n8n - Workflow Automation vs Zapier

n8n - Workflow Automation (Free and open fair-code licensed node based Workflow Automation Tool.) and Zapier both appear on the Smoower Developer Ecosystem Index.

Zapier (rank #26) holds a narrow lead over n8n - Workflow Automation (rank #82) on the overall Smoower ecosystem score (64 vs 57). The gap of 7 points reflects composite signals across code, docs, community and reach.

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

n8n - Workflow Automation carries 216,785 GitHub stars across 45 public repos, with 15 repositories active in the last 90 days and 155 external contributors on record. Zapier shows 6,774 stars across 296 public repos, 13 active in the last 90 days and 22 external contributors. The star gap on its own does not decide the comparison, but n8n - Workflow Automation's footprint is roughly 32.0x larger, which usually shows up in downstream signals like inbound issues and third party integrations.

n8n - Workflow Automation is the stronger read for anyone weighting community. Zapier looks better where reach 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.