Lobstack vs n8n
A workflow automation platform for technical teams, with AI agents, that you can use on n8n Cloud or host yourself.
n8n is a workflow builder with a large node library that you can host yourself and run around the clock. Lobstack is a desktop app where bots do the work on your computer and ask before each change.
Ten questions, answered from each side’s own pages.
| Lobstack | n8n | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A desktop app where AI bots work in your repos and tools and wait for your yes, plus an API with a receipt on every call. | Workflow automation and AI agents for technical teams. |
| Where it runs | On your computer: Windows, macOS and Linux. Public beta, not code-signed yet. Prompts go to the model. | n8n Cloud, or your own servers. Self-hosted without a licence key is the free Community edition. |
| How you build | Give a bot a job in plain words and it proposes the steps. A finished run can become a routine. There is no visual canvas. | A visual canvas, with code where you need it. |
| Apps and integrations | 36 built-in connectors, plus 2 generic ones that reach any MCP server by URL or command. | Its integrations directory lists 2,279 entries. |
| Approval before an action | On by default. Every step that changes something waits for your yes, with the exact call in front of you. | Human review for an AI agent's tool calls: the workflow pauses until someone approves or denies. |
| Scheduled runs | Routines run on a schedule, but only while the app is running. A closed laptop runs nothing. | A Schedule Trigger node, at fixed intervals and times. |
| MCP | Connectors are MCP servers. Add any HTTP or stdio MCP server. | An MCP Client node uses a server's tools; an MCP Server Trigger exposes n8n workflows. |
| Your own model key | Yes. Your own provider key or GitHub Copilot work instead of the Lobstack API, with no Lobstack account. | AI nodes use your provider credentials, such as an OpenAI API key. n8n Cloud can use its own credits instead. |
| How usage is counted | Dollars of model spend. Each call on the Lobstack API returns what it cost, and calls can be tagged by client. | Executions: one run of a whole workflow, however many steps it has. |
| Free tier and entry price | Free to download. $5 of credit for 30 days on first sign-in, then $1 a month of model spend. Paid plans from $29 a month. | Community edition free to self-host. Cloud Starter 20€ a month billed annually, for 2,500 executions. |
As of 2026-09-30. The n8n column is read from n8n’s own pages, each listed with a quote under Sources. Prices and plans change; check them before you decide.
What n8n does that we do not.
Host it yourself, for free
The Community edition runs on your own servers without a licence key. The source is published under n8n's Sustainable Use License, a fair-code licence.
A big node library and a canvas
Thousands of listed integrations, each a node on a canvas you can read step by step. Lobstack has no canvas and a much shorter connector list.
Runs around the clock
On n8n Cloud or your own server, workflows fire on schedules and webhooks whether or not your computer is on. Lobstack's routines only run while the app is open.
Priced per run, not per step
An execution is a whole workflow run, however many steps it has, so a ten-step workflow counts the same as a one-step one.
Pick the one that fits the job.
Choose n8n if
- You want to self-host on your own servers, including free with the Community edition.
- Workflows must run around the clock, from schedules and webhooks.
- You want to see and edit every step on a canvas, and write code where it helps.
- You need a node n8n has and Lobstack does not.
Choose Lobstack if
- You want bots working on your own computer, in your repos, files and browser.
- Every change should wait for your yes by default, not only on the tools you marked.
- You would rather describe a job than wire up nodes.
- You want a receipt for each model call, with what it cost.
What people ask.
- Is Lobstack a replacement for n8n?
- Not for most n8n users. n8n runs workflows on a server, around the clock, from a canvas. Lobstack runs bots on your computer and stops for your approval before each change. If your automations must run while your computer is off, n8n fits better.
- Can I use them together?
- n8n's MCP Server Trigger makes workflows available to MCP clients, and Lobstack can add any HTTP MCP server by URL. That could let a Lobstack bot call an n8n workflow, with your approval. We have not tested this pairing ourselves.
- Which one costs less?
- They charge for different things. n8n Cloud counts executions, and the Community edition is free to self-host. Lobstack is free to download and charges for model spend in dollars. Compare both against your own usage.
- Where does my data go?
- n8n's hosted plans store data in the EU, in Frankfurt; self-hosted, it is wherever you run it. Lobstack keeps bots, notes and history in one folder on your computer. Prompts go to the model, and connector traffic to that connector's service.
Every page we read, and when.
- n8n.io/pricing
What it is · How usage is counted · Free tier and entry price · Where hosted data is stored · read 2026-09-30
“AI agents and workflows for technical teams”
“It doesn’t matter how many steps are in the workflow”
“20€ /mo, billed annually”
“data is stored within the EU, on servers located in Frankfurt, Germany.”
- docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n
Where it runs · read 2026-09-30
“Without a license key, n8n runs as the free Community edition.”
- n8n.io
How you build · The homepage integration count · read 2026-09-30
“Build visually, go deep with code, connect to anything.”
“over 500 integrations”
- n8n.io/integrations
Apps and integrations · read 2026-09-30
“2279 integrations”
- docs.n8n.io/build/integrate-ai/ai-examples/human-in-the-loop-for-tools
Approval before an action · read 2026-09-30
“the workflow pauses and waits for a person”
- docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.scheduletrigger
Scheduled runs · read 2026-09-30
“run workflows at fixed intervals and times”
- docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-langchain.mcpclient
MCP · read 2026-09-30
“use the tools that are exposed by an external MCP server”
- docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/credentials/openai
Your own model key · read 2026-09-30
“Use these credentials to authenticate with OpenAI in n8n.”
- docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-langchain.mcptrigger
Exposing n8n workflows to MCP clients · read 2026-09-30
“making n8n tools and workflows available to MCP clients.”
- docs.n8n.io/n8n-community-license
The licence · read 2026-09-30
“The Sustainable Use License is a fair-code software license created by n8n”
- Lobstack’s column
Each line restates a page on this site: /download, /docs/app, /connectors, /docs/app#approval, /docs/app#routines, /docs/app#connectors, /docs/console/clients, /pricing.
Download Lobstack.
Free for Windows, Mac and Linux, in public beta. Bots work on your computer and wait for your yes before anything that changes something.