n8n vs Windmill
Windmill scores higher on the AgentReady, 64/100 against 60/100. They differ on 5 of the 41 signals. Which ones decides whether an agent can adopt them without a person watching.
What each one is
n8n. AI Workflow Automation Platform - the world's most popular workflow automation platform for technical teams
Windmill. Windmill is a fast, open-source workflow engine and developer platform.
Where n8n is ahead
n8n passes mcp discoverable, and Windmill does not. That is discover, whether an agent can find the product at all without being told it exists.
It also holds adopt: mcp integration available. Windmill misses it.
Where Windmill is ahead
Windmill passes structured api reference and limits / constraints documented, and n8n does not. That is understand, whether an agent can read the docs and work out how the API behaves before calling it.
It also holds operate: agent compatibility verified. n8n misses it.
What neither does
Both fail openapi / spec quality, authentication documented, request examples provided, response examples provided, errors and status codes documented, no mandatory sales call, programmatic credential creation, structured, predictable output, machine-readable errors, retry behavior documented, idempotency support, rate-limit behavior predictable. If your agent needs any of those, you will be building it yourself either way.
Score, pillar by pillar
The AgentReady splits into four pillars, scored separately, because a product can be easy to find and still impossible to adopt.
Discover. n8n leads 100 to 87. n8n misses nothing; Windmill misses mcp discoverable.
Understand is whether an agent can read the docs and work out how the API behaves before calling it. Windmill leads 46 to 23. n8n misses structured api reference, openapi / spec quality, authentication documented, request examples provided, response examples provided, errors and status codes documented, limits / constraints documented; Windmill misses openapi / spec quality, authentication documented, request examples provided, response examples provided, errors and status codes documented.
Adopt. n8n leads 80 to 67. n8n misses no mandatory sales call, programmatic credential creation; Windmill misses no mandatory sales call, programmatic credential creation, mcp integration available.
Operate. Windmill leads 56 to 35. n8n misses structured, predictable output, machine-readable errors, retry behavior documented, idempotency support, rate-limit behavior predictable, agent compatibility verified; Windmill misses structured, predictable output, machine-readable errors, retry behavior documented, idempotency support, rate-limit behavior predictable.
Pricing
n8n starts at $20/mo and has a free tier. Windmill does not publish one and has a free tier.
| n8n plans | Windmill plans |
|---|---|
| Starter $20/mo, billed annually | - |
| Pro $50/mo, billed annually | - |
| Business $800/mo, billed annually | - |
| Enterprise Contact Sales | - |
| Start-up Plan 50% off Business | - |
| Community Edition Free | - |
Signal by signal
| Signal | n8n | Windmill |
|---|---|---|
| AgentReady | 60 | 64 |
| Discovery | 100 | 87 |
| Understanding | 23 | 46 |
| Adoption | 80 | 67 |
| Operability | 35 | 56 |
| Public API | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | No |
| OpenAPI spec | Unknown | Yes |
| CLI | Yes | Yes |
| llms.txt | Yes | Yes |
| Self-serve signup | Yes | Yes |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
Which to pick
Windmill clears more of the signals an agent needs, so it is the safer default for unattended use. Full profiles: n8n and Windmill. Alternatives to each: n8n, Windmill.
An agent can fetch this as data: POST /v1/compare {"slugs": ["n8n", "windmill"]}