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Grain vs n8n

Side-by-side comparison of Grain and n8n. Compare features, pricing, and reviews to find the best fit.

Grain

Grain

AI meeting recorder that captures highlights, coaches reps, and syncs insights to your CRM automatically

4.3
Visit Grain
n8n

n8n

Open-source workflow automation that lets you connect anything to everything with AI-powered nodes.

4.6
Visit n8n
FeatureGrainn8n
Categoryproductivityproductivity
Pricingfreemiumfreemium
Rating
4.3
4.6
Verified

Grain Features

  • AI meeting recording with auto-generated summaries and action items
  • Shareable video highlight clips from any meeting moment
  • CRM integration pushing deal updates to Salesforce and HubSpot automatically
  • AI coaching with talk-to-listen ratio and engagement analysis
  • Team interaction insights for managers to track rep performance
  • Mixed workspace model with paid recording seats and free viewer seats
  • 14-day free trial with 30-day money-back guarantee

n8n Features

  • 400+ pre-built integrations with drag-and-drop visual workflow builder
  • AI Agent nodes supporting OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, and local LLMs via Ollama
  • Hybrid code-and-no-code: embed JavaScript or Python directly in visual workflows
  • Self-hostable on any infrastructure with Docker, Kubernetes, or bare metal
  • Built-in error handling with retry logic, fallback branches, and execution logs
  • Webhook triggers, cron scheduling, and event-driven workflow execution
  • Sub-workflow composition for modular, reusable automation patterns
  • Community library with 900+ workflow templates shared by users

Grain Pros

  • Video highlight clips are genuinely useful — share a 30-second moment, not a 60-minute recording
  • CRM auto-sync saves reps from manual data entry after every call
  • Free viewer seats let entire company access meeting intelligence affordably
  • AI coaching provides actionable feedback on talk-to-listen ratio and question patterns
  • 14-day trial with 30-day money-back guarantee reduces risk

Grain Cons

  • Business and Enterprise pricing requires contacting sales — not transparent
  • Free plan limited to 20 meetings — barely enough to evaluate properly
  • AI coaching only available on Business tier, not Starter
  • Video clip editing is basic — no annotation or text overlay

n8n Pros

  • Self-hosted option gives full data sovereignty with no per-execution fees on community edition
  • AI Agent node enables autonomous LLM-driven workflows with tool calling and vector store retrieval
  • Fair-code license provides source access while maintaining a sustainable business model with 177K+ GitHub stars
  • JavaScript and Python code nodes allow unlimited customization within visual workflows
  • Active community contributes 900+ workflow templates and 400+ integration nodes

n8n Cons

  • Steeper learning curve than Zapier — requires understanding webhooks, expressions, and error handling branches
  • Self-hosting demands DevOps knowledge for queue workers, database scaling, and execution timeout configuration
  • Cloud pricing at $24/month for only 2,500 executions can become expensive for high-volume workflows
  • UI can feel cluttered when workflows exceed 30+ nodes with complex branching logic
  • Some community nodes lack documentation and may break between n8n version upgrades

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