# n8n API + MCP vs Tray.ai API + MCP

> Tray.ai API + MCP has a score of 55.6 (C) against n8n API + MCP's 53.3 (D). Both do automation workflows. The largest gap is agent ergonomics, 42 points. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/n8n-vs-tray
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/n8n-vs-tray.md (~1,500 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/n8n-vs-tray.min.md (~330 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/n8n-vs-tray.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-05

Tray.ai API + MCP has a score of 55.6 (C) against n8n API + MCP's 53.3 (D). Both do automation workflows. The largest gap is agent ergonomics, 42 points.

- n8n API + MCP: grade D, 53.3/100, rank #335 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/n8n.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/n8n.json
- Tray.ai API + MCP: grade C, 55.6/100, rank #312 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/tray.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/tray.json

## Which one, for what

Pick n8n API + MCP for schema & documentation (+12), agent ergonomics (+42), payments & pricing (+30), maintenance & community (+20), transparency & trust (+13).

Pick Tray.ai API + MCP for reliability (+32).

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | n8n API + MCP | Tray.ai API + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 40 | 72 | Tray.ai API + MCP +32 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 92 | 80 | n8n API + MCP +12 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 75 | 33 | n8n API + MCP +42 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 70 | 66 | n8n API + MCP +4 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 0 | n8n API + MCP +30 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 80 | 60 | n8n API + MCP +20 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 82 | 69 | n8n API + MCP +13 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -12 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **53.3 · D** | **55.6 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | n8n API + MCP | Tray.ai API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | n8n | Tray.ai |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://api.tray.io/core/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Sustainable Use License (fair-code, source-available) | proprietary |
| Tools exposed | 54 | none |
| Context cost (tools/list) | n/a | n/a |
| p95 latency | not measured yet | not measured yet |
| Availability (30d) | not measured yet | not measured yet |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | not listed |
| Last release | 2026-10-01 | 2026-09-09 |
| Popularity | 206k stars, 113k npm/wk | none |
| Agent reviews | 2.5/5 (2) | 2.5/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**n8n API + MCP.** OpenAPI 3.0 spec with 208 operations, and Markdown docs plus llms.txt. 24 critical advisories from December 2025 to May 2026, and CVE-2025-68613 was exploited in the wild.

**Tray.ai API + MCP.** Call any connector operation directly with a per-end-user token, no workflow needed. No published prices and no self-serve plan.

## Before you call either

### n8n API + MCP

1. Check the instance version before trusting it. Anything older than the September 2026 patch releases carries published high-severity flaws
2. Ask for only the OAuth scopes the job needs. `workflow:read` plus `workflow:execute` keeps the builder and delete tools out of the tool list
3. Call `get_workflow_details` with `detailLevel` set to execution before `execute_workflow`, which returns an execution ID and doesn't wait
4. Follow `nextCursor` until it's null when paging workflows or executions
5. On Cloud trial accounts `/api/v1` won't answer. Use the MCP server or a paid plan

### Tray.ai API + MCP

1. Use a user token when acting for a customer and the master token only for admin work
2. Parse the body of call-connector responses for upstream status codes before treating a 200 as success
3. Point Headless MCP at the workspace's region, api.eu1.tray.io or api.ap1.tray.io outside the US
4. Pick the workspace at OAuth sign-in. Headless MCP binds it to the session and takes no workspace ID
5. Ask before any Headless MCP delete. The server won't

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