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n8n vs Trigger.dev
A detailed comparison to help you choose between n8n and Trigger.dev.
| Feature | n8n | Trigger.dev |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | Open Source | Freemium |
| Free Tier | Yes | Yes |
| Monthly Cost (Solo) | $0 | $0 |
| Target Audience | solopreneurs, startups, developers | developers, solopreneurs, startups |
| Verified | No | No |
| Solo-Friendly | Yes | Yes |
| Open Source | Yes | Yes |
| Editorial Rating | 4.4/5 | 4.2/5 |
| Categories | Automation, Developer Tools | Developer Tools |
| Key Features | Self-hostable, Visual workflow editor, 400+ integrations, Custom code nodes (JS/Python), AI agent workflows | Background job execution, Scheduled/cron jobs, Event-driven workflows, Full run observability, Retry and error handling |
| Free Tier Quality | excellent | good |
Pricing Breakdown
n8n
Self-hosted: free, unlimited. Cloud Starter: $24/month (2,500 executions). Cloud Pro: $60/month (10,000 executions). Enterprise: custom.
Trigger.dev
Free: 50,000 runs/month. Hobby: $30/month (100K runs). Pro: $120/month (500K runs). Self-hosted: free.
Integration Overlap
Shared Integrations (2)
Only in n8n (8)
Only in Trigger.dev (6)
Use Case Fit
n8n
- * Self-hosted workflow automation
- * AI agent orchestration
- * Data pipeline and ETL
- * DevOps automation
- * Custom API integrations
Trigger.dev
- * Background job processing
- * Scheduled/cron tasks
- * Webhook handling and processing
- * Multi-step workflow automation
- * Event-driven task chains
n8n
Pros
- + Self-host for free
- + Full data privacy
- + AI workflow capabilities
- + Active open-source community
- + No vendor lock-in
Cons
- - Requires technical setup for self-hosting
- - Smaller integration library than Zapier
- - Cloud pricing can add up
Trigger.dev
Pros
- + TypeScript-native with great DX
- + Full observability for every run
- + Open-source with self-hosting
- + Handles retries and failures gracefully
Cons
- - JavaScript/TypeScript only
- - Managed pricing can add up
- - Newer project with evolving APIs
- - Self-hosting requires infrastructure
Editorial Verdict
n8n takes the lead for solo founders — it offers better value and is explicitly solo-friendly. Trigger.dev may still be the right pick if you need deep Developer Tools features or plan to scale to a larger team.
SaaSLens Editorial Team
Editorial Team