Head to head
n8n vs Kortix: a workflow engine and an open-source AI Operating System
Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System for work an agent finishes on its own, and n8n is a fair-code workflow engine for fixed automation. Use n8n when the task is the same steps in the same order every time, and Kortix when the work is open-ended and needs planning, tools and a human at the gate. Both self-host, and both work with your own models, so the choice comes down to the shape of the work.
Known steps? Keep the canvas
The same nodes run in the same order. n8n's visual canvas and 1,500+ integrations are built for exactly that.
Open outcome? Use an agent
Kortix plans the steps, uses tools on the machine it boots for the session, and lands the result as a change request.
The two platforms
1What each one is
What n8n is
n8n is a fair-code workflow-automation platform that combines a visual canvas with custom code. The n8n repository lists 1,500+ integrations and 9,000+ workflow templates, JavaScript and Python support, and self-hosting with Docker, on-premises or air-gapped, plus a managed cloud option. That repository also states n8n is distributed under the Sustainable Use License and the n8n Enterprise License, while the n8n docs describe it as a workflow automation tool that combines AI features with business process automation.
What Kortix is
Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: agents, skills, company memory and connectors live in one git repo you own, and each session runs on its own isolated cloud computer. Every agent works on its own branch, and finished work opens as a change request you read as a diff. Kortix is model-agnostic, so you run Anthropic, OpenAI, Google or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint with your own keys, on a laptop, a VPS, your VPC or on-prem, or as managed cloud. Read the docs to see how a session runs an agent in an isolated sandbox on its own branch and then opens a change request for you to merge.
The comparison
2How they compare
Kortix leads on agent work and ownership of the whole system; n8n leads on fixed, visual automation. For open-ended work, the open-source pick is Kortix.
Try KortixThe rows below come from each project's own docs and repository (checked October 2026).
| Dimension | Kortix | n8n |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Open-source AI Operating System; agents, skills, memory, connectors in one git repo | Fair-code workflow-automation platform; visual canvas plus custom code |
| Open source | Yes | Fair-code |
| Licence | Elastic License 2.0 | Sustainable Use License and n8n Enterprise License |
| Models | Any model, your keys: Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, any OpenAI-compatible endpoint | OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, or open-source models |
| Where it runs | Laptop, VPS, VPC, on-prem, or managed cloud | Self-hosted (Docker, on-prem, air-gapped) or n8n cloud |
| Dimension | Kortix | n8n |
|---|---|---|
| How you configure it | Agents, skills, memory, connectors as files in one git repo | Visual canvas of nodes, plus code when needed |
| Integrations | 3,000+ apps, plus any MCP, OpenAPI, GraphQL or HTTP API | 1,500+ integrations and 9,000+ workflow templates |
| Agent harness | OpenCode harness: planning, tool use, multi-step runs | AI steps and multi-step agents inside workflows |
| Human approval gate | allow/ask/block per tool call; work lands as a change request | Human-in-the-loop approvals with rule-based automation |
| Where work lands | Change request on a branch, read as a diff | Canvas and execution log; workflow diffs in git |
| Pricing shape | Self-host or managed cloud; your own model keys | Self-host or cloud; Enterprise Licence adds features and support |
Where each wins
3Where a workflow engine wins, and where an agent platform wins
n8n suits fixed automation, where the steps and the branches are known in advance. A form submission syncs a record, an invoice triggers an approval, a nightly job posts a report. The n8n canvas makes those flows visible, the 1,500+ integrations connect the systems, and a human-in-the-loop step holds an action until someone signs off.
Kortix suits work that has no fixed flowchart, such as sourcing a list and writing the sequences, reproducing a failing test and patching it, or reconciling a ledger. Kortix plans the steps, uses tools on the machine it boots for the session, and stops at the gate you set, so the result arrives as a change request instead of an execution log.
Next
4Moving from n8n to Kortix
When fixed automation grows into open-ended work, the move is a configuration change rather than a rewrite. The migration guide maps n8n concepts onto Kortix and walks the switch, and the open-source n8n alternative page covers the self-host path.
For the wider field, the best n8n alternatives page ranks the options, the n8n alternative FAQ answers the common questions, and Kortix vs n8n on the Kortix blog goes deeper on the comparison.
Kortix is open source and runs on your own infrastructure or as managed cloud. Get started.