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Fortra's Automate vs n8n comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 1, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.7
Organizations achieve significant ROI in three months using Fortra's Automate through labor savings, productivity boosts, and efficiency enhancements.
Sentiment score
4.7
n8n boosts ROI by automating tasks cost-effectively, enhancing productivity, and reducing the need for external developers.
Fortra's Automate has effectively replaced the workload of an entire employee, saving us significant time and money.
Chief Technology Officer at DOB Systems LLC
It has reduced our expenditures in terms of purchasing more products and employing more technicians.
System Administrator
On a scale from one to ten, I would rate the ROI as nine.
Project Manager - DevOps Engineer at ACC
n8n provides a strong return on investment and is very helpful and cost-optimized.
Cloud Engineering and Automation Engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
They can save costs because they can reduce the hiring process for external developers for this type of automation that they can do themselves.
ERP recommendation specialist at a non-tech company with 1-10 employees
I believe the return on investment from using n8n is good because employees who previously worked on the specific problems I've automated can now focus on other, more interesting tasks.
AI and Automation Engineer at PeerSpot
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.5
Fortra's Automate support is responsive and knowledgeable, though improvements in user interface and navigation are suggested.
Sentiment score
4.2
n8n support experiences vary; some find it helpful, while others rely on online resources, with community support praised.
They don't always understand the processes I'm trying to implement.
Senior Data Analyst at a financial services firm with 1-10 employees
They handle customers like me to get to the exact issue, detailing where that issue originates from a technical point of view, the resolution, and the summary they provided.
Software Engineer at Cateina Technologies
I would rate the technical support as a nine out of ten because it is quite fast and courteous.
Account Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
I describe the support team as knowledgeable, helpful, and responsive.
ERP recommendation specialist at a non-tech company with 1-10 employees
I can reach out to members of the community, ask questions, and usually within a week, they're answered.
Solutions Architect at Bear Systems
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Fortra's Automate is scalable, flexible, cost-effective for SMBs, with high availability, failover support, but limited to Windows.
Sentiment score
6.6
n8n supports moderate scalability, managing increased workloads with configuration, but technical expertise is needed for optimal large-scale performance.
The scalability of Automate also scores a ten out of ten.
IT Project Manager at Labo des histoires
I can deploy it on multiple infrastructures such as cloud, on-premises, or in a hybrid model.
Software Engineer at Cateina Technologies
It is easy to increase one bot or one studio without needing to buy another orchestrator, which can be quite expensive.
Account Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The standard solution allows for about five workflows at the same time, and it is scalable since I can upgrade my plan for more executions and workflows if needed.
AI and Automation Engineer at PeerSpot
One approach might take a day to go through all of it and another approach might take fifteen minutes to go through all of it.
Solutions Architect at Bear Systems
It is crucial to have a technical team to support you with real experience in n8n and large-scale implementations.
ERP recommendation specialist at a non-tech company with 1-10 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Fortra's Automate is reliable, resource-heavy, stable, and support-assisted, with infrequent issues, particularly on large files or tasks.
Sentiment score
6.8
n8n is stable with minor CPU and connection issues, praised for reliability and low self-hosting costs by experienced users.
The stability of the solution is a ten out of ten.
IT Project Manager at Labo des histoires
For stability on a scale from one to ten, I would give it a solid nine.
Cloud Engineer - ll at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
It has very robust features, and it is not prone to instability.
Account Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
n8n deployments are some of the cheapest that I've come across; the monthly cost for n8n deployment self-hosted rarely exceeds five dollars.
Solutions Architect at Bear Systems
I have not had any downtime with n8n.
Business automation Expert at INSTRUTECH LIMITED
n8n is stable, though the part that can be less stable is that you must stay connected to many APIs.
AI and Automation Engineer at PeerSpot
 

Room For Improvement

Fortra's Automate struggles with an outdated interface, limited integrations, high pricing, and lacks robust features and community support.
n8n needs improved user experience, scalability, documentation, integrations, and features for non-technical users and team collaboration.
This is a significant concern, especially with critical workloads where visibility into errors is essential.
DevOps Engineer at Teksphere Global Services Limited
My major recommendation would be for easier upgrade paths between major versions.
Project Manager - DevOps Engineer at ACC
When new employees join our company, we created automation so they receive AWS credentials and all their AWS access and cloud access.
Cloud Engineer - ll at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
Documentation is really good.
Automations Engineer at Ad Up
Even though I can connect to different platforms with the HTTP node, it would be easier for people who are not technically advanced to connect with the internal integrations.
Business automation Expert at INSTRUTECH LIMITED
I would appreciate having more AI integrated into n8n, specifically an AI agent to help me better understand how to build workflows and assist when I encounter errors.
AI and Automation Engineer at PeerSpot
 

Setup Cost

Fortra's Automate offers budget-friendly pricing per bot, cheaper than competitors, with options for single or unlimited use.
Enterprise users appreciate n8n's scalable pricing, low infrastructure costs, and free open source version with unlimited runs.
Competitors are often more expensive than Automate.
Account Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
It offered what we wanted at a good, competitive price.
Senior Data Analyst at a financial services firm with 1-10 employees
It does a lot but also costs a lot.
Chief Technology Officer at DOB Systems LLC
The open source version is free.
Business automation Expert at INSTRUTECH LIMITED
I feel that the price is right as I'm using the standard version, which allows for about one thousand five hundred executions per month, which is sufficient for me and my organization.
AI and Automation Engineer at PeerSpot
For cloud environments, I noticed that depending on the number of nodes used and the number of executions, the basic plan might not be enough.
ERP recommendation specialist at a non-tech company with 1-10 employees
 

Valuable Features

Fortra's Automate provides an intuitive, flexible platform with low-code automation and seamless integration, boosting productivity across various industries.
n8n offers flexible, integrative low-code automation, supports 500+ apps, enhances productivity, and appeals to developers with its open-source nature.
Automate's non-reliance on additional orchestrators makes it quite cost-effective.
Account Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
In my opinion, the best feature Automate offers is the scheduling.
DevOps Engineer at Teksphere Global Services Limited
Automate's compatibility with existing IT infrastructure has impacted our business operations positively by providing smooth integration with other software that we use, such as Gmail, Jira, and Microsoft 365 apps, which gives us a unified platform instead of having to keep switching from one software to another, saving a lot of time and streamlining the whole workflows.
IT Project Manager at Labo des histoires
My clients know that the information is not leaking or being sold to anybody.
Business automation Expert at INSTRUTECH LIMITED
You can use expressions anywhere. Expressions are basic JavaScript functions or JavaScript code that you can put in any node to pass data dynamically.
Automations Engineer at Ad Up
n8n has positively impacted my organization by making our work faster and automated, eliminating the need to do everything manually.
Cloud Engineering and Automation Engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortra's Automate
Ranking in Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) (4th)
n8n
Ranking in Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies
15th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Workload Automation (11th), Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) (15th), AI-Agent Builders (2nd), AI Scheduling & Coordination (3rd)
 

Featured Reviews

Jane Rachma Kiniti - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Project Manager at Labo des histoires
Automate has streamlined workflows and increased efficiency with powerful automation
The best features of the solution are the flexible automation features, it is rich with beautiful connectors, and it is easy to use with little to no coding knowledge required to get started, so anybody can use the tool. The intuitive interface of Automate has an intuitive design, which makes it easy to learn and use even without a strong technical background, and it has a drag-and-drop interface, which makes everything so easy and straightforward. The error handling capabilities in complex automation tasks are powerful, as it handles all types of tasks, whether complex or simple. I've never faced any problems even when dealing with complex tasks, so everything is super smooth and highly reliable, even when dealing with big tasks, as it has never slowed down. Automate's compatibility with existing IT infrastructure has impacted our business operations positively by providing smooth integration with other software that we use, such as Gmail, Jira, and Microsoft 365 apps, which gives us a unified platform instead of having to keep switching from one software to another, saving a lot of time and streamlining the whole workflows. The automated analytics have helped improve our business processes since it has increased our efficiency by automating our everyday tasks, freeing up time for us to focus more on strategic activities such as analyzing data and developing new business strategies. It is also cost-saving. By minimizing manual labor, it decreases human errors that can lead to costly mistakes. By automating the tasks, it helps to save costs, and it also improves our accuracy by reducing these errors to ensure that tasks are done almost perfectly.
NR
ERP recommendation specialist at a non-tech company with 1-10 employees
Automation has transformed complex workflows and has empowered non‑technical teams to build flows
Regarding improvements for n8n, I would highlight two areas. First, while there is a growing community, the ecosystem of pre-built nodes for niche or proprietary systems still lags behind some commercial competitors. I often have to build custom HTTP request nodes or create my own node packages, which is doable but adds to project timelines. Second, features for team collaboration and lifecycle management are still evolving. Moving workflows from development to staging to production can be a manual export-import process, and native Git integration and more robust user roles for larger client teams would be a game-changer. Regarding needed improvements, I believe much of the existing documentation is not peer-reviewed. There is definitely a big community, but if the documentation or tutorials were approved or at least had a badge from n8n, customers would feel that this meets the standards of n8n editors themselves, which would give more confidence in the flows.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
6%
Performing Arts
6%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business25
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise9
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What is your primary use case for HelpSystems AutoMate?
I use Fortra's Automate for IT operations as an automated repetitive workflow task, handling tasks like file transfer, job scheduling, SAP data pools, and system notifications.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortra Automate?
I am somewhat aware of Fortra's Automate's pricing, and I can say it is budget-friendly—not too cheap or too high. The pricing is on point.
What needs improvement with Fortra Automate?
Fortra's Automate is good overall, but the advanced logic is somewhat challenging. Some of the more complex branching and error handling require digging into documentation or trial and error before...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for n8n?
My experience with pricing and setup costs has been good. I feel that the price is right as I'm using the standard version, which allows for about one thousand five hundred executions per month, wh...
What needs improvement with n8n?
I wrote a message to n8n regarding a problem I faced, but I cannot recall what it was. Currently, most products nowadays include walkthrough or guide videos, short videos of 20 to 30 seconds that i...
What is your primary use case for n8n?
I worked on n8n, and Morgan messaged me on LinkedIn to review and provide feedback about the n8n product. I have used n8n for almost six months and built a personal project with it. My main goal wa...
 

Also Known As

HelpSystems Automate, Automate
n8n.io n8n
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aldergrove Financial Group, Preferred Health Professionals, Mindbeam Technologies, First Credit Union in British Columbia, Vestcom International, Prime Liberty Benefits, University of Tampa, CNLBancshares, World Precision Instruments, BJ's Restaurants, Globe Pequot Press, Accudata Technologies, Norton Healthcare, Pacific Toxicology Laboratories
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Find out what your peers are saying about Fortra's Automate vs. n8n and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.