Head-to-head · facts checked 13 Sept 2026
n8n vs Salesforce
n8n uniquely has 6 features · Salesforce uniquely has 6 features.
From
€24/mo — Starter
Free plan
Yes — self-hosted Community Edition only
The verdict
n8n or Salesforce?
Section 01
Pricing, plan by plan
Every plan each vendor publishes, monthly and yearly where both are offered.
n8n
Community Edition
Free
Self-hosted only, unlimited workflows, no execution limits enforced by n8n
Starter
$24/mo · $240/yr
2,500 workflow executions/mo, 1 shared project, 5 concurrent executions, 2,300 AI credits/month
Pro
$60/mo · $600/yr
10,000 workflow executions/mo, 3 shared projects, 20 concurrent executions, up to 13,700 AI credits/month
Business
$960/mo · $9,600/yr
40,000 workflow executions/mo, 6 shared projects, SSO/SAML/LDAP, Git version control, different environments
Enterprise
Custom
Custom executions, unlimited shared projects, 200+ concurrent executions, dedicated SLA support, log streaming, external secret store
Salesforce
Starter Suite
$25/user/mo
Turnkey AI + CRM; automate sales, marketing, and service. Billed monthly or annually.
Pro Suite
$100/user/mo
Advanced automation and deeper customisation. Billed annually. Contract required.
Sales Cloud Enterprise
$175/user/mo
Advanced Pipeline Management, Opportunity Scoring, Unlimited Web APIs, Agentforce. Billed annually.
Service Cloud Enterprise
$175/user/mo
AI for Customer Service, Self-Service Help Centre, Workflow Automation. Billed annually.
Marketing Cloud Next Growth Edition
$1,500/org/mo
Agentforce Campaign Creation, Multi-Channel Journeys, Forms and Landing Pages. Billed annually.
Commerce Cloud B2B Growth Edition
Custom
6 B2B Shop Fronts, Order Management Lite, Analytics, Automation & Segmentation.
Slack Business+
$15/user/yr
SAML-based Single Sign-on, Critical Security Features, Advanced AI and Salesforce Integrations. Billed annually.
Section 02
Pros and cons
From each tool's full review, written from the same checked facts.
n8n
Pros
- The self-hosted community edition is genuinely free with no workflow limits, which is rare among automation platforms.
- Code nodes allow JavaScript or Python to be inserted anywhere in a workflow, so developers never feel constrained by visual node limitations.
- Full infrastructure flexibility — runs on Docker, on-prem, or cloud depending on team preference.
- The visual canvas shows every step of a workflow with execution tracing, giving technical users clear visibility into what happened and why.
- A 200,000+ strong community actively solves real problems, often filling the gap when official support is slow.
- Cloud plans start at just €24/month, making the paid tier accessible compared to competitors that charge significantly more.
- Built without dumbing down the interface, making it a genuinely powerful tool for technical and DevOps teams.
Cons
- Non-technical users tend to bounce off the platform quickly due to its complexity and technical design philosophy.
- The interface is not designed to hide complexity, which creates a steep learning curve for teams without developer resources.
- Support tickets can be slow, pushing users to rely on the community forum rather than official channels.
- The tool is not competing with beginner-friendly platforms like Zapier, so teams expecting that experience will be disappointed.
- Self-hosting requires infrastructure management overhead that smaller or less technical teams may not be equipped to handle.
Salesforce
Pros
- Flow Builder provides a comprehensive drag-and-drop workflow canvas that handles branching logic, record changes, scheduled runs, and API events with more completeness than most competitors.
- Einstein AI is embedded across sales, service, marketing, commerce, and IT workflows, providing an integrated AI layer throughout the entire platform.
- Agentforce enables teams to deploy autonomous AI agents that can handle tasks without waiting for human initiation, a genuinely differentiated capability.
- AppExchange offers 3,000+ integrations including Google Workspace, Slack, SAP, and Microsoft Teams, covering most enterprise stack needs.
- MuleSoft provides a powerful underlying integration layer for complex connectivity requirements beyond standard app connections.
- The platform supports multiple development approaches including Apex, JavaScript for Lightning Web Components, and Python via MuleSoft for advanced customization.
- Broad trigger types allow automations to fire from webhooks, schedules, email events, record changes, or user actions, giving teams flexible orchestration options.
- With 25+ years of development, Salesforce covers the full enterprise lifecycle including sales, service, marketing, commerce, and IT workflows in a single platform.
Cons
- The platform requires dedicated admin resources to manage effectively, making it a poor fit for organizations without the staffing to support it.
- High budget requirements mean it is not financially accessible for smaller businesses or teams without enterprise-level spending power.
- The product has grown so complex that it is difficult to describe in a single sentence, suggesting significant onboarding and learning curve challenges.
- Not all 150,000+ customers are getting the same product, meaning feature availability varies significantly by tier and deployment type.
- Advanced customization requires knowledge of Apex, a proprietary Java-like language, creating vendor lock-in and specialist hiring dependencies.
- The sheer volume of integrations available does not guarantee the specific connectors a given team needs will be present or well-maintained.
- Organizations without a genuine end-to-end CRM need risk overpaying for capabilities they will never use.
Side by side
| Company | ||
| Founded | 2019 | 1999 |
| HQ | Berlin, Germany | San Francisco, USA |
| AI model | Supports multiple — OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, and others via node integrations | Einstein AI (Proprietary) + integrated LLMs |
| User base | 200K+ community members, 197K+ GitHub stars | 150,000+ companies |
| Platforms | Web, Self-hosted (Docker/on-prem), Cloud | Web, iOS, Android, Windows Desktop |
| Languages | 25+ | 30+ |
| Pricing | ||
| Pricing model | Subscription | Subscription |
| Free plan | Yes — self-hosted Community Edition only, no free cloud tier | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Starting price | €24/mo — Starter | $25/user/mo |
| Enterprise | Contact Sales | $175/user/mo |
| Refund policy | — | No standard public refund policy; contract-based terms |
| All plans | Community Edition — Free Starter — $24/mo Pro — $60/mo Business — $960/mo Enterprise — Custom | Starter Suite — $25/user/mo Pro Suite — $100/user/mo Sales Cloud Enterprise — $175/user/mo Service Cloud Enterprise — $175/user/mo Marketing Cloud Next Growth Edition — $1,500/org/mo Commerce Cloud B2B Growth Edition — Custom Slack Business+ — $15/user/yr |
| Positioning | ||
| Best for | Solo builders, small teams, and companies needing workflow automation | Small to large businesses needing AI-powered CRM with sales, marketing, and service automation |
| Differentiator | Unlimited steps per workflow execution across all plans | Turnkey AI with Employee Agent, built-in sales flows, AppExchange ecosystem, and deep customisation |
| Competitors | Zapier | HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics 365, SAP CRM, Zoho CRM, ServiceNow |
| Features | ||
| AI Assistant | — | ✓ |
| AI Credits | ✓ | — |
| E Commerce Storefront | — | ✓ |
| Email Marketing | — | ✓ |
| Global Variables | ✓ | — |
| Lead & Opportunity Management | — | ✓ |
| Real Time Chat | — | ✓ |
| SSO/Saml/Ldap | ✓ | — |
| Sales Quoting & Forecasting | — | ✓ |
| Self Hosted Option | ✓ | — |
| Version Control via Git | ✓ | — |
| Workflow History | ✓ | — |
| AI Agents | ✓ | ✓ |
| API Webhooks | ✓ | ✓ |
| Conditional Logic | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom Code | ✓ | ✓ |
| Data Transform | ✓ | ✓ |
| Error Handling | ✓ | ✓ |
| Execution Logs | ✓ | ✓ |
| Human in Loop | ✓ | ✓ |
| Num Integrations | 2,174+ | 3,000+ via AppExchange |
| Scheduled Runs | ✓ | ✓ |
| Team Features | ✓ | ✓ |
| Trigger Types | Webhook / Schedule / HTTP / Queue / Email / Manual / API / External event | webhook / schedule / record change / email / API event / user action / platform event |
| Visual Builder | ✓ | ✓ |
| Integrations | ||
| API Access | ✓ | ✓ |
| Google Workspace | ✓ | ✓ |
| Key Integrations | Slack, OpenAI, Google Workspace, GitHub, Salesforce | Slack, Google Workspace, MuleSoft, SAP, Microsoft Teams |
| Openai Integration | ✓ | ✓ |
| Slack | ✓ | ✓ |
| Webhook Support | ✓ | ✓ |
Section 03
n8n vs Salesforce: common questions
Is n8n or Salesforce cheaper?
n8n's cheapest paid plan is €24/mo — Starter and Salesforce's is $25/user/mo. Compare what each plan includes below before going on price alone.
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