n8n vs Sim (2026)

Several hundred built in app nodes span CRM, marketing, ITSM, HR, databases, warehouses, cloud infrastructure, storage, messaging, security and finance, and major nodes such as Gmail, Google Drive, Google Sheets, Postgres and OpenAI each cover several families of operations. Core nodes add HTTP Request, GraphQL, SSH, Execute Command and Code for anything not in the catalog, community and custom nodes extend the set further, and the MCP Client node connects agents to external MCP servers. Sub-workflows and app nodes can be exposed to agents as tools.

Sourcedocs.n8n.io app nodes, core nodes, MCP Client and how tools work pagesread 2026-08-31

More than 1,000 native integrations span communication (Gmail, Slack, Teams, Telegram, WhatsApp), productivity (Notion, Google Workspace, Airtable), development (GitHub, Jira, Linear), CRM and revenue (Salesforce, HubSpot, Attio, Gong), data and search (PostgreSQL, BigQuery, Pinecone, Perplexity, Exa) and security and IT (CrowdStrike, Okta, AWS IAM), exposed to agents as tools inside workflows. Anything not built in connects through MCP.

Sourcedocs.sim.ai/introductionread 2026-09-29

n8n workflows split with If and Switch conditionals, merge data, loop, wait, handle errors gracefully and run workflows with several branches in a defined execution order. Workflows can call other workflows, and converting nodes to a sub-workflow automatically brings along attached AI sub-nodes such as chat models and memory. Agent nodes act as root nodes orchestrating typed sub-node connections for language models, tools, memory and output parsers, and sub-workflows can be attached to an agent as tools. Canvas groups, sticky notes and workflow tags help organize large workflows.

Sourcedocs.n8n.io flow logic tree, break workflows into smaller parts, convert to sub-workflows and how tools work pagesread 2026-08-31

A visual workflow builder offers built in control blocks including Router, Condition, Loop, Parallel and a Workflow block for composing sub workflows. Agents reason inside Agent blocks and act through tools, and Mothership, the natural language control plane, scaffolds and edits workflows, tables and knowledge bases across the workspace, with API and SDK build paths running alongside the canvas.

Sourcedocs.sim.ai/introductionread 2026-09-29

Trigger nodes include Schedule Trigger, Webhook, Chat Trigger, Email Trigger over IMAP, RSS Feed Trigger, Local File Trigger, SSE Trigger, n8n Form Trigger, Error Trigger, Activation Trigger, Workflow Trigger, Execute Sub-workflow Trigger, n8n Trigger, Evaluation Trigger, MCP Server Trigger and Microsoft Agent 365 Trigger.

On self hosted instances a durable scheduler runs time based workflows from a queue backed by the database. Agents can be published so people reach them through chat, channels and schedules, and a Respond to Webhook node plus streaming responses complete the request and response surface.

Sourcedocs.n8n.io core node reference, durable scheduler, build and manage agents and stream real-time responses pagesread 2026-08-31

Six core triggers, Start, Schedule, Webhook, RSS Feed, Table and Sim Workspace Events, start workflows, and deployments expose any workflow to the outside world as an API, a chat interface or an MCP server.

Sourcedocs.sim.ai/introductionread 2026-09-29

Data can be stored and searched with vectors through vector databases, embeddings, retrievers and document loaders, and retrieval augmented generation pulls relevant context into a workflow. Vector store providers attach as sub-nodes so the index can be held in a database the customer runs, and a worked example scrapes website content into Pinecone and queries it from a chat workflow. Data tables manage structured tabular data within project boundaries, and Default Data Loader and text splitter components handle ingestion.

Sourcedocs.n8n.io store and search data with vectors, retrieve relevant context, use website content and data tables pagesread 2026-08-31

Knowledge bases are a workspace resource of their own, with connectors, tag based filtering, chunking strategies and retrieval debugging, and agents retrieve relevant passages from customer documents to ground answers.

Sourcedocs.sim.ai/tools/knowledgeread 2026-09-29

A memory sub-node on the Tools Agent lets users hold an ongoing conversation across several queries, but that memory does not persist between sessions, and the default Simple Memory node, previously named Window Buffer Memory, is a bounded buffer. Memory attaches to agents as a typed AiMemory sub-node, with session IDs taken from input data or a custom key and optionally scoped per node so separate memory nodes in one workflow do not share history. External chat memory backends can be attached in place of the simple buffer, and Data tables provide structured storage across runs.

Sourcedocs.n8n.io Tools Agent, how memory works, AI Agent common issues and data tables pagesread 2026-08-31

Memory on the Agent block needs a conversation ID to persist across runs, and the agent can be set to one of four memory modes. None sends independent requests, Conversation holds the full history keyed by a conversation ID, Sliding Window by messages keeps the N most recent, and Sliding Window by tokens keeps messages up to a token limit.

The Mem0 integration lets agents keep persistent memory across workflow executions, recalling past conversations, remembering user preferences and building on previous interactions, with add, semantic search and retrieve operations, and Zep ships as a second external memory option. Tables hold durable structured rows that workflows read and write, and Variables carry in-run state.

Sourcedocs.sim.ai agent block, Mem0 tool and workflow documentationread 2026-08-31

An AI Agent can be required to get a person's approval before it runs specific tools, and a human fallback brings in a person to answer when the AI cannot help. A dedicated Guardrails node ships as a core node for enforcing policy on AI workflows. Workflow reviews let a builder submit a version for review before publishing, compare changes in a visual diff, discuss them in activity comments, and approve or request changes. Wait and Stop And Error nodes pause and halt runs, and publishing a workflow is a separate step from saving it.

Sourcedocs.n8n.io human-in-the-loop for tools, set a human fallback, Guardrails node, workflow reviews and save and publish pagesread 2026-08-31

Human in the Loop and Guardrails ship as core workflow blocks alongside Condition and Wait, and enterprise access control enforces which blocks and model providers each permission group can use, both in the UI and at execution time.

Sourcedocs.sim.ai/introductionread 2026-09-29

An independent auditor evaluates n8n continuously and audits it each year against SOC 2. Its SOC 2 report is available to enterprise customers, a SOC 3 report is published for everyone else, and third party penetration tests of the production environment run at least once a year.

SSO, SAML and LDAP come on the Enterprise plan and advanced RBAC on all paid plans. Security settings add SAML and OIDC single sign on, MFA enforcement, a self service security audit, node blocking, task runner hardening, SSRF protection, encryption key rotation, JWE decryption of OAuth tokens and execution data redaction.

Sourcen8n.io legal security page, docs.n8n.io security configuration treeread 2026-09-29

Sim's Trust Center at trust.sim.ai lists SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 and GDPR, and SOC 2 compliance is among the Enterprise features. Access controls include SAML 2.0 and OIDC SSO across Okta, Entra ID, Google Workspace and ADFS, workspace roles and permission groups enforced at execution time, verified domains, session policies with maximum lifetime, idle timeout and sign out of all members, dedicated outbound IPs, secrets management and configurable data retention.

Sourcesim.ai homepage and pricing page, docs.sim.ai enterprise Security pageread 2026-09-29

Executions are first class objects. Teams can view all executions or those of a single workflow, add custom execution data so runs can be filtered by custom fields, and debug by copying earlier execution data into the canvas.

Workflow and node executions can be traced to an OpenTelemetry collector, alongside Prometheus metrics, metrics visualized in Grafana, log configuration and an insights metrics layer.

Workflow change history and version restore are available, execution data can be redacted for compliance, and a self hosted instance can connect to LangSmith for tracing through LangChain in n8n.

Sourcedocs.n8n.io understand executions, trace executions with OpenTelemetry, monitor n8n, view change history and LangChain in n8n pagesread 2026-08-31

Logs record every run block by block as a workspace resource of their own, with logging and alerts, cost visibility for each run, enterprise audit logs tracking configuration and security relevant actions, and data drains that stream workflow logs, audit logs and Mothership data to a customer owned S3 bucket or HTTPS webhook on a schedule.

Sourcedocs.sim.ai/introductionread 2026-09-29

n8n installs with a one line setup, Docker, Docker Compose or npm, and deploys to DigitalOcean, Heroku, Hetzner, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Run, Google Kubernetes and OpenShift Local, alongside managed n8n Cloud. An isolated configuration keeps the instance from connecting with n8n's servers. The customer chooses the database, binary and execution data can go to external storage, queue mode and task runners cover scaling, and an OEM path puts n8n inside another product. Editions run from Community and Registered Community to Business and Enterprise.

Sourcedocs.n8n.io install options, isolate n8n, choose n8n's database, scaling and compare editions pagesread 2026-08-31

Sim runs cloud hosted at sim.ai or self hosted through Docker Compose and Kubernetes, including a fully offline setup with local models through Ollama, and self hosted deployments unlock the entire enterprise feature set through environment configuration, so the customer can control hosting entirely.

Sourcedocs.sim.ai/introductionread 2026-09-29

Templates are one of the named ways to build workflows, and self hosted instances can point at a custom workflow templates library. A curated self hosted AI Starter Kit provides a set of AI elements for starting AI workflows quickly. Each node links to browsable template collections for that node, and .n8np packages bundle workflows, folders or whole projects with their dependencies into a portable file for moving between instances. Learning paths offer interactive courses that build real workflows.

Sourcedocs.n8n.io use templates, configure a custom workflow templates library, deploy with the AI starter kit and n8n packages pagesread 2026-08-31

Agent skills provide reusable packaged capabilities and Mothership scaffolds complete systems from a natural language description, and Sim does not describe a template gallery, prebuilt agent library or marketplace.

Sourcedocs.sim.ai/introductionread 2026-09-29

The AI Agent node needs a connected Chat Model sub-node and errors without one, and clicking the Chat Model connector opens a selection of possible chat models. Models attach as sub-nodes, so different agents and chains in one workflow can use different models. Dedicated model provider nodes include OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Mistral AI, Perplexity, Qwen Cloud, MiniMax and Moonshot Kimi, and the self hosted AI starter kit runs local models alongside n8n. LangChain is the underlying abstraction, with a LangSmith connection.

Sourcedocs.n8n.io AI Agent node and common issues, what agents do, app node reference and AI starter kitread 2026-08-31

More than fifteen providers are supported, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Groq, Cerebras, DeepSeek, Mistral, xAI and OpenRouter, with bring your own key at base provider pricing and no markup, and local models run through Ollama or VLLM at no API cost. Enterprise permission groups can restrict which providers are allowed.

Sourcedocs.sim.ai/blocks/agentread 2026-09-29

The MCP Server Trigger node lets n8n act as a Model Context Protocol server, making n8n tools and workflows available to MCP clients over SSE or streamable HTTP. MCP clients can build and run n8n workflows, and admins oversee connected MCP clients and can revoke their consent. A public REST API is available and can be disabled.

Custom and community nodes extend the catalog, npm modules can be enabled in the Code node, and .n8np packages export workflows, folders or whole projects as portable files with a manifest, size limits and API key scopes. An OEM path embeds n8n in another product using OAuth 2.0 token exchange, iframe SSO and delegated API access.

Sourcedocs.n8n.io MCP Server Trigger, connect to n8n MCP server, n8n packages, security and OEM deployment pagesread 2026-08-31

Sim is open source under Apache 2.0 with the full source on GitHub, a public API and SDKs, a Function block for custom JavaScript, custom tools, and MCP in both directions, so agents consume MCP tools and any workflow deploys as an MCP server, with enterprise custom blocks on top.

Sourcedocs.sim.ai/introductionread 2026-09-29

Evaluation and Evaluation Trigger core nodes ship with the platform. Builders run quick evaluations during development against known test cases and use metric based evaluations to measure, score and improve production workflow performance over time, with guidance on why to test and how to fix common issues. Debugging uses pin and mock data, debug executions that copy earlier execution data into the current workflow, manual and partial runs, and dirty node tracking.

Sourcedocs.n8n.io test and improve AI workflows section, Evaluation and Evaluation Trigger nodes, understand executions pagesread 2026-08-31

The Evaluator block is a core block that uses AI to score and assess content quality against metrics the customer defines, each with a name, description and numeric range, with accuracy, clarity and relevance on one to five scales as worked examples.

The block generates a JSON Schema response format from those metrics and enforces strict mode so the model returns only numeric scores, and it supports quality control and A/B testing, including comparing several AI generated responses and assessing Agent block outputs to create feedback loops. A published pattern chains Agent to Evaluator to Condition against a threshold.

Guardrails, knowledge base retrieval debugging, block-by-block run traces and per-run cost visibility help with debugging. Sim does not describe keeping test sets, stored expected outputs or a regression history across versions.

Sourcedocs.sim.ai evaluator block and core blocks documentationread 2026-08-31

n8n ships an Airtop app node that controls a cloud based web browser for querying, scraping and interacting with web pages, with operations to manage browser sessions and windows and to click an element, fill a form, hover, scroll and type, authenticated with Airtop credentials. Airtop is a third party browser engine wired in through a node, not a browser n8n ships itself. None of n8n's core nodes is a browser, desktop or computer use node, and SSH and Execute Command run commands on remote hosts.

Sourcedocs.n8n.io Airtop node pageread 2026-09-29

Browser Use and Stagehand ship as workflow tools in the integrations catalog alongside Apify and Bright Data, letting workflows drive real browsers against interfaces that expose no programmatic API, with Stagehand performing natural language navigation and action on live pages. These are third party browser engines wired in as catalog integrations, not a hosted or local browser or desktop session Sim runs itself.

Sourcedocs.sim.ai tools catalogread 2026-08-31