Is n8n or Temporal better for production workflows?

They solve different problems. n8n is a visual, node-based automation platform strongest at connecting SaaS tools and giving a non-engineer team ownership of the workflow logic. Temporal is a durable execution engine strongest at long-running, code-defined workflows that need exactly-once execution guarantees, automatic retry with backoff, and the ability to run for months without losing state, even through deploys and crashes. If your team is ops-oriented and your workflows are mostly API-to-API glue with some branching, n8n is the right tool and Temporal is over-engineering. If you are building a system where a step might not complete for days (a multi-stage approval, a long-running saga across several services) and losing that state is unacceptable, Temporal is built for exactly that and n8n was not designed for it.

What is the cheapest way to self-host n8n or a workflow engine?

For n8n, self-hosting on a small VPS (Hetzner CX22-class or Railway hobby tier) with a managed or self-managed Postgres instance typically runs five to twenty dollars a month for a workload under roughly twenty active workflows, versus n8n Cloud pricing that starts around twenty euro a month and scales with execution volume. Windmill has a free, unlimited-execution self-hosted community edition and only charges for enterprise features like SSO and audit logs. Temporal and Prefect are open source at the core, but running the durable-execution guarantees yourself means operating the underlying database and worker infrastructure; most teams below a certain scale use the managed cloud tier instead of self-hosting the hard parts.

How do I decide between a visual workflow builder and a code-first orchestrator?

Ask who owns the workflow after it ships. If an ops or RevOps team will maintain it, a visual builder like n8n is the lowest-friction choice because they can read and modify it without a pull request. If an engineering team will own it and the workflow is complex enough to need real tests, version control, and code review, a code-first orchestrator like Temporal, Prefect, or Windmill's script mode gives more leverage per hour of engineering time. Teams that pick the wrong one for their staffing model end up with either a visual workflow no engineer wants to touch, or a code-first system no ops person can maintain, and both failure modes look identical from the outside: nobody updates the workflow.

n8n vs Temporal vs Windmill vs Prefect: Choosing a Workflow Engine for Production Systems

n8n, Temporal, Windmill, and Prefect compared for engineering teams building production automation and agentic backends. Self-hosting cost, durability guarantees, and when each one is the right call, including the one we picked for our own infrastructure.