n8n: connect everything, pay nothing

The short version

n8n is a free tool that connects your apps together. When something happens in one place, it automatically does things in other places. You build these connections visually — dragging blocks and drawing lines between them. No coding.

What that looks like in real life

A lead fills in your contact form. Automatically: their info goes into a spreadsheet, your sales person gets a Slack message, a task gets created in your project tool, and two days later they get a friendly follow-up email. All without anyone lifting a finger.

A payment comes through on Stripe. Automatically: the customer record gets updated, a receipt goes out, a celebration pops up in your team chat, and the revenue spreadsheet gets a new row.

Each of those automations would cost $20–50 a month on Zapier. On n8n, they're free.

The Zapier comparison

Zapier charges per action. One workflow that touches three apps counts as three actions. Their $30/month plan gives you 750. A busy contact form can burn through that in a week.

n8n has no limits. You run it, you own it.

Words worth dropping at the next meeting

• Workflow — a chain of automated steps. "When X happens, do Y, then Z."
• Webhook — a URL that triggers something when called. Every modern app can send one.
• Integration — a connection between two apps. n8n has hundreds of them built in.
• No-code — building things by clicking and dragging instead of writing code. That's what n8n is.