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Alex Spinov
Alex Spinov

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n8n Has a Free Workflow Automation Platform That Replaces Zapier

#n8n #automation #workflow #opensource

Zapier charges $20/month for 750 tasks and gives you zero control. n8n is an open-source workflow automation platform — self-hosted, unlimited tasks, 400+ integrations, and you can write custom JavaScript when visual nodes aren't enough.

What n8n Gives You for Free

  • Unlimited workflows — no task limits when self-hosted
  • 400+ integrations — Slack, Gmail, GitHub, Sheets, databases, APIs
  • Visual editor — drag-and-drop workflow builder
  • Code nodes — write JavaScript/Python when you need custom logic
  • Webhooks — trigger workflows from any HTTP request
  • Cron triggers — schedule workflows on any interval
  • Self-hosted — Docker, npm, or one-click deploy
  • AI agents — built-in LLM chains and RAG

Quick Start (Docker) 

docker run -it --rm \
  --name n8n \
  -p 5678:5678 \
  -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n \
  n8nio/n8n
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Open http://localhost:5678 — n8n is running.

Example: GitHub → Slack Notification 

{
  "nodes": [
    {
      "name": "GitHub Trigger",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.githubTrigger",
      "parameters": {
        "events": ["push", "pull_request"]
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Slack",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.slack",
      "parameters": {
        "channel": "#dev-notifications",
        "text": "New {{$json.action}} on {{$json.repository.full_name}} by {{$json.sender.login}}"
      }
    }
  ]
}
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Example: AI-Powered Email Classifier

  1. Gmail Trigger → new email arrives
  2. OpenAI Node → classify email (support/sales/spam)
  3. Switch Node → route based on classification
  4. Slack Node → notify the right team
  5. Google Sheets → log the email and classification

Code Node (When Visual Isn't Enough) 

// Custom JavaScript in n8n
const items = $input.all();

return items.map(item => {
  const data = item.json;
  return {
    json: {
      ...data,
      processedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
      priority: data.amount > 1000 ? 'high' : 'normal',
      slug: data.title.toLowerCase().replace(/\s+/g, '-')
    }
  };
});
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Webhook Trigger 

# Your workflow gets a unique URL:
# https://your-n8n.com/webhook/abc123

# Trigger it from anywhere:
curl -X POST https://your-n8n.com/webhook/abc123 \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"event": "user_signup", "email": "new@user.com"}'
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n8n vs Zapier vs Make

Feature n8n Zapier Make
Price Free (self-hosted) $20+/mo $9+/mo
Task limits Unlimited 750/mo (starter) 1000/mo
Self-hosted Yes No No
Code nodes JavaScript/Python Limited Limited
Integrations 400+ 6000+ 1500+
AI/LLM Built-in Add-on Add-on
Open source Yes No No
Webhooks Free Paid plan Free

The Verdict

n8n is Zapier without the bill and without the limits. Self-host it on a $5 VPS and run unlimited automations. When drag-and-drop isn't enough, drop in JavaScript. The best of both worlds.

Need help building production web scrapers or data pipelines? I build custom solutions. Reach out: spinov001@gmail.com

Check out my awesome-web-scraping collection — 400+ tools for extracting web data.

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