm-chart under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between open-claude-cowork and n8n-helm-chart?
open-claude-cowork is written in JavaScript and n8n-helm-chart in Go Template. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, open-claude-cowork or n8n-helm-chart?
Choose open-claude-cowork if you want the larger community (4,309 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose n8n-helm-chart if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.