Back to blog

n8n vs. Flowise: AI Agent Frameworks Comparison

n8n vs. Flowise: AI Agent Frameworks Comparison
author avatar

Augustas Pelakauskas

2025-04-14

4 min read

Selecting the right AI tools for workflow management impacts development speed, scalability, and maintenance costs. When choosing a framework, look for one that aligns with your team's technical expertise, integrates seamlessly with existing systems, and provides the specific capabilities your use case requires.

To put it simply:

  • n8n focuses on general-purpose visual programming

  • Flowise is better suited for AI-focused conversational experiences

Moreover, consider long-term factors like community support, documentation quality, and the framework's update frequency. Read on to make your choice wisely, as migrations are costly, and the goal is to implement an AI agent solution that evolves alongside complex business processes.

What is the difference between n8n vs. Flowise?

n8n is suited for general workflow automation with extensive integration capabilities. It excels in connecting multiple disparate systems and services without extensive custom code. The extensive integration library is a major advantage. Additionally, its node-based interface is accessible to users with varying technical backgrounds.

Flowise is specifically designed to build LLM (Large Language Model) workflows and AI agents using LangChain.js. Its specialized design for LLM workflows makes it ideal for natural language processing applications: chatbots, virtual assistants, and knowledge-based systems. Teams working primarily with language models will appreciate Flowise's approach to prompt engineering, context management, and conversation design.

For a quick decision:

  • Choose n8n if you need broad workflow automation capabilities beyond AI or require complex custom code execution.

  • Choose Flowise if you're primarily building LLM-powered applications and want a simpler, more specialized interface.

Criteria n8n Flowise
Ease of use Moderate learning curve. Visual workflow builder with a comprehensive but potentially overwhelming interface. Better for users with some technical background. Easier for beginners. Focused specifically on building AI workflows with a simpler, more intuitive interface tailored to LLM applications.
Functionality General workflow automation platform with 300+ integrations across various services and systems. Highly extensible with custom nodes. Specialized for AI workflows. More limited in general integrations but offers deep functionality for AI chain construction and prompt engineering.
Code execution Strong support for custom code. Allows JavaScript, Python code nodes, and Function nodes for custom logic. Full access to npm packages. More limited code execution capabilities. Primarily focuses on connecting pre-built components rather than writing custom code.
LLM support Not specifically optimized for LLM workflows but can integrate with them. Purpose-built for LLM workflows.
Compatibility with proxies Strong proxy support through HTTP request nodes. Allows custom headers, authentication, and proxy settings. Limited native proxy support. Primarily relies on third-party integrations for proxy functionality.
Compatibility with scrapers Extensive scraping capabilities with native HTML, Cheerio, and Puppeteer nodes. Can handle JavaScript execution. Limited native scraping capabilities, focused more on processing data than collecting it. Can integrate with web APIs but lacks specialized scraping tools.
Performance Generally robust for enterprise-grade AI workflows. Offers horizontal scaling and queue management for high-performance requirements. Good for moderate workloads but may have limitations for very high-throughput applications. Less optimization for enterprise-scale deployments.

n8n main features

n8n is an open-source workflow automation platform that features a visual workflow editor, support for hundreds of integrations with popular services and apps, the ability to run in both cloud and self-hosted environments, custom JavaScript functions for advanced logic, and extensive API capabilities – all without requiring coding expertise for basic use.

n8n
  • No-code environment: n8n enables you to connect various apps, services, and APIs without coding. It stands out for its open-source nature, offering both cloud-hosted and self-hosted options for greater flexibility and data privacy.

  • Visual editor: n8n features a visual, node-based editor that makes creating complex workflows intuitive by connecting different services through a drag-and-drop interface.

  • Pre-built integrations: The platform supports 300+ pre-built integrations with popular services and tools while also allowing custom JavaScript code. n8n's fair-code licensing model ensures it remains accessible while supporting sustainable development.

  • Self-hosting: The platform emphasizes data control by processing information locally rather than routing it through external servers. It's particularly attractive if you have strict data security requirements.

  • Flexible deployment: Options include on-cloud, on-premises, or local deployment.

n8n proxy integration

You can specify proxies with the HTTP requests node. For most use cases, rotating proxies, such as residential proxies, are the most suitable option, as they allow you to appear as different users with each HTTP request.

Use cases for n8n

Business workflows: Automate repetitive tasks like data entry, approval workflows, and document processing.

Data integration: Connect disparate systems to synchronize information across platforms and create unified data flows.

API orchestration: Build workflows that leverage multiple APIs without writing custom integration code.

Marketing automation: Create customer journeys, manage lead nurturing, and automate workflows for campaign tracking.

Content management: Schedule publications and distribute across channels.

DevOps and IT automation: Handle infrastructure management, monitoring alerts, and incident response.
Custom integrations: Build connections between systems that don't have native integration options.

No-code/low-code development: Enable non-technical users to build workflow automation through a visual interface.

Flowise main features

Flowise is an open-source platform that allows you to build custom AI workflows through a visual drag-and-drop interface, connecting various AI models, data sources, APIs, and UI components without requiring extensive coding knowledge. It includes built-in nodes for prompt templates, memory, and conversational AI agents.

Flowise AI
  • No-code/low-code development: Offers an intuitive drag-and-drop interface that allows you to design complex AI workflows with minimal coding.

  • Rich LLM integration: Includes both open-source and commercial options.

  • Extensive tool and API support: Features over 100 tools and APIs to enhance AI agents with data retrieval, processing, and interaction with external services.

  • Custom workflow orchestration: Provides capabilities for connecting components.

  • Multi-agent support: Allows specialized AI agent collaboration to handle complex projects by breaking them into manageable sub-tasks.

  • Open-source architecture: Allows developers to create custom nodes and extend the platform's capabilities.

Flowise proxy integration

You can configure Flowise to route all its backend requests through a proxy. To do so, use the global-agent package. You can integrate any proxy type, such as datacenter proxies for high bandwidth/speed tasks (web scraping for LLM training) or mobile proxies for mobile app testing.

Use cases for Flowise

Customer support automation: Build chatbots that understand customer queries and respond intelligently using retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) with company documentation.

Knowledge base (FAQs) building: Connect AI agents to private or public datasets to answer questions based on specific sources.

Parsing and summarizing text files: Extract summaries, key points, or insights from documents.

Form-filling: Automatically fill out forms or CRM entries based on inputs or parsed documents.

API orchestration and backend automation: Call external APIs, perform webhooks, and trigger backend logic.

Data extraction and analytics: Extract structured data from unstructured sources and optionally visualize or analyze it.

AI-powered education: get an AI agent to answer questions about specific educational materials or teach certain topics.

AI app prototyping: Rapidly build and test AI-powered applications without coding.

Wrap up

Both frameworks offer visual workflow builders but target different use cases and technical audiences. Your specific requirements around integration needs, team expertise, and project complexity should guide your choice.

n8n is better for:

  • Enterprise environments requiring robust workflow automation

  • Teams with developers who prefer code-first approaches

  • Projects needing advanced custom functions and complex integrations

  • Use cases requiring scheduled automations and event-based triggers

  • Scenarios where visual debugging of AI workflows is crucial

Flowise is better for:

  • Rapid prototyping of LLM-powered applications

  • Teams focused specifically on conversational AI and chatbots

  • Projects where non-developers need to build AI workflows

  • Use cases requiring simpler LLM chain construction

  • Scenarios prioritizing a visual, component-based approach to AI application building

While n8n offers more breadth in general workflow automation capabilities and code execution, Flowise provides more depth when working with language models and building AI applications quickly without extensive technical knowledge.

For more AI-related web scraping and data management:

  1. LLM training data

  2. Web scraping for LLMs

About the author

author avatar

Augustas Pelakauskas

Senior Copywriter

Augustas Pelakauskas is a Senior Copywriter at Oxylabs. Coming from an artistic background, he is deeply invested in various creative ventures - the most recent one being writing. After testing his abilities in the field of freelance journalism, he transitioned to tech content creation. When at ease, he enjoys sunny outdoors and active recreation. As it turns out, his bicycle is his fourth best friend.

All information on Oxylabs Blog is provided on an "as is" basis and for informational purposes only. We make no representation and disclaim all liability with respect to your use of any information contained on Oxylabs Blog or any third-party websites that may be linked therein. Before engaging in scraping activities of any kind you should consult your legal advisors and carefully read the particular website's terms of service or receive a scraping license.

Related articles

Get the latest news from data gathering world

I'm interested