Side-by-side comparison · Automation & Workflows
Activepieces vs n8n vs Parabola
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Small teams who like how Zapier works but want to own their automations or avoid per-task pricing.
Pick it if: Teams that want full control of their data and automations, or anyone building AI agents on a budget who doesn't mind getting a bit technical.
Pick it if: Operations and finance teams at ecommerce and logistics businesses who live in spreadsheets.
Overview
| Attribute | Activepieces | n8n | Parabola |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | A Zapier-style automation builder that's open source and charges per run, not per step. | Build automations and AI agents on a visual canvas, then host them yourself for free. | Automates messy operations data jobs like reconciliations, reports and invoice audits. |
| Pricing model | Open source | Open source | Freemium |
| Starting price | $20/mo flat | €20/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | No |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Activepieces | n8n | Parabola |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.0 | 4.5Winner | 4.0 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 3.5 | 5.0 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.5 | 5.0 | 3.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Activepieces | n8n | Parabola |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | No | No | – |
| Desktop app | No | No | – |
| Browser extension | No | No | – |
| API access | Yes | Yes | – |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | Yes | Yes | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | – | Yes | – |
| Makes images | No | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | Yes | Yes | – |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | No | No | – |
| Works in many languages | Yes | – | – |
| Capabilities score | 10/ 17 | 10/ 17 | 6/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Activepieces | n8n | Parabola |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free Small teams getting started, or anyone who will self-host. | Community Edition Free (self-hosted) Anyone comfortable running software on a server. | BasicOur pick Free One person automating their own reports. |
PlusOur pick $20/mo flat A small business running automations every day. | StarterOur pick €20/mo billed yearly A small business that wants n8n hosted for them. | Business Custom Operations and finance teams. | |
Team $200/mo flat A larger team that needs SSO and roles. | Pro €50/mo billed yearly Teams running several business-critical workflows. | ||
Ultimate Custom Companies with heavy volume or strict security needs. | Business €667/mo billed yearly Larger teams that need SSO and version control, self-hosted. | ||
Enterprise Custom Companies that need an SLA and dedicated support. | |||
| Which plan to pick | The Free plan is unusually generous, so start there. Move to Plus when you want monthly credits instead of a daily cap and the option to use your own AI keys. Self-host only if someone on the team is happy running a server. | If you have anyone technical on hand, self-host the Community Edition on a small server and pay nothing. Otherwise Starter on the cloud is the right place to begin, and 2,500 executions covers a lot when each run of a long workflow counts as one. | Start on the free Basic plan to rebuild one report you do every week. If the team needs to share and govern Flows, ask for a Business proof of concept, which is free if it doesn't prove value. |
Key features
| Attribute | Activepieces | n8n | Parabola |
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Pros and cons
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Activepieces | n8n | Parabola |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Activepieces, n8n or Parabola?
n8n scores highest overall in our ratings (Activepieces 4.0/5, n8n 4.5/5 and Parabola 4.0/5). Activepieces is best for zapier-style automations on a budget and Giving AI assistants access to your apps. n8n is best for AI agents that act on email or chat and self-hosted automation. Parabola is best for inventory and order reconciliation and shipping and parcel invoice audits.
Which is cheaper, Activepieces, n8n or Parabola?
Activepieces: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $20/mo flat. n8n: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at €20/mo. Parabola: It's free to use.
Which is easier to use, Activepieces, n8n or Parabola?
Activepieces rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Small teams who like how Zapier works but want to own their automations or avoid per-task pricing.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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