# An n8n alternative with no flowchart to maintain. Arclyx gives your business AI agents with no workflow to build. Describe a job in one sentence, try it on your real tools before it does anything, and get drafts in Gmail and Outlook to review and send. Every run stops at $2 unless you change it. n8n can draft a workflow from a prompt, which you then review and maintain step by step, and you can host it yourself. [1, 2] A “Try it” dry run of Release writer, an Arclyx agent: - Reads: GitHub · the release and its pull requests - Writes: Notes: New, Improved, Fixed - Held: Draft page in Notion · not created - Held: Post to #releases · not sent - Done: Held steps listed for you ## Arclyx vs n8n, side by side Nine things teams ask before they pick an AI agent platform. Each n8n cell links the n8n page it came from, read on 26 October 2026. | What you need | n8n | Arclyx | | --- | --- | --- | | How you build an agent | A visual builder for agents and workflows, which its AI Workflow Builder can draft from a prompt; move into code when you need it. [3, 1] | Describe the job in one sentence and Arclyx drafts the agent. | | Checking it before it counts | Replay a past run or mock the data, and re-run only the step that failed. [3] | “Try it” is a dry run on your real tools: it reads for real, holds anything outward and lists it as not sent. | | What starts a run | Workflows started by schedules, webhooks and other trigger events; each run is one execution. [4] | A schedule, a webhook or a Slack @mention. “Run it now” starts a real run by hand. | | Apps it connects to | 500+ native integrations, any API over HTTP, and MCP. [3] | 12 built-in connectors, plus any remote MCP server a workspace admin adds. Web search and fetch, no browser. | | Sending and approvals | You can add human approval to agents when needed. [3] | In Gmail and Outlook it writes drafts for you to review and send. Its own email goes only to the person it runs for; Slack posts go to the one channel set on the agent. Approving each action before it runs is coming soon. | | Seeing what it did and cost | Logs of each run; audit logs and log streaming to a SIEM for security teams. [3] | Every run's steps and tokens, and its price on paid plans. Each run stops at its spend ceiling, $2 unless you change it. | | Where it runs | n8n Cloud, or self-hosted on your own infrastructure, on-premises or in a private cloud. [2, 5] | Hosted by Arclyx in North America. Its code isn't public. | | Security it states | SSO and LDAP on Business (self-hosted only) and Enterprise; external secret stores and log streaming on Enterprise. [4] | Encryption in transit, credentials stored encrypted, org-level isolation, no training on your content, zero data retention where the model provider offers it. No SOC 2 claim. | | How it's priced | Cloud from €20 a month billed annually (Starter, 2,500 executions). The Community edition is free to self-host. [4, 2] | Private beta, with Free, Team and Enterprise plans. Early access through the waitlist. | ## Should you choose n8n or Arclyx? Both build AI agents, for different kinds of businesses. Here's who each one suits. Arclyx suits you if: - You want no workflow to build: describe the job in one sentence. - You want to try it on your real tools before it does anything. - You want drafts in Gmail and Outlook that you review and send, and email only to you. Approving each action is coming soon. - You want it hosted, with no servers or upgrades to look after. n8n suits you if: - You need to self-host, on-premises or in your own cloud. [2] - You want a free edition you run yourself. [2, 5] - You want to see and control every step, and drop into code. [3] - You need 500+ integrations, or any API over HTTP. [3] ## Where Arclyx and n8n differ ### How do you build an agent in each? - n8n: n8n gives you a visual builder for agents and workflows. Its AI Workflow Builder can draft a workflow from a prompt, and you move into code when you need to. [3, 1] - Arclyx: You write one sentence: what to read, what to work out, where the result goes. Arclyx drafts the agent from it. There's no flowchart; the agent decides each step within the tools it's given. ### Can you self-host it? - n8n: Yes. n8n self-hosts on your own infrastructure, on-premises or in a private cloud, and runs as the free Community edition without a license key. Its docs say installation needs technical expertise. [2, 5] - Arclyx: Arclyx is hosted for you, in North America, and its code isn't public. If you must run it on your own servers, choose n8n. ### How do you test before it counts? - n8n: n8n lets you replay a past run or mock the data, and re-run only the step that failed. [3] - Arclyx: “Try it” runs the draft on your real tools as a dry run. It reads for real, holds anything outward and lists what it would have sent. ### How many apps does each connect to? - n8n: n8n lists 500+ native integrations, plus any API over HTTP and MCP. [3] - Arclyx: Arclyx has 12 built-in connectors, plus any remote MCP server a workspace admin adds, and web search and fetch. ## n8n alternatives, asked and answered ### Is there a self-hosted n8n alternative? Arclyx is hosted for you, in North America. To self-host, look at n8n: it runs on your own infrastructure, and without a license key it runs as the free Community edition (n8n docs, checked 26 October 2026). [2, 5] ### Is Arclyx open source? No. Arclyx is a hosted AI agent platform by Arc10, and its code isn't public. If you need source you can run yourself, n8n publishes its code on GitHub under a fair-code license, the Sustainable Use License, and its Community edition is self-hosted. [6, 2] ### Do I need to build a workflow in Arclyx? No. You describe the job in one sentence and Arclyx drafts the agent. You try it as a dry run, then it runs on a schedule, a webhook or a Slack @mention. ## Where every claim comes from 1. [n8n docs: AI Workflow Builder](https://docs.n8n.io/build/ways-of-building-workflows/ai-workflow-builder), checked 26 October 2026. 2. [n8n docs: host n8n](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n), checked 26 October 2026. 3. [n8n home page](https://n8n.io/), checked 26 October 2026. 4. [n8n pricing](https://n8n.io/pricing/), checked 26 October 2026. 5. [n8n docs: choose how to use n8n](https://docs.n8n.io/choose-how-to-use-n8n/), checked 26 October 2026. 6. [n8n docs: Community license](https://docs.n8n.io/n8n-community-license), checked 26 October 2026. Every claim about another product comes from that company's own public pages, read on 26 October 2026. Arclyx facts were checked against arclyx.ai and the Arclyx code the same day. Products change: if something here is out of date, write to hello@arclyx.ai and we'll fix it. ## Compare Arclyx with others - [How Arclyx compares](https://arclyx.ai/compare): all five side by side. - [Arclyx vs Zapier Agents](https://arclyx.ai/compare/zapier-agents-alternative) - [Arclyx vs Lindy](https://arclyx.ai/compare/lindy-alternative) - [Arclyx vs Relevance AI](https://arclyx.ai/compare/relevance-ai-alternative) - [Create an agent](https://arclyx.ai/product): One sentence in, a working agent out. - [Test runs](https://arclyx.ai/product/test-runs): Prove it on your real data first. - [Traces & cost](https://arclyx.ai/product/observability): Every step, every cent. Last updated 26 October 2026. ## Try Arclyx on one job. One sentence in, a working agent out. Join the beta and we'll set you up. Join at https://arclyx.ai/#join or write to hello@arclyx.ai.