Activepieces vs Node-RED
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted automation & workflows options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Activepieces
Open-source no-code business automation
VS
Node-RED
Flow-based programming for event-driven apps
| Feature | Activepieces | Node-RED |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Automation & Workflows | Automation & Workflows |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 23,620 | ★ 23,501 |
| First released | 2022 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Zapier, Make | Zapier |
Why pick each one
Choose Activepieces if…
- Truly open-source license
- Friendly no-code UI
- Active development
Frequently asked questions
Is Activepieces or Node-RED better?
Neither is universally better. Activepieces has the larger community, while Node-RED is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Activepieces and Node-RED free and open-source?
Yes. Activepieces is licensed under MIT and Node-RED under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Activepieces and Node-RED with Docker?
Activepieces: yes. Node-RED: yes.