Sista AI vs n8n
Workflow Automation
Sistava vs n8n
n8n is a fair-code workflow automation platform popular with technical teams for self-hosting and custom JavaScript/Python code injection. While n8n offers developer control, it still requires building explicit workflow graphs node by node. Sistava provides autonomous AI employees that handle complex tasks end-to-end without requiring you to program the logic.
Profile
- Pricing
- Free (self-hosted, unlimited). Cloud: EUR 24/mo (2.5K executions), EUR 60/mo (10K). ~$2.5B valuation.
- Founded
- 2019, Berlin, Germany
- Funding
- $254M raised ($180M Series C, Oct 2025). ~$2.5B valuation.
- Focus
- Open-source, developer-friendly workflow automation with self-hosting
Why Sista AI
Sistava employees work autonomously end-to-end. n8n requires manually connecting nodes in a workflow graph.,Sistava ships pre-built AI teams from a marketplace, no DevOps needed. n8n self-hosting requires infrastructure you must manage and scale.,Sistava has 7-Layer memory and learning across tasks. n8n uses stateless workflow executions with no context retention.,Sistava includes browser automation, task boards, and file Drive. n8n requires custom code nodes for anything beyond API calls.,Sistava has enterprise-grade guardrails with PII detection and approval gates. n8n self-hosted means DIY security.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | n8n | Sista AI |
|---|---|---|
| Node-based workflow graphs | Autonomous AI employees | |
| Explicit logic required | Handles ambiguity | |
| 400-700+ native | Thousands of native + MCP | |
| LangChain nodes + LLM integrations | Native AI-first | |
| Free self-host (unlimited) | Managed platform | |
| Multi-user with roles | ✓ | |
| Stateless | Persistent (graph + episodic) | |
| ✗ | ✓ | |
| Custom Puppeteer nodes | ✓ | |
| ✗ | ✓ | |
| Basic retry + error workflows | ✓ | |
| Self-managed security | ✓ | |
| Free (self-host) / EUR 24/mo (cloud) | $79/mo, no lock-in |