# Kestra vs n8n API + MCP (slim)

> Kestra scores 63.6 (B) on agent readiness against n8n API + MCP's 53.1 (D), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. n8n API + MCP leads on schema & documentation, security & auth and transparency & trust. Both do automation workflows. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent…

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kestra-vs-n8n.md (~2,250 tokens) · this version ~680 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kestra-vs-n8n.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kestra-vs-n8n
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · Updated: 2026-10-09

Kestra scores 63.6 (B) on agent readiness against n8n API + MCP's 53.1 (D), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. n8n API + MCP leads on schema & documentation, security & auth and transparency & trust. Both do automation workflows.

- Kestra: B 63.6, rank #351 of 842 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kestra.min.md
- n8n API + MCP: D 53.1, rank #638 of 842 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/n8n.min.md
- Kestra, good for Engineering and data teams that want declarative YAML flows with scripts in any language, run on their own infrastructure. Ahead on Reliability, 89 against 40; Payments & pricing, 50 against 30; Maintenance & community, 93 against 80. Also Open source.
- n8n API + MCP, good for A team that wants to self-host and let an agent build and run workflows with a large node library. Ahead on Schema & documentation, 92 against 82; Security & auth, 70 against 41; Transparency & trust, 80 against 69.

| Category | Kestra | n8n API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 89 | 40 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 82 | 92 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 73 | 75 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 41 | 70 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 50 | 30 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 93 | 80 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 69 | 80 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Kestra | n8n API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | Kestra Technologies | n8n |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 (open-source server and SDK repository). Enterprise Edition and Kestra Cloud are commercial | Sustainable Use License (fair-code, source-available) |
| Tools exposed | none | 54 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-10-05 | 2026-10-01 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2026-09-28 |
| Customer content may train models |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | 29k stars, 244 npm/wk, 170 PyPI/wk | 206k stars, 113k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 2.5/5 (2) |