# n8n API + MCP vs Workato API + MCP > Workato API + MCP has a score of 58.3 (C) against n8n API + MCP's 53.3 (D). Both do automation workflows. The largest gap is schema & documentation, 29 points. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side. - Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/n8n-vs-workato - Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/n8n-vs-workato.md (~1,500 tokens) - Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/n8n-vs-workato.min.md (~330 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts) - JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/n8n-vs-workato.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: 2026-10-04 Workato API + MCP has a score of 58.3 (C) against n8n API + MCP's 53.3 (D). Both do automation workflows. The largest gap is schema & documentation, 29 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 - Workato API + MCP: grade C, 58.3/100, rank #282 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/workato.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/workato.json ## Which one, for what Pick n8n API + MCP for schema & documentation (+29), agent ergonomics (+24), maintenance & community (+20), transparency & trust (+10). Pick Workato API + MCP for reliability (+18), payments & pricing (+5). ## Score by category | Category | Weight | n8n API + MCP | Workato API + MCP | Edge | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 40 | 58 | Workato API + MCP +18 | | Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 92 | 63 | n8n API + MCP +29 | | Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 75 | 51 | n8n API + MCP +24 | | Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 70 | 70 | even | | Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 35 | Workato API + MCP +5 | | 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 | 72 | n8n API + MCP +10 | | Negative events | ≤15 | -12 | 0 | | | **Total** | | **53.3 · D** | **58.3 · C** | | ## Facts side by side | Fact | n8n API + MCP | Workato API + MCP | | --- | --- | --- | | Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API | | Vendor | n8n | Workato | | Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://www.workato.com/api` | | Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | | Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key | | Pricing | Freemium | Freemium | | 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) | 3.5/5 (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. **Workato API + MCP.** API client tokens scoped by role and project, with legacy full-access keys removed on 14 October 2025. No OpenAPI file and no official SDK on npm or PyPI. ## 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 ### Workato API + MCP 1. Use the base URL for the workspace's data centre, and app.trial.workato.com for Free or Pro 2. Give the agent an API client whose role lists only the endpoints it needs. The MCP server exposes those as tools 3. Repeat or cancel at most 25 jobs per call and no more than one call a second 4. Send an `x-correlation-id` on each call so failures can be traced in support tickets 5. 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