n8n
Automation & WorkflowsWorkflow automation with a node-based editor
Replaces Zapier, Make
Best Plugins Automation & Workflows for self-hosting
The 10 best Plugins automation & workflows you can self-host, ranked by community traction.
Apache Airflow
Automation & WorkflowsProgrammatically author, schedule and monitor workflows
Replaces AWS Step Functions, Azure Data Factory
Activepieces
Automation & WorkflowsOpen-source no-code business automation
Replaces Zapier, Make
Node-RED
Automation & WorkflowsFlow-based programming for event-driven apps
Replaces Zapier
Luigi
Automation & WorkflowsPython module for building complex batch job pipelines
Replaces AWS Step Functions
Dagster
Automation & WorkflowsData orchestrator for the full development lifecycle
Replaces AWS Step Functions, Azure Data Factory
StackStorm
Automation & WorkflowsEvent-driven automation, often called IFTTT for ops
Replaces Zapier, AWS Systems Manager
Apache NiFi
Automation & WorkflowsVisual dataflow automation and routing system
Replaces Azure Data Factory, Zapier
pyLoad
Automation & WorkflowsLightweight, extensible download manager with a web UI
Replaces JDownloader
FlowFuse
Automation & WorkflowsPlatform for managing Node-RED instances and teams
No apps match these filters.
At a glance
| App | Deploy effort | Difficulty | Min. RAM | License | ★ Stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n8n | Under-an-hour setup | Medium | 512 MB | Sustainable Use License | 207,291 |
| Apache Airflow | Under-an-hour setup | Hard | 4,096 MB | Apache-2.0 | 47,169 |
| Activepieces | Under-an-hour setup | Medium | 512 MB | MIT | 25,042 |
| Node-RED | Under-an-hour setup | Easy | 256 MB | Apache-2.0 | 23,744 |
| Luigi | Read-the-docs project | Medium | 256 MB | Apache-2.0 | 18,784 |
| Dagster | Under-an-hour setup | Medium | 2,048 MB | Apache-2.0 | 16,272 |
| StackStorm | Under-an-hour setup | Hard | 2,048 MB | Apache-2.0 | 6,548 |
| Apache NiFi | Under-an-hour setup | Hard | 2,048 MB | Apache-2.0 | 6,257 |
| pyLoad | Under-an-hour setup | Easy | 256 MB | AGPL-3.0 | 3,885 |
| FlowFuse | Under-an-hour setup | Easy | 256 MB | Apache-2.0 | 401 |
Quick picks
- Most adopted: n8n (207,291 GitHub stars).
- Lightest footprint: Node-RED (from 256 MB RAM, against 4,096 MB for the heaviest here).
- Licensing: 7 of 10 use Apache-2.0; check the rest individually if you plan to modify and redistribute.
Every option here is open-source and self-hostable, tagged Plugins within the automation & workflows category. Deploy effort is graded from published container recipes, not vendor claims — see the methodology.