head to head · open source
n8n vs Windmill
n8n has 204,887 GitHub stars, 60,739 forks, 1,143 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Windmill has 17,957 stars, 1,096 forks, 852 open issues and last shipped yesterday. n8n leads on adoption by 1,041% (204,887 vs 17,957 stars). n8n is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Windmill is written in Rust under a custom or non-standard licence. n8n has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, Windmill 6%. n8n was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (low-code), 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 | Windmill | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 205K | ★ 18K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 61K | ⑂ 1.1K |
| 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 Windmill if
- You want the Windmill feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and Windmill 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 Windmill
Windmill is an open source developer platform for internal code, including APIs, background jobs, workflows, and UIs. It lives in the self hostable low code automation ecosystem and supports Python, TypeScript, Go, Bash, SQL, GraphQL, PowerShell, Rust, and more. The project is positioned as an open source alternative to Zapier and, in the README, to Retool, Pipedream, Superblocks, and a simplified Temporal.
read the full Windmill overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is n8n or Windmill more popular?
n8n has 204,887 GitHub stars and Windmill has 17,957. n8n has the larger community by that measure.
Are n8n and Windmill free?
Neither n8n nor Windmill declares a licence in this registry, so check each project's own repository before relying on either for a commercial use. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between n8n and Windmill?
n8n is written in TypeScript and Windmill in Rust. 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 Windmill?
Choose n8n if you want the larger community (204,887 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Windmill if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.