n8n vs Glean
A detailed side-by-side comparison to help you choose the right AI productivity agent for your needs.
n8n
n8n is a fair-code workflow automation platform that has emerged as the open-source go-to for technical teams who want Zapier-style automation but need self-hosted deployment, source-available code, a...
- 600+ pre-built integrations + custom HTTP nodes
- AI Agent nodes with tool-use loops
- Native LangChain integration
- Vector store nodes (Pinecone, Weaviate, pgvector, Qdrant)
- Self-host or cloud (your choice)
- Self-hostable — full data sovereignty, no Zapier-style egress fees
- Native AI agent + LangChain support — built-in for AI builders
- Open-source community drives extensive integration coverage
- Steeper learning curve than Zapier for non-technical users
- Self-hosting requires infrastructure expertise (Docker, K8s, etc.)
Glean
Glean is the leading enterprise AI work assistant — a search-and-answer engine that indexes your company's entire content footprint (Slack, Google Drive, Confluence, Notion, Jira, GitHub, Salesforce, ...
- Indexes 100+ enterprise apps with permission-aware retrieval
- Glean Assistant: chat with your company's entire knowledge
- Glean Protect: real-time DLP + sensitive-data classification
- Glean Agents: build custom AI workflows on company data
- Cross-app search results sorted by personal relevance
- Permission-aware retrieval — no data-leakage risk across employees
- 100+ integrations cover most enterprise stacks out of the box
- Cited answers ground AI in your actual company knowledge (not hallucinated)
- Premium pricing — typical mid-market commitments start ~$30-50/employee/year
- Sales-led with no transparent pricing or self-serve trial
Verdict: n8n vs Glean
Pick n8n if you need open-source workflow automation alternative to zapier with native ai agents. Pick Glean if you need ai-powered enterprise workplace search across slack, gdrive, jira, and 100+ apps.
Glean supports 3 models.
Glean integrates with 13 platforms.
Who should buy this
n8n
- Engineering team needing self-hosted automation for compliance / cost / sovereignty reasons
- AI builder constructing multi-agent systems with LLM + vector store + tool-use loops
- Mid-market RevOps team wanting Zapier-level capability without per-task pricing at scale
- Non-technical users wanting plug-and-play (Zapier's UI is more polished)
- Buyers without devops to self-host (cloud tier compensates)
Self-hosted: free (infrastructure cost only). Cloud: $20-$50/mo Starter/Pro. Enterprise: custom contracts (typically $5-30K/yr).
Verified 2026-05-03
Glean
- Mid-market or enterprise CIO / CTO consolidating internal AI search
- Knowledge worker drowning in Slack threads + scattered docs across 20+ apps
- IT / security org wanting AI search WITH permission enforcement (not retroactive cleanup)
- SMBs and startups (cost prohibitive — ChatGPT Team or Notion AI fit better)
- Teams not on a sprawling app stack (Glean shines with 10+ data sources)
Enterprise per-employee licensing — typically $30-50/employee/year (mid-market) to $100+/employee/year (large enterprise). Glean Protect + Agents are additional.
Verified 2026-05-03
Capabilities at a glance
| Capability | n8n | Glean |
|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted deployment | Source-available | — |
| AI Agent nodes with tool-use loops | — | |
| Native LangChain integration | — | |
| Vector store integrations | Pinecone, Weaviate, pgvector, Qdrant | — |
| 600+ pre-built integrations | — | |
| Custom code in any node (JS/Python) | — | |
| Public API | ||
| 100+ enterprise app integrations | — | |
| Permission-aware retrieval | — | Inherits source ACLs |
| Cited / sourced AI answers | — | |
| Glean Protect (DLP + sensitive-data) | — | Add-on |
| Glean Agents (custom workflows) | — | Add-on |
| Slack / Teams native apps | — | |
| On-prem / self-hosted | — | VPC deployment for select customers |
Security & compliance
| Standard / control | n8n | Glean |
|---|---|---|
| SOC 2 | Type II | Type II |
| ISO 27001 | ||
| HIPAA | — | |
| GDPR | ||
| Self-hosted option | — | |
| SSO / SAML | ||
| RBAC | ||
| Audit logs | ||
| Trains on customer data | No | No |
What users say
n8n
Open-source community, Engineering teams self-hosting workflows, AI builders
Glean
Plaid, Pinterest, Redis, Zapier, Databricks, Webflow, Grammarly, Duolingo, WealthSimple, Citi, Intuit, Samsung, Booking.com, Instacart, Zillow, Rivian, Samsara
Frequently asked questions
What AI models do n8n and Glean use?+
n8n runs on Any LLM via OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, custom endpoints, LangChain native. Glean runs on GPT-4 family, Claude family, Glean proprietary retrieval models.
What is the main difference between n8n and Glean?+
n8n is positioned as best open-source workflow automation alternative to zapier with native ai agents, while Glean is positioned as best ai-powered enterprise workplace search across slack, gdrive, jira, and 100+ apps. Pick the one whose strength aligns with your primary use case.
Which has better integrations, n8n or Glean?+
n8n integrates with GitHub, Slack, Notion, Salesforce and 8 more. Glean integrates with Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, Notion and 9 more.
What are the main weaknesses of n8n and Glean?+
n8n's main drawback: steeper learning curve than zapier for non-technical users. Glean's main drawback: premium pricing — typical mid-market commitments start ~$30-50/employee/year.
Are n8n and Glean worth it in 2026?+
Both remain competitive productivity options in 2026. n8n stands out for self-hostable — full data sovereignty, no zapier-style egress fees. Glean stands out for permission-aware retrieval — no data-leakage risk across employees. Choose based on which trade-offs fit your workflow and budget.