Stream vs n8n - Workflow Automation

Stream (Build scalable in-app chat, feeds, and live video with AI moderation capabilities in hours, not weeks.) and n8n - Workflow Automation (Free and open fair-code licensed node based Workflow Automation Tool.) both appear on the Smoower Developer Ecosystem Index.

n8n - Workflow Automation (rank #82) holds a modest lead over Stream (rank #317) on the overall Smoower ecosystem score (57 vs 44). The gap of 13 points reflects composite signals across code, docs, community and reach.

On code quality (the state of repositories, tests, releases and polish), Stream is ahead of n8n - Workflow Automation. On education (docs, guides and learning material for developers), n8n - Workflow Automation is clearly ahead of Stream. On community (issue response, PR reviews and discussion health), n8n - Workflow Automation is slightly ahead of Stream. On reach (how visible the ecosystem is beyond its own repos), n8n - Workflow Automation is ahead of Stream. On momentum (release cadence and how fast the ecosystem moves), Stream is clearly ahead of n8n - Workflow Automation.

Stream carries 35,664 GitHub stars across 487 public repos, with 84 repositories active in the last 90 days and 44 external contributors on record. n8n - Workflow Automation shows 216,785 stars across 45 public repos, 15 active in the last 90 days and 155 external contributors. The star gap on its own does not decide the comparison, but n8n - Workflow Automation's footprint is roughly 6.1x larger, which usually shows up in downstream signals like inbound issues and third party integrations.

Stream is the stronger read for anyone weighting momentum. n8n - Workflow Automation looks better where education is the deciding factor. The table below breaks the scores down pillar by pillar; the linked profiles cover the underlying repos, docs and community signals in full.