# n8n vs Kortix: a workflow engine and an open-source AI Operating System

description: n8n vs Kortix compared: n8n is a fair-code workflow engine, Kortix the open-source AI Operating System for agent work you run and own.

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.

## What n8n is

n8n is a fair-code workflow-automation platform that combines a visual canvas with custom code. The n8n [repository](https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n) 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](https://n8n.io). That repository also states n8n is distributed under the Sustainable Use License and the n8n Enterprise License, while the [n8n docs](https://docs.n8n.io) describe it as a workflow automation tool that combines AI features with business process automation.

## What Kortix is

[Kortix](https://kortix.com) 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](https://kortix.com/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.

## How they compare

Kortix leads on agent work and ownership of the whole system; n8n leads on fixed, visual automation. The 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 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.

## Moving 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](/migrate-from-n8n.html) maps n8n concepts onto Kortix and walks the switch, and the [open-source n8n alternative](/open-source-n8n-alternative.html) page covers the self-host path.

For the wider field, the [best n8n alternatives](/best-n8n-alternatives.html) page ranks the options, the [n8n alternative FAQ](/faq.html) answers the common questions, and [Kortix vs n8n on the Kortix blog](https://kortix.com/blog/kortix-vs-n8n) goes deeper on the comparison.

## Try open-source Kortix

Kortix is open source and runs on your own infrastructure or as managed cloud. [Get started](https://kortix.com).