Background jobs & workflow automation
Run tasks on a schedule, on a trigger or in the background.
Picks changed this week: none. These picks were first published on 2026-11-02.
n8n
Community Edition free (self-hosted) · Starter €20/mo billed annuallyWhy it wins: Visual workflow builder with code steps, AI agent nodes and MCP support. Cloud plans charge per full workflow run, not per step, and a free Community Edition can be self-hosted.
Pick something else if you'd rather write jobs as TypeScript code (Trigger.dev), want event-driven functions in TypeScript, Python or Go (Inngest), or want an MIT-licensed core visual builder (Activepieces).
Visit n8n →Alternatives
Trigger.dev
TypeScript background tasks with no maximum run duration, queues, cron schedules and retries. Apache-2.0 and self-hostable. Read its Nov 1, 2026 security disclosure first.
Security notice: Trigger.dev disclosed a Nov 1, 2026 security incident in which an attacker gained access to environment variables for a subset of organizations. It says it blocked the exploit and emailed every affected account owner with steps to fix it. If you use Trigger.dev Cloud, check your email and rotate secrets stored there. Trigger.dev's disclosure
Free ($5/mo credits) · Hobby $10/mo · Pro $50/mo + usageInngest
Event-driven functions and durable steps you write in TypeScript, Python or Go. Start locally, then use Inngest Cloud or self-host.
Free (50k executions/mo) · Pro from $99/moActivepieces
MIT-licensed core visual automation builder with flows, agents and tables; runs in its cloud or on your own servers.
Free (1,000 credits/mo) · Plus $20/moCompare at a glance
| Tool | Pricing | Open source | Platform | Best for (our take) | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n8n top | Community Edition free (self-hosted) · Starter €20/mo billed annually | Partly (Sustainable Use License, fair-code) | Hosted, Self-hosted | Visual workflows + AI agents | 2026-11-02 |
| Trigger.dev | Free ($5/mo credits) · Hobby $10/mo · Pro $50/mo + usage | Yes (Apache-2.0) | Hosted, Self-hosted | Long-running TypeScript tasks | 2026-11-02 |
| Inngest | Free (50k executions/mo) · Pro from $99/mo | Partly (SSPL with Apache 2.0 future license) | Hosted, Self-hosted | Event-driven durable functions | 2026-11-02 |
| Activepieces | Free (1,000 credits/mo) · Plus $20/mo | Yes (MIT core; ee/ excluded) | Hosted, Self-hosted | Open-source visual automations | 2026-11-02 |
Every pricing, open-source and platform fact was checked by hand on the tool's own pricing page, docs or official GitHub repo (license file). Click a fact to open its source. Open source means an OSI-approved license in the official repo; source-available licenses such as FSL are labeled as such. Anything we couldn't confirm is marked unverified, not guessed.
Considered but not listed
Tools we checked and left out, and why.
- Windmill: Code-first scripts, flows and apps that you can self-host. It overlaps n8n and Trigger.dev, so we're watching it rather than listing it. Source · checked Nov 2, 2026
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