Who should pick it
n8n
Pick n8n if you want the larger integration catalogue in its tagline (400+ integrations) and native AI capabilities. Be aware its licence is fair-code (the Sustainable Use License), not an OSI open-source licence.
Comparison · self-hosted workflow automation
n8n vs Activepieces
n8n: Fair-code workflow automation platform with native AI capabilities and 400+ integrations.
Activepieces: Open-source workflow/business automation platform with a visual flow builder and 200+ integrations.
Requirements
Side-by-side VPS specs
Every value is taken from each app’s RunOnVPS dataset entry. Badges show whether a figure is an official project figure or a RunOnVPS estimate — never compare the two as if they were equal.
| Resource | n8n | Activepieces |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum RAM | 2 GB Estimated | 4 GB Official |
| Minimum CPU | 1 vCPU Estimated | 2 vCPU Official |
| Minimum disk | 10 GB Estimated | 20 GB Estimated |
| Recommended RAM | 4 GB Estimated | 8 GB Estimated |
| Recommended CPU | 2 vCPU Estimated | 4 vCPU Estimated |
| Recommended disk | Not stated Not stated | Not stated Not stated |
| Suggested VPS tier (our sizing) | 4 GB RAM tier | 8 GB RAM tier |
| GPU | Not required | Not required |
| Docker support | Yes | Yes |
| Licence | Sustainable Use License (fair-code) | MIT (core; ee portions under separate enterprise license) |
| GitHub stars | ~208k | 25192 |
| Commercial alternative | Zapier / Make | Zapier / Make |
| Category | Automation / AI / Dev | Automation / AI / Dev |
Disk figures describe the application footprint recorded in the dataset. Personal media, documents, backups and other user data can require substantially more storage. Full source notes: n8n requirements · Activepieces requirements.
Who should pick it
Activepieces
Pick Activepieces if an MIT-licensed core matters to you and your server meets its official minimum of 2 vCPU and 4 GB RAM for the visual flow builder stack.
Verdict
The short version
- The RAM rows are not like-for-like: Activepieces publishes an official 4 GB minimum, while n8n publishes no hardware minimum at all — so n8n’s lower figures are RunOnVPS estimates, not project figures.
- Our recommended rows put n8n on the 4 GB tier and Activepieces on the 8 GB tier.
- Licence is the sharpest difference: n8n is fair-code under the Sustainable Use License; Activepieces’ core is MIT, with its ee/ portions under a separate enterprise licence.
- n8n is far larger on GitHub in our dataset (~208k vs ~25k stars, checked 2026-10-24).
Neither verdict nor table scores the apps against each other — the right pick depends on the job, the licence you can accept, and how much of the spec is published rather than estimated. If you plan to run either alongside other apps, add it to a multi-app VPS estimate →