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Head-to-head · Automation & RPA
n8n is a flexible workflow engine with agents added on. ZeaIQ is an agent platform with workflows, documents, robots, voice and governance designed in from the start.
| Area |  | n8n |
|---|---|---|
| Build | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 |
| Automate | 4 of 4 | 0 of 4 |
| Govern | 3 of 3 | 1 of 3 |
| Operate | 2 of 2 | 0 of 2 |
| Connect & deploy | 6 of 6 | 5 of 6 |
| Built in | 18 of 18 | 9 of 18 |
Built in: 18 of 18One governed runtime for agents, teams, workflows, browser robots, documents, data, apps and voice, with the same policy rules, audit and ROI on every surface.
n8n
Built in: 9 of 18A fair-code, self-hostable workflow automation platform that adds AI agent nodes, a new no-code agent builder and MCP to a visual workflow engine with hundreds of integrations.
The short version
you need document review, browser robots, voice and phone agents, central policy rules on every tool call, or apps and decks built from a prompt.
you want a low-cost, self-hostable workflow engine with a huge integration library and community templates, and your team is comfortable building flows.
Why teams pick ZeaIQ
In n8n, individual tools can require approval, but we found no central policy engine. ZeaIQ rules apply across every agent and surface, written in plain English.
n8n maps PDF text to JSON and uses partner nodes such as Browserbase for browsers. ZeaIQ ships confidence-scored extraction with review and teach-by-showing robots.
We found no voice or phone agents in n8n, and apps or decks are outside its scope. ZeaIQ answers calls on your SIP trunk and builds apps and decks from a prompt.
n8n's Sustainable Use License restricts offering n8n to your own customers without an agreement. ZeaIQ is built for it, with branded widgets, SDKs and a marketplace.
Capability by capability
Each rating links the public documentation it comes from, reviewed 29 October 2026.
Describe an agent, get a tested one
ZeaIQ Built in
Describe the job and Agent Studio builds and tests the agent, or start from 30+ templates. Custom tools come from OpenAPI specs and MCP servers.
n8n Built in
n8n Agents, a no-code agent builder, has been in Preview since August 2026; the main canvas suits technical builders.
Source: docs.n8n.io(opens in a new tab)Hand-offs, parallel work, a manager
ZeaIQ Built in
Five orchestration patterns: sequential, concurrent, handoff, group chat and a Magentic manager that plans the work and assigns it.
n8n Built in
Agents delegate to published sub-agents, and AI Agent nodes can call other agents as tools.
Source: docs.n8n.io(opens in a new tab)Durable processes that wait for people
ZeaIQ Built in
26 node types and 8 triggers, approval gates with required roles and 4 to 72 hour timeouts, and runs that resume from a checkpoint on the version they started.
n8n Built in
Its core strength: triggered workflows, where AI tool calls can require approval over chat, Slack, Teams, email or WhatsApp.
Source: docs.n8n.io(opens in a new tab)Agents that operate real websites
ZeaIQ Built in
Teach a task by showing it. The recipe replays with no model calls, an AI agent takes over if the page changes, and a second model verifies every finished run.
n8n Add-on
Browser agents come through partner or community nodes such as Browserbase, a separately paid service.
Source: createwith.com · Feb 2026(opens in a new tab)Extraction, confidence, reviewers
ZeaIQ Built in
Eight templates, per-field confidence, cross-field validation and side-by-side review of only the flagged fields, inside the workflow.
n8n Partial
The Information Extractor maps text from PDFs to a JSON schema; we found no native OCR or review queue.
Source: docs.n8n.io(opens in a new tab)Generated from a prompt
ZeaIQ Built in
Build App turns a prompt into an internal app or site that can query your databases; Create Slides builds cited decks from your documents and data.
n8n Not offered
n8n Assistant builds workflows from prompts; generating apps, dashboards or decks is outside n8n's scope.
Source: docs.n8n.io · Sep 2026(opens in a new tab)Speech, phone numbers, calls
ZeaIQ Built in
Voice chat and realtime Live on every chat surface, and inbound and outbound phone agents on your own SIP trunk, with approvals during calls, a live console and call QA.
n8n Not documented
We found no native voice or phone agents in n8n's documentation or release notes.
Source: docs.n8n.io · Oct 2026(opens in a new tab)Enforced on every tool call
ZeaIQ Built in
Rules run as middleware on every tool call and can deny it, hold it for approval or allow it. Written in plain English, compiled for review and dry-run tested.
n8n Partial
Individual tools can require human approval and a Guardrails node checks content; we found no central tool-call policy engine.
Source: docs.n8n.io(opens in a new tab)Approve what goes live, stop it fast
ZeaIQ Built in
Immutable versions with diff and rollback, eval-gated publishing with an approver, and one kill switch across chat, API, channels, MCP, A2A and teams.
n8n Built in
Draft and publish with version history, reviews with diffs, Git-based environments and an instance-wide disable.
Source: docs.n8n.io · Oct 2026(opens in a new tab)SSO, roles, audit, certifications
ZeaIQ Built in
SAML 2.0, OIDC, LDAP/AD and MFA; seven roles and 60+ permissions; hash-chained audit. SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA and GDPR.
n8n Partial
SOC 2 Type 2 and GDPR; SSO and LDAP from Business, audit logs on Enterprise; no ISO 27001 or HIPAA listed.
Source: trust.n8n.io · Oct 2026(opens in a new tab)Quality and spend for every run
ZeaIQ Built in
One run ledger records every turn on every surface with tokens, cost, latency and tool traces; evals use rubric judges and simulated users.
n8n Partial
Execution and AI logs plus built-in evaluations; we found no token-cost reporting.
Source: docs.n8n.io(opens in a new tab)Hours saved and value, from real runs
ZeaIQ Built in
Value baselines turn real runs into hours saved, FTE equivalent, net value, ROI multiple, cost per case and straight-through rate per agent and workflow.
n8n Partial
Insights reports time saved per workflow from your own estimate; we found no cost or net-value view.
Source: docs.n8n.io(opens in a new tab)Teams, Slack, WhatsApp, email, web
ZeaIQ Built in
Microsoft Teams, Slack, WhatsApp, Microsoft 365 email, SMS and a branded web widget, plus Teams apps and SharePoint embeds with single sign-on.
n8n Built in
Teams, Slack, WhatsApp, Gmail and Outlook, Telegram and Google Chat through nodes, plus an embeddable chat widget.
Source: docs.n8n.io(opens in a new tab)OpenAI-compatible API, MCP, A2A
ZeaIQ Built in
OpenAI-compatible /v1 chat completions for agents and teams, one MCP server per organization (agents and workflows as tools) and A2A agent cards.
n8n Partial
MCP client and server, and OpenAI-compatible model endpoints as inputs; A2A only through a community node.
Source: docs.n8n.io(opens in a new tab)SDKs and a branded widget
ZeaIQ Built in
TypeScript, Python and React SDKs for Connected Apps, a branded website widget, signed webhooks and scoped API keys.
n8n Built in
The @n8n/chat widget and webhooks embed agents; white-label embedding of n8n itself needs an Embed licence.
Source: npmjs.com(opens in a new tab)Including local and sovereign
ZeaIQ Built in
Nine providers including Anthropic, Gemini, Bedrock, Azure AI Foundry, Ollama, Core42 Compass and ZeaLLM, switched per agent with failover.
n8n Built in
Your own credentials for OpenAI, Anthropic, Azure, Vertex, OpenAI-compatible endpoints and local Ollama models.
Source: docs.n8n.io(opens in a new tab)SaaS, your cloud or air-gapped
ZeaIQ Built in
Multi-tenant SaaS, a dedicated single-tenant instance on Docker Compose or AKS, or air-gapped on-premises with licences verified offline.
n8n Built in
n8n Cloud, or self-hosted on Docker, Kubernetes or any cloud; offline licences for air-gapped sites per n8n's forum.
Source: docs.n8n.io(opens in a new tab)Install vetted agents, run your own
ZeaIQ Built in
A public marketplace with Try live, plus a private organization catalog with admin install approval and portable packages.
n8n Built in
10,000+ community workflow templates, and self-hosted instances can use a private template library.
Source: createwith.com · Jun 2026(opens in a new tab)To match ZeaIQ with n8n
To be fair
For agentic processes, yes: ZeaIQ workflows combine agents, documents, browser robots and approvals, with 26 node types and 8 triggers. Teams that use n8n for simple integrations can keep it and call ZeaIQ agents over the OpenAI-compatible API or MCP.
Yes. Run ZeaIQ as a dedicated instance on Docker Compose or Azure Kubernetes Service, or fully air-gapped with licences verified offline and local models through Ollama.
Yes. Agent Ops turns real runs into hours saved, FTE equivalent, net value, ROI multiple, cost per case and straight-through rate for every agent and workflow.
Bring one real use case. We build it with you on ZeaIQ and show the governance, audit and ROI views your stakeholders will ask for.
n8n and other product names are trademarks of their owners, used only to identify the products compared. The information comes from public documentation reviewed and may have changed since. Ratings describe documented capabilities, not performance.