Bardeen
n8n
| Feature | Bardeen | n8n |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $10/mo | Free / from $24/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.4 / 5 | 4.6 / 5 |
| Best For | sales-reps, recruiters, growth-marketers, individual-contributors | developers, technical-teams, agencies, cost-conscious-teams, ai-builders |
| Founded | 2020 | 2019 |
| Browser Automation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ai Workflows | ✓ | ✗ |
| Web Scraping | ✓ | ✗ |
| Playbooks | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Scheduling | ✓ | ✗ |
| Data Extraction | ✓ | ✗ |
| Workflows | ✗ | ✓ |
| Self Hosting | ✗ | ✓ |
| Code Nodes | ✗ | ✓ |
| Webhooks | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ai Agents | ✗ | ✓ |
| Api | ✗ | ✓ |
| Docker | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Bardeen Pros
- Browser-based automation (no server setup needed)
- AI generates workflows from natural language descriptions
- Pre-built playbooks for common tasks across 100+ apps
- Scrapes and interacts with any website
✗ Bardeen Cons
- Browser extension required (not server-side)
- Complex automations can be fragile with UI changes
- Free plan limited on automation credits
✓ n8n Pros
- Free self-hosting (forever)
- Full JavaScript/Python in every node
- AI agent workflow builder
- No per-task pricing when self-hosted
✗ n8n Cons
- Requires technical setup for self-hosting
- 400+ integrations vs Zapier's 7,000+
- Steeper learning curve than Zapier or Make
The Verdict
Bardeen is built for sales reps and recruiters, with a focus on browser-automation and ai-workflows. n8n targets developers and technical teams and leads with workflows and self-hosting.
On pricing, Bardeen is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $10/mo compared to $24/mo for n8n. That $14/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.
