IBM Cloud Pak for Automation vs n8n comparison

IBM and n8n.io are both solutions in the Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies category. IBM is ranked #22 with an average rating of 9.0, while n8n.io is ranked #15 with an average rating of 8.4. Additionally, 100% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of n8n.io users who would recommend it.

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

Read 2 IBM Cloud Pak for Automation reviews

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127 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

n8n

Read 14 n8n reviews

3,326 Views
299 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

n8n

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 1, 2026

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation and n8n are competing products in automation solutions. IBM Cloud Pak has an edge in feature robustness, while n8n stands out for its cost-effectiveness and ease of use.

Features: IBM Cloud Pak for Automation includes extensive pre-built integrations, advanced automation capabilities, and a secure environment for large-scale enterprises. It ensures compliance and scalability for complex workflows. n8n provides a flexible, open-source model with a user-friendly drag-and-drop editor, appealing to small to medium businesses or those with specific integration requirements. Its customization options attract those seeking adaptable solutions.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Cloud Pak for Automation involves a complex deployment process often needing significant IT input and professional support. n8n, however, offers a simpler deployment process with strong community support, favored by tech teams adopting an agile approach. Companies that demand extensive customer service may lean towards IBM, while quick, autonomous deployments might make n8n a better fit.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Cloud Pak for Automation comes with higher upfront costs due to its comprehensive suite, with ROI taking time to materialize. n8n’s open-source nature entails lower initial expenses, resulting in quicker ROI. This makes n8n appealing to budget-conscious organizations or those starting their automation journey. IBM aligns with those ready for substantial upfront investment for long-term gains, while n8n draws businesses seeking cost-effective solutions and adaptability.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Cloud Pak for Automation vs. n8n Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation vs. n8n

December 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

Ranking in Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies

22nd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Process Automation (30th)

n8n

Ranking in Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies

15th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

5.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Workload Automation (11th), Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) (15th), AI-Agent Builders (2nd), AI Scheduling & Coordination (3rd)

Featured Reviews

SYEDMUJTABA

Vice President - Digital Automation Services at Techvista Systems

Effectively handles parallel instances effectively

I find it quite straightforward, perhaps around 8.5 out of 10 in terms of ease. When we upgraded from the old version of IBM BPM to the new one within IBM Cloud Pak for Automation, we didn't encounter any major issues. There were some minor ones, but they were easy to overcome.The migration process was part of our deployment strategy. We had a plan to migrate two processes per week from on-premises to the cloud. The migration involved taking the instances and migrating them to the new environment. There is an inbuilt feature in IBM Cloud Pak for Automation that facilitates the migration process, although I personally haven't conducted it myself; it's managed by my team. Overall, the setup process was relatively smooth.

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Noach Ramallo

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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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I believe two significant features of IBM Cloud Pak for Automation are the focus on SLA management and the capability to handle parallel instances effectively. Parallel instances, for instance, are valuable when dealing with a large number of users, enabling tasks to be performed concurrently for efficient system operation. The SLA aspect is crucial for tracking and ensuring timely completion of tasks. Additionally, the cloud compatibility of IBM BAW allows for seamless migration from on-premises to the cloud. This version also includes a business rule management system for storing and managing business rules effectively."

"What this product allows us to do is to move from on-prem instances where we are running independent instances of FileNet, Datacap, and ODM. It allows us to leverage container-based resiliency and availability modeling so that we have some visibility across the CP4BA ecosystem. We're now migrating all of our data to be in the Cloud Object Storage, and we can now use some of the features of Azure in terms of how we store and retrieve content for our members and our providers."

"I appreciated how n8n can be integrated with other services such as WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and the automation tasks it performs."

"The low-code interface and the quick code writing within n8n that we can do and utilize is very helpful; it brings in efficiency, better time to market, and actually helps us."

"The user-friendly interface positively impacted the team's workflow efficiency."

"With n8n, the limit is just the sky."

"The best features n8n offers are automation and integration with different tools including Calendar, Gmail, WATI, and many other tools, which help me complete my work faster."

"n8n is pretty flexible when it comes to pricing, setup cost, and licensing when compared to other platforms such as Make and Zapier."

"n8n is a really good automation platform where I can use it to automate my businesses and processes and also save money and time."

"Our business is growing faster because we have created workflows that help us improve our business."

More n8n pros

Cons

"I believe there is room for improvement in the user interface, particularly in the Process Portal that customers use to view and manage their tasks. The UI of the Process Portal needs enhancement. Additionally, in the next release, I would like to see improved compatibility with Angular, allowing for direct integration with front-end systems. It would be beneficial to have built-in GUI features based on Angular within the system, rather than developing separate applications externally. This, in turn, would provide a more seamless and enhanced front-end experience."

"One of the challenges we're having is finding vendors who have experience in developing on the cloud. We can find developers on the old platform, but it is leading-edge technology. So, we are having some challenges, and IBM is assisting us to find vendor partners. To be able to leverage all the capabilities of the new platform, we have to upgrade our existing ecosystem of FileNet applications. Upgrading to the new platform while trying to modernize is always challenging because it is like you have a moving target."

"Currently, most products nowadays include walkthrough or guide videos, short videos of 20 to 30 seconds that inform about any particular button or action, which n8n product does not have."

"n8n has a bit of a learning curve to it; you have to learn a lot."

"From my experience, n8n is stable, though the part that can be less stable is that you must stay connected to many APIs."

"I have set up n8n on our local server, which is on a Contabo-based server, and sometimes it was losing connection."

"I don't think it is highly scalable, but it is scalable at a moderate level for companies which have 200 to 500 clients daily; the daily throughput is of 200 to 500 clients."

"In my experience, n8n is not very stable, but it has the potential to be more stable."

"When connecting nodes and referring to earlier nodes, the structure that has to be followed is sometimes confusing."

"What I would like for them to improve is to include more nodes and different service provider integrations, just the way Zapier does."

More n8n cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"IBM Cloud Pak for Automation is relatively expensive, especially considering it is designed for long-living processes, not for normal automation needs. On a scale of one to ten, I would rate the pricing at around 9. There are no additional costs beyond the standard licensing fees, but IBM has multiple pricing models that make it expensive in its own way. Different plans are available, but overall, the experience suggests it is a costly solution."

"Its cost is almost the same or comparable to what we pay with FileNet, but I'm not sure what we pay a year. A good part of CP4BA is the CPU-based licensing model. When we're dealing with 50,000 dentists, for example, if we were to use Salesforce, we would be hit with the licensing of 50,000 dentists, whereas when we build out in CP4BA, it is just based on our CPU usage, not on individual licenses."

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Comms Service Provider

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	12
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	2

Questions from the Community

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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...

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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...

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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...

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Comparisons

IBM BPM vs IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

Compared 27% of the time

Appian vs IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

Compared 23% of the time

Pega Platform vs IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

Compared 18% of the time

ServiceNow Orchestration vs IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

Compared 17% of the time

Nintex Process Platform vs IBM Cloud Pak for Automation

Compared 15% of the time

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Compared 11% of the time

Dagster Labs vs n8n

Compared 9% of the time

Airbyte Cloud vs n8n

Compared 6% of the time

Dify vs n8n

Compared 5% of the time

Jenkins on Hardened Ubuntu vs n8n

Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Process Automation

December 2025

Download IBM Cloud Pak for Automation product report

Buyer's Guide

n8n

January 2026

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Also Known As

No data available

n8n.io n8n

Overview

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation offers design, build, run, and automation services to rapidly scale your programs and fully execute and operationalize an automation strategy.

IBM

n8n offers a flexible, low-code automation platform connecting over 200 applications to streamline workflows and increase efficiency through visual configurations and real-time monitoring.

n8n provides a robust environment for automating tasks with extensive integrations, benefitting users through its adaptability and developer-friendly design. It supports AI model integrations like ChatGPT to enhance automation. While users value its configurability and real-time logs, they suggest enhancements in scalability, stability, and documentation. It serves a multitude of purposes, from billing and customer support to marketing and data management, by linking platforms like Airtable and Google Sheets.

What are key features of n8n?

Flexibility: Offers adaptable workflows and extensive customization options.
Low-Code Interface: Simplifies workflow creation through a drag-and-drop interface.
Real-Time Logs: Provides immediate feedback during task execution.
Integration Capacity: Connects with over 200 applications and AI models.
Data Privacy: Ensures strong data management to build user trust.

What benefits should users consider?

Time Savings: Reduces time on repetitive tasks, increasing productivity.
Cost Efficiency: Frees resources by automating various processes.
Enhanced Integration: Seamless connections across platforms boost workflow efficiency.
Customization: Tailored solutions through user-specific expressions.
Developer Support: Encourages advanced usage through a developer-friendly environment.

n8n finds use in industries like healthcare, supply chain, and education, automating workflows to improve efficiency. Companies leverage it for tasks from e-commerce to AI-enhanced customer interactions, enhancing operations with minimal technical input required.

n8n.io

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation vs. n8n

December 2025

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