Introduction
To put it simply:
n8n is about automation—“connecting the dots,” making different services work together without manual hassle.
Directual is about building full-stack applications—with a database, APIs, business logic, UI, security, and scalability.
People often confuse the two and see them as analogues. But that’s like comparing a fork to a Swiss Army knife: both are food-related, but one is limited to a single function, while the other can help you survive in the mountains, open a can, fix a bike, and solve a hundred other problems.
So the main takeaway is clear right away:
- n8n is for automating processes between existing services, building a personal assistant, or simple agents like “Telegram ↔ Gmail.”
- Directual is for building a full product, an enterprise app, or a system with roles, APIs, and large-scale architecture.
Let’s dive deeper.
A simple metaphor
With n8n you automate a beer kiosk, with Directual—you build a brewery.
That’s the best explanation. A kiosk is a simple chain: order → payment → notification. Perfect for n8n. A brewery is supply chains, warehouse management, quality control, role-based access, interfaces for clients and admins, accounting integration, and even AI assistants. That’s Directual.
Origins and philosophy
- n8n grew out of the idea of an open-source Zapier: a cheaper, more flexible option for those who want to control their own integrations and automations. Its philosophy is connect and automate, aimed at developers who are comfortable with Docker, Linux, and DevOps.
- Directual was born as a full-stack no-code platform: database, APIs, workflows, UI, security. Its philosophy is to build serious products without code—but always with the option to add custom code when needed.
Use cases
n8n
- Process automation: “if email received → send notification → write to Google Sheets.”
- Personal assistants: linking Telegram, Gmail, Notion, calendars.
- Marketing: newsletters, customer journeys, automated LLM-based content generation.
- Data sync: e.g., CRM ↔ Google Sheets.
- DevOps: CI/CD, monitoring, alerts.
Directual
- Enterprise apps (internal tools): CRMs, LMS, client portals, admin panels. Complex UIs, multi-step forms, authentication, and role models. Example: automating HR processes at Lamoda.
- Heavy backend systems under load: business logic, workflows, APIs, integrations. Example: risk scoring at Mokka online bank.
- Telegram mini-apps and bots: fast launch of services inside Telegram with built-in auth, payments, and custom workflows.
- AI agents and RAG: built-in vector DB, LLM APIs, and integrations with OpenAI, Claude, Grok, YandexGPT.
Pros and cons
n8n
💪 Pros
- Open source & self-hosting: run it yourself, no license fees—developers love it.
- Huge number of integrations: hundreds of ready-made nodes, from Gmail to AWS.
- Mix of visual + code: drag-and-drop but also inject JS snippets when needed.
- Debugging tools: easy to trace where a workflow broke.
- Multiple triggers per workflow: listen to several events in one flow.
😕 Cons
- Self-hosting requires DevOps & Linux skills.
- Poor scalability: workflows lag under load, architecture gets messy.
- Community-driven support only: no official SLA.
- Incomplete docs: basics are fine, advanced use cases—find them on forums.
- Large workflows become spaghetti: dozens of nodes = unreadable mess.
Directual
💪 Pros
- Full-stack: database, API, UI, logic, roles—all under one roof. Projects are not just integrations but full-fledged apps.
- Scalability: handles millions of records without performance loss.
- Powerful API builder: fine-grained auth, filters, sorts, pagination, sync/async execution. Swagger docs auto-generated.
- AI integrations + vector DB: build RAG systems & AI agents out of the box, connect OpenAI, Claude, Grok—no external DBs needed.
- Telegram Mini Apps: deploy in hours, with payments and auth.
- Active no-code community: fast answers on Telegram & Discord, direct support from the team and founders.
😕 Cons
- Higher price for micro-projects: better suited for serious systems. Still, Startup plan starts at just $39/mo—cheap for a full-stack platform. Plus, users can earn D-coins by contributing to the community.
- Steeper learning curve: lots of power, but requires diving into structures, steps, and workflows.
- Occasional need for JS: edge cases require simple coding.
- Interface feels heavy for beginners: multiple modules and tabs can be overwhelming at first.
Pricing & reality check
In 2025, n8n changed its model:
- Free cloud tier is gone, only a 14-day trial remains.
- Starter: €20–24/mo for 2,500 executions.
- Pro: €50–60/mo for 10,000.
- Business self-hosting: after 50k free, $0.104 per execution. 1M = $10,400/mo.
This sparked outrage. Self-hosters already pay for infra (servers, storage, bandwidth), but now also per execution. At ~1M ops/month, that’s $124,800/year—for software running on your own servers.
Directual isn’t free either—but at scale it’s cheaper: $175–249/mo for 500k ops, $840–1199 for 2M. Plus, enterprise clients get full on-prem versions with SLA, or private cloud starting at $1,750/mo—with no operation limits at all.
The illusion of “free” n8n
Community Edition is technically free. But that “free” comes with strings attached—major limitations and hidden costs.
Community Edition limits
- No real collaboration: one admin account, no roles, no project sharing.
- No environments/variables: no dev/test/prod setups.
- No Git/version control: just 1-day history.
- Security gaps: no SSO, no external secrets.
- No real scaling: missing multi-main, log streaming, external storage.
So yes—you can run workflows. But for serious projects, CE is a toy for solo developers.
Hidden costs
- Sysadmin overhead: Linux, Docker, SSL, backups, monitoring.
- Scaling: Redis, queue mode, load balancers—full DevOps setup.
- Database limits: SQLite chokes above 5–10k execs/day, need PostgreSQL.
- Webhooks: unreliable under load.
- Human factor: DevOps salaries = $3–5k/month.
Bottom line: “free” is misleading. CE is underpowered and expensive to operate at scale.
We started with n8n—it looked free. But soon hit walls: auth, roles, CE limits. Counted time & money—moved to Directual. Everything just works.
DevOps & infra headaches: automation that doesn’t automate
Deploying n8n is easy. Running it in production isn’t.
- No stable Terraform provider.
- No snapshots.
- No state management.
- CI/CD = DIY scripts.
This means fragmented setups, harder updates, higher risk. Corporate DevOps integration demands serious effort.
Directual solves this out-of-the-box: a stable Terraform provider, Helm charts, private cloud & on-prem support, and built-in app snapshots for safe migration. That saves weeks of DevOps time.
When to choose n8n vs Directual
n8n
- Simple service-to-service automation (“email → Trello card → Slack”).
- Low entry barrier for devs who like visual workflows but also want JS.
- Self-hosted if you already have infra & DevOps.
- Good for freelancers, small teams, prototypes, personal agents.
- But… try using it for serious, scalable, team-based products—and you’ll hit limits fast.
Directual
- You need a real product with UI and roles.
- You need scale: millions of records, high responsiveness.
- You need robust APIs & security.
- You need AI, Web3, or enterprise-grade apps.
- You need on-prem or private cloud with SLA.
Conclusion
Directual and n8n are not competitors. They serve different purposes.
n8n is a tool for small-scale automation and personal workflows.
Directual is a platform for building real applications and products.
Don’t get misled by n8n’s “free.” Self-hosting requires DevOps and infra, and at scale becomes way more expensive.
So: if you just need autopilot for a few services—pick n8n.
But if you’re building a “factory” with scale and ambition—you need Directual.
