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Tools: Windmill vs n8n: Which Automation Platform to Self-Host?

2026-03-14 0 views admin
Tools: Windmill vs n8n: Which Automation Platform to Self-Host?

Quick Verdict

Overview

Feature Comparison

Installation Complexity

Community and Support

Use Cases

Choose Windmill If...

Choose n8n If...

Final Verdict

Can Windmill replace n8n?

Why do Windmill workers need privileged mode?

Can n8n run Python scripts like Windmill?

Which is cheaper to run?

Related Windmill is the better choice for developer teams who want to build internal tools, scripts, and data pipelines with a code-first approach. n8n is better for business workflow automation with its visual editor and 400+ pre-built integrations. They target different audiences despite both being "automation platforms." Updated March 2026: Verified with latest Docker images and configurations. Windmill is an open-source developer platform for building scripts, workflows, and UIs. It's code-first — you write Python, TypeScript, Go, Bash, or SQL scripts, and Windmill handles scheduling, error handling, approval flows, and auto-generated UIs. Think Retool + Temporal + Airflow combined. n8n is a visual workflow automation platform for connecting apps and services. It's UI-first — you drag and drop nodes, configure connections, and build automations without necessarily writing code. Think self-hosted Zapier with code superpowers. Windmill has a complex Docker setup. The official docker-compose.yml runs 6 services: Windmill server, default workers (3 replicas), native workers, PostgreSQL, Caddy reverse proxy, and an LSP service for in-browser code completion. Workers run as privileged containers with Docker socket access for Docker-in-Docker execution. PostgreSQL needs 1GB shared memory (shm_size). n8n needs 2 services — n8n and PostgreSQL: Winner: n8n. Dramatically simpler deployment. Windmill's multi-service architecture is powerful but complex. Windmill is significantly heavier because it runs actual isolated script executions. Each worker container can consume substantial resources depending on the scripts it runs. n8n is lightweight because it's essentially an event loop making API calls. Both have active development and commercial backing. n8n has a much larger user community. These tools solve different problems. Windmill is an internal developer platform for running scripts, building tools, and orchestrating complex jobs. n8n is a workflow automation tool for connecting apps and services visually. If you're a developer team that needs to run scheduled scripts, build internal tools with auto-generated UIs, and orchestrate multi-step data pipelines — pick Windmill. It's more powerful than n8n for code-heavy workflows. If you're automating business processes — syncing data between apps, processing webhooks, sending notifications — pick n8n. It's simpler to deploy, lighter on resources, and has far more pre-built integrations. Some teams run both: Windmill for backend scripts and data jobs, n8n for app-to-app integrations. For code-heavy workflows, yes. For visual automations connecting SaaS apps with pre-built connectors, no. Windmill requires you to write scripts to connect to each service, while n8n provides ready-made nodes. Windmill runs user scripts in isolated containers for security. Workers need Docker socket access to spawn these execution containers. This is similar to CI/CD runners — the trade-off is powerful script execution at the cost of requiring Docker-in-Docker privileges. n8n has a Python code node, but it's limited to inline scripts within a workflow. Windmill treats scripts as first-class citizens with full dependency management, package installation, and proper IDE features (LSP, auto-complete). n8n by a significant margin. It runs comfortably on a $5-10/month VPS. Windmill's multi-worker architecture needs at least 4 GB RAM for a reasonable setup, putting it in the $15-20/month range. Templates let you quickly answer FAQs or store snippets for re-use. Hide child comments as well For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse

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services: windmill_server: image: ghcr.io/windmill-labs/windmill:1.654.0 windmill_worker: image: ghcr.io/windmill-labs/windmill:1.654.0 deploy: replicas: 3 windmill_worker_native: image: ghcr.io/windmill-labs/windmill:1.654.0 db: image: postgres:16 caddy: image: ghcr.io/windmill-labs/caddy-l4 lsp: image: ghcr.io/windmill-labs/windmill-extra services: windmill_server: image: ghcr.io/windmill-labs/windmill:1.654.0 windmill_worker: image: ghcr.io/windmill-labs/windmill:1.654.0 deploy: replicas: 3 windmill_worker_native: image: ghcr.io/windmill-labs/windmill:1.654.0 db: image: postgres:16 caddy: image: ghcr.io/windmill-labs/caddy-l4 lsp: image: ghcr.io/windmill-labs/windmill-extra services: windmill_server: image: ghcr.io/windmill-labs/windmill:1.654.0 windmill_worker: image: ghcr.io/windmill-labs/windmill:1.654.0 deploy: replicas: 3 windmill_worker_native: image: ghcr.io/windmill-labs/windmill:1.654.0 db: image: postgres:16 caddy: image: ghcr.io/windmill-labs/caddy-l4 lsp: image: ghcr.io/windmill-labs/windmill-extra services: n8n: image: docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n:2.11.3 postgres: image: postgres:16 services: n8n: image: docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n:2.11.3 postgres: image: postgres:16 services: n8n: image: docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n:2.11.3 postgres: image: postgres:16 - You're building internal developer tools and scripts - You need to run Python/TypeScript/Go/SQL scripts on schedules - You want auto-generated UIs from script parameters - You need approval workflows (human-in-the-loop) - You're building data pipelines or ETL jobs - Your team writes code and wants version control with Git - You need multiplayer real-time editing - You're replacing Zapier/Make for business workflow automation - You want 400+ pre-built integrations without writing code - You need a lightweight, simple deployment - Your users are non-technical or semi-technical - You're connecting SaaS apps (CRM, email, chat, etc.) - You want a drag-and-drop interface - Resource efficiency matters (VPS or Raspberry Pi) - How to Self-Host n8n - How to Self-Host Windmill - n8n vs Activepieces - n8n vs Node-RED - Self-Hosted Alternatives to Zapier - Best Self-Hosted Automation Tools - Docker Compose Basics

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