prices verified june 2026 · 3 workflows · monthly billing

Activepieces vs Node-RED — pricing & features compared

Activepieces vs Node-RED logo

Node-RED

Both are open-source and self-hostable, aimed at different builders. Activepieces offers a Zapier-like no-code UI, about 747 SaaS integrations and an MIT license, and is free on its cloud free tier; Node-RED (Apache 2.0) is a developer/IoT tool wired in a flow editor with Node.js function nodes. On our figures Activepieces runs at no cost on its free tier and Node-RED's cost is your server — see the table. Pick Activepieces for no-code SaaS automation, Node-RED for hardware and events. See the price table below for figures.

Price by volume

What you'd pay per month

Cheapest qualifying plan for each tool, including overage, at four typical volumes.

runs / month	Activepieces	Node-RED
1,000	$0 ✓Cloud	$8self-hosted*
5,000	$0 ✓Cloud	$8self-hosted*
20,000	$0 ✓Cloud	$25self-hosted*
100,000	$0 ✓Cloud	$45self-hosted*

~ = estimated custom-tier pricing (vendor quotes individually; calibrated against public list prices). Assumes 3 workflows, monthly billing, cheapest qualifying plan. Prices verified June 2026 — see the price changelog. * self-hosted = free open-source software; the figure is the server infrastructure (VPS + DB, not a tool fee), ~$8/mo small to ~$150/mo at high volume — assumes light workflows and excludes your ops time.

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Where they differ

Feature differences that matter

Only the rows where Activepieces and Node-RED actually differ — identical capabilities are left out.

Feature	Activepieces	Node-RED
Integrations	747+	5,000+
Free tier	Unlimited runs · 10 active flows (cloud)	Unlimited · Unlimited
Execution timeout	No limit*	No limit
Log history	7 days (cloud)	Full history
AI features	✓	✗
Multi-user	✓	✗
License	MIT	Apache 2.0

Same on both: overage model · steps per workflow · eu data residency · self-hosting · api access · webhooks · code steps.

Trade-offs

Pros & cons

Activepieces

True MIT license — no restrictions
No-code UI like Zapier
Self-hostable

Fewer integrations than Zapier (747+)
Smaller community than n8n
No code steps

Node-RED

Apache 2.0 — completely free
Node.js code steps
Best for IoT/hardware

No cloud option
Developer-only (no visual UI)
Limited SaaS integrations

FAQ

Common questions

From published pricing, Activepieces is the lower-cost option across the volumes we track — $0 vs $8 at 1,000 runs/mo, and $0 vs $45 at 100,000. Figures include overage where it applies — see the table above. Price is one factor; the feature and trade-off sections cover the rest.

Activepieces doesn't meter runs at all — pricing is per active flow, with unlimited executions. Node-RED has no metering — it's open-source software you run on your own hardware.

Yes — both Activepieces and Node-RED can be self-hosted, which caps the real cost at your server bill.

When you're working with IoT, hardware or event-driven flows. Node-RED's flow editor, Node.js function nodes and Apache 2.0 license make it the natural fit for device and on-prem automation, where Activepieces focuses on SaaS apps and a no-code UI.

Taken from official pricing pages and verified June 2026. Values marked ~ are estimates for custom enterprise tiers. Every change we record lands in the price changelog.

Try them

Both have free tiers — test with your real workflow

Activepieces

10 active flows free with unlimited runs — a real pilot costs nothing.

Visit Activepieces →

Node-RED

Free and open source — install and run in minutes on a Pi or VPS.

Visit Node-RED →

An objective cost comparison from each vendor's public pricing pages (June 2026) — not a recommendation; rankings reflect price only, so verify current pricing before deciding. We run an affiliate link for Make (the only one of these tools with a public referral program); the others don't offer one, so those are plain links — affiliate status never affects the comparison. See our affiliate disclosure.

Keep digging

Activepieces pricing in detail Node-RED pricing in detail Compare all 7 tools n8n vs Activepieces Zapier vs Activepieces Make vs Activepieces