FlowWP runs workflows inside WordPress as a plugin; n8n is a general-purpose automation platform you use in n8n Cloud or on your own server. How they differ in architecture, WordPress integration, building, extending and pricing.
Facts about n8n checked on , from its own documentation. See the sources.
FlowWPA WordPress plugin. You build workflows on a canvas in wp-admin, and they run on your own site, on WordPress’ own hooks, with Action Scheduler for anything that happens later. Its steps come from WordPress, the plugins installed on the site and the apps you connect.
A general-purpose workflow automation platform. You use it as n8n Cloud, hosted by n8n, or host it yourself. WordPress is one of the many services it connects to, through the WordPress REST API.
n8n.io (opens in a new tab)Side by side
Grouped by topic. Plan names in brackets say which plan a feature starts on, and every cell about n8n links to the page it came from.
| Topic |  FlowWP | n8n |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | ||
| Where workflows run | Inside WordPress, as a plugin: on your own site, on WordPress’ own hooks. | In an n8n instance: n8n Cloud, hosted by n8n, or a server you run yourself.Source for n8n: Where workflows run (opens in a new tab) |
| What you set up and maintain | Nothing beyond WordPress 6.5 or later and PHP 8.1 or later. FlowWP updates like any other plugin. | Nothing on n8n Cloud. Self-hosting needs npm, Docker or a server, and keeping it running is your job.Source for n8n: What you set up and maintain (opens in a new tab) |
| Waiting and schedules | Delays and scheduled triggers go through Action Scheduler on the site, so a run waiting three days holds nothing open (Personal and above). | A Wait node pauses a run and stores it in n8n’s database until it resumes; a Schedule Trigger starts workflows on a timetable.Source for n8n: Waiting and schedules (opens in a new tab) |
| Where your data goes | It stays on your site, and leaves only for a service a step sends it to. | Data a workflow uses is processed by the n8n instance that runs it: on n8n Cloud, or on your own server.Source for n8n: Where your data goes (opens in a new tab) |
| WordPress | ||
| Starting from something on the site | Triggers on WordPress hooks: users, posts and comments, and events from installed plugins such as WooCommerce, form, LMS and membership plugins. | The WordPress node acts on posts, pages and users. To start a workflow when something happens on the site, the site calls an n8n Webhook node.Source for n8n: Starting from something on the site (opens in a new tab) |
| Acting on the site | Steps call WordPress and each plugin’s own functions on the site: create posts, change roles, save custom fields, enroll in courses. | The WordPress node creates, gets and updates posts, pages and users through the WordPress REST API.Source for n8n: Acting on the site (opens in a new tab) |
| Signing in to WordPress | Nothing to set up: FlowWP is part of the site. | A WordPress username and application password, or OAuth2 for sites hosted on WordPress.com.Source for n8n: Signing in to WordPress (opens in a new tab) |
| WooCommerce | WooCommerce triggers and actions run on the store itself (Personal and above). | A WooCommerce node and a WooCommerce Trigger node, connected to the store with WooCommerce REST API keys.Source for n8n: WooCommerce (opens in a new tab) |
| Building | ||
| Editor | A visual canvas in wp-admin: drag steps, join them, and branch with If / Else, Switch and Filter. | A visual canvas of nodes, with If and Switch nodes for branching.Source for n8n: Editor (opens in a new tab) |
| Code inside a workflow | No code step. Developers can expose their own PHP functions as steps (Agency plan). | A Code node runs JavaScript or Python as a step.Source for n8n: Code inside a workflow (opens in a new tab) |
| Building with AI | Describe a workflow and FlowWP drafts it from the steps your site has, with your own Anthropic, OpenAI or Google key. You review the draft before it is saved (Personal and above). | AI Workflow Builder creates and refines workflows from a description. Each message uses a credit, with a monthly allowance by plan.Source for n8n: Building with AI (opens in a new tab) |
| Trying a workflow | Test runs use example data and rehearse anything that would change something: emails are not sent and records are not written. | Manual and partial executions run a workflow from the editor.Source for n8n: Trying a workflow (opens in a new tab) |
| Run history | Every run is recorded with each step’s input and output, kept for 30 to 180 days depending on the plan. | An executions list for all workflows, and past executions whose data can be copied into the editor to debug.Source for n8n: Run history (opens in a new tab) |
| Integrations | ||
| What it connects | 33 integrations: WordPress and its plugins (WooCommerce, forms, LMS, membership, CRM), plus Slack, Discord, Telegram, WhatsApp, Mailchimp and AI providers. | A large library of nodes for apps and services, plus community nodes installed from npm.Source for n8n: What it connects (opens in a new tab) |
| Anything else | A webhook trigger for systems that call in, and an HTTP Request step for any API. | A Webhook trigger node for services without a dedicated trigger, and an HTTP Request node.Source for n8n: Anything else (opens in a new tab) |
| Extending | ||
| Adding your own steps | Any plugin can add triggers, conditions and actions in PHP through FlowWP’s SDK, and they behave like the built-in ones. | Custom and community nodes are npm packages, shared through the npm registry.Source for n8n: Adding your own steps (opens in a new tab) |
| Working from outside the editor | Workflows move between sites as JSON export files, with secrets left out (Personal and above). | A public REST API for managing workflows programmatically (n8n Cloud paid plans and every self-hosted edition).Source for n8n: Working from outside the editor (opens in a new tab) |
| Pricing | ||
| Free | A free version that does not expire, with no caps on workflows, steps or runs. | The self-hosted Community edition is free; n8n Cloud starts with a free trial.Source for n8n: Free (opens in a new tab) |
| Paid | Personal, Business and Agency, priced by number of sites and billed monthly, yearly or once. Paid plans have no monthly run limit. | n8n Cloud plans are priced by monthly workflow executions. Self-hosted Business and Enterprise unlock paid features with a licence key.Source for n8n: Paid (opens in a new tab) |
| Licence | GPLv2 or later, the licence WordPress uses. | The Sustainable Use License: use for your own internal business purposes or non-commercial use. Enterprise code has its own licence.Source for n8n: Licence (opens in a new tab) |
Choosing
FlowWP fits whenFlowWP is designed around WordPress, while n8n is a broader workflow automation platform. FlowWP lives inside the site, so a WooCommerce order, a form entry or a finished course is something it hears directly, and its steps act on the site the way a plugin does. n8n lives outside it, so WordPress is one service among many that it reaches through the REST API and webhooks.
Neither approach is better in general. It depends on where your work happens: mostly inside WordPress, or mostly between other systems with WordPress as one of them.
They connect through webhooks. An n8n workflow can start a FlowWP workflow by calling its webhook URL, and a FlowWP workflow can call an n8n Webhook node with an HTTP Request step. See Webhooks and HTTP requests.
FAQ
Answered from each product’s own documentation.
For automations that live in WordPress — orders, forms, members, courses, posts — FlowWP does the same job inside the site, with no separate service. For workflows that mostly connect systems outside WordPress, n8n is built for that and FlowWP is not.
No. FlowWP is a plugin, so it runs on the hosting your WordPress site already uses. Anything that happens later — a delay, a schedule, a retry — goes through Action Scheduler on the site.
Yes. n8n can start a FlowWP workflow by calling its webhook URL, and FlowWP’s HTTP Request step can call an n8n Webhook node. That way the WordPress side can stay in FlowWP while n8n handles what happens outside the site.
They are priced differently, so a single number would mislead. FlowWP’s paid plans are priced by number of sites, with no monthly run limit. n8n Cloud is priced by monthly workflow executions, and self-hosted n8n is free in its Community edition, with the cost of the server on you. Both pricing pages are linked on this page.
Everything this page says about n8n comes from these pages, read on . Products change, so check them for anything that matters to your decision. What it says about FlowWP comes from the plugin and its documentation.
Start with a template or a blank canvas. Nothing runs until you activate it.
